Social Impact
Leadership that moves more than careers forward.
At WNORTH, we believe leadership is about more than individual achievement. It is about the opportunities we create, the voices we amplify and the people we bring forward with us.
Over the last 12 years, through our partnerships and community, we are proud to support organizations creating greater opportunity for women and girls, developing confidence in the next generation and demonstrating how leadership can be used as a force for positive change.
One Girl Can
Creating opportunity, one woman at a time
Since 2016, WNORTH has proudly supported One Girl Can and its mission to create opportunity for girls and young women in Kenya through education, mentorship and training.
At the heart of our partnership is a commitment to education. Through One Girl Can, WNORTH have sponsored young women throughout their university journeys, helping remove financial barriers and creating greater access to opportunity.
For us, this partnership has always been about more than tuition. It is about investing in the potential of a young woman and the ripple effect that investment can create for her family, her community and the women who come after her.
Ann Njoki Githuki
One Girl Can University Scholar · Class of 2022
Ann was WNORTH’s first university scholar through One Girl Can. WNORTH supported her throughout her university education as she pursued her studies and developed a passion for technology and coding.
In 2020, Ann’s journey came full circle when she joined the WNORTH Virtual Conference, bringing her voice and perspective to a global community of women leaders. During her final year, she shared her ambition to begin a career as a developer and even envisioned creating a digital platform to support future scholarship recipients.
“All these I have and can achieve through your help. I do not take this for granted.”
WNORTH Founder Heather Odendaal & Ann Njoki Githuki at Hemingways Nairobi where she works in the IT Department, February 2026.
Nancy Njoki
One Girl Can University Scholar · Class of 2026
Today, WNORTH is proud to support Nancy as she completes her university degree in Economics and prepares to graduate in December 2026.
As Nancy looks toward the next chapter of her career, she is already thinking about how she can create opportunities for others. In a recent letter to WNORTH, she shared that receiving support for her own education has inspired her to one day help students who may not otherwise have the financial means to pursue theirs.
“I also aspire to give back in the same way you have invested in me.”
Nancy Njoki is studying Economics and is graduating in December 2026.
The Ripple Effect
Education creates opportunity. Opportunity creates possibility. And when one woman uses that opportunity to open a door for another, the impact multiplies.
Ann and Nancy represent two individual journeys, but also something much bigger: our belief that progress isn’t only about how far we rise, but who rises with us.
BeaYOUtiful Foundation
Confidence starts long before the boardroom
WNORTH is proud to support the BeaYOUtiful Foundation and its work building confidence, self-worth and belonging in girls and non-binary youth across Canada.
Founded by Taylor Hui at just 17 years old, BeaYOUtiful provides free confidence and mental wellness programming supported by a growing community of women mentors. In 2026, BeaYOUtiful joined WNORTH as a charity partner of our annual Conference in Whistler, bringing an important intergenerational perspective to the conversations taking place in the room.
Our work at WNORTH focuses on women growing their leadership, careers and impact. Our partnership with BeaYOUtiful is a reminder that leadership begins much earlier — when a young person learns to trust their voice, recognize their potential and believe in what they can become.
Showing the Next Generation What’s Possible
When Taylor Hui took the WNORTH stage in 2026, she challenged the leaders in the room to consider the young people watching, learning and becoming because of the examples they see around them.
It is a powerful reminder of the responsibility that we have as leaders to show the next generation what’s possible.
Virgin Unite
Changing business for good
WNORTH’s partnership with Virgin Unite brings together two communities that share a belief in the power of leadership, human connection and business to create meaningful change.
In December 2025, WNORTH and Virgin Unite presented the inaugural North of Now Summit at Virgin Group’s headquarters in London, brought together leaders and changemakers for conversations spanning purpose, workplace culture, technology, sustainability and the future of leadership.
The partnership has also brought leaders from across Virgin and Virgin Unite into the WNORTH community, creating opportunities to exchange perspectives across borders, industries and sectors.
North of Now represents an important evolution in the WNORTH journey: expanding the conversation beyond how women advance as leaders to how we can use our leadership, influence and organizations to create a more positive impact on the world around us.
The Impact we Create Together
From a young woman accessing a university education in Kenya, to a girl in Canada discovering confidence in her own voice, to established leaders reconsidering the impact they can create through business, we believe leadership has the power to create a ripple effect.
At WNORTH, progress isn’t only about how far we rise, but who rises with us.