Even when she was a teenager, Jeboah Miranda knew that one day, she would create her own non-profit to fight for women’s rights, and that she would be a keynote speaker in the mental health space — a cause close to her heart, after losing both of her brothers to suicide when she was 16 and 17 years old.

“It was something I always knew I wanted to do, and something I knew needed to be done for the advancement of women,” says Jeboah. “Somebody needed to take on the advocacy work and take action if we want to actually bridge the inequality gap. I always felt like it was my responsibility to be part of the movement for women and the women who will come after me.”

After working in brand marketing for many years, Jeboah left her corporate career to enter the entrepreneurial world, becoming a full-time keynote speaker, while also founding a non-profit and launching a mobile app. Her national non-profit, the Jeboah Miranda Foundation, helps women ages 16-24 build their mental grit through programs and technology. Last year, she also launched Blazer, a free mobile app that allows women ages 16-24 to make friends, find and connect with mentors, and receive peer-to-peer mental health support.

In an effort to continue her push for women’s rights and bridging the gender divide, Jeboah joined the Nellie’s board in September 2022. “I’ve been on boards before, and I wanted to find one that was really aligned with my core values. Nellie’s really fit the bill: it’s a feminist organization, it’s very involved in advocacy work for women, and it has a very strong team of women leaders that I ultimately wanted to be a part of,” explains Jeboah.

“I like that Nellie’s focuses on women and children, and not just from an operational standpoint. The advocacy work is really important to me. A lot of non-profits and charities focus on operations and delivery of services, but Nellie’s takes it a step further by being involved in advocacy work and determining how to effect systemic change as part of that. That can be rare to find.”

As an aboriginal woman, Jeboah’s also excited to provide a different perspective to the board by shedding more light on what aboriginal communities need. “I think it’s really important to have that perspective included, because a lot of people who live in dire poverty are aboriginal — especially aboriginal women and aboriginal single mothers,” explains Jeboah. “I think if we’re going to help society, we need to do a better job at helping aboriginal women get more resources and support. I want to bring the aboriginal lens to the table, to have them be included in conversations that they aren’t usually included in.” She also notes that there’s not a lot of aboriginal representation in leadership roles, and she hopes to help inspire more young aboriginal women to take on these types of roles.

When she’s not busy with her advocacy work and entrepreneurial projects, Jeboah loves to travel and learn about other cultures by staying in more rural areas of the places she visits. She’s obsessed with animals (including her own dog, a Border Collie – Labrador mix named Dolce), and has also founded Pawlistic Pals, a canine nutrition company focused on manufacturing species-appropriate supplements for dogs. For Jeboah, all of her work is connected by her passion for health and wellness: “Everything for me comes back to health and wellness, whether it’s physical health or mental health, and to supporting women.”

Thank you, Jeboah, for sharing your story and for your time and service to Nellie’s.

Website: https://jeboahmiranda.ca/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeboahmiranda/