Endorsements
“Therese is one of the most dedicated, committed, loyal supporters and advocates for youth and the community. She cares about the future of her city, and has experience to back it up from entrepreneurship to non-profit to employability skills/training. She gets things done! Since I was a young student entrepreneur and non-profit founder myself growing up in Brampton, Therese has always been an ally, advocate and supporter. From non-profit fundraising events to client projects, I have always appreciated her support. I have also seen Therese mentor many youth and provide them with opportunities, training, jobs and more. She is really invested in the future. The community needs someone like Therese. The youth and young-adults of Peel Region can greatly benefit from her leadership and advocacy.”
~ Daniel Francavilla, Marketing Advisor and Brand Strategist
“Therese is a great candidate for school board trustee, as she truly understand the needs of our community. She is a connector in our community, who brings people together to support good work. She is also someone who doesn’t just talk about making change, but rolls up her sleeves and does the hard work. I endorse Therese for this important trustee position!”
~ Rohit Mehta, ED, Do Good Foundation
“Therese has been a great mentor and is always helping youth move forward. She is an advocate for the growth of Brampton and looks to empower others. Here mentorship and guidance have helped me grow as an individual and business. She has brought me to local events in Brampton, spent countless hours of her personal time advising me and she is always involved in the community. Therese is a great leader as she speaks her mind on issues and gives youth a voice through her own! I am sure as a leader she will make a positive impact as she has been doing her whole life.”
~ Aman Sahota, EI Amplified
“A true leader goes above and beyond managing people. They help the members of their team realize their full potential. A true leader demonstrates to others your ability to energize and inspire your team for the benefit of a certain program and their future. Over the years that I’ve known Therese, she has been the perfect personification of this. She helped me realize my role in society and how far I could stretch my potential. The moment I joined EmpowHER under her leadership, she has become an inspirational leader for me who pushes me to achieve my goals by sharpening my skills, she made me feel important and respected by valuing my opinions and not just by listening to them, but implementing on them and giving me a chance to make them a reality. She does not strive after fame or money, but only for the empowerment of minorities and youth in our community. My favourite thing about Therese is that she values the potential of youth and treats them with respect, inspiring us to become future leaders in our communities as well. She communicates openly and leaves no one in her team sinking behind, always pushing them to use their skills to brighten their future. She is a selfless leader who displays integrity through having ethical values in her life and promotes a vision that she inspires in others. If anyone can motivate a person and make them feel like they can still succeed even in their hardest times, it’s Therese Guidolin!”
~ Amna Rehman
“As a teacher myself, I have the utmost confidence that Therese Guidolin would create such meaningful and needed change as school board trustee. Community growth and development begins with the quality of education and programming youth receive. As someone that worked and mentored with Therese during my childhood and teen years, I have seen firsthand the dedication and passion Therese has for empowering youth to find their purpose and meet their full potential with guidance and support. Therese goes above and beyond in all the work she does, and I strongly believe she would do a brilliant job at representing and advocating for the needs of both students and their families.”
~ Valerie Paniccia, Teacher
“I was very lucky to meet Therese after joining EmpowHer in 2020. She has helped me find my place in extracurriculars even with my initial lack of experience. Therese mentored, guided and advised me on how to approach volunteerism and extracurriculars outside academics in a constructive and responsible manner. She also made time for me whenever I asked her for help on short notices and even during outside her working hours. One can truly rely on her to show up and help out no matter the circumstances. Therese always has something to offer when one reach out to her; and that could be her time and support, resources and opportunities through her networks/connections, extensive experience as a leader, or advice and guidance.”
~ Bana Hafian, 19, EmpowHER 2020-2021
“My name is Juana Singh and I am an alumni of EmpowHer. Of all that I have been fortunate to gain from EmpowHer, I am most grateful for my relationship with Therese. In no time Therese became both a mentor and a friend. Therese never hesitated to lend a helping hand, providing guidance and support in personal and professional matters. I joined Empowher in my junior year of high school, with the stress of post-secondary decisions looming around the corner. Therese helped me identify my strengths and interests to better navigate my education journey. I am now clear and confident in my route, pursuing my passion. Therese became a pillar and role model for me.”
~ Juana Singh
“As an individual consistently seeking volunteer opportunities in my community to create positive impact, I have had the privilege to connect with Therese. Her passion for supporting the youth in the community has been evident through her mentorship. She provided a platform for me to explore my interests in politics by helping me lead a political debate for a previous election, all while ensuring her priorities were to allow the youth to grow and develop their own leadership skillset. Over the course of my undergraduate experience, I have continued to volunteer with Therese through a variety of opportunities, allowing me to see firsthand how she believes that each individual is capable of great achievement. Her enthusiasm towards supporting students and her experience on various initiatives demonstrates her potential as a School Board Trustee.”
~ Megan Singh
“I met Therese a few years ago at a Grant Writing summit. We instantly connected and she provided some great advice at the time on how to push my organization forward. Ever since she has been a key supporter and contributor to the cause. Therese is a book full of knowledge and she is an expert in her field. Therese has guided me in multiple ways from Business Administration, Action planning, Grant Writing, and also program development. She flourishes in any situation and puts her heart first in all of her actions. Therese is very prominent within the non-profit and business community with a plethora of connections in different fields, you are guaranteed to find what you are looking for. Her passion for change is what is most memorable about her. She is not afraid to speak what is on her mind, and to fight for what she believes in. Therese has changed the lives of many that have crossed paths with her, and it was great to witness it all. She has been an inspiration to many, and provided a great amount of advice, and mentorship through her work.”
~ Shazard Ramjohn, ED, HOPCP
“I have lived in Brampton my whole life. The entirety of my youth exists in this city, creating a special connection between me and it. However, when comparing the two, my love for Brampton has always been greater than its love for me. Opportunities for youth are minimal, growth is easily offset, resources are limited, and there is a great lack of support. That’s what I always thought, until I met Therese four years ago. While digging for a volunteer opportunity to complete my hours and look for experience to grow, I believe that I am one of the luckiest teenagers in this city. Therese opened a door of possibilities that no one would be able to acquire alone. I was introduced to programs such as Youth 2 Action (Y2A) AND EmpowHer, given the opportunity to network with amazing, successful people in a variety of professions, many of whom were from Brampton, and had the chance to develop various skills. Youth LEaD taught me how to plan events for youth in my community specifically. I was able to voice concerns that my friends, peers, and myself have and have those concerns addressed through different events such as volunteer fairs, business panels, and a debate with members from different parties in Brampton. Through EmpowHer, I attended several workshops that helped me develop various employable skills, gave me mentors to look up to, and helped me connect to many young women in my community, something I had not been able to do otherwise. I was also able to follow Therese on a campaign trail for Student Trustee in 2018. In those months, I learned more about our government, specifically our municipal government and in the inner workings of the city more than any class in school has ever taught me. However, despite the great opportunities Therese gave me, the most important thing she taught me is advocacy. Seeing an adult so passionate about demanding more for the youth in the community made me realize the importance of advocating myself. She doesn’t care for herself, she only cares to provide women, youth, newcomers, and other marginalized communities the opportunities they deserve, the opportunities we see in bigger cities like Toronto or even the United States. She is strong, impactful, inspiring, and compassionate, I can only hope to be like her one day. If I consider Brampton the home of my youth, then Therese is the fairy godmother that helped me realize the potential of this city and aided me in becoming the person I am today. If anyone can help Brampton grow and fulfill its true potential, it is Therese Guidolin.”
~ Sahajpreet Dhillon
“I have had many experiences throughout my life, through school work, and personally. At a time when all 3 if these things seemed to collide in a near chaotic state, I was introduced to Therese and it set the onset for many changes. While I was working on myself and progressing forward slowly, upon meeting her I was able to find a stable momentum. I was constantly connected with different opportunities from web development programs, career based lessons and more somehow on-top of attending university ended up being the exact combination mixed with hard work that I needed to be able to achieve the position I’m in today as the Special Assistant to MPP Charmaine Williams. I never imagined I’d be where I am and progressing readily forward, and I surely give my respect and appreciation where it’s due. Therese is an exemplary woman and a great example for young adults like myself, especially women who work on establishing stability in their life’s. She’s also very personable and easy to speak with which makes approaching her with even personal concerns viable. She genuinely seems interested in helping people find opportunities no matter their background so that they, like her, can become future leader’s of tomorrow. Therese was a key instrument in propelling me forward at a time I was fighting to move forward and I am grateful for the opportunity to have met her, I just hope that she can do what she does best for a long time so other young individual can engage and learn alot from what she has to offer.”
~ Kadia Dabreux
“Therese is a great candidate for school board trustee, as she truly understand the needs of our community. She is a connector in our community, who brings people together to support good work. She is also someone who doesn’t just talk about making change, but rolls up her sleeves and does the hard work. I endorse Therese for this important trustee position!”
~ Rohit Mehta
“For me, you are a wonderful person ready to give your time to listen, encourage others. You always find the right words to inspire others. You are a good leader because you are a positive and encouraging person. It is so easy to see that you are passionate about what you are doing because of the time you spend on making sure that everything is running smoothly. No matter what path you take, I am sure that it will be crowned with success simply because you treat others as yourself.”
~ Christelle Deudjui, 36, 2021
“A leader is best when people barely know she exists, when her work is done, her aim fulfilled, she will say: we did it ourselves.” This is the art of leadership at its best. This is what makes a good leader. This is Therese Guidolin. My relationship with Therese goes back to my middle school age, from our very first interaction to present time, Therese’s priority to elevate youth has always been evident. I have never seen Therese take on the “boss” attitude, instead, she always leads from the back and puts younger ones in the front. Fame, recognition, credits, are not important to her, rather, growing, learning, and evolving, is what Therese values. While other leaders use people, Therese develops young people, and I am one of those individuals who have been changed by her leadership. Therese possesses a clear vision, is courageous, has integrity, honesty, humility and a clear focus. Therese genuinely wants to help people reach their goals, and this is why I want to see Therese as my [whatever you are running for]. In my mind, I see no other person fulfilling this position and I am proud to call her my [position title]. To have a natural leader, legitimate humanitarian, motherly figure, and a powerful voice all in one is rare but never impossible!”
~ Hannah Thomas, EmpowHER 2021-22
“Therese has never doubted me. She treats us with the same respect as adults while recognizing our youth. The opportunities she has provided for hundreds of individuals across the GTA do not compare to anything I have ever seen. All within a year of knowing Therese, and at the age of sixteen, I became the EmpowHer Program’s Marketing Team Lead to Youth Worker to Marketing Manager to Youth Mentor and now, Youth Coordinator of the Youth 2 Action Program – all because of her. Therese continues to assist in my journey of entering “the real world,” and is devoted to see my success evolve. She saw something in me and believed in me. Therese believes in providing youth with real experiences and challenges they need to grow that you simply wouldn’t find elsewhere. She provides these opportunities because she loves to see young people develop. She doesn’t call it “mistakes,” when there is an error, she calls it “learning.” Her leadership and initiative bring the best out of young people time and time again, and I am proud to say that any success that attributes to my name, is due to Therese Guidolin’s impact on me. She never wants the spotlight – you wouldn’t even know she is there – she wants her youth to shine. Therese is not just a leader, she is your life mentor, best friend, mother, biggest critique, and biggest supporter.”
~ Nabeeha Ahmed, 17, EmpowHER 2021-2022
“I met Therese in 2019 as a volunteer at Carabram, blindly following my best friend as she just started working there. Despite knowing nothing about what lay ahead of me outside of post secondary debt, Therese took the time to listen to my opinions, made me feel heard and appreciated. Without even me asking, she took me under her wing and helped me open my eyes. She encouraged me to join various non-profit programs and was there to help me when needed. As a daughter of two very conservative, immigrant parents I never had the exposure to the wider Canadian culture. Therese helped me meet new people, she inspired to me find something I want to do, rather than need to do. I used to love to write, however I wasn’t very good at it and a I never really had a place to put my words. However, Therese started a newsletter committee and gave me a safe place to harness and cultivate my words for the world to see. She gave me the confidence to open my soul and paint my words on a blank canvas. I now have more skills than I have learned from school ranging from marketing to IT. I know and fully believe that Therese will pioneer youth empowerment and help reach youth gain new skills and cultivate talents to further the future of our city.”
~ Rathini Para, 22, EmpowHER 2020
“Therese is one of the most devoted and hardworking women I have ever encountered. She truly approaches each task and project with such grace and commitment and will always go above and beyond. Her leadership has inspired me in unimaginable ways and has allowed me to truly understand the importance of giving back to your community and maintaining meaningful connections. I am forever grateful for all the interactions I have had with Therese and can say with great certainty that her passion, initiative and resilience are like no other.”
~ Roseleen Ladi, EmpowHER 2020-2021