TORONTO, February 27, 2020 – A federally-funded program tailored to give 54 women entrepreneurs from York Region and the Greater Toronto Area the tools and connections needed to grow their businesses will launch at an event next Tuesday, March 3.

York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton will be joined by the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade and Member of Parliament for Markham–Thornhill, along with many of the 54 women business owners who are participants in the program. The launch event will showcase how the program will help women entrepreneurs.

WHAT: ELLA launch and funding announcement

WHEN: Tuesday, March 3 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: Second Student Centre, in the second-floor conference centre, at York’s Keele campus (see #102 on this Map).

SPEAKERS:

Rhonda L. Lenton, York University President and Vice-Chancellor

Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade and Member of Parliament for Markham–Thornhill

Jenise Lee, Founder of PurPicks and CertClean, York alumna (MBA ’12)

Sarah Howe, Director of Innovation York

NOTE:

Program participants available for media interviews include a Woodbridge woman who created a mobile app to help students find jobs, a Vaughan resident who invented a unique shower cap, and a Markham woman who set up a non-profit for ALS research.

Members of the media should RSVP to the contact below.

York University champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni.

York U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, York University Media Relations, 647-654-9452, vthomps@yorku.ca