13 Apr Meet our founders

Q & A With Wise Women Canada Founders, Lisa Brookman and Liz Wiener

Q: What is Wise Women Canada?

A: Wise Women Canada is the initiative of best friends, psychotherapist Lisa Brookman and educator Liz Wiener. With a passion for helping others, they’ve created an online community with the goal of supporting and empowering women to reach their fullest potential.

Q: Both of you have a background in other fields – what was it that brought you together to venture into the world of blogging?

A: Not only are we best friends, but both of us have backgrounds in the helping profession and decided to consolidate our strengths to build Wise Women Canada, a lifestyle blog that shares advice, wisdom and stories designed to educate and inspire with a focus on mental health issues and advocacy. It was important to us to create an online sisterhood where people could go to feel understood.

Q: What does Wise Women Canada aim to achieve?

A: . Everybody has a story to tell and we can all relate in one way or another. We want to be the voice of Canadian women and share those stories and learn important lessons from them. Through our blog, we create a digital “safe space”. We often tell our readers to think of Wise Women Canada as a conversation between friends over a cup of coffee. It feels safe and comforting.

Q: What topics does Wise Women Canada talk about? 
A: We cover topics such as mental health, family, motherhood and wellness. Anything that matters to Canadian women is fair game.

Q: What are some challenges you face as a career woman – personal or professional?

A: We think the biggest challenge has been getting over that mommy guilt. We’re juggling so much, but we want to be present for our families. They always come first. We both work hard trying to find the balance between work and family life.

Q: How do you overcome these challenges?

A: It’s not always easy, but there are a few things we have in place in both of our homes. Having dinner as a family is one of those things. At least a few times a week, we make sure to sit down together (without our phones!) to talk and reconnect after a busy day. We do take advantage of those phones, though, as a way to keep in touch with our kids during the day. There’s nothing like a lunch-time “I love you!” text!

Q: And so, what are some of the ways that you juggle work-life balance?

A:  We both believe that practicing self-care is key. We love to do yoga, exercise, read and journal – anything that helps recharge our batteries. Girls’ nights and date nights with our husbands are also important. Sometimes you just need a break from work and motherhood to reconnect with the grown-ups in your life!

Q: It sounds like down time is an important part of work-life balance.

A: Absolutely! Making ‘me time’ is something that we work hard to practice every day. It’s so important to make sure that we take a piece of the pie for ourselves to help us replenish. When you take care of yourself, you’re much better able to give to others.

Q: What are some of the workshops and events you’ve participated in?

A: We’ve both been very active in speaking publicly. We recently participated in a panel discussion for Bell Let’s Talk about the perception of mental illness in the media. We’ve also been part of several women’s empowerment events, focusing on wellness and overcoming adversity. We also run our own workshops with a focus on embracing our vulnerabilities, setting goals, and practicing self-compassion. We believe in sharing our own experiences with honesty and authenticity and embracing our vulnerabilities.

Q: What are the long-term goals for the Wise Women Canada brand?

A: We’re excited to continue sharing our message with audiences across Canada and look forward to partnering with brands that share our philosophy.

Q: What do you want people to know about WWC?

A: We can learn, grow and thrive because of or in spite of our successes and challenges in life