I help young people see more ways to build a meaningful career, and help ideas grow into collective action through speaking, research, storytelling, and community.
Featured in
CBC • National Observer • Plan International Canada
Community Builder & Public Speaker
Creating spaces where people belong and ideas grow into movements.
A successful career, or work that does good. I never believed those things had to be separate. But it can be hard to picture another path when the opportunities and people who might help you find one aren't easy to access.
Through public speaking workshops, a feminist podcast, research, and campaigns built with others, I saw how a room, a story, or an opportunity could change what someone imagined possible.
Explore speaking & facilitation ↗Content came later. I began posting scholarships, opportunities, advice, and my own experiences so more young people could find those paths. My platform grew from 3K to 12.5K followers in two months.
Explore social-first work ↗I want to help shift what success looks like. Young people should be able to build a life for themselves while doing good in the world, and have real access to the opportunities that make that possible.
Speaking, storytelling, research, and bringing people together are different ways I work toward that purpose. Click a piece to see what connects.
Select a piece to see what connects.
Each piece connects to a bigger part of my work. Choose one to explore.
All these pieces make up one person. Explore the work below ↓
As Featured & Recognized By
I believe people can't change systems they don't know how to access. My work focuses on making opportunities visible, creating spaces where people belong, and helping grassroots ideas grow into lasting movements.
Turning community voices into evidence that influences policy and systems decisions.
Helping organizations rethink leadership, youth engagement, and social impact.
Creating branding guidelines, content strategies, campaigns, and analytics reports that help organizations communicate their impact and inspire action.
Connecting people, ideas, and opportunities into sustainable, action-oriented communities.
Making leadership grants, scholarships, and fellowships accessible to thousands of youth.
Mobilizing local and global partnerships to transform ideas into collective action.
I used to be a really shy kid. Public speaking is one of the most common fears, but also one of the most transformative skills to learn. Knowing how to speak means taking back your narrative, owning space, and opening doors that were never built with you in mind. I speak on panels and facilitate workshops, sharing my story, because I see stories as a tool to shift culture and work towards collective action.
Board & Leadership Roles
RB Jumpstart Mentorship & Youth Leadership Training Society: Elected to the Board of Directors in September 2025 (served 1 year).
Langley Arts & Culture Association: Coach on contract (2024–2026).
Feminist media organization breaking glass ceilings through 100+ podcast episodes interviewing 60+ global female leaders. Recognized in Top 30% of Video Podcasts on Spotify 2024.
Mixed-media publication and activation series celebrating authentic representation. Disseminated across schools and therapist offices, reaching over 500+ educators.
Led the development, communications strategy, and contributor delegation for an international interview series using storytelling to amplify grassroots voices in food sovereignty and climate justice. Developed media analytics reports to evaluate audience engagement and campaign performance.
Loudly Labs is a youth-led think tank that helps organizations answer questions about the young people they serve. We co-create research, dialogue events, and summits with youth, turning their perspectives into decisions organizations can act on and ideas young people can carry forward. I secured funding from Employment and Social Development Canada, Glocal Foundation, Ocean Wise, and The Starfish Canada for this start-up.
Led participant recruitment and stakeholder engagement for the co-design of a North American mental health learning hub. Developed outreach strategies that generated more than 150 applications, conducted participant selection, and synthesized community insights to inform program design and strategic planning.
Conducted a literature review exploring the experiences of BIPOC healthcare workers, supported semi-structured qualitative interviews for a fertility education research project, and contributed to research presentations for GreenCoWell, a sustainability initiative in collaboration with the Harvard Innovation Labs.
Co-authored public policy recommendations centering youth perspectives on global citizenship and systems change.
Facilitated focus groups and synthesized youth perspectives on platform safety and digital literacy to deliver strategic product recommendations for the TikTok Trust and Safety team.
Facilitated youth focus groups and conducted thematic analysis mapping emotional resilience to community climate action.
Co-designed grassroots initiatives and authored grant applications securing significant funding for inclusive community programs.
Organized accessible all-candidates meetings to foster democratic engagement and published strategic reports on civic participation, community safety, and urban placemaking.
Facilitated youth focus groups and synthesized qualitative data into actionable policy recommendations highlighting key youth priorities for Park Board candidates.
Researched emerging AI ethics, designed curriculum on synthetic media risks, and facilitated course modules for youth.
Formulated event business plans, risk mitigation models, sponsorship packages, and marketing content calendar frameworks.
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Books on systems thinking and community organizing.
SZA, Shakira, and Olivia Rodrigo.
Matcha all the way!
How can we create spaces for interdisciplinary collaboration that bring together diverse perspectives to tackle increasingly complex global challenges?
Growing up, I experienced firsthand how access to opportunities, supportive communities, and people who believe in you can shape the course of a life.
Those experiences continue to shape the questions I ask and the work I choose to pursue. Whether I'm building a campaign, conducting research, or bringing people together through events, my goal is to create spaces where more people feel seen, connected, and empowered to make an impact.
At the heart of my work is one simple question:
"Who isn't in the room yet?"
Making opportunity visible.
My platform, @isabellawens ↗, reaches a community of 12,500+ people. I want young people to see that ambition and doing good in the world can go together. I share opportunities, advice, and personal experiences to help them build impact-driven careers.
I've created user-generated content and coordinated brand partnerships for organizations including How They Hire, Jobright.ai, and 10K Coffees. My approach draws on building a feminist podcast, launching a print magazine with Plan Canada, creating content for UNICEF Canada, running focus groups at TikTok, and consulting on marketing at Dixon Transition Society.
I help organizations understand their audiences and turn complex research and social issues into communications that move people to act.
From the feed
Knowledge translation for social media
Turning a complex subject into a format people can encounter, understand, and share.
View the partnership reel ↗