I’m a dreamer and a do-er. I’m an Ottawa native, project manager, management consultant, and entrepreneur. Someone once described me as being detail-oriented with a big picture focus. It’s stuck!

I am a passionate community leader who believes in connection as the starting point for education, engagement and empowerment. 

I am the founder and Executive Director of Black Ottawa Connect, a non-profit organization on a mission to make space for Black people in the Ottawa/Gatineau region to gather, to heal & to thrive. I am proud to be recognized as a 2022 Black History Ottawa Community Builder award recipient, but the honour really belongs to the community. 

One of Black Ottawa Connect’s flagship programs is Build Out Loud (BOL). BOL is a collaboration between myself and co-founder Stacey-Ann Morris because we wanted to carve out a space for Black women in the city to get together and work on their projects and side or main hustles. Another program that I helped to co-design, alongside Jessica Johnson, an amazing doula in the Ottawa area, is called Rooted & Resilient. Rooted and Resilient supports Black birth outcomes and early parenting experiences through education, empowerment and ensuring individuals get culturally-sensitive care and support.

diversity fuels creativity, ideas & innovation.

inclusion is a choice.

equity is essential.

justice is the goal.

Formerly, I was the co-founder of Bantu, an app that connected Black women with hair stylists who can style curly, kinky and coily hair. This was a rewarding venture, because not only did it solve a relevant need using innovative technology, it was a means to help to preserve our cultural heritage and history, while affirming that beauty can exist in more forms than what we are always shown. 

I work as a project manager at CHEO and I’m proud to be a member of our inaugural Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigeneity (EDII) Steering Committee. I am also a co-chair of the Working Together Group, which is tasked with building and maintaining relationships with CHEO’s broader community. I also serve as a Board Member at the Ottawa Birth and Wellness Centre.

I have been fortunate enough to be recently nominated for L’OREAL’s Women of Worth, RBC Women of Influence and BYA (Businesswoman of the Year) Awards.

I have delivered several talks, mostly on the topic of community building, entrepreneurship, project and product management, and on DEI. I have also given over 30 interviews including CBC radio, CTV news, the Ottawa Business Journal, JET, Essence and other publications.  To view, please check out the media page!

Please get in touch if you would like to connect - I am happy to facilitate a session for your group, speak at your event, create a custom workshop, or chat about any other needs you may have!