We serve leaders, equality champions and diversity and inclusion professionals with quality content, capacity-building, and strategy- and program-design support.
Women’s Work Institute leads equity-focused projects and #solveathons, while Sum Strategy facilitates #solveathons, strategy and program design for sector, association and organization challenges.
our mission
To connect the dots between equality, effectiveness, and prosperity.
our vision
We envision a world where all people enjoy the freedom to pursue their passion and achieve their full potential, where women are valued equally.
OUR VALUES
EQUALITY
EMPATHY
CANDOUR
COURAGE
THE TEAM
DR. KRISTEN LIESCH
Co-Founder, Strategist
(she/her)
Co-founder and co-CEO of Women's Work Institute, Kristen is a strategist and educator with 15 + years of experience designing transformative curricula, implementing equitable process changes, and capacity-building programs to support the design of more equitable organizations in Canada and New Zealand. Her unique academic background informs her methodology as a strategist and consultant working to advance equity. Combining practices and theories from the social sciences, education, and interdisciplinary humanities, Kristen supports leaders as they work toward cultivating more equitable, effective, and prosperous organizations.
Kristen has a PhD from the University of Auckland and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta. She is also the Founder and Principal of Blue Switch Consulting Inc.
ANNA DEWAR GULLY, MRES
Co-Founder, Strategist
(she/her)
Co-founder and co-CEO of Women’s Work Institute, Anna is an organizational strategist with 15 + years of experience designing enterprise-wide strategy, transformation initiatives, and building greater equality in large systems and organizations in Canada and the UK. Throughout her career, Anna has guided numerous Boards of Directors, CEOs, and senior leaders through complex organizational culture, policy, and strategic change initiatives. She has also coached frontline, management, and senior staff in a variety of contexts on how to successfully navigate and advance progressive change.
Anna has a Masters of Research Degree (MRes) in Public Policy and Management from the University of London (Birkbeck) and a BA from McGill University.
celecia partap
Vice President, Brand Marketing
(she/her)
VP of Brand Marketing at Women’s Work Institute, Celecia is a journalist turned brand marketer, passionate about storytelling that creates business changing results. Celecia develops strong credible brands and communications strategies, producing high impact marketing and public relations campaigns and leading teams from concept to execution. She’s obsessed with building strong teams who are inspired to innovate and create amazing campaigns and content that’s useful and effective for the end user. Celecia is fuelled by her passion for understanding the nuances of cross-cultural marketing. Her hunger for knowledge and determination to turn information into action has contributed to her most recent success and industry awards at TSC (The Shopping Channel) and the YMCA.
Celecia has a Certificate in Strategy from Schulich School of Business, York University, a Certificate in Integrated Branding from the CMA, a BA in Communications from the University of Winnipeg, and a Diploma in Journalism from Red River College.
Sophie odgers
Digital Content Manager - intern
(she/her)
With a journalism background, Sophie finds it important to be contributing to greater social cohesion and the betterment of the world around her. She has always been passionate about stories that underline the complex institutional inequality that exists around us, both structurally and socially. Focusing on the structural is what brought her here.
Sophie will graduate with a BA in Journalism from Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning January 2020. She plans to start her Master’s Degree in the fall of that year.