Meet Our NLOWE Board

Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs Board Members.

Supporting women business owners with insightful advice, training events, and ample opportunities to grow their business.

Caroline Watton

Caroline Watton

Board Chair

Caroline Watton is a leading business lawyer with McInnes Cooper in St. John’s. She provides strategic legal advice to start-ups, SMEs, and large corporations, assisting business owners, partnerships, and corporations on a wide range of corporate matters, including incorporation, corporate structuring, reorganization, mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, asset and share purchases, commercial leasing, and corporate governance and shareholder matters.

Charlene Brophy

Charlene Brophy

Avalon Director | Vice Chair

Charlene Brophy is President and CEO of FONEMED. For 20 years Charlene’s dynamic leadership style has resulted in stellar company growth domestically and internationally. Charlene led the development of Fonemed’s Health Management Platform embracing technology as a means of providing scalable, sustainable, and accessible care.

Charlene has been the recipient of seven Business Excellence Awards from The St. John’s Board of Trade, awarded the CBC Innovator of the Year by Atlantic Business Magazine in 2017, recognized in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 as a Top 50 CEO and in 2021 she was inducted into the top CEO Hall of Fame. In 2020, Charlene was also awarded the NLOWE Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

Under her leadership Fonemed was selected as one of the 10 best US Healthcare Solution Providers by Industry Era in 2017. She has authored and co-authored multiple publications and abstracts and has been a recognized speaker at the American Academy of Telemedicine Conference and other international events.

In addition to her business commitments, Charlene has a profound sense of community. She supports and is an active board member for several non-profit organizations and is a member of two government innovations advisory councils.

Denise Goodyear

Denise Goodyear

Past Chair

Denise Goodyear is president of Intuitive Media, a company which takes a more imaginative and accountable approach to digital marketing and media buying. She’s happiest when meeting new people, building relationships, and helping small businesses grow through marketing management, digital strategy, advertising, and training.

An award-winning marketer, Denise began her career in media sales, but developed a deeper passion for marketing and communications strategy, spending nearly a decade as a partner in a successful agency before branching out completely on her own. To build on her marketing education, Denise successfully completed the Digital & Social Media Program at Memorial University in 2019 and has nearly 20 years sales and marketing experience with various organizations and businesses throughout the province.

She’s an active speaker on entrepreneurship and marketing, bridging the gap between education and industry, and working to provide the tools and knowledge owners and managers can put to work in their businesses. When she’s not working, Denise is an active volunteer and mentor, lending her time and skills to organizations such as Futurpreneur Canada, CHBA-NL, NLCA, and others, in addition of course to NLOWE.

Peggy Bartlett

Peggy Bartlett

Central Director

Peggy Bartlett is president of Bartlett Enterprises Inc., a private consulting and business investment Company in Grand Falls–Windsor. Peggy was the franchisee of McDonald’s Family Restaurants in Grand Falls- Windsor, Gander and Lewisporte from 1991 to 2012. 

Peggy has served on and continues to serve on numerous Business and not for profit Boards.  She is a long time Community volunteer and advocate.  Peggy currently serves on the Boards of The Status of Women Central, Gander International Airport Authority, Grand Falls House Foundation, The Innovation and Business Investment Corporation (Gov’t NL);  and The Independent Appointments Commission (Gov’t NL). 

 Peggy is passionate in working to advance issues of female equality, women in business and sustainable business growth.  She believes that mentorship, community engagement and sound business practices lay a strong foundation for growth and success. Peggy is a graduate of the General Hospital School of Nursing and Memorial University Community Health Nursing program as well as the Small Business Management Program at the college of Trades and Technology.

Luanne Dominix

Luanne Dominix

Eastern Director

Luanne Dominix is the assistant director of Canadian Training   Institute, located in Bay Roberts. Canadian Training Institute is a certified training college that provides residents of Newfoundland and Labrador necessary training to enter the commercial driver and heavy equipment fields since 1993. They also offer safety seminars to the public including Power Line Hazards, Traffic Control Person, Transportation of Dangerous Goods, Trenching, Air Brakes, and WHMIS.

Luanne graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies (Architecture) in 2013 and received her Master of Business Administration from Memorial University in 2017. She has been volunteering with Junior Achievement since 2016 and has won several awards throughout her academic career, including Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies in 2017 and the Dr. Robert W. Scholarship for Social Responsibility in 2017.

Shelley Hodge

Shelley Hodge

Labrador Director

For over 10 years Shelley Hodge Interiors Inc. have been offering professional design services including Wedding Planning, Event Design and Interior Design to clients from Labrador, Newfoundland and Atlantic Canada.

 Shelley completed her diploma of Interior Design from Sheridan College and started her company in 2004, offering Interior Design Services as a home based business. The business quickly grew into a brick and mortar home decor and giftware store in 2009. Shortly after the company began to offer wedding and event design under the umbrella of Inspired Events, which has become the main focus of Shelley Hodge Interiors Inc today! Some of Shelley’s achievements include: Certified wedding planning with Wedding Planners Institute of Canada, accredited event designer with IWed Global, 2017 finalist for Wedding Floral Designer of the Year and WPIC Wedding Awards. 

Jacqui Winter

Jacqui Winter

At-Large Director

Jacqui has more than 25 years’ experience within HR management, project coordination, communications, consultation, training, labour relations, industrial/provincial benefits agreements, community development, stakeholder engagement and socio-economic impacts. Her industry expertise spans the heavy industrial environment, construction, oil and gas, mining and non-profit sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Memorial University, as well as a Masters Certificate in Project Management.
Jacqui received the 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year Award – Momentum through NLOWE and Top 50 CEO in 2020 and has grown a business that is apt to successfully leverage opportunities for growth.

Sharon Evans

Sharon Evans

Western Director

Sharon Evans, Owner and Operator of Seva Meditation  is an energetic, dynamic all-inclusive type of person who passionately believes in equality for all human beings.  Blessed to have been born a woman, and surrounded by other women supporting and encouraging them to embrace their greatness!

A  team player who continues to draw women closer to each other by educating, inspiring, supporting and motivating women towards their personal best. Attributes developed through education, training and genetics enable a style of  work life, personal life and social life that spreads encouragement, understanding and the necessary splash of humor to all! A diverse portfolio enriched in education and experience and equipped with many work and volunteer involvements that greatly benefit NLOWE and the community at large.

A Graduate from College the North Atlantic, Business Administration. Graduate, Community Health, Safe and Practice  and Environment, UNB, UFR. Trained in Transcendental Meditation, The Global Country of World Peace, Maharishi Institute. Primoridal Sound Meditation Instructor Certification with The Chopra Center University, CCU Carlsbad, California. Selected for 2018 Canada’s Wise 50 over 50. 

Wendy Taylor

Wendy Taylor

At-Large Director

Wendy Taylor is an Outreach Officer for Public Services and Procurement Canada. She is a part of the Atlantic Region team which assists private sector suppliers in taking advantage of government procurement opportunities and promotes the Build in Canada Innovation Program. This program buys and tests innovative products in government departments.

Wendy graduated from Memorial University with a diploma of Business Administration and completed the public sector leadership and management development program. In addition, Wendy has been recognized for 35 years of service from the Government of Canada and has also won the National Managers’ Community NL Region Managers Award.

Jennifer Bessell

Jennifer Bessell

Chief Executive Officer | Ex-Officio Board Member

Jennifer is the chief executive officer with the Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs. Jennifer is an accomplished senior leader in the non-profit sector with extensive experience in both professional associations and charitable organizations. She has held executive director roles in both professional legal education and with the Canadian Bar Association as well as executive positions with the Association for New Canadians locally and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada nationally. Jennifer has a demonstrated ability to lead and motivate teams with a people first approach to leadership. She is an executive who enjoys and is motivated by program and finance management.

Jennifer is currently the Vice-Chair of the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC), volunteers with Junior Achievement of NL, is a board member with Women in Science and Engineering Newfoundland and Labrador (WISE-NL), and is a member of the Women Presidents Organization (WPO). Jennifer is passionate about lifelong learning and helping others achieve success in their professional endeavours. She considers coaching and mentoring a responsibility of leadership. As such, Jennifer is driven to help women and youth realize their potential and be successful in their journey as entrepreneurs.

Contact NLOWE:

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1.888.NLOWE.11

58 Glencoe drive, Suite 102

Mount Pearl, NL A1N 4S9