Six business women from across Canada are visiting Washington, D.C. and several other U.S. cities this week as participants in an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) focusing on Women in Trade and Entrepreneurship. The visit began on February 24 and concludes on March 15. The program is organized by the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.
Our guests were personally invited by U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson, for whom innovation and entrepreneurship are key themes.
“Innovation has been the engine of economic growth for millennia. It is our hope for a better tomorrow. It allows us to learn faster, reach farther, work better, dream bigger, and live longer,” said Ambassador Jacobson. “In order to pass a strong North America into the hands of future generations, we need to seize the opportunity to innovate, create, and discover. Programs like this one provide leaders with the tools to do just that.”
The program participants are CEOs, presidents, and founders of Chambers of Commerce, consulting firms and other companies that facilitate global trade. During the program, they will examine entrepreneurial efforts initiated by women in the U.S. and the factors that influenced their success. Participants in this program are: Ms. Jennifer Dawn Brandle-McCall of Vancouver, CEO of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce; Ms. Stephanie Jecrois of Montreal, past President of the Young Haitian Chamber of Commerce; Ms. Amina Gerba of Montreal, President and Founder of Afrique Expansion; Ms. Nancy Phillips of Halifax, Director of Investment and Trade at the Greater Halifax Partnership; Ms. Deborah Trenholm of Ottawa, President and Founder of Savvy Company Inc.; and Mrs. Fiona Webster Mourant of Winnipeg, President and Co-Owner of Manrex Ltd.
The IVLP enables Canadians who are emerging leaders in their professional field to observe first-hand U.S. institutions and culture, and to meet with professional counterparts to explore issues of common interest. Some forty Canadians travel each year under this program on three-week study tours as guests of the U.S. government. Their visits better inform their views of the United States, link them with American colleagues, and influence public opinion or policy in Canada for mutual benefit. Founded in 1940, the IVLP has given hundreds of thousands of emerging leaders — including hundreds of Canadians — the opportunity to observe and interact with American culture and society on a personal level. For more information, please visit eca.state.gov/ivlp.
More information on the program will be available on the U.S. Embassy website following the participants’ return to Canada. Media wishing to speak with the participants when they return can contact the Embassy press office at youngjm1@state.gov. One of our participants, Deborah Trenholm, will be blogging occasionally during the trip; anyone interested in hearing about her experience as it happens can follow her on Twitter at @savvydebbie or follow her blog at savvycompany.ca.
