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Date & Time:
Monday, July 6, 2020 at 12 p.m. EST

Almost twenty years ago, the Canadian military lifted all restrictions that limited occupations for women, and many exceptional women have risen through the ranks and continue to make a lasting impact through their service to Canada.

On May 26, True Patriot Love Foundation launched For Her Country, a new podcast that aims to inspire and educate listeners by profiling the stories, experiences and lessons of a cross section of inspirational women leaders in the Canadian military. The podcast is in honour of fallen hero and trailblazer Captain Nichola Goddard, a courageous artillery officer who became the first woman soldier to die in combat at the age of 26.

Having completed the first season of the podcast, True Patriot Love hosted a live conversation with some of the series’ guests including: Lieutenant-Colonel Eleanor Taylor, Warrant Officer Avril Jno-Baptiste-Jones and Sergeant Leslie Blair. The discussion was moderated by the host of For Her Country, Shannon Busta, and panelists shared their perspective and stories of leadership, resiliency and self-improvement.

Moderator

Picture of Shannon BustaShannon Busta is an award-winning digital journalist based in Toronto. Prior to joining The New York Times she worked at The Globe and Mail as a video producer and audience strategist. She holds an Executive MBA from Western University’s Ivey School of Business and a Master of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves running, cycling and spending time outdoors with her partner Sam Riches.

 

Panelists 

Click on the picture to learn more about each panelists.

  • Lieutenant-Colonel Eleanor Taylor
  • Warrant Officer Avril Jno-Baptiste-Jones
  • Sergeant Leslie Blair

Eleanor Taylor is a native of Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

She spent 25 years as a regular force infantry officer, where she worked with Special Operations Forces Command.

Eleanor has completed multiple deployments overseas – among them Kosovo and Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2010, during which she led operations with soldiers from the Canadian, US, and Afghan armies. At that time in 2010, Eleanor was the only female to lead a NATO infantry combat sub-unit in Afghanistan.

While no longer full time, she still enjoys serving the Canadian Armed Forces in support of 36 Brigade Group HQ in Halifax N.S.

In 2019 she was invested into the Order of Military Merit which recognizes exceptional service.

Now, she runs Eleanor Taylor Consulting, a company that supports the development of teams and leaders who thrive in adversity.

Eleanor lives in Halifax, with her two children.

Warrant Officer Avril Jno-Baptiste-Jones was born and raised on the Caribbean island of Dominica and immigrated to Canada at a young age.

Nearly two decades later, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Avril joined the Canadian Armed Forces as a Reservist as a Finance Clerk.

Avril has risen through the ranks and held roles with a wide array of teams, in communities across the country, including CFB Kingston, Canadian Forces Station Alert Nunavut, Canadian Forces Command and Staff College Kingston, Land Force Central Area HQ Toronto, Canadian Forces Support Unit Ottawa, Canadian Special Operations Command, Canadian Forces Station Leitrim and 32 Canadian Brigade Group HQ.

She has completed a deployment overseas to Afghanistan and has been a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal.

Avril retired from the army in 2017 after 25 years of service and transitioned to the private sector but soon found herself looking to make her way back to the army as a reservist.

Today she lives in Milton, Ontario, having recently returned from a deployment to Kuwait.

A 13-year veteran in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Sergeant Blair has lived in various locations across Canada, coast to coast, and has been posted to both Trenton and Shearwater. Sergeant Blair has deployed on operations in Camp Mirage and Afghanistan.

Sergeant (Sgt) Blair was born in North Bay, Ontario and grew up in a military family, which gave her the opportunity to travel and see many parts of Canada and the world. Shortly after graduating from high school, she joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as an Aviation Systems Technician (AVN Tech) in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Her first posting was to 8 Wing Trenton with 8 Air Maintenance Squadron as a Propulsion Specialist on the CC130 Hercules aircraft. One year later, Sgt Blair deployed with the Tactical Airlift Unit to both Camp Mirage and Afghanistan for three rotations totaling seven months.

In 2011, she was moved to 424 Squadron Search and Rescue and had the privilege of participating in many domestic exercises.

In 2012, while at 424 Squadron and as a member of the Camp Trillium committee, Sgt Blair started the 8 Wing Herc Pull which raised nearly $4000 for children with cancer, for which the team received a Wing Commander’s Commendation. The following year, in an effort to grow the Herc Pull, the team decided to support the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC). As the Herc Pull OPI and overall GCWCC Event Coordinator, her efforts largely contributed to the total donation of $140,000 in support of the GCWCC, for which she received her own Wing Commander`s Commendation.

In November of 2016, she set her sights on helping veterans that haven’t transitioned well to civilian life. Santa for Nova Scotia Veterans was launched to bring Christmas joy to veterans in need or alone over the holiday season. With 32 emotional deliveries to veterans completed just in time for the Christmas holidays, this project was by far the most humbling and eye-opening experience she has had the privilege to lead. Now, in its fourth year, renamed Santa for Veterans, the project reaches coast to coast, last year sending out numerous packages to veterans and delivering knit socks to veteran hospitals.

In 2014, she was posted to 12 Wing Shearwater to work on the Cyclone Helicopter. She is currently a member of 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron and resides in Nova Scotia with her husband.

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SERVICES & RESOURCES

 

  • If you are a Veteran/military member and are in distress, call the Member Assistance Program at 1-800-268-7708
  • If you are worried about your family member, call the Family Information Line at 1-800-866-4546
  • Other resources: Family Force, Operational Stress Injury Support Services (OSSIS) or CAF's Mental Health Resources

Katrina Bolak

Katrina Bolak is an award-winning marketer and seasoned communications professional. She has a passion for podcasting that led her to executive produce two podcasts for The Globe and Mail and launch The Globe’s podcasting efforts. She holds an HBAA in Media Studies from the University of Guelph, a Diploma in PR from Humber College and an Executive MBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University. Katrina lives in Toronto with her husband Dan, their rescue pup Parker and two cats Duncan and Vivica.

 

Shannon Busta

Shannon Busta is an award-winning digital journalist based in Toronto. Prior to joining The New York Times she worked at The Globe and Mail as a video producer and audience strategist. She holds an Executive MBA from Western University’s Ivey School of Business and a Master of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves running, cycling and spending time outdoors with her partner Sam Riches.

 

Philip Grosch

 

Philip is a board member for the True Patriot Love Foundation and the sponsor behind the Captain Nichola Goddard Fund Podcast.

 

Philip is a passionate supporter of veterans with a focus on supporting their transition and success in post-military careers. In addition to his role on the True Patriot Love Foundation board, he is the President of Treble Victor Group (3V is a Veterans organization focused on supporting members in their post military careers www.treblevictor.org) . He has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition for his support of veterans.

 

In his professional career, Philip is a Consulting Partner at PwC, based in Toronto. Currently he is the executive responsible for the firm's global sales transformation program.

 

Philip has become a somewhat unexpected sponsor and joint-architect of PwC’s innovative and award winning leadership program targeted at top talent, mid-career women. The program started in 2013, when it became clear that although our entry level hiring was equal, we were losing top talent mid career women at a significantly higher rate than their male counterparts. In 2017, the program was expanded to include participants from other organizations. Today more than 400 talented women have graduated from the program. Our retention of talent is now close to 90%, and 21% of the PwC alumni have joined the executive (partner) ranks.

 

Philip is a 2016 Catalyst Canada Honours Champion in the Business Leader category, recognized for his exceptional corporate leadership and transformational contributions to advancing women and inclusion in the workplace. He is an Advisory Board Member for WNORTH and past advisory board member for WXN Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

Captain (Ret’d) Theresa Sapara, CD, MBA

 

Theresa joined the military as a private soldier before being selected for officer and university training, after which she worked for combat, special forces and combat-support units as a logistic officer, in Canada and in Haiti. True to her competitive and driven nature, she also qualified as a military parachutist and competed in the military Ironman competition.

 

Seeking further opportunities to develop and broaden the application of the leadership skills learned as a soldier, she left the Army and has quickly established herself as a mid-ranking commercial leader with a track record of changing business focus and processes to better exploit new strategic environments. This included working within the retail, mining and professional services industries before being appointed as a manager for Amazon Web Services based in Toronto.

 

Theresa holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Ottawa and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business. In addition to spending time with her family, she volunteers as a Board Member for the Treble Victor Group (a Veterans organization) and UForChange (a youth arts program).