UNDERDOG TO TRAILBLAZER: BUILDING LEADERSHIP THROUGH LIVED EXPERIENCE

Underdog to Trailblazer is a powerful leadership workshop designed to help African, Caribbean, and Black youth recognize the value of their lived experience and use it as fuel for personal and community growth. Rather than seeing challenges, barriers, or setbacks as limitations, this session reframes them as sources of wisdom, resilience, and strength.

Facilitator Tenisha Noel, a researcher, community leader, and education advocate, guides participants through reflective storytelling, open discussion, and practical tools that uncover how personal history, identity, and struggle can shape powerful leadership pathways. From navigating school systems to stepping into community roles, youth will explore what leadership looks like on their own terms, grounded in authenticity rather than perfection.

Participants will learn how to build confidence, identify their unique gifts, cultivate a voice that matters, and lead with purpose in their own lives, schools, and neighbourhoods. Whether someone already sees themselves as a leader or is still discovering their direction, this workshop offers encouragement, guidance, and community support to remind them that their journey and their story have value.
This event is a collaboration between Platfrom and the Black Women’s Mentorship Project at WHIWH CHC.

The netWORKING: Young Black Women’s Mentorship Project from Womens Health in Womens Hands Community Health Center is dedicated to supporting African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) women aged 16-25 living in the Greater Toronto Area. This program offers one-on-one, career-focused mentorship, aimed at advancing personal, academic, and professional achievements while fostering safer community spaces for Black women. Key objectives include enhancing educational attainment, employability, and overall well-being through embedded communal support. Mentees engage in monthly virtual meetings with their mentors, who guide them in skill development and career planning, reinforcing self-esteem and decision-making abilities. The program also provides workshops on topics such as Afrocentric identity, self-care, mental health, and financial literacy, promoting holistic participant support.

Platform is a civic leadership platform for Black, Indigenous, and racialized young women and gender-diverse people. We’re on a mission to build leadership capacity among young Black, Indigenous, and racialized women and gender-diverse youth to advance gender equity and justice. Aligned with the principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity, Decolonization, Inclusion, and Access, our work serves to empower and support these communities in Canada.

The Civic Learning program hosts trauma-informed workshops, community healing circles, and digital literacy training, with a focus on civic engagement and safe participation in public and online spaces.

This Platform project is funded by the Rideau Hall Foundation and Catapult Canada.

Beyond the Pipeline: A Black Youth Legal Education Project is a Black youth-led project that seeks to empower young Black Girls, aged 14-22, who are negatively impacted by justice and educational systems.

This Platform project is funded by the Laidlaw Foundation and the Law Foundation of Ontario.

Info: This empowering workshop guides participants on a journey from overcoming obstacles to becoming confident leaders. Drawing on real-life stories and practical strategies, it focuses on harnessing personal challenges and lived experiences to build authentic leadership skills, resilience, and a trailblazing mindset. Ideal for youth and young adults ready to unlock their potential and lead with purpose.

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Host or Publisher WHIWHCHC