Advancing Equitable Entrepreneurship Opportunities| Rochelle Ignacio | Action through Connection
Channel: PolicyWise for Children & Families
Date: 2023-10-31

This keynote address for PolicyWise for Children & Families’ event “Action through Connection” was given by Rochelle Ignacio.

Titled, “Advancing equitable entrepreneurship opportunities,” Rochelle spoke about advancing equitable entrepreneurship opportunities through her grassroots community-based experience in building Feed the Soul Dining Week and Black Owned Market Edmonton.

Rochelle Ignacio (she/her) is the Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement, a learning institute focused on solving major community challenges including ending poverty, building youth futures, building belonging and addressing climate change. Rochelle brings a diverse range of experiences to her work including a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology, an Occupational Health and Safety certificate, growing up in rural Alberta, and work experience across a broad range of sectors and roles.

Rochelle is committed to community organizing, creating opportunities for Black mobility, and belonging through projects such as Feed the Soul Dining Week, which spotlights Edmonton’s Black-owned food and beverage businesses, and the former Black Owned Market Edmonton which created economic opportunities for Black business owners.

In her spare time Rochelle loves to indulge in international travel, snowboard, camp, connect with friends and family (over food), and spend time with her cat Marlo.

Rochelle is the recipient of CIBWE’s Top 100 Black Women to Watch in Canada (2022), Edify Magazine’s Top 40 under 40 award (2021) as well as the African Caribbean Community Leader of the Year award (2020).

For more information regarding Rochelle's portfolio, check out enidrosecollective.com, feedthesoulyeg.ca, or Rochelle Ignacio on LinkedIn.

“Action through Connection” was an interactive day of workshopping grassroots-informed program and policy solutions to support women’s employment and entrepreneurship. The event took place on October 27, 2023, and connected community leaders and change-makers working across many different sectors.

To learn more about this event, visit https://policywise.com/action-through-connection/.
PolicyWise for Children & Families works to enhance practices and policies that support the health and well-being of children, youth, families, and communities. Known for our commitment to engage broadly and inclusively, we collaborate with many partners, such as Indigenous communities, social profit organizations, academia, and every level of government.

We continue collaborating with the social profit organizations of all sizes, building bridges between lived reality, research, policy, and practice. Though this work, we can come together to make wise decision and innovative actions that are accountable to the community and our partners.

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