She Builds: Stories of Immigrant Women Entrepreneurs

This event will feature a screening of the film How She Dares by McGill alumna Zoonie Nguyen followed by a panel discussion of women entrepreneurs who will share their experiences building their businesses in Canada. After the panel discussion, there will be cocktail food and networking.

This event is a collaboration between the Desautels EDI team, the Laidley Centre for Business Ethics & Equity (LCBEE), and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Initiative in recognition of International Women’s Day. How She Dares is a documentary that follows the extraordinary path of Zoonie Nguyen, a Vietnamese-Canadian who went from being a war refugee to a corporate powerhouse and finally embarked on an unplanned, transformative journey to connect with and amplify the voices of female entrepreneurs around the world.

Date: 19 March 2026
Time: 5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Location: Armstrong building, Room 365/375

Agenda

5:00-5:10 - Welcome and opening remarks by Dean Yolande Chan

5:10-6:07 - Movie screening

6:07-7:00 - Panel discussion

7:00-7:30 - Networking

Speakers

Zoonie Nguyen, B.Eng'89 Owner/President Groupe Talentelle Inc.

Hala Scandar, CEO of Dandarah

Shauna Callender, Co-Founder Speaker-Box.Online

Moderator

Joy Bennett, MBA'06 Senior Philanthropic Advisor, Desautels Faculty of Management

We are proud to announce that our event has been awarded a Gold Sustainable Event certification by the McGill Sustainable Events program run by the McGill Office of Sustainability.