Entrepreneur and consultant Karen MacKenzie will share insight into how she incorporates traditional knowledge of Indigenous ways into the workplace when she\u2019s honoured during Brock University\u2019s third annual Indigenous Leader Speaker Series.<\/p>\n
Taking place on National Indigenous Peoples Day, Wednesday, June 21 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., the online event is a partnership between Brock\u2019s Indigenous Engagement Office and the Goodman School of Business.<\/p>\n
MacKenzie is the co-founder and president of MacKintosh Canada, an Indigenous-owned, international consulting company, as well as co-founder of PeopleBest Canada, an artificial intelligence company that looks at what makes success happen inside people, teams and organizations.<\/p>\n
She is passionate about advocacy work on Indigenization and decolonization.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first step on the path of decolonization is to begin thinking and acting with kindness and gratitude,\u201d MacKenzie says. \u201cThese practices lead to good relationships built on trust and respect. Relationships are the foundation of Indigenous business practices based on the notion of abundance leading to prosperity for all.\u201d<\/p>\n
MacKenzie will be joined in conversation at the event by Robyn Bourgeois, Brock\u2019s Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement. Bourgeois says MacKenzie is a shining example of Indigenous excellence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition to being a successful entrepreneur, she has taught others how to do so also,\u201d Bourgeois says. \u201cShe has advised governments and organizations about Indigenization and decolonization. Perhaps most importantly, she has formally and informally mentored so many Indigenous women, myself included, on how to be strong matriarchal leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Goodman School of Business, this event is an opportunity to help amplify the voices of Indigenous business leaders, and to hear from a leader with significant experience developing people, communities and organizations, says Dean Barry Wright.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a tremendous opportunity for our students and community to hear directly from a leader who has significant experience developing contemporary workplaces,\u201d Wright says. \u201cKaren MacKenzie\u2019s value of authentic co-creation of the future, through creating spaces for all voices to be heard in open, respectful manners, is an example for all leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
MacKenzie is a proud Cree-M\u00e9tis woman who earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Saint Mary\u2019s University and Master of Business Administration from Dalhousie University. She is an advocate for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and a senior advisor and mentor to the Indigenous Women in Community Leadership, Coady Institute at St. Francis Xavier University.<\/p>\n
This is the third-annual Indigenous Leader Speaker Series, which is supported by the D.G. Willmot Foundation and is part of the D.G. Willmot Leaders Series. Previous honourees include Mallory Yawnghwe, founder and CEO of Indigenous Box, and Jenn Harper, founder of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics Inc.<\/p>\n