One of the best things about being passionate about being a youth advocate and community engager is that you get to hear and witness all kinds of stories of Canada’s young leaders doing unbelievably amazing things. It’s one of the reasons that compiling the Top Leaders Under 30 list every year has become one of my holiday traditions. Some of the things that people do to make this world better staggers me some days!

This year is infinitely different than any year. Faced with an adversity only very, very few are alive to tell us about having happened before, it has been a pretty scary situation! That being said, the outpouring of compassion, generosity and camaraderie that I have seen in Canadians is something that we all knew existed, but never to the extent that it is now on display. From running errands for quarantined/self-isolating strangers to keeping our distance & wearing a face covering to raising our voices when injustices occur, Canadians have for the most part shown why being Canadian is pretty darn good. When I noticed this all happening, I got very inspired to do provide some recognition to those out there making the world a better place in a very odd and incredibly uncertain time.

In true Youth Beyond Enterprises fashion, I am all about innovation and new ideas. I didn’t want to do just a small snapshot of what a person was all about based off of the nomination like I normally do, I wanted to showcase why they do what they do too- straight from the nominee!

Please join me in highlighting Emilie Leneveu, someone who’s name we will be seeing a lot of over the next few years I am sure (just check out that INSANE bio)! Join me in a massive round of applause!

Who is Emilie Leneveu? (bio provided by Emilie)

Emilie is an entrepreneur with a passion for equity, education and the environment. She has studied in various fields from biotechnology to design thinking, project management and marketing, giving her a unique perspective in a variety of industries. In 2018, she graduated as an advanced biotechnologist and valedictorian for Loyalist College. Emilie believes that youth representation is required at all levels of governance and that sustainable practices and intersectional thinking are key pillars to successful policy making (Rachael’s sidebar: PREACH! I believe the same things too).

An AMO Youth Fellow, a Rural Ontario Institute Changemaker and Bay of Quinte Top 30 Under 30, Emilie is a director on the Quinte Regional Science and Technology Fair Board, a member of the Centre for Workforce Development Board and a youth advisor on the education sectoral committee of CCUNESCO. She is an advocate for positive mental well-being and a speaker through Jack.org. 

Emilie is a Co-Founder of The Positivity Project and acting Marketing Director. She is equally the marketing manager for We Be Us Community and a Communications Director for a local federal riding association. She has served as a member of the Economic Development and Destination Committee for the City of Belleville and currently sits on its youth advisory committee. Formally a Social Change Specialist for Brock University and Outreach Coordinator for Let’s Talk Science. 

What Others Have to Say About Emilie:

Emilie continues to give back to the community, mentoring students in science and other facets of life. She is a daring entrepreneur with a passion for equality, the environment and education. She is a strong advocate and social media influence for positive cannabis education as a graduate of Loyalist’s post-graduate cannabis program, as well as the importance of female representation in politics.

What Emilie does and & why she does it (in her words to really highlight her passion).

I am a community mobilizer and very passionate about inclusive and intersectional outreach! When the COVID-19 outbreak resulted in social distancing response in Canada, I reached out to my networks to brainstorm and devise various strategies of digitizing our current works and staying connected to our peers.

One of the projects born from this was Social Distancing Sunday’s, a weekly live session providing updates on COVID in Canada and strategies to help cope with Social Distancing. Social Distancing Sundays have now become a brave digital space open every Sunday at noon for individuals looking to chat about COVID-19 and discuss how they are coping and resources for along the way.

More info on some of the activities and organizations mentioned can be found here:

I think it is sufficient to say that we will be hearing a lot about Emilie in the coming years!

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I am looking to feature more incredible young people under 30 across Canada who are doing wonderful things through the “COVID Kindness Series”. They can do anything at all- from “essentials” runs for their neighbour(hood), to retooling their business, to launching a business, to launching a social enterprise or helping to solve a social issue. You name them, send me their story & contact email, and I’ll reach out to them! My contact info can be found here.