Edwards celebrates women of influence at 17th annual event
Risk-taking was the focus of conversation at the sold-out Women of Influence Breakfast Presentation on November 5, 2019.
Darlene Brander, Katherine Regnier, and Brynn Boback-Lane were honoured for their notable contributions to the community.
Presented by Edwards Executive Education, and now in its 17th year, the event recognizes authentic leadership, inspiring role models, and accomplished citizens.
The breakfast presentation began with Darlene Brander, CEO of Wanuskewin Heritage Park. Brander hails from the Red Earth Cree First Nation, is a University of Saskatchewan alumna, and a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR). She is an active community member, with current board appointments on the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners and the Canadian Association of Police Governance.
Brander is currently leading the team at Wanuskewin Heritage Park through the bid to become Saskatchewan’s first site located on the UNESCO World Heritage List. She used her leadership journey to demonstrate how women can find ways to lead while working through fear and motivating others.
The founder and CEO of Coconut Software, Katherine Regnier, led the next keynote. In 2011, Regnier quit her job at three-months pregnant to solely focus on Coconut. Five years later, she bootstrapped the company to over a million dollars in sales, and everything changed again. Regnier successfully raised $4.9M and grew her team to more than 50 people. Today, she’s also been credited as a founding board member of Co.Labs, Saskatchewan’s first technology incubator.
A strong advocate for women in tech, Regnier is passionate about giving back to Canada and wants to help pave the way for future entrepreneurs. Her impact on the tech sector illustrated how risk-taking and influencing change can be achieved from Saskatchewan.
Brynn Boback-Lane, President and CEO of Jim Pattison Children's Hospital Foundation, was the final honouree. Boback-Lane attended the University of Saskatchewan, holds a Chartered Director (C.Dir.) designation from McMaster University and is a member of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Hospitals of Canada, Canadian Advisory Committee for Children's Miracle Network, Canadian Children's Hospital Foundation Executives, and the Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) Board of Directors.
Boback-Lane led a provincial team in advocating and fundraising for the new provincial children's hospital project. With the provincial children's hospital only recently opening its doors, Boback-Lane’s message encouraged the audience to take risks to get past the status-quo and achieve dreams.
The event also recognized the recipients of the Women of Influence Award, a scholarship intended for business students (male or female) who are making progress towards degree completion and are single-parents of dependent children. Heather Robinson, a fourth-year Management major and Lori Waterhen, a third-year Management major, were selected to receive the Women of Influence scholarships.
Thank you to our generous event sponsors for their help in making the 17th Annual Women of Influence Breakfast a success: BDC, Delta Hotels, Global Saskatoon, ICR Commercial Real Estate, Moxies, Prairieland Park, Rawlco Radio, Ryde YXE, Select Roses, Signatures Our Best to You, TCU Place, Trek 2000 Corporation, World Trade Center Saskatoon, University of Saskatchewan Book Store, and Vanity Hair and Esthetics.
For future programming opportunities, please visit Edwards Executive Education at: www.edwards.usask.ca/execed.