
As mothers, we have been forced to make some tough decisions over this last year. Many of us had to unexpectedly add full-time teachers to our resumes, and/or had our daycare and caretaker services taken away, and even put our careers on hold. The pandemic completely abolished in-person events, mommy meet-ups, networking drinks, coffee dates, and more that acted as crucial support systems.
Read the full article on WellDefined.

Heather Odendaal is an accomplished Canadian entrepreneur, brand builder, and event producer whose experience in corporate environments inspired her to create and co-found WNORTH, a global organization dedicated to the development of women mid-career on a trajectory towards senior executive leadership.
Read full article on Billion Success

Attendee engagement may be the single most important component of any event—and those efforts shouldn’t end when people walk out the door. And in the expanded world of virtual and hybrid events, the possibilities for year-round engagement are even greater. When attendees aren’t limited by location, the door opens to new options for content sharing, ongoing mini events and podcasts, creative networking opportunities and much more.
Read full article on BizBash.

It’s time to stop hosting FREE events: As I mentioned above, only half of attendees will show up for an event if they didn’t pay for it. At the beginning of the pandemic, so many businesses (including my own) wanted to support people as much as they could with free content. The truth is, that the events industry is one of the HARDEST hit industries and it’s time that we start to value our efforts by charging, even if only nominal or by donation.
Read the full article on Authority Magazine.

Adapting your community outreach to a digital platform is a must nowadays.
If I were a fly on the wall to my own chat with Heather Odendaal (CEO and Founder of the WNORTH Conference), I would have a chuckle. See the picture right above this post? That is Heather and me (the author of this post) talking virtually about a virtual event which covers topics on how to work in a virtual world amidst COVID-19. That is a tongue twister, go on try saying that three times quickly. Read More

The positive impact of an event can reach far beyond its attendees, says co-founder of female leadership conference WNORTH.
Heather Odendaal is the co-founder and CEO of WNORTH, a global community of women aiming for or already part of senior leadership. It’s annual conference is held in Whistler, Canada.
At a time where everything is changing at a rapid pace, so many conversations that I have been having lately have been around the next chapter. “What will my legacy be? How will we create change in a way that impacts generations to come?” Read More

In the 2020 BizBash Best Canada issue, we named the top 250 event professionals in Canada. Here’s a spotlight on one of them.
Why a leadership conference just for women?
We created WNorth to address an underserved need for leadership development to encourage more women to step into senior executive leadership roles. Women are seeking community among other driven and ambitious women and there are unique challenges that they face on their journey to C-suite. Read More
5th annual global gathering of women to take place at Nita Lake Lodge,
April 10-12th, 2019
WHISTLER, B.C. October 30th, 2018 – The WNORTH Conference team is excited to announce the participation of six world-class female leaders to its fifth edition, taking place in Whistler, BC next April 10-12th, 2019. Alison Desir, Amy Nelson, Barinder Rasode, Celeste Burgoyne and Dr. Lois Nahirney will each take the stage to share experiences, challenges and defining moments that shaped both their business and personal paths. WNORTH is a boutique-style conference focused on providing a forum for women who are aiming for, or already on, a senior executive leadership track.
For the fifth edition, Heather Odendaal, Co-Founder and CEO of WNORTH, really wanted to offer a line-up of speakers with diverse professional backgrounds: ‘Leadership opportunities can come in many ways, shapes or forms. This year’s Conference theme is “Colour Our World” and will highlight the importance of diversification, creativity and modernization in the workplace and our role in making these advancements. As women our challenge is often to recognize and to grasp them’, said Odendaal. ‘I’m thrilled to announce this first round of speakers; each of them demonstrates that no matter what your field is, from sports to sciences to marketing, leadership opportunities for women do exist and they are diverse, now more than ever. I know our conference attendees will be inspired by these six incredibly accomplished speakers, and hopefully the event will act as a springboard to elevate themselves both professionally and personally’, she concluded. Read More