The Playground Project

I can’t thank Inanna enough for coming on to the playground and hanging out with us today. She shared her journey from fleeing her home country to finally making Canada her new home. I am thankful she is here, and I am so happy that she felt Canada was the place for her to raise her son in  safety and stability. I usually recap the main points from the chat, but honestly I can’t do her story...

Thank you so much Rodrigo! I loved this introduction to Bogota, Colombia! Like Swami in his interview a few episodes ago, Rodrigo takes us on a history and geography lesson of his country. We learn about the school system in Bogota, and his decision to study political science and not law. We  also get a look at his foray into the publishing world. Faced with the dilemma of continuing to publi...

Thank you so much Asma for sharing your career journey and pivot with us today. I really appreciate hearing about the realities of growing up female in Saudi Arabia, and the academic and employment challenges that women face. A self-declared nerd, Asma told us about her focus on getting good grades and her desire to obtain her Ph. D., switching her major to engineering, even with all of the people...

Thank you so Daphné for joining me on the playground today and bringing your beautiful, open and authentic self. We tackled the big topics – systemic racism, DEI programs, fear, parenting. I shared a truly life-changing conversation that not only changed my life but informed my present and my future. We talked about the importance of seeing colour – and the reality of what “not seeing colour” mean...

Thank you so much Ben for hanging out with us on the playground today! I promised you an interesting chat and I believe it was. Our career chat included a lot. Ben spoke about belonging, culture and identity, and what it was like being typecast as the Asian kid in his cohort. We talked about the smart vs sexy Asian stereotypes, and what it meant to suppress your feels. He spoke candidly about his...

Big thanks to my guest Swami for sharing his story with us. One thing that really resonated with me was the importance of travel, growth and getting out his comfort zone. By going to university in Australia he was able to meet people from all over the world, learn about different cultures and discover different ways of doing things. His Australian experience prepared him for making the leap to Can...

Thank you so much Maryna for spending your time with me – with us – on the playground today. If you are like me, this career chat with Maryna has inspired you to be become the best person you can be. I really appreciate her sharing her career journey with us – and seeing how her leadership skills were identified and appreciated at an early age by her teachers, and when she did not get into the Ukr...

Thank you so much Fabrizio for joining me on the playground today! Amidst much laughter, there was a lot of sharing stories of career decisions, the role of luck and privilege in constructing our careers, and while no real motivational quotes were shared, Fabrizio did explain his concept of values. I love how Fab shared not just the subjects he studied, but his reasons why he chose them. He reflec...

Thank you to Ki Jung for sharing his story, his journey, and his inspiration with us on the playground today! Like many newcomers, Ki arrived in Canada with a strong academic background, but still found it nearly impossible to find employment. Even with Canadian academic experience, and even after sending out over 300 resumes, he took the only job opportunity he was offered – in a province about 1...

Thank you so much Ayo for coming on to the playground with us today and sharing your thoughts, motivations, inspirations, and experiences. Here’s what I am taking away from our career chat: 1)  Die empty – we need to truly live so that when we die, we have nothing left. Everything we have, everything we are, has been shared with the world, to make the world a better place for us have bee...

Thank you Michael for not just sharing your story of pivoting, but also for giving us a master class in leadership. We learned the importance of compassion in leadership, leading by example, the power of resilience and the need to embrace solutions, not problems. Michael spoke of his newest gig, Professor of Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs at Sheridan College. Lucky students! He also shar...

Thank you so much Breanna for hanging out with us on the playground today! She shared her career journey in such a wholehearted and authentic way, and I appreciate her honesty and thoughtful answers. We learned about her positive attitude to life, her dedication to being present in her life, and what that means to her. She spoke about the challenges she experienced throughout her career, and how e...

Thank you so much Mona for sharing your career and life story. During our conversation we learned of Mona’s journey to Ottawa and the challenges of being a child of new immigrants who were doing their best to navigate a new life in an entirely new country. She spoke of the teachers who supported her and the one who questioned her ability to succeed. Mona shared with us how transitioned from high s...

A big, huge thank you to Tatanisha for such an enriching and inspiring career chat.  We talked about so much - like we usually do.  We talked about what it is like being a member of a racialized community, and her values of balance, integrity and compassion.  She also shared with us two very important questions she asks herself -  1) What if things went well? 2) What if you suc...

Big thanks to my friend, Alexis for spending time on the playground with us. Applied linguist, solves problem using language, teaches Spanish as a foreign language, acting manager at OCISO and a very cool guy. We learned about his master’s project which focused on helping newcomers to develop communication skills to help them integrate more effectively into the labour market. Learning English allo...

Big thanks to Zein Abboud for sharing his story with us today! We learned of his journey from Lebanon to Ottawa, and how he discovered his purpose, created his plan, and has been able to pivot. He shared his values, his motivation and his desire to always be learning. He also shared a favourite quote from Carl Jung - "No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell...

Big thanks to Adam Joiner for sharing his journey with us on the playground today. We learned about what drives Adam, right now as the CEO of BGC Ottawa and has since he was a young person. He loves what he does, and believes he has his dream job. Being able to provide a source of support/advice/safety/fun and friendship to young people has been a passion for Adam essentially all his life. He has...

Thanks to Mohd Khalid Naseemi for spending his time on the playground with us today! In today's career chat, we learned about the many pivots he has had to make throughout his educational life in Afghanistan, and once he immigrated to Canada with his family. I am struck by his intelligence, transferrable skills, determination, focus, resilience, positivity and motivation. Working with Mohd Khalid...

Garry Kessler is a great friend of mine, and I have always found his career journey to be very interesting. After hearing him talk about it, I realize that he has been so strategic over the years, so resilient, dynamic and has always kept moving forward. If you too are interested in pursuing a career in the high tech field - you are going to love this career chat! Thanks for joining Garry and me o...

The podcast for the people who didn't know what they wanted to be when they grew up.  What happens when you found your purpose, created a plan and then had to pivot?  Join our guests on the playground as they talk about their career journeys and what's coming next for them. 

Sassy Greeting Cards Loreto (Ortiz) Cheyne | LinkedIn Printed greeting cards by Loreto Cheyne (@sassygreetingcards) | Instagram That which does not kill us, makes us stronger - Friedrich Nietzsche Advice for young people – just try something, and you don't have to be dedicated to one career. It was great to hear about Kristina’s career journey, going from retail management to a position in the fed...

Thanks to Zahra Karimi for hanging out with us on the playground today! She is a private kind of person who completely jumped out of her comfort zone to support me. Learn about her journey from Iran to Ottawa (with a couple of stops in between), and her career development journey to employment counsellor and job search workshop facilitator.  Hear about the challenges and realities of being a...

What a fantastic career conversation! Chats like this completely nurture my soul, and here are some key takeaways from today's episode: You know the feeling of confidence, when your body just stands taller, and you feel invincible? That’s the idea behind Strut 4 Success. Confident and capable to navigate the twists and turns of a career. Careers are not necessarily linear – not everyone navigates...

Big thanks to Dan Kizner for sharing his journey from selling exotic cars to providing exceptional doggy daycare and boarding to his many canine charges and their pet parents. During our chat Dan spoke about his desire to try to marry his passion with his livelihood, and how he was able to create a 12-year career selling Ferraris and getting a master class in what true success means to him. He ide...

A big thank you to Sharon for hanging out with us on the playground today. During our chat, we learned how she joined an organization straight out of school and worked her way up to the position of executive director of a community centre serving 60,000 people. She loved this experience and created a family-atmosphere in the workplace. But as can happen in life, one person came and essentially des...