B.C.’s Most Influential Women 2017 | The Mentors Group 3

As their mentees can attest, these leaders are staunch friends and allies. In fields ranging from finance and law to science and visual art, they mentor formally, informally—and selflessly

Maria Issa

Clinical associate professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UBC

Mentorship roles: Established a mentoring program as president of the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SWIST)

Shout out: “When you have a mentor, I think it’s important that they’re willing to share the good and the bad, not only tell you the good stories about what they’ve done that went well. Maria has a wealth of experience. She’s been in research her whole life and worked in male-dominated environments. She’s gone through things that have been tough, and she’s made mistakes as well, and she’s very open in talking about it.” –Christin Wiedemann, current president, SWIST

Catriona Jeffries

Owner and director, Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Vancouver

Mentorship roles: Advising artists on developing their international careers

Shout out: “Other artists always ask me how Catriona works, because she’s successful and no one knows how she does it. Everyone asks what a studio visit is like and they wonder if we get into cahoots about what will sell or what people want or what size it should be. And the important thing to me is that we don’t go there; we don’t go into product development. We never talk about reception or what people are going to think; we talk about what I’m trying to get out, make manifest. And she’s trying to form some language around that scenario. When she’s talking about work with me in the studio, it’s always the potential work’ it’s not the actual work. We’re not talking as curators—we’re talking as a pair of inventors.” –Liz Magor, artist, Vancouver

Fiona Macfarlane

Managing partner, BC, and chief inclusiveness officer, EY Canada, Vancouver

Mentorship roles: EY mentoring program

Shout out: “Fiona is genuine, open and candid in her coaching, especially during difficult conversations—that’s something I value a lot. By sharing her own experiences, she often provides context and perspective that are important to considering different angles of a problem, and coming to a really good solution.” –Louisa Lun, senior manager, assurance practice, EY, Vancouver

Sarah Lubik

Lecturer in entrepreneurship and innovation, Beedie School of Business; director of entrepreneurship, SFU

Mentorship roles: Teaching and advising; Venture Connection, SFU’s early-stage business incubator; Invention to Innovation graduate certificate program; Young Entrepreneur Leadership Launchpad (YELL) program for high schools

Shout out: “It’s nice to have somebody who’s objective but is also there to support you and listen to you and give you their honest advice and opinion. Sarah is a straight shooter. If she thinks that you’re thinking about things all wrong, she’ll get you going in the right direction without telling you exactly what to do….She’s the perfect example of somebody who was meant to teach and to lead others.” –Lauren Watkins, marketing manager, Pinshape Inc., online 3-D printing community and marketplace, Boston

Lois Nahirney

President and CEO, dnaPower Inc., DNA testing and coaching firm; and SkinDNA Canada Inc., developer of skincare products and DNA testing kits, North Vancouver

Mentorship roles: We for She: Championing the Next Generation; Women’s Enterprise Network; through alma mater Ivey Business School, Western University; Junior Achievement

Shout out: “She’s always asked the questions that are more guidance-related. She’s never been authoritative. She’s really been a coach and a problem solver with me. We’ll talk several different scenarios through from beginning to end—how she sees things shaping up from the different decisions I can make.” –Stephanie Bruckner, director of market research, Scientific Games Corp., gaming and lottery products and services provider, Las Vegas