What would happen if people of all genders had equal access to financial knowledge?
The story of Movement51 (M51) begins with our sister company, The51: a Financial Feminist™ platform and venture capital firm where current and aspiring investors (particularly women and gender-diverse individuals), come together to democratize access to capital.
But the problem is aspiring investors and founders can’t come together to grow, fund, and champion the feminist businesses our world needs most… if they don’t know where to start. As is the case with so many issues rooted in economic and social inequality, the solution: it starts with education.
Founded in 2020, M51 is a non-profit educational platform created to eliminate gender disparity in financial knowledge.
Since our inception, M51 has addressed financial inequalities through innovative educational programs like the Financial Feminism Investing Lab, accessible community events, strategic partnerships with academic institutions like the University of Calgary, and like-minded non-profits, like the Canadian Women’s Foundation.
With programming that focuses on entrepreneurship and early-stage investing through a feminist lens, M51 is powering the full economic participation of women and gender-diverse people in Canada.
Our Values
Inclusivity
We ensure that every individual feels welcome to pull up a seat at the M51 table.
Insights-Driven
We listen to the numbers; our decisions are backed by data and research.
Education
We believe education is circular: we provide programming to the community, and the community in turn teaches us what’s needed to further our mission.
Building Capacity
Growing confidence in our program participants, community members and team is always a priority.
Community
As the foundation of our brand, community is authentically built through connection, trust and the belief that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’.
Did you know?
Inclusivity, Insights-Driven, and Community are shared values with our sister company, The51.
Meet our Team
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Courtney Dragani
Interim Executive Director
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Arielle Land
Director of Operations
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Emily McBride
Manager of Programs & Data
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Claudia Durkin
Founder Lab Advisor
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Kulwant Duhra
Investor Lab Advisor
LinkedIn -
Iva Kubickova
Director of Community
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Briannaa Hewtan
Director of Marketing
Board of Directors
Legacy Board Members
Alison Pidskalny
Founding Board Member & Past Board Chair
Anita Rossall
Founding Board Chair & Advisor
Salima Shivji
Founding Executive Director
Lisa Helfrick
Board Alum & Advisor
Susan Snider
Board Alum & Advisor
Katherine Martens
Board Alum & Advisor
Michelle de Souza
Board Alum & Advisor
Amie Rondeau
Board Alum & Advisor
Who is M51 for?
The statistics around women’s and gender-diverse people’s participation in entrepreneurship and investing are appallingly low. M51 was created to even the playing field — to afford people of underrepresented genders opportunities to learn about and activate their investing and entrepreneurship potential. To that end, M51 specifically targets our education opportunities to women and gender-diverse people. (For more information and definitions, see our footer!)
However, we also understand and appreciate that within gender categories there are multiple other identity factors that contribute to a person’s experience and opportunities. As a proudly intersectional organisation, we emphasize the support, and amplify the voices of women and gender-diverse people who are Black, Indigenous, people of colour, LGBTQ2+, newcomers to Canada, members of the disability community and/or belong to any other systematically marginalised or underrepresented groups.
How can we build the next generation of investors and founders? It starts with education.
Check out our collection of resources to entertain, educate, and equip you with knowledge for full economic participation as an aspiring investor, investor, or founder.