The EPICentre Team was proud to partner with the US Consulate General office in Toronto in launching the second Entrepreneurship NetworkHER event on Thursday, January 19, 2023.

We were fortunate to collaborate with a world-renowned keynote speaker, Edie Hand, a businesswoman, media personality, filmmaker, international author, mom, and founder of Women of True GRIT.

Edie Hand kicked off the event with a video as part of her series featuring Lakeisha Hawkins, who is spearheading a mission with NASA to send the first person of colour, and woman to the moon. GRIT stands for “Great Resilience is Transformative” and in Edie’s message to the world, she also uses the symbol of a pearl. Women go through many irritations in life and work that create strength and GRIT to then emerge as a pearl. Edie said, “When faced with difficult challenges, we must find the lioness within us and tackle them with pearls on and swords up”.

Attendees were invited to come dressed in their favourite accessory or hat to celebrate the many roles we must take on as entrepreneurs and as women. Although the event discussions were in a virtual space, the evening had the good energy to welcome new connections, share stories, uplift one another, and celebrate the achievements of incredible women entrepreneurs. We were also joined by several of our past American female founders featured in our 2022 Entrepreneurship SpeakHER series.

Edie’s upcoming book, Women of True GRIT, will be released on March 7th, 2023. EPICentre has collaborated with Leddy Library and have pre-ordered copies to be available for students to check out in March! Edie has also partnered with Sinclair Broadcasting of Birmingham, Alabama to share Women of True GRIT Vignettes on the air broadcasting monthly. To view some of these segments, click here.

 

In case you missed the event, and need a sprinkle or sparkle of inspiration, check out the recording: Entrepreneurship NetworkHER Session Feat. Edie Hand | Woman of True Grit.