the broken typewriter

Fort St. John

This year’s Spark Women’s Leadership Conference – Rockstar Moves – aims to help women find and tap into their greatness, according to Samantha Warren, Spark Sponsorship Committee Chair.

“Greatness comes from the courage to push through fear and doubt, and grow in confidence and assurance. It is in pushing through the uncomfortable and scary spaces, that we hit our stride. There is no around, there is only through,” said Warren. “And this year’s conference will help you identify your greatness and activate it.”

This year is the 10^th Anniversary of the Spark Women’s Leadership Conference, and marks a return to an in-person format, post-Covid.

Warren is glad to be back in a live conference setting. “There is an energy to a live conference that can’t be replicated virtually,” she said.

A decade ago, Spark started as a discussion about the need for professional development opportunties for women in the Peace Region. That discussion sparked a program that has benefitted 2,300 attendees since 2014, over 90% of whom are from the Peace Region.

“By supporting the women of our communities by increasing their capacity, it benefits our businesses, non-profit organisations, and our communities as a whole,” Warren said.  

Spark does this by building an environment of women supporting women, as well as mentoring relationships. It provides information specifically tailored to women on a wide variety of topics from technical skills to leadership development.

Spark 2023 will be a hybrid (in-person and live-stream) one and a half day event, packed with sessions, including Communicating with Confidence and Credibility; Overcoming Self-Doubt; and How be to an Agent of Change and Fast-Track your Career.

Councillor Trevor Bolin said that he is proud that Fort St. John is home to such an opportunity for women. “I think a lot of people could learn from what you’ve done.” Mayor Lilia Hansen, who serves on the Spark Committee, is looking forward to the conference, and noted that men can also attend. Before declaring the week of May 15-19 Spark Women’s Leadership Week, she added that the early bird deadline for registration is April 17. Go to https://sharingthespark.com for more information and to register.