Leader of Laurier’s Women Entrepreneurship Centre honoured with The Globe and Mail’s Changemaker Award

Feb. 26, 2021
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business magazine has awarded Sara Bingham, the associate director of the Women Entrepreneurship Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, with its first annual Changemakers award.

Bingham is one of 50 emerging leaders in the business world to be profiled in the March 2021 issue of the magazine. Winners were selected by The Globe and Mail’s editorial team based on their ideas, accomplishments and impact, as determined by their nominations, subsequent interviews and reference checks. Report on Business solicited nominations for the Changemakers award in late 2020.

“It's an honour to be recognized for the work I’ve done making and inspiring change in the business world,” said Bingham. “Change is happening at many levels, with activism within our communities and in institutions when hiring and buying. Consumers are paying more attention than ever to how their goods are made and retailers large and small are responding by investing in ethical and eco-friendly production and procurement. We all have a role to play in becoming better citizens.”

In her role at the Women Entrepreneurship Centre, Bingham has helped support more than 180 women become entrepreneurs and leaders within their communities. The centre offers a variety of services for up-and-coming women entrepreneurs, including workshops dedicated to Indigenous women who are starting and growing businesses; intensive, 16-session bootcamps for women in the early stages of their ventures and social enterprises; an accelerator program providing space, mentorship and programming for women entrepreneurs; one-on-one consultations; free, public workshops; and networking events for women who want to learn new skills, network and support one another.

Outside of her role at Laurier, Bingham is the founder of WeeHands, a company dedicated to teaching babies sign language, and the author of The Baby Signing Book. She is also the founder of Feminist Founders, a support network of business founders, with chapters in Waterloo, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and San Francisco and the leader of Lean In KW, providing networking and peer support for professional women in the technology and health care industries. She is the former executive director of Women’s March Canada, a global network of activists working to defend women’s human rights.

“Sara transforms her passion and lived experience as an entrepreneur to enriching and empowering a diverse community of women to grow their own dynamic businesses,” said Melissa Ireland, Laurier’s director and interim senior advisor of Indigenous Initiatives and Bingham’s nominator. “As a member of the Women Entrepreneurship Centre (WEC) advisory team, I have witnessed such heart-warming narratives of hope and success from emerging female entrepreneurs who have grown their networks and opportunities based on their participation in WEC’s many programs, workshops and staff consultations. The WEC is thriving despite all the challenges people are working through during the pandemic. With her many gifts and talents, I trust the WEC will continue to grow with Sara’s vibrant, strong leadership.”

The March 2021 issue of Report on Business magazine was published digitally on Feb. 26. The print version will be published Feb. 27.