DirectHer Network
This month's CWIE Membership breakfast will be hosted by a fantastic group of ladies who have started an excellent initiative called the DirectHer Network to help drive and move women into the transition of Executive Board positions in Calgary.
"DirectHer Network is a women-led not-for-profit which seeks to empower women with the knowledge and confidence needed to serve as board directors. The organization was born after seeing too many intelligent, capable and qualified women fail to apply for board positions on the basis of not 'perfectly' matching the criteria. DirectHer presents interested groups of women with accessible information related to board basics. The presentations are taught by women with varying levels of board experience and from a variety of different industries (finance, legal, oil & gas etc.)."
This wonderful team will be speaking to us about some of the Not for Profit Board Basics which include;
- stats on women’s participation on boards
- the research supporting the value women bring to boards
- how a not for profit board is structured and the important documents to consider
- common terminology used in the board setting
- board skill identification and
- where to look for not for profit board opportunities
Three amazing women in the Calgary community started the initiative in 2016 and are excited about it's growth. Check out their profiles below;
Chantel Cabaj is an advocate and a community-builder who is happiest when testing the limits of her laugh lines. Professionally, Chantel is corporate counsel for the Workers' Compensation Board where she practices a mix of whatever comes across her desk, including: personal injury law, administrative law, privacy law, employment law and contract law. Chantel loves to teach, and prides herself on being able to break down complex legal and policy concepts into user-friendly information bites.
One of Chantel's core values is empowering others. In her time in Calgary, this has been embodied through teaching yoga, creating the lawyer's wellness network, Assist Fit, and most recently, founding DirectHer Network.
Brianna Guenther is Senior Legal Counsel at SemCAMS Midstream ULC (a subsidiary of SemGroup NYSE:SEMG and U.S. private equity firm KKR). SemCAMS Midstream is a gathering and processing business and one of Alberta’s largest licensed gas processors. It owns and operates six gas processing plants located in the heart of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin with combined licensed capacity of approximately 2 billion cubic feet per day.
Prior to joining SemCAMS Midstream, Brianna practiced as a corporate lawyer at Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, where her practice focused on corporate organizing and restructuring, share and asset acquisitions and dispositions, mergers and acquisitions and issues in connection with International Business as well as general corporate and commercial matters. Brianna has also taught Corporate Governance & Ethics at Mount Royal University and served as Corporate Secretary for a TSX-listed company.
Brianna is a native (and proud) Calgarian. She earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Health Sciences (First Class Honours), from the University of Calgary and subsequently graduated from Queen's University with a J.D. (Dean's List) in 2012. Brianna went on to earn a Masters of Law in International Business and Economic Law (with Distinction) from Georgetown University in 2014, where she was able to further explore the relationship between international business law and development.
Brianna is an ardent supporter of the community. Brianna serves on the board of directors of Wings of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation and the board of directors of DirectHer Network. Brianna also serves as a committee member for the Calgary Stampeder Foundation, the Foothills Hospital Development Council and the Newborn Needs Campaign Cabinet.
Alanah Wiberg is in-house legal counsel for Pembina Pipeline Corporation (TSX: PPL, NYSE: PBA), a Calgary-based leading transportation and midstream service provider that has been serving North America's energy industry for over 60 years. Prior to joining Pembina, Alanah practiced corporate and commercial law, with a focus on oil and gas, power and energy transactions, project work and private M&A, at both Torys LLP and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Calgary. Alanah has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree and Juris Doctor from the University of Alberta, and is currently a member of The Law Society of Alberta, the Canadian Bar Association and the Calgary Bar Association.
