Meet Our Team

  • From producing corporate commercials to award-winning documentaries, Kennedy has extensive experience in marketing, having co-founded two video production companies. Kennedy recently completed an MBA from the University of Alberta and is now using her communications background and storytelling abilities to promote, support, and enhance Alberta’s growing Startup community.

    As an Impact Producer, she is interested in: 

    • Enabling Canadian founders to build a network in the US market;

    • Amplifying startups on a global stage to maximize their reach;  

    • Uniting a community of women entrepreneurs across Canada to support peer-to-peer mentorship; 

    • And leveraging CWN’s connections to help founders raise & close their next round.

Kennedy Quigley
Impact Producer

Kennedy Quigley is a passionate storyteller working to aid artists, entrepreneurs, and business owners in communicating their mission to broader audiences in unique and creative ways.

  • Joanne is also the Co-Founder and General Partner of Women’s Equity Lab (WEL) Silicon Valley, an angel investment fund with the mission to increase the number of female investors in early-stage startups

    CSV is the Publisher of Disruption Magazine. With 80,000 subscribers, Disruption Magazine tells stories that would otherwise go untold. We profile disruptors in emerging industries and amplify voices that need to be heard.

    Joanne is an Advisor to startups and a Founding Board Member of CELS (Canadian Entrepreneurs in Life Science) which provides accelerator programs for startups looking to expand and raise capital in the U.S.

    Joanne hails from Alberta and has lived in Silicon Valley since 1999.

Joanne Fedeyko
CEO & Founder

Joanne Fedeyko is the Founder & CEO at Connection Silicon Valley, and the Founder of the Canadian Women's Network, a community that connects Canadian founders to an influential network of U.S. investors, mentors and executives to help them grow locally and scale globally. 

  • During her career as a journalist and writer, she spent more than six years as a reporter for the Edmonton Journal, where she was a member of the provincial press gallery. She later served as Editor of Direct Impact, the membership magazine of the largest public sector union in western Canada, before joining the City of Edmonton's communications team.

Mariam Ibrahim
Managing Editor, Disruption Magazine

Mariam Ibrahim is a writer, editor and communications professional currently based in Seoul. She currently serves as Managing Editor of Disruption.

  • With her background in life sciences, she currently works as an Associate Scientist at Entos Pharmaceuticals.Fascinated by Alberta’s startup ecosystem, Tejal joined the CSV family in 2022 where she helps founders navigate the route to Silicon Valley and helps them build relationships by leveraging CSV’s powerful investor-mentor connections.

Tejal Aslesh
Projects and Event Management Associate

Tejal Aslesh holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Alberta where she worked on a treatment strategy that used DNA-like molecular bandaids for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy.

  • Landon’s consulting company, Steele Consulting, provides fractional COO expertise, market analysis, fundraising and business development consulting. She also consults on scaling up and launching industrial and food biotech products.

    Landon was co-founder and COO of a tech-enabled mobile healthcare diagnostics company that she expanded throughout California before a successful exit. Prior to that she held a variety of technical, portfolio management and senior business development positions with Genencor, a multinational industrial biotechnology company now a part of International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF).

    Landon holds an M.A.Sc. and a B.A.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

  • Michele helps companies thrive in periods of massive scale, including fundraising, IPOs, and acquisitions. She has built teams in go-to-market, operations, and product with companies such as HelloAlice, Pivotal Software, NEO Innovation, Klick Health, and Declara. Michele is an advisor with Girls in Tech, Alchemist Accelerator, Canadian Women’s Network, and Code for Canada. She is an LP with WISDOM.VC.

Michele Perras

Fractional C-Suite Executive & Startup Mentor, LaHave.io

Michele has worked in the overlap of innovation, technology, and business for over 20 years. She is a serial entrepreneur, advisor, and award-winning product leader based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

  • Shefali’s 20+ years of expertise spans a diverse set of company environments including start-up, traditional and non-profit businesses.

    Shefali is founder and principal consultant at Lumina Consulting, a marketing and communications agency which she founded in 2016. The firm delivers effective marketing and community engagement programs for B2B and B2C clients in technology, education, healthcare and entrepreneurship propelling them to build strong digital experiences. Shefali believes strongly in the power of connection in her network to drive business.

Shefali Bhasin Billon

Fractional CMO, Partnership & Business Development Executive, Lumina Consulting

Shefali is a marketing, communications and business development executive with a wealth of experience in growing and transforming consumer, B2B and education technology brands at leading companies in the U.S. and Canada.

Landon Steele

Serial Entrepreneur & Angel Investor, Life Sciences & Health Care

Landon is an innovative senior executive and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of success spanning healthcare and biotech. 

  • A long-time cloud veteran, Karen has been helping SaaS companies grow since 2000. Passionately following the voice of the customer, she ably transforms customer insights into effective product positioning, sales enablement, and lead generation programs.

    Recently, she has published a book entitled “Stop Random Acts of Marketing” that outlines digital growth for mid-market companies, influenced by Karen’s experience in various industries. She began working for Xerox Canada Ltd. in 2000. Serving as both the VP of sales and marketing at Xerox, she understands the intricacies and best practices of both fields as few do.

    Karen earned her Bachelor of Commerce at Concordia University and attended the Executive Business Program at Queen’s University.

Karen Hayward

Managing Partner & CMO, Chief Outsiders

Karen Hayward is a Chief Outsiders Managing Partner and CMO based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She helps technology companies accelerate growth by building and executing strategic marketing programs while driving sales and marketing alignment to deliver breakthrough revenue.

CWN Community City Leads

  • Jane Crowell

    Founder & CEO, CapFi
    Halifax Lead
    LinkedIn

  • Lee-Anne Reuber

    Founder & CEO, Sekond Skin Society
    Walkerton Lead
    LinkedIn

  • Kavita Srivastava

    Senior Director, Kroll & Mentor, She Raises Capital
    Toronto Lead
    LinkedIn

  • Ranjeeta Buti

    Co-Founder & Director-Operations, WizAR Learning
    Vancouver Lead
    LinkedIn

  • Fadwa Mohanna

    Fadwa Mohanna

    Co-Founder & CEO, One37 ID
    Toronto Lead
    LinkedIn

  • Corinne Ferguson

    Corinne Ferguson

    Founder, NYX Media Corporation
    Edmonton Lead
    LinkedIn

  • Mokah Shmigelsky

    Mokah Shmigelsky

    CEO, OneCup AI
    Vancouver Lead
    LinkedIn

  • Andrea Chase

    Co-Founder & CMO, BAITS Global Inc.
    Ottawa Lead
    LinkedIn

  • Amara Wynn

    CEO, EasyVC
    Calgary Lead
    LinkedIn

  • Danielle Rose

    CEO, Ceragen

    Waterloo Lead

    LinkedIn