19Leadership When Push Comes to Shove
Allison Venditti is the founder of Moms at Work, Canada's largest organization representing working mothers. She is a Career Coach & Human Resources Expert with over 15 years of experience creating programs, policy and change for companies and individuals. She is a fierce advocate, thought leader, and a champion for her community.
(Highlights from our interview, recorded June 22, 2023.)
BEFORE LEAVING CORPORATE AND FOUNDING Moms at Work, my expertise was in HR and disability management. At 33, I suffered a brain injury and spent two years away in recovery. When I was ready to return, the company wrote me off. They literally wrote me a letter telling me I was unemployable, always a great motivator for someone like me. I began coaching, and most of my clients ended up being moms; I had little kids, they had little kids—we just got each other. As my clients grew, I realized they needed each other more than my coaching; they needed a network. I wanted to make a broader change, to create more than a company or industry-based group. No matter where you work or your title, you belong with us. My goal is to help everyone make more money, get a better job, and build a professional community. At Moms at Work, we guarantee we're supporting you, helping to change companies, and working systematically to make legislative changes.
Creating a network takes a lot of time. Our collective is currently capped at 350 people, including many non-moms. I stopped ...