Our Team | AWE

Meet Our Team

Board Of Directors

Jennifer Lonergan, PhD, Founder

Jennifer Lonergan, PhD, is the founder and Executive Director of Action for Women’s Empowerment (AWE), formerly Artistri Sud. Dr. Lonergan has worked with small producers and producer groups in over a dozen countries in the global south.

With over 25 years’ experience in the field of education, 15 of those working in social innovation and fair trade, she leads the development of impactful programs and curriculum. As a buyer for fair trade and ethical wholesale and retail markets in North America—in particular, for the boutique she owned, Artistri—and in partnership with international development organizations in the US and Canada, she has helped support artisans’ efforts to generate revenue by capitalizing on their strengths to meet the needs of a fast-paced marketplace. Jennifer has a PhD in women’s history and twenty five years’ experience in education and curriculum development, both critical tools in her efforts to build capacity among women to meet market needs while supporting cultural heritage preservation. For more about Jennifer, watch her TEDx talk, Dare to Care.

Sébastien Cadorette, Chair

Sébastien Cadorette, Past Chair of the Board of Directors, is a Human Resources professional experienced in transformational and international projects, and specifically in mergers and acquisitions. He enjoys connecting inspired people and teams and developing high-performing organizations. Through his multiple travels to South America, he has witnessed first-hand the barriers many women faced in accessing employment and basic income. Passionate about improving the wellbeing of disadvantaged communities, he was inspired to join Artistri Sud to contribute to the economic empowerment of women and building sustainable communities. Sébastien holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montréal.

Mariel Langlois, Vice Chair

Mariel has over 9 years of experience in strategic advisory. As ESG Manager at Millani, she accompanies a broad range of public and private companies, as well as institutional investors, in their ESG integration journey. Prior to joining Millani, she provided strategic support to companies in the social impact and sustainability sectors, working with clients based in South Africa, France, the UK and Canada. Mariel began her career working at leading international advertising agencies, supporting Fortune 500 clients based in Canada and the US in the development and launch of marketing campaigns, from creative design to media strategy.

Mariel has a B.Com. in Marketing and International Business from Concordia University, and an MBA from McGill University.

Mariapaz Pajares, Board Member

Mariapaz is a finance and sustainability leader with a strong commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment. She currently serves as Director of Operations at the Sustainability Academic Network, where she leads initiatives to connect global researchers in the field of sustainability. Mariapaz is also the co-founder and CFO of UMA Artesanías, a social enterprise that supports over 400 women entrepreneurs in Peru through stable income generation and access to new markets. With an MBA from McGill University and a background in economics and financial planning at Peru’s leading private bank, she brings over 7 years of experience in strategic planning, impact measurement, and stakeholder engagement.

Nikolas Shymko, Board Member

Nikolas is a Toronto-based lawyer at Berkow Youd Lev-Farrell Das LLP, where his practice focuses on commercial litigation, arbitration, and professional negligence. He brings to AWE a deep commitment to international development and cooperative work, shaped by years of experience engaging directly with beneficiaries in East Africa, Asia, and Central America. Nikolas previously served on the Board of Directors of Venture 2 Impact, where he was Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee. In that role, he drafted and assisted with the implementation of internal policies and provided strategic oversight for the organization’s initiatives focusing on bridging the business-technology divide for historically marginalized entrepreneurs. His work is grounded in a passion for gender equity and economic empowerment, particularly for female entrepreneurs. At AWE, Nikolas contributes experience-based insight to support the organization’s mission and long-term impact in advancing women’s economic empowerment globally.

Rima Hindo, Board Member

Rima Hindo is a lecturer in Accounting and Audit at McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies and brings over three decades of international experience in finance, audit, and education. She holds an MBA from the Kellogg Schulich Executive Program, a Graduate Diploma in Public Accounting from McGill, and a BCom from Concordia. A Chartered Accountant since 1985, Rima has worked in Canada, the UK, and the Middle East, holding senior roles in financial institutions and Big 4 firms. She has led initiatives in securitization, audit quality, and privacy, and has taught at universities across regions. Rima contributed to Accounting by Hongren (Pearson, 8th Global Edition) and was a columnist for an international travel magazine. Passionate about mentorship and cultural engagement, she ran a businesswomen’s mentoring group in Saudi Arabia, served on the IMA Riyadh board, and co-founded Metamode Institute, a Toronto-based think tank. At AWE, Rima offers strategic insight shaped by her professional, academic, and cross-cultural leadership experience.

Polina Gamayunova, MBA

A visionary professional, Polina’s career is marked by a dedication to leveraging her expertise and knowledge for the greater good. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a deep-rooted passion for understanding human behavior and cognition, and later pursued an MBA to complement her skills with a strong business and financial acumen. In the non-profit sector, she cultivated a profound understanding of philanthropy and the power of strategic partnerships. Her commitment to making the world a better place led to a series of increasingly influential roles where she spearheaded transformative projects and successful fundraising campaigns. Currently serving as the Director of Strategy and Operations at an impact investing firm, Clear Skies Investment Management, she is responsible for ensuring that the firm's investments are not only financially sound but also generate a positive societal and environmental impact.

Our Advisors

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Grace Yang, CFA, MBA

Grace is passionate about helping people see the light in themselves so that they can feel freer to unleash and express their innate talents and gifts.

She has produced and curated several TEDxMontrealWomen events and has coached many people through the WILDFIT 90 Day Challenge. Grace previously worked as a portfolio manager at CDPQ Capital and held the position of Associate Director at Scotia Capital Markets. She holds a CFA, an MBA from Ivey Business School and a Computer Science degree from UWaterloo.

For the last two decades, Grace has actively pursued a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual parts of ourselves. She is currently engaged in the activities of the IRESOI, whose main mission is to elevate collective consciousness. Her most influential teachers have been: Cristallin Toullec - IRESOI; Byron Katie - The School for The Work; Eckhart Tolle - School of Awakening; Dr. Shefali - Awakened Heart, Year of Manifestation, Free to Be; and Tony Robbins - Date with Destiny, Unleash the Power Within.

Milla Craig

Milla Craig is a leading expert in the field of sustainability and sustainable investing. Milla is President and CEO of Millani Inc., an independent advisory firm helping investors integrate ESG issues into their investment decisions, companies communicate their material ESG issues to investors, boards of directors understand their ESG responsibilities and capital markets participants create their proprietary ESG strategies. In addition to her consulting experience, Milla has over 15 years in institutional equity sales and has held roles with BZW Canada, the Royal Bank of Canada’s RBC Dominion Securities and Scotia Bank. Milla is the Co-Founder, Vice-President and Past President of the Finance and Sustainability Initiative (FSI), and has been a member of the Montreal chapter’s Executive Committee of the International Women’s Forum (IWF), where she chaired its Water Initiative, the Shared-Value Committee of the Women Investing for Impact (WIFI), and the Advancement & Advisory Council at McGill University’s Social Economy Initiative. She has been a faculty member of McGill University’s CSR Executive Education Program and a guest lecturer at McGill University’s Continuing Education Sustainable Investing Program and Concordia University’s Corporate Social Responsibility MBA Program. Milla has sat on the advisory boards of EcoFixe Technologies and Concordia University’s DOCSE/SAMCON Sustainable Real Estate Advisory Board, and is currently a board member of the Responsible Investment Association (RIA) where she is the Chair of its Nomination Committee. She is Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Finance and Sustainability Initiative of Finance Montréal. Milla is recipient of the 2017 Clean16 Award, and in 2020 was awarded Montreal’s Y Foundation Women of Distinction Award, in the Business & Entrepreneurship category.

Advisory Board of Women Participants

As part of its program design and curriculum development process, AWE benefits from the advice of a selected group of students/members of the cohort also participants in AWE’s training programs. This participatory process assures that participants’ specific needs and realities are reflected the training. In 2025-2026, the following women are members of this Board.

Ketti Chisi

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Edna Mwale

Juliet Chula

Lead Trainers

Program Director, Lead Trainer

Fred Schick

Fred Schick is a trilingual international development professional with over 15 years of experience working with marginalized communities. He holds a Master's degree in Ecological Economics from the University of Edinburgh and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Boston University. He has trained over 800 adults, primarily indigenous women, in entrepreneurship across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Vietnam. He has also managed more than 150 international and American volunteers, specializing in English teaching, agroecology, and community development in Ecuador.

Fred is Program Director of AWE (formerly Artistri Sud) and has been the Lead Trainer since implementing our pilot project in Bolivia in 2013.

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Country Director, Vietnam

Kristina Babić

Kristina Babić is an education professional with 7 years of experience teaching and designing programming for diverse populations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Ethnology and a Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from Belgrade University.

Kristina is AWE’s Country Director in Vietnam, where she has been designing curriculum, facilitating capacity-building programs, developing partnerships and managing projects in since 2018.

Team AWE

Lead Curriculum Designer

Ariadna Camargo,

MA Education

Education specialist with over 10 years of experience designing learning experiences and developing educational materials in various contexts. Ariadna has been designing programs with AWE since 2019.

Development Officer

Madeline Zerbey

Maddie graduated from McGill University in 2022, where she studied Political Science, Economics, and Hispanic Studies with a focus on women’s social mobility and capacity-building. Currently working at an energy startup supporting the transition to clean fuel, she is passionate about building a better future for all through research and education.

Interpreter & Ecuador Project Coordinator

Ana Cuesta

A skilled interpreter and translator with a background in education and nonprofits, Ana has supported AWE’s work in her native Ecuador since 2019.

HR Consultant

Jennifer Augustin

I have been working in talent acquisition for nearly 4 years across various industries, where I have developed expertise in this field. I hold a master’s degree in Human Resources and a bachelor’s degree in Finance.

I chose to get involved with Action for Women Empowerment because I'm convinced of the importance of promoting women's empowerment worldwide. Contributing to creating an environment where women can reach their full potential and thrive both professionally and personally is a mission I am passionate about.

Ecuador Project Logistics

Adriana Lara,

MBA

Business professional with over 10 years’ experience in sales and marketing roles, including digital marketing. Adriana has been managing AWE (formerly Artistri Sud) projects in Latin America since 2016.

Curriculum Development

Fatima Khan

Fatima is a PhD candidate in Education at McGill University with over 7 years of experience as an academic researcher in the field of education with a focus on international development and education in emergencies. Fatima has supported the development of curriculum and been designing AWE’s training manuals and materials since 2013.

Accounting

Ange Solange

Ange currently serves as an accounting Clerk for Groupe Mach Inc. She is a holder of a DESS in Business Administration from the University of Douala. Born in Cameroon, she moved to Quebec and is also a proud mother and wife.