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28 Leaders To Watch: Meet Jill Valentine

28 Leaders To Watch: Meet Jill Valentine

This February, all month long, we’re honouring the work of 28 inspiring leaders. Women who are drawing upon and celebrating their culture while making a lasting difference in their community using their gifts. From authors and teachers, CEOs to entrepreneurs, not-for-profit directors, artists, and more, these women are changing the face of leadership.

These are truly women to watch and veza community is so pleased to share their brilliance.

May their stories inspire YOU to rise.

Meet Jill Valentine.

Jill is the founder of UGO Travel for Change, which offers life-changing volunteer experiences, and Dare to be a Dandelion—an organization that uses life coaching and consultation to help volunteers, humanitarians, and social entrepreneurs harness their skills and passions to do good in the world.

She is an author, transformative travel coach, humanitarian entrepreneur, disability sport advocate, travel enthusiast, volunteerism specialist, and mother. Jill believes strongly in being of service to others, and she enjoys helping to enable others to find their way to be of service, and then connect them to service that inspire and fulfill them.

Prior to becoming a social entrepreneur, Jill poured her energy and passion into the nonprofit sector for over 20 years at organizations such as the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and ParaSport Ontario amongst others.  As an avid humanitarian Jill has volunteered thousands of hours of her time for over 30 different organizations both locally and abroad, most passionately within the disability sport arena in East Africa. Currently Jill is a board member of the Toronto Accessible Sports Council, promotes volunteerism for Volunteer Toronto, and launched her book Dare to be a Dandelion as a fundraising tool in the fall of 2017.

Jill sees the immense benefits of volunteering abroad as a tool for personal and global change, and also strives to empower women and girls to step into their own power. She tries to be a role model in this whenever she can, especially as an example to her young daughter. Authentic community and connection are both extremely important to her, and she enjoys supporting others to succeed and find joy.

So tell us, Jill…

What inspires you most? What motivates you to get up every morning?

Knowing that the projects I am working on can make a real difference in the lives of others: both locally, and internationally.

How do you feel that your actions teach or inspire others?

How being of service can enrich and benefit the lives of those you serve, as well as yourself.

What is one change you’d like to see in the world?

I’d like to see more compassion, and resulting action being taken. I would like to see people helping and supporting each other more—both in our own community as well as those far away.

Which of your contributions to date have given you the greatest sense of pride?

 The year I spent in Uganda supporting the disability sport movement, which culminated in me organizing and facilitating the first national disability sport summit.   

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I love this initiative!!!

We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know Jill!

Learn more about her work and stay connected by following her on social media: @daredandelion and @UGOTravelforChange

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Ready to RISE as a leader in your own right?

Get your copy of veza community’s NEW Feminine Leadership Guide. It’s our gift to YOU.

Inside the Feminine Leadership Guide you’ll receive a series of activating journal prompts and action exercises to inspire your next steps on the journey to greater impact.

Collaboration and sisterhood heightens our personal development

I knew the power of collaboration and sisterhood but this weekend I saw it again.

I am reveling in the energy of the weekend where I was blessed to teach Akashic Records Level 3 to group of women who dove in deep into the trenches of their own souls so they can further uncover their light and be more of a contribution to this world.

It was powerful to see the transformation that occurs when we truly see each other, hear each other and are present to other people’s experiences. 

Reflecting on this weekend, I noticed how much many of us spend time trying to control the experiences of others, trying to prove that we are lovable and trying to prove that we are worthy of love but really the magic is in just BE-ing.

I never noticed the magic of just BE-ing and pure love for me just being me until I spent more time with my nephews and nieces. I realized I love spending time with them because they love me for just me. I don’t have to give them anything, be anything or do anything. I just need to show up, be present and see/hear them.

The same that these women experienced this weekend with each other.

At the root of it all, all of us just want others to be present to our love for them. We want others to see themselves as we see them. We want others to just BE themselves as it gives us permission to be ourselves.

This isn’t just with personal relationships. This is the same at work as well. Each person in your organization wants to be seen and heard so they know their contribution is valued and appreciated. When that is done, magic happens. They perform better. They contribute even more AND they stay engaged with the goals of the company. That person is you who wants to be seen and heard and is in the place to see and hear others so they feel that magic that you want to feel.

As leaders, contributors to organizations and contributors to society, it is your role to BE so you can give permission for others to be.

It is your role to see and hear others so you can be seen and heard as well.

It is your role to build a community of collaboration and sisterhood/brotherhood around you, so you feel that you are fully empowered, you are fully present with your strengths and you are BEing the best version of yourself as you experience love for being just who you are.

The weekend with these wonderful women reminded me the power of mastermind, collaboration and support that we are call for and desire.

I know in my role as a connector that is the work I am hear to do. Connect others through creating community of like-minded women.

This is why the group programs that are offered through Veza are SO important as they allow women to see and hear each other especially when their hearts are raw and they feel ever so vulnerable.

It is time for you to BE, BE seen and BE heard. It is time for you to be you and know you will be loved.

We are enrolling in the Magnetize Your Career 8 week group program starting November 13, 2017. If you are ready, willing, committed to your career of choice, it is your time to join the collaborative sisterhood that exists. Click here to enroll.

 

Leadership exists in you!

Leadership. It’s a heavy buzz word where people either strive towards it or shy away from it.
Leadership. A leader is someone who believes in something so much and they enroll others in their vision. They have others see what they see.
Leaders have fears too. Fears are just not an option for them. They believe in their vision so much that fears will not stop them.
Leaders doubt themselves but they find ways to overcome those doubts.
They know their past does not equal their future. Anywhere they are still impacted by their past in their present, they find new ways of thinking and doing things.
Leaders ask for help because no leader can do it on their own.
Female leaders are more powerful than males (in my opinion of course:) Females are different as they build relationships differently. They care about those around them differently. Also when a women rises, she brings communities with her as well.
A leader exists in all of us regardless of what your job is or what you do. A leader is a way of living. A way of being. Are you ready to embrace the leader within yourself?

I have decided to open up my calendar to coach 5 people who are ready to truly step into their leadership. This special program will include:
*activities on accessing different leadership traits within you
*developing a better understanding of what your body is telling you
*improved health and vitality for leadership
*a mindset that will keep you in the A-Game
*understanding how to create the life you want with minimal sacrifices
*falling deeper in love with yourself and your life
Message me to set up a call to see if this program is for you.

What is coaching?

Coaching is understanding who we are, what we want from life and what we are willing to do to get it.

Many ask, well I can do that for myself why do I need a coach.

Of course you can do that for yourself. At the end of the day, you are accountable to yourself and only yourself. A coach supports you to be accountable to yourself by being there for check in, a sound board or helping you facilitate a situation in which a change in perspective might help.

I have worked with coaches over the last eight years for my own personal development. The coaches have provided me resources, pushed my limits to make me uncomfortable which created change, they helped me understand what was going on and how to see things from a different light and most of all they made me realize that life is easy and fun so I created my life to be that way.

I feel the need to end this post with a good quote – I have two
“An expert knows the subject very well. A model teaches by showing instead of just telling.” Thomas Leonard

“You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself.”
Galileo Galilei

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