Vanessa Lesperance (she/her) is a mixed heritage Metis woman originally from Treaty 1 territory (Winnipeg). She holds a graduate diploma in business from SFU and a masters in leadership from Royal Roads University, with a focus on decolonizing business through workplace spirituality.
Vanessa’s passions revolve around reconciliation and decolonizing business. She has run programs and services for Indigenous women and non-binary entrepreneurs with the not-for-profit the Indigenous LIFT Collective including co-hosting the podcast Circles of Matriarchy: Re-Matriating Mentorship and more recently has been working with the Indigenomics Institute to advance the $100 billion Indigenous economy. Vanessa has been published in SAY Magazine, Liisbeth magazine and World Federation Association of Teacher’s Education Journal (WFATE). She also teaches a course on Power and Privilege with the Justice Institute and instructs in their Centre of Leadership too.
Vanessa founded the Mindful Managers offering decolonial facilitation services, relational leadership workshops and hosts regular “Indigenous Enough” circles for community and organizations. She is a firm believer that a rising tide lifts all canoes.