The Playground Project

Show Notes: Deborah Ayis | LinkedIn Philanthrophy | Valiant Scribe UNICEF Nigeria Archives - Humane Society International (hsi.org) The Playground Project FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/883794396851032/ The Playground Project on Instagram: Puddle Jump Coaching (@puddlejumpcoaching001) • Instagram photos and videos

Show Notes:   (2) 💠 Bill Benoist | LinkedIn Bill Benoist CPC - YouTube Career Strategistand Executive Coach for individuals in mid-to-late career (billbenoist.com) Bill’s Career Coaching (@bill.benoist) • Instagram photos and videos International Coach Academy - Coach Training School (coachcampus.com) https://www.facebook.com/groups/883794396851032/ Urgent Need for Pet Adoption - Find Dogs &...

Show Notes: Thank you so much for spending this time together with Sumyia and me. I really love being able to just hang out on the playground. To wrap up, here are a few takeaways from today’s chat with my fabulous guest, Sumyia Sheikh  In Saudi Arabia, your residency status is tied to your job.  When you come to Canada, the barriers and obstacles to getting licenses forces people to ret...

On today’s episode, Eliakim Hawi joined me on the playground. A fantastic photographer, he is also a highly creative Sales and Marketing Coordinator/ leads generator comfortable managing efforts of multiple staff members to achieve attention-grabbing interest and sales. Experienced organizer with eye for making unique, positive connections while interpreting data. Passionate team player engages ta...

Thank you so much for this really inspiring chat Andrea! Here are some insights that I am taking away: The power of intention. Consider different ways to reach your goals. Be open to new experiences. Even if you don’t know anyone else, make sure you really know yourself. What are your values? What is most important to you? When it comes to looking for a job, try something new -instead of just rely...

Show Notes: Here are some key nuggets I am taking from our chat -  It takes a village. For real. You don’t need to go through the whole job searching process on your own. Or life on your own. Self-awareness – even from a young age – is incredibly important, and we need to make our decisions based on our own values and reality. Self-awareness is a skill that we don’t appreciate. When one door...

Here’s what I am taking away from our conversation – The importance of a positive mindset and attitude. When it comes to learning languages, immersion is the most effective way of truly absorbing the language. The significance of diversity in people, thoughts and mindset. There was a time before smart phones, when the internet was available but not necessarily in our pockets like it is today - whe...

Show Notes: Tonya Pomerantz (she/her/hers) | LinkedIn https://www.tydac.ch/en/about-tydac/   (It's been a long time, but I still remember some of those folks!) https://www.gilmoreglobal.com/ https://www.spicers.ca/ (the paper company which used to be Graphic Resources where I met Gary, my husband - yes, we are the original Jim and Pam from the Office :) ) https://ewc-rdc.ca/  (where I me...

Big thanks to Emilie Hart-Poliquin for joining us on the playground today!  Here is the link to DAVE - another way to talk about ADHD https://www.facebook.com/reel/552477715748281 The school Em was talking about - https://t.ly/6BgRW Em's beloved Peter Pan - Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie | Goodreads Home - Ottawa Humane Society Humane Society International (hsi.org)

Thank you so much for hanging out with the amazing Jocelyne and me today on the playground and thank you so much Jocelyne (also sometimes known as Mama J) for joining us on the playground today and sharing your story. Jocelyne shared her career development story with us, and her love of all things politics. She talked about how she made her way to Canada, and how happy she is in Canada, her adopte...

Show Notes: I found this wonderful piece that was written about Carol Ann a few years ago and wanted to share.  #OttawaON Meet Carol Ann Cameron from March Of Dimes Canada , Employment Services office in Ottawa. She is the driving force behind the Ottawa Employment Services Job Development Team. Carol Ann is a valuable and dedicated resource that offers ongoing support to the ES team. As a Vo...

Big thanks to Sue Turpin for joining me on the playground today!  What an awesome way to celebrate 50 episodes! A chat full of joy, love, gratitude and well...magic.  Remember to spay and neuter your pets, and please follow me on IG at puddlejumpcoaching001.  Please join me and my next fabulous mystery guest on next week's episode.  Thanks so much for hanging out with us today...

Thank you so much for hanging out on the playground with me today Joanne Savoie Malone! What a journey it has been – and continues to be! You made it your goal to leave the tiny Northern Ontario village of Earlton. You left behind your boyfriend and everything you knew so you could start a new life in Ottawa. Your career journey was not necessarily a linear trajectory. You had a lot of different e...

Thank you so much Jayshal for joining us on the playground today! I really appreciated the conversation, and learning more about your career – and life – journey. Your dedication to learning, and working hard to make up for the time in your life where you were felt lacking in focus, is inspiring. You spoke about your pivots. Your journey from India, to Canada, with stops along in the way in the US...

Thank you so much Daron for sharing your inspiring story and positive outlook with us! From going down to the river in the parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica’s fourth largest parish, to studying project management at Algonquin College, Daron’s journey includes military service, hosting a radio show and writing his book, Ready to Rise. For Daron, pivot means maneuvering through challenges. He saw how...

Thank you so much Mahmoud for hanging out with us on the playground today. He shared his career journey which took him from an IT career in the Middle East to studying political science at Carleton University. His focus on helping other people informed his choice of university major and is also a source of joy for him. My chat with Mahmoud really gave me a lot to think about and reflect on. Things...

Thank you so much Gary for coming on to the playground and hanging out with me today. I know today’s episode was definitely different, but it kind of encapsulates what it means to pivot. At the last minute I had to change direction, and Gary was there for me. He has always supported me – even when I was doing something that did not make a lot of sense to him. But today’s interview was just the ult...

Thank you so much for hanging out with us on the playground today Leonardo! Here are the top 10 things I learned from our hang on the playground – In no particular order – 1) A university education is exceptionally important in Brazil and can open a lot of doors 2) A background in law does not necessarily mean a career as a lawyer 3) Leonardo wanted to be a diplomat – and for the re...

Thank you so much Dee for sharing your career story with us, and the story of your pivots. I absolutely love getting to have these inspiring career chats with my truly fabulous mystery guests. Here’s what I learned - after growing up in North Bay, Ontario, Dee moved into a career in the culinary arts as a sous-chef – there were challenging hours, split shifts, not what they wanted to do for the re...

Thank you so much for joining me – joining us – on the playground today Melissa! I really appreciate you sharing your story with us, and for being open and honest about what it is like to move to Canada with your husband, children and your dog and the challenges you have faced. Most importantly, thank you for sharing your achievements and accomplishments.  It was hard for you to narrow down y...

Thank you for sharing your incredibly moving story with us on the playground today Camille. He was born in Burundi and after a stint in France returned to Burundi where his father fought against the rebel group and imprisoned and tortured. When the rebel group took power they took revenge on those who had fought against them. Camille, his mom and his siblings fled to Kenya as refugees. Mom fell si...

A huge thanks to my fabulous guest, Jane Woods, for sharing her career not just once, but twice with me on the playground project today. Her career chat made me think of the saying “when man makes a plan, God laughs” – or one may want to say the universe laughs. Jane had it in her mind that she was going to be a nurse, specializing in midwifery. But during her adolescence discovered there were som...

Thank you so much Victoria for sharing your fascinating pivot, from architectural design to hypnotherapy. Victoria brings that same dedication, knowledge, and commitment to both her architectural design business and now to her hypnotherapy training and practice. From Ukraine with stops in Cyprus and Saskatchewan along the way, Victoria is now happy to be living in Ottawa with such natural beauty a...

Thank you so much Rocky for sharing your career – and life – journey with me – with us – today on the playground. Getting to work with Rocky with the Empowering Newcomer Women (ENW) program at World Skills is a joy. He is kind, thoughtful and really knows his stuff. Rocky grew up and went to school in Nigeria and shared his appreciation of boarding school and his town of Warri. We learned of his j...

Thank you so much for sharing your journey of experiences with us Anu! Anu’s story from India to the US back to India and finally to Ottawa, Canada is a tale of people, culture and food. We learned what it was like to leave her support system and move to a new country with no idea of what is happening around you. Could you imagine – leaving everything behind and not knowing how to manage your new...