Last year was a very interesting one for Marie Renaud and she capped it off by proving herself as a business leader, as recognized by an Edmonton online magazine’s new list of influential people.
The same year that found the executive director of the Lo-Se-Ca Foundation climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and making headlines with her clash over the provincial government’s funding cuts to programs for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, The Wanderer Online named her as one of its top 100 women in business in mid-December.
The accolade took Renaud much by surprise.
“I was really happy!” she admitted, a bit befuddled at the praise. “I just read through some of the information about some of the women on that list. Wow! I was really honoured to be on that list. Some really inspiring women.”
The Wanderer bills itself as “Edmonton’s premier daily online magazine.” It offers bilingual content on business, culture, politics, sciences, sports and education. It has been online since July 2012.
Business editor Blue Knox explained that the list is meant to celebrate some of the incredible women whose leadership, community involvement and business management have “been instrumental in making Edmonton one of the greatest cities in this country.”
“The Women in Business Project is one of the biggest and most rewarding projects we've ever taken on at The Wanderer. It was a huge team effort … and we couldn't be prouder of the final project, and by extension, of our community for having such incredible inspiring female leaders.”
She commended Renaud for being so remarkable as to make it onto this list. Knox suggested that her work in the non-profit sector might otherwise have been disregarded.
“We wanted to include both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations because we recognize that though the two are very different, it requires similar skills to lead either kind of business, and both have contributed greatly to strengthening our community.”
Renaud is in charge of a $6 million organization with 130 employees, all working to assist approximately 80 people with development disabilities. Her position can be an uphill battle so she’ll take the praise when it comes, especially since it helps to further the cause, she said.
“It’s better than having a picture of us holding protest signs telling Redford her promises are broken,” she laughed. “Anything adds credibility. A lot of times you get painted with the ‘non-profit’ brush and so maybe your voice isn’t as loud when you’re talking about things related to the economy or your community. We actually do have quite a bit to offer and a lot of experience.”
“Being in a non-profit, I think people look at you as a non-profit, a charity. We just try really hard to be a well-run non-profit business … that’s ethical and smart. We’re very aware that these are public funds that we’re working with. We try to make really good decisions. I think [the honour] said a lot. It was meaningful.”
