Introducing FFIL Alumni Leads: Spring 2024 Cohort
We learn from those ahead of us.
We support and amplify those around us.
We uplift those behind us.
This essential mantra guides our programming and how we approach building our community.
The Movement51 Financial Feminism Investing Lab (FFIL) isn’t your typical online course for this reason. This five-week early-stage investing program is community-driven and runs through the foundations of becoming a confident investor… AKA a lot of valuable information.
So, to help create a safe, welcoming, and non-judgemental environment ideal for learning all this information, who better to help guide the incoming group and foster that space than past participants of the program themselves?
What Are FFIL Alumni Leads?
Alumni leads are select former FFIL graduates who help foster a supportive and inclusive environment where new and seasoned lab participants can come together to learn, grow, and support each other on their financial and investment journeys.
First introduced last year to enhance the program, the leads has been a fantastic way to break down complicated topics, ask questions, build connections, and rely on a trusted peer in a smaller group setting.
Learning as a community has a number of impactful benefits, so we’re thrilled to create more avenues to be able to closely connect and support one another on the journey to becoming an investor.
With a lot of content and the quick pace of the course, alumni leads guide their learning pods by:
Meeting weekly for at least 30 minutes to work through a few guiding questions
Acquiring and sharing knowledge as working through the course material
Sharing their learnings with fellow course participants
Connecting with others on the same journey!
Meet the Alumni Leads for the Spring 2024 Cohort of FFIL
So without further ado, get to know the alumni leads of the spring 2024 cohort:
Gurleen Gill
Gurleen spent the last 5 years on the investment banking team at National Bank Financial, most recently as an Associate covering the energy industry. Completing the FFIL in Fall 2023 provided Gurleen with invaluable wisdom as she navigated making her first private early-stage investments, and she is passionate about supporting other women as they navigate their own learning journey.
Lian Barkema
Driven by a passion for innovation, Lian has harnessed her academic background in biological sciences and business management to empower science and tech startups in grant reporting, communications, and project management. She is thrilled to reconnect with the Movement51 community as an Alumni Lead for FFIL Cohort 7!
Rebecca Evans, CPA, CMA
Rebecca is a Financial Executive with over 15 years of leadership experience in scaling and growing teams across tech, manufacturing, food and agriculture, and the energy sector. Spending her formative years in French-speaking West Africa, she is passionate about cultivating sustainable growth, advocating for greater equity and inclusion of underrepresented communities, and actively promoting financial literacy within her own network. Based in Calgary and currently enjoying a mini-career break, Rebecca is an outdoor enthusiast and is keen to hit the hiking and biking trails in the surrounding mountains this summer.
Tonia Djogovic
Tonia is a senior strategist at ATB Financial focused on enhancing client journeys. With a human-first mindset and a background as an educator, she is driven to make a transformational impact on product and service innovation in the financial services sector. She is also a 2023 FFIL alumni.
We are thrilled to have Gurleen, Lian, Rebecca, and Tonia step up to foster a supportive and inclusive environment where both new and seasoned lab participants can come together to learn, grow, and support each other on their financial and investment journeys.
Thank you for playing a prominent role in our community and representing the words Movement51 holds close: “We learn from those ahead of us. We support and amplify those around us. We uplift those behind us.”
Feeling FOMO about missing out on this FFIL cohort? Keep an eye out for upcoming program dates, and join us in the next session!
