My story

As the impressive Canadian Icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent was busy mooring at the Expo site in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1998, where it would serve as a two-week centrepiece of the Canadian Pavilion showcasing Canadian Marine Technology, I was busy making sure my international network of business contacts came onboard to see what Canada had to offer. They did, and the event was a success. Troubleshooting for the prime minister in four languages on a ship in a foreign land and moving in these circles didn't always come easily for me. I was born into a "man's world," one where women were not expected to step forward with visionary ideas. When I was 12 my family had upped and moved from South Africa to Portugal, another man’s world in those days. I was soon accepted into the Royal Ballet School and shuffled off to England. After a year, and with a broken heart, I returned to Portugal too tall to continue my childhood passion. But all those hours of discipline and preparation were not to be in vain. In May of 1964 I saw a business opportunity and decided to open a model agency: the first in Portugal. It was a struggle. I was seventeen and the banks would have nothing to do with me unless my father would co-sign. He refused and said I was crazy. Crazy or not I was determined. I approached dozens of people with my vision and was turned down time and again. Then suddenly one day a friend of my mother’s told my parents, “Wendy’s not a crazy girl: she’s a talented woman.” She told them my idea was a fine one and I could count on her for support. Her name was June and her support and encouragement meant the world to me. We went into business together and called the agency “Juno.” It was more than just a model agency. It was somewhere women could come and learn how to make the most of themselves with courage and confidence. Unfortunately it was not to last. I sensed the political tides were turning and sold the business six months before the revolution of April 25th, 1974. After surviving an armed robbery I left Portugal and made my way to London with my two children. I was now 25. Rolling up my sleeves I set about building a new life. It turned out to be a life full of surprises. Within a year I was heading export missions for the British Government. Two years after that I moved to Canada and married the man of my mothers nightmares! Today, 38 years later we live on a farm near the shores of Lake Ontario and proudly boast 5 grown-up children, 5 grandchildren, two thriving businesses and this website. I’m grateful for what June did for me and have always tried to pay it forward, Over the years I’ve sat on a number of non-profit boards for the performing and visual arts, social services, economic development, environmental issues and served an 8-year term as governor of a Canadian University. I’m proud of my commendation by the Senate of Canada for “setting high standards in all her endeavours, having the deserved reputation for following through and achieving whatever she undertakes.” We all need a “June” in our lives at sometime or other. Someone who can see beyond the naysayers and the cynics. Just one person we can trust to tell us we’re okay and we can do it. That’s why thirty years later I founded this website with a mandate to give working women all over the world access to mentors, to each other, and to on-line services that will help them evolve with confidence and be truly talented women.

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