03/18/2025

Digital Disruption - Jade Parkinson-Gayle

Welcome to The UpNext Podcast with your host, Zola Mirenge! Brought to you by The ForUsGirls Foundation, this digital storytelling series amplifies the voices of diverse, young, and emerging global leaders from our community. In today’s episode, we’re joined by Jade, a dedicated former volunteer, facilitator, community development worker, and community counsellor at ForUsGirls Foundation. Since joining in February 2019, Jade has played a key role in supporting community members through initiatives like the YGL Accelerator program. She’ll be sharing her journey with the organization, the impact of her work on young leaders, and her vision for the future of ForUsGirls. Tune in for an inspiring conversation! Hosted and Produced by Zola Mirenge Sound Mixed & Edited by Zenga McCurdy Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay. To learn more about the ForUsGirls Foundation visit www.forusgirls.org

03/04/2025

Future Innovators - Sandra Moerch

Welcome to The UpNext Podcast with your host, Zola Mirenge! Brought to you by The ForUsGirls Foundation, The UpNext Podcast is a digital storytelling series dedicated to amplifying the voices of diverse, young, emerging, and global leaders from our community. In today’s episode, we are joined by Sandra Moerch, who served on The ForUsGirls Foundation Board of Directors from 2018 to 2019 and contributed to the A NEW REALITY: Tech Summit in May 2019. During our conversation, Sandra shared how she first got involved with ForUsGirls, her experiences and learnings as a Board Member, and her hopes for the future of the organization. Tune in now to hear Sandra’s inspiring journey and her vision for empowering the next generation of leaders! Hosted and Produced by Zola Mirenge Sound Mixed & Edited by Zenga McCurdy Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay. To learn more about the ForUsGirls Foundation visit www.forusgirls.org

02/25/2025

Global Catalyst - Felicia Sangare

Welcome to The UpNext Podcast with your host, Zola Mirenge! Brought to you by The ForUsGirls Foundation, The UpNext Podcast is a digital storytelling series dedicated to amplifying the voices of diverse, young, emerging, and global leaders from our community. In today’s episode, we’re joined by Felicia Sangare, a former member of the ForUsGirls Foundation’s Board of Directors (2018-2019, 2019-2020) and a contributor to the NEW REALITY: Tech Summit in May 2019. Felicia is a human capital management professional with a background in Economics, Politics, and Project Management. Born in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, Felicia’s journey spans continents—growing up between Central/Eastern Africa and Western Europe before moving to Montreal, Canada, for her studies. Her career path is just as dynamic, having worked in various roles (volunteer, intern, employee, and entrepreneur) across several sectors, including legal and fintech. As a passionate advocate for women and youth, Felicia has dedicated much of her time to volunteering with organizations like the YMCA, Frontier College, NCS Solution, and more. In 2021, she returned to West Africa, where she now serves as an HR Consultant and Head of People at Djamo—the first francophone sub-Saharan African fintech start-up backed by Y Combinator. At Djamo, she leads HR, Talent, and Regional Business Expansion for the WAEMU and Global teams. Join us as Felicia shares how she first became involved with ForUsGirls, her experiences on the Board of Directors, and her hopes for the organization’s future. Tune in now to hear Felicia’s inspiring story of leadership, community impact, and global growth! Hosted & Produced by Zola Mirenge Sound Mixed & Edited by Zenga McCurdy Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay. To learn more about the ForUsGirls Foundation visit www.forusgirls.org

02/18/2025

Black Girl Magic Healing - Christhina Mattis

Welcome to The UpNext Podcast with your host, Zola Mirenge! Brought to you by The ForUsGirls Foundation, The UpNext Podcast is a digital storytelling series dedicated to amplifying the voices of diverse, young, emerging, and global leaders from our community. In today’s episode, we’re joined by Christina Mattis, the Project Coordinator for Black Girls Healing Through Wellness. Christina’s work on this impactful program provided mental health support and therapeutic workshops for Black teen girls navigating challenges brought on by the pandemic lockdowns. Through this wellness initiative, safe spaces were created for Black girls to learn healthy routines and emotional management tools to cope with stress, anxiety, and sadness. During her time with the ForUsGirls Foundation, Christina also played a key role in community outreach, fostering connections between the organization and important community stakeholders. Join us as Christina shares her journey to the ForUsGirls Foundation, the transformative impact of the wellness program on its participants and leaders, and her inspiring vision for the future of the organization. Tune in now and be inspired by Christina’s story of healing, empowerment, and community-building! Hosted & Produced by Zola Mirenge Sound Mixed & Edited by Zenga McCurdy Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay.

Season 2 Trailer

UpNext Season 2 Trailer

ForUsGirls is turning 10! 🎉" Since 2015, The ForUsGirls Foundation has empowered over 10,000+ Black and racialized young women, girls, non-binary youth and families across Canada, the U.S., and Jamaica. Now, in Season 2 ofUpNext: Emerging Leaders, we’re looking back on a decade of impact—featuring the voices of the advisory team, dedicated members, and visionary executives who helped bring this mission to life. Join us every Tuesday as we reflect on the milestones, challenges, and triumphs that shaped the past 10 years—and uncover what’s next in our mission to uplift the next generation of bold, fearless leaders. 🎧 Subscribe now and be part of the journey. To support our organization, please visit www.forusgirls.org/donate to contribute to our impact. Hosted and Executive Produced by Zola Mirenge. Edited and Mixed by Zenga McCurdy Music from Pixabay

05/16/2024

UpNext Ep.6- Care with Love with Keziah Oduro

Today, we are happy to welcome Keziah Oduro, a biomedical science student at the University of Ottawa and a proud participant of the Emerging Young Global Leaders Accelerator program 2020 North American edition. She enjoyed very much the 10-day accelerator program with extensive deliverables on entrepreneurship, leadership, and community development and empowerment. Keziah was greatly motivated by the keynote address of Canada's Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Youth, Honourable Minister Bardish Chagger @ Bardish Chagger. Seeing women of colour holding this important position in the cabinet serves as a great inspiration for young girls like Keziah to trust their abilities to make a difference in the world. As a teenager who has lived experience in the foster care system, Keziah cares greatly for this particularly vulnerable community in our society. She saw that many young people in the foster care system struggled to connect with their cultural roots, causing talack of a sense of belonging. She also noticed that the population is often underserved by the educational system, ignoring the particular psychosocial needs of the youth with often unstable living conditions. This is why Keziah wants to create a program for kids in the foster care system to connect with their culture through special activities such as a cultural appreciation day for all. This will provide the youth with opportunities to learn about their culture and possibly make connections with other members of the community. She plans to reach out to schools and community organizations to implement this program in the future. Want to support Keziah in her project? Listen to this week’s episode: Love with Care with Keziah Oduro. Available on Spotify This episode was hosted by Echo Jiang. It was edited by Zola Mirenge and engineered by Zenga McCurdy. Music by ⁠⁠Jonas⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠Pixabay⁠

05/09/2024

UpNext Ep.5- Discover the Inner You with Shantal Perez Vasquez

This week on UpNext, we had the pleasure to talk to Shantal Perez Vasquez, an emerging young leader who is a passionate advocate for mental health issues, especially the mental health issues of people of colour. She is also another thriving participant of this year’s Emerging Young Global Leaders Accelerator program North American edition. The YGL program gave her a lot of inspiration and supported her to continue to unapologetically be her true self in both professional and personal settings. Through the personal branding workshop provided by Danica Nelson, she was reminded of the importance of strong self-awareness in finding a space to feel heard and valued in the world. At the end of the 10-day accelerator, she created a business pitch for the “Inner You” Project. This project aims to provide a safe space for students from underprivileged schools to improve their mental and emotional health. Shantal recognized the lack of resources and funding in underprivileged schools and communities and their negligence of students of colour’s mental health. By organizing workshops for students on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and creative self-help methods, she wishes to provide them with practical tools to connect with themselves and become more aware of their emotions. Shantal shared with us her view on mental health and the inspirations she got from her own healing journey. She believes that mental health awareness and resources are crucial for the development of kids living in unprivileged neighbourhoods. This will support them to better manage emotions and gain more understanding of their inner self. Regardless of your socioeconomic status, everyone deserves their own healing journey. Learn more about Shantal and her project by listening to this week’s episode: Discover the Inner You with Shantal Perez Vasquez. Available on Spotify. This episode was hosted by Echo Jiang. It was edited by Zola Mirenge and engineered by Zenga McCurdy. Music by ⁠⁠Jonas⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠Pixabay

05/02/2024

UpNext Ep. 4- Code for Change with Aliyah Qayum

Who’s UpNext? Aliyah Qayum! She is a participant in the Emerging Young Global Leaders Accelerator program 2020 North American edition. She is also someone who is passionate about coding and empowering women through technology. Having coded three apps in the past years, Aliyah wishes to take on her next endeavour to tackle the important issue of period poverty. She believes that all women and girls in the world should have access to sufficient sanitary products to fulfill their basic needs. It was surprising for her to find out that so many women and girls don’t have access to sanitary products due to poverty, causing them great inefficiency in participating in daily activities such as going to school. Aliyah plans to launch an app to help in solving this issue. This educational trivia app will donate sanitary products to local women’s shelters for every correct answer to questions about period poverty. All the profits from the advertisement will also be used to ensure that sanitary products can be provided to those who need the most. How did Aliyah find out about this program? What was her most valuable session? Is there any way you can help her to make this project come to life? Learn more about Aliyah and her experience by listening to this week’s UpNext episode: Code for Change with Aliyah Qayum. Available on Spotify. This episode was hosted by Echo Jiang. It was edited by Zola Mirenge and engineered by Zenga McCurdy. Music by ⁠Jonas⁠ from ⁠Pixabay

04/18/2024

UpNext Ep.3- Crushing the Walls with Ashley Hall

It’s time for UpNext! This week, we had the pleasure to speak with Ashley Hall, a participant in the Emerging Young Global Leaders Accelerator Program 2020 North American edition. 17-year-old Ashley said that she took a leap of faith when she signed up for the YGL program and was thrilled to be immersed in this inspirational and supportive environment of the 10-day accelerator program. She describes herself as someone who has an ambition brighter than the stars. She told us that the YGL program helped her to gain a more comprehensive perspective on entrepreneurship. Not only did the YGL program support her in alleviating the current business strategies of her brand, but it also inspired Ashely in her future personal and professional development journey. She was inspired by the professionals and her fellow participants in the program as they introduced fresh perspectives to her world. One of the most memorable moments for Ashley was when she bravely stepped out of her comfort zone and delivered the business idea pitch to all other participants in the program. This experience helped Ashley to gain more confidence in herself and her pitch idea. She wants to support black and brown girls in receiving the quality education they deserve. What to learn more about Ashley and her journey at the YGL program? Dive into this week’s episode: Crushing the Walls with Ashely Hall. Available on Spotify. This episode was hosted by Echo Jiang. It was edited by Zola Mirenge and engineered by Zenga McCurdy. Music by Jonas from Pixabay

04/05/2024

UpNext Ep. 2 - Unforgotten Stories with Tawheed Musa

Welcome back! In this week’s episode, we welcomed Tawheed Musa, a participant in the Young Global Leaders Accelerator Program Spring 2020 Kitchener, Waterloo edition. Through the YGL program, she was able to elevate her passion for storytelling to “Spoken Savior”, a digital storytelling initiative revealing the unspoken stories of women and girls in Kitchener, Waterloo. Tawheed shared her journey participating in the YGL program and how Aminka Belvitt has impacted her life as a mentor. She also voiced her opinion on the Black Lives Matter movement and the definition of a great leader. Are you excited to learn more about Tawheed and her storytelling initiative “Spoken Savior”? Listen to our podcast now! Available on Spotify.

11/10/2020

UpNext Ep.1 - Walk The Talk with Janani Shivakumar

Hello and Welcome to UpNext! Brought to you by the ForUsGirls Foundation, we strive to amplify the message of emerging young community and global leaders who have participated in ForUsGirls programs. For our first episode, we talked to Janani Shivakumar, a former participant of A NEW REALITY Tech Summit for Girls. She is the founder of Girls Play Global, an international non-profit organization that aims to increase opportunities for underprivileged girls in rural areas to participate in sports at their local schools. Inspired by her experience participating in the A NEW REALITY Tech Summit for girls in 2018 and 2019, Janani started Girls Play Global last year at the age of 14. Not only she is an emerging young leader, but she is also an advocate for multiple global issues, including gender equality, animal rights, and climate change. In this episode, Janani shared her personal stories as well as how she built her organization in support of female professionals who she sees as role models. She also talked about her journey to become an advocate and how everyone should fight for the things they hold dear. Listen to Janani’s story now on the UpNext podcast! Available on SoundCloud

UpNext: Emerging Leaders

Episodes

Digital Disruption - Jade Parkinson-Gayle

Future Innovators - Sandra Moerch

Global Catalyst - Felicia Sangare

Black Girl Magic Healing - Christhina Mattis

UpNext Season 2 Trailer

UpNext Ep.6- Care with Love with Keziah Oduro

UpNext Ep.5- Discover the Inner You with Shantal Perez Vasquez

UpNext Ep. 4- Code for Change with Aliyah Qayum

UpNext Ep.3- Crushing the Walls with Ashley Hall

UpNext Ep. 2 - Unforgotten Stories with Tawheed Musa

UpNext Ep.1 - Walk The Talk with Janani Shivakumar

Trailer

UpNext Season 2 Trailer

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