Leanne has worked with the Province of Ontario for the past 20 years. She is a Consultant and provides advice on their Employment Programs and their Apprenticeship Services. She also works with local communities to help them understand their labour pools and to identify the skills needed for the community to flourish. Leanne has the ability to identify and share insight into global growth, market developments, and skill shortages in Ontario, and beyond.

 

When Leanne is not working in her office, she has her hands in the dirt on the family farm or around her three, quickly growing, children. Being self-employed famers has allowed their family to understand the importance of hard work and the impact a local supply chain can have on both employment, community sustainability, and overall health and well-being.

 

In 2013, Leanne made her first trip to Haiti with a group of Canadian educators to conduct a Professional Development Seminar for local Haitian teachers. Leanne was a valuable addition to the team because of her administrative skills and her ability to effectively co-ordinate the logistics of the professional development seminars. Leanne has returned with the team annually since 2013 and enjoys being a part of a team that empowers local teachers to improve the quality of education in Haiti.

 

In 2016, Leanne started a venture alongside her good friend Diane Gratrix, known as Mahogany & Maple. This social enterprise is a marketplace style showcase that allows small businesses to sell their products. Businesses that participate in the market are small businesses that hire, train, and empower artisans in developing countries, including Haiti. All proceeds raised through Mahogany & Maple have been donated to grass roots projects in Haiti that are focused on advancing education and employment. Leanne is passionate about giving businesses this platform to sell their products as she understanding the ripple effects it has on the individuals that made the products, and the families of those individuals.

 

Leanne choose to serve on our Board of Directors because she wants to be a part of something that empowers people, and she believes that keeping children in family units is imperative for a country to be strong and succeed economically. She is excited to be a part of something that lifts people up, opposed to giving a hand out.