The Grebel Peace Incubator Program supports peace-related start-up initiatives through mentorship, training opportunities, and seed funding in order to validate their concepts and secure sustainable funding to effect systemic change. We know that making connections with the right mentors is a crucial ingredient in the success of a start-up.
This Mentorship Circle is intended to deepen and expand the ability of the Centre for Peace Advancement to support members of the Peace Incubator program. The Mentorship Circle does not encompass all of the many individuals throughout the Centre for Peace Advancement’s networks that provide mentorship to incubator members on an ad hoc basis. Members of the Mentorship Circle gather each semester to:
- provide collective mentorship to incubator members
- distribute grants from the Centre for Peace Advancement’s Peace Incubator Fund
The Mentors:
Sean CampbellÌý
Sean Campbell is the Executive Director of Union Co-operative which builds and buys affordable apartments in À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Region. He is the Principal of Scaled Purpose, a management consultancy for non-profits, charities, and co-operatives. Sean is an instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University and a director at the Canadian Co-operative Investment Fund.
Sean holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Master of Environmental Studies at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ. Sean is a doctoral candidate at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ where he researches the governance and financial strategies of community organizations.
The Union Co-operative also used to be part of The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement's Grebel Peace Incubator.
ÌýPamela Fehr
Pam is passionate about catalyzing social change.Ìý She is currently working as an independent consultant, taking on projects that feel challenging and exciting and have the opportunity to fuel community transformation.Ìý
Pam spent ten years working with Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) with a focus on building business solutions to poverty, living and working in countries such as Nicaragua, Haiti, Mozambique, Peru and Egypt among others.Ìý After settling in À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ and building a family she spent ten years as Vice President Marketing at Kindred Credit Union where she had the privilege to lead the renaming, rebranding of the credit union and to develop their community engagement strategy.Ìý Recently Pam has been working at a systems level, seeking to create positive change in the affordable housing and children’s mental health sectors here in our community.Ìý
When she isn’t spending time trying to catalyze her four kids toward independence, you can find her on her bike riding the roads of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Region.
ÌýAngela Krone
Angela graduated from the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ (BASc, 2019) and has been actively involved in the KW tech community throughout her co-op and full-time career. She has worked on a wide range of innovative projects at start-ups and large companies and currently works on the Augmented Reality team at Google.
Angela Ìýis known for asking the right questions that help drive products forward. Specializing in human centred design and playful exploration (often through prototypes and proof-of-concepts) she has seen first hand how the power of getting at the heart of a user need can dramatically impact a project’s success. She loves to both facilitate and participate in brainstorming sessions to help find new ways to approach problems.
During her time in university, Angela was actively involved in the PeaceTech community and courses taught at the Centre for Peace Advancement, and is excited to be able to return to participate as a mentor. When not working, you can find her playing board games, frisbee, or volunteering around the community.
Kate Pearce
Kate is passionate about supporting and enabling communities to connect, make an impact, and thrive through the development of strong, trusting partnerships. She currently serves as the Manager, Social Impact at Kindred Credit Union. Through her work Kate turns commitments into action with a focus on collaboration.
Her work experiences have included supporting recreation programming for youth and young adults, community engagement, facilitation, event management, and community relations. She has worked in a variety of sectors including post-secondary, charity, not-for-profit, and corporate.Ìý
She holds a Bachelor of Recreation Management (BRM) from Acadia University, and completed her MA at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ in the department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. With a dedication to continuous growth, she has continued on her learning journey gaining insights and knowledge from her colleagues, community leaders, friends, and neighbours.
Roopa Reddy
RoopaÌýis an educator who believes in students’ potential to address problems that matter, for them and for society. She is a Lecturer at the Conrad School, with a focus on undergraduate teaching in social impact, using critical lenses. Before joining the faculty team at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ,ÌýRoopaÌýexplored models of education and social enterprises in various contexts, including in Colombia, Haiti, India, and Indonesia.
She began her career in Management consulting after graduating from the BBA/BMath program (Wilfred Laurier University/University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ), before pursuing her Master’s in International Development at the London School of Economics.
She enjoys learning languages, dabbling in creative writing, and travel - her most recent adventure involved a multi-day trek in Peru.