Michelle Williams-Lorde Michelle Williams-Lorde believes it’s not the end goal of a degree or a job that counts; it’s how she is able to live her life in a way that does right by other people. Williams-Lorde, professor at the Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law and Director of the Indigenous Black and Mi’kmaq Initiative (IB&M), received the Women of Excellence award in the education and research category. “Quite honestly, the first thing that went through my mind was that there are so many people who have done so much more than I have done. I am appreciative, but there is more that needs to be done that I should be doing. It is very humbling,” says Williams-Lorde, who is hopeful her students and alumni will eventually be recipients of this award.
Williams-Lorde’s biggest hope for the future of the IB&M Initiative is that it is able to keep access to legal education open. She would also like to see racial discrimination abolished not only in legal practice but worldwide.
The IB&M Initiative will celebrate its 150th graduate this spring and Williams-Lorde believes that it is what program graduates choose to do with their education that will bring about positive change, and she is confident the graduates will continue her fight.
“I’d like to see, and do my part to create a city, a province, a country, a world where our children do not have to put up with negativity. That they be valued for who they are and the gifts they bring to the world.”
Despite her numerous accomplishments, Williams-Lorde says she is most proud of her relationships with friends and family.
Williams-Lorde says her desire to help others comes from the experience of racism in Nova Scotia and seeing how it impacted her family, friends and community. Her research on restorative justice in the African Nova Scotian community largely stems from these experiences.
“At the end of the day, this stuff, you don’t take it with you,” she says as she gestures to her office. “It’s really about relationships and mutually encouraging each other to do our best with where we are in each of our lives. We each have our own trail to blaze and it’s our life’s work to blaze that trail, at the same time remembering those who were before us, encouraging those coming behind and encouraging others who are blazing their trails in different ways.”
Laurissa Manning The home page of Laurissa Manning’s Core Essentials website reads: “One of the greatest moments in life is realizing that two weeks ago your body couldn’t do what it just did.” For Manning’s clients, this feat can be attributed to her dedication to providing them with unique fitness training and nutrition. Winner in the entrepreneur and innovation category for the Women of Excellence award, Manning’s approach to fitness and nutrition is a special one. As a youth, she was overweight and did not participate in sports. “When I hit junior high, I started going to the gym with my mom. It became something that I just really enjoyed doing for myself,” says Manning, who opened Core Essentials in 2009 and now believes that fitness is a lifestyle change as opposed to a quick fix.
Manning says the most important aspect of Core Essentials is the community environment. “One of the goals I had when opening Core Essentials was that I would know every person’s name when they walked though the door. For me, that’s the least you can do for someone who is investing in your company and believing in you as well. Think about how good you feel when someone calls you by name. Even if they don’t know anything else about you, they know your name and that means something.” Community isn’t the only way Manning has differentiated Core Essentials from larger gyms. Her studio offers RealRyder bikes, which lean 18 degrees in each direction, as well as rowing machines filled with 19 litres of water. The gym also holds a 100-minute Century Bike Ride every month that benefits youth sport.
“For Core Essentials it’s important to try and stay current and do what’s important for our clientele. Winning the award let us know we’re moving in the right direction,” says Manning, who comes from a family of entrepreneurs. “I’ve always been taught if you do something that you love you can be successful at it,” says Manning. Although she puts in a lot of hours every day, she loves training clients and other fitness professionals. “The most important thing to me, if you are going to open a business, is make sure it’s something you’re passionate about. Then do your research. You can be passionate about anything, but make sure it’s viable, that it’s something people want or that you can make it into something people want.
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