Alchemist &
People Leader
I believe in:
Power through collaboration
peaceful ingenuity
Our relationships to each other are paramount and the reason for being here.
I believe in people and their stories and that honest living is the cornerstone of our purpose.
We have a calling to be kind and to support each other with love and to create cultural environments that demonstrate justice, empowerment and equality.
my life fuels my purpose
I create circles of leadership not ladders and spaces of independence and community that honour our impact and nourish our purpose.
I believe and practice the path of creating safe spaces for honest human experiences to flourish and bloom. I build strong flexible robust environments/communities that celebrate people’s talents, support their dreams, and spark creative curiosity. I believe in truths and stories that form our unique beings. I ignite fires of justice and I stand up strong.
MY MISSION
to learn and to love, to grow and create.
to be of service and to move through life with love.
to bring more love into people’s lives through honest connections
The only thing that matters is how we are with each other.
Lead with love
Hold out a hand in kindness
Celebrate honesty
Be curious
MY WORK
Director of Operations
25 years+ of retail and operations management experience at all tiers, local and global.
15 years+ of leadership leading unique and diverse teams large and intimate
10 years+ leading operations, developing operating systems, processes, vendor relationships and executing the opening of physical locations
Developed profoundly successful coaching tools and programs for leaders
Designed hiring and training practices that prompted cross functional community based work environments with high accountability and productivity
Developed and delivered multiple series of SOP manuals, operational and logistical systems
10 years+ of assessing teams and systems and unsticking them
Served as a powerful liaison between departments to create systems that benefited the overall goals of the organizations while celebrating the individual
Created safe spaces and environments for teams to flourish
ME
I am a mother to an awesome human.
I am a bike rider, outdoor and urban adventurer.
I am a story collector. I love bike riding, collecting images and connections. I was raised in a creative family driven by justice.
Working in operations and retail over the course of my career has connected me to hundreds of incredible people.
I’m truly inspired by people. I’m very passionate about my relationships.
I embrace grit and hard work.
I’m committed to learning and growing. I’m curious and excited about life. I believe that our greatest gift is living our truth. I am a truth seeker.
As I grow community.
My community grows me.
Leyah is truly a leader who cares for people’s past, present and future. Her attitude towards people is genuine and fiercely positive.
I remember well our first long conversation together because she went out of her way to make me feel welcome and supported. I can’t help but smile when I think about how she makes others feel at their best. Leyah has been a positive force in my life and someone I know I can always trust to lean on for support.
It was an incredible experience to have worked in a team that Leyah led at Toronto Arc’teryx.
I got hired, trained and led by her, and her leadership is unlike others. Her honest and caring leadership taught me how to build a strong team working environment where people feel safe, and consequently, they perform their best. She is very keen on offering opportunities to people to cultivate their skills and knowledge, which I feel grateful for especially considering how young most of our team members were in their career development.
She truly embodies “people first” leadership. It has been and will be a legacy to my work ethics.
Truth, tenacity, and leadership. Leyah begins with the "why" and delivers on her goals through any adversity.
Her ability to collaborate with cross-functional partners and build a community around brand is inspiring. I had the pleasure to work with her for over 3 years and we opened many new markets that all exceeded their KPIs. Whether you are creating a brand strategy, motivating a team, or delivering a customer obsessed experience…Leyah would be the leader to get you there!
Leyah is a natural leader whose success derives from her people-centred approach to building and leading collaborative, high-achieving teams.
She nurtures the strengths in every member of her team and creates inclusive, creative, and open environments that encourage people to want to be accountable to one another. Simply put, Leyah improves every community she is a part of.
Leyah may very well be one of the most loving and passionate humans that I have had the pleasure of working with in my time at Arcteryx.
Not only is Leyah about getting the job done, she is about bringing the people around her with on that success journey. Leyah embodies that great quote " ....if you want to go far, go TOGETHER" With a true passion for seeing people rise, Leyah builds great teams and fills the room with support and love, along with a big fat helping of grit and Doin'It mentality. I would choose to work with Leyah on any team, anywhere.
Acknowledgements
I acknowledge that we are hosted on the lands of the Mississaugas of the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Wendat lands. I also recognize the enduring presence of all First Nations, Métis and the Inuit peoples throughout all of these lands. As a white cisgendered woman and mother of a person of colour, I am committed to educating myself and investing in the dismantling of racist oppressive systems.
Thank YOU!
I am exceeding grateful for the support of my friends and my community, specifically these creatives for this journey and website.
Site design – Aaron Benson
Photography – Ryan Anthony
Illustrations – Nanako Iwata
Guide – Urszula Lipsztajn
