Press Release

Today, WXN (Women’s Executive Network) and its partners announced the winners of the prestigious 2024 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards. Actua CEO Jennifer Flanagan is amongst the 103 bold women recognized for their leadership and achievements in meaningfully transforming their industries, companies, communities and country. Jennifer is a recipient of this year’s WXN Hall of Fame award, the highest honour reserved for women who have won a Top 100 Award three times and have been selected for a fourth time for their noteworthy and long-term achievements.

As the co-founder and CEO of Actua, Canada’s leading science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach organization, Jennifer has been a critical part of shaping the STEM and innovation landscape in Canada for 25 years. Her efforts have impacted millions of equity-deserving youth, helping them build confidence and skills in these fields. Jennifer’s visionary leadership has positioned Actua as a trusted and sought-after thought leader and Jennifer as a leading national expert for youth engagement in innovation, the future of work, technology in education and diversity and inclusion in STEM.

As evidence of Jennifer’s leadership and Actua’s value to the innovation economy, a $40 million investment in Actua by the Government of Canada through the Strategic Science Fund was announced in December 2023. This represents the largest investment ever made in a STEM outreach organization in Canada and will allow the Actua network to engage over two million girls, young women, Indigenous youth, Black youth and other groups underrepresented in STEM. Jennifer excels at translating the local impact of programs to national systems change, as she influences both the next generation of workers and the entire innovation system in Canada. 

“I’m honoured to receive the 2024 WXN Hall of Fame award,” said Jennifer Flanagan, CEO of Actua. “This award reflects the ongoing need and impact of Actua’s work and our unapologetic perseverance toward gender equity. Achieving this required bold, sustained action by myself and the thousands of people who have worked in the Actua network. I’m more committed than ever to keep pushing forward and inspire others to do the same.”

Jennifer is steadfast in her commitment to STEM equity and promoting women in leadership positions. In addition to her systems-changing work at Actua, she volunteers on local, national and international boards and also advises start-up organizations, all focused on gender equity, innovation and the future of education. She currently sits on the Board of Governors at the University of New Brunswick, the Canadian Institute for Women in Engineering and Sciences, the Institute for Quantum Computing Canada and the Ottawa Girls Hockey Association. She also coaches a girls hockey team in Ottawa. 

“Awards like this are the result of the collective passion, commitment and hard work of thousands of people within Actua’s network across Canada, along with the support of many other inspiring colleagues,” says Jennifer Flanagan. 

“Bold women are all around us, and with these prestigious awards, we celebrate the boldest of the bold who redefine what’s possible through their power, passion and purpose,” said Sherri Stevens, Owner and CEO of WXN. “This year’s winners inspire women who follow in their footsteps and entire communities to dream bigger, aim higher and push beyond boundaries. Their impact creates a ripple effect that lifts future generations up and sets new standards for bold achievement.”

About Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 2024 Awards

The WXN Hall of Fame award is selected by a committee based on the significance of the recipients’ achievements, and recipients cannot be nominated. 

The 2024 winners will be celebrated in person at the 22nd annual Top 100 Awards Gala, hosted at the Fairmont Royal York Toronto on November 27, featuring award-winning international journalist Lisa LaFlamme in a fireside chat with Andrea Bain, news anchor and co-host of CTV’s The Social. 

Since the awards launched in 2012, WXN has celebrated 1,731 women through Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards. Past winners include iconic Top 100 winners such as Princess Sarah Culberson, Princess of Sierra Leone; The Honourable Rona Ambrose, former leader of  Canada’s Official Opposition in the House of Commons; Dr. Makaziwe Mandela, global activist, head of the House of Mandela and the daughter of  Nelson Mandela; and The Honourable Dr. Jean Augustine, the first African-Canadian woman elected to the House of Commons.

For a full list of winners, please visit wxnetwork.com/page/2024Top100AwardWinners. 

About Actua 

Actua is a leading Canadian science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) youth outreach organization. Each year, the Actua network engages over 375,000 youth in 600 communities across Canada in transformative STEM learning experiences that build critical skills and confidence. Actua focuses on engaging equity-deserving youth through specialized programs for Indigenous youth, girls and young women, Black youth, youth facing economic barriers and youth living in Northern and remote communities. Its major funding partners include the Government of Canada, RBC Foundation, Suncor Energy Foundation, TD Bank Group, Google.org, Toyota Canada Foundation, Enbridge, Cenovus, CIBC Foundation, Coveo, Scotiabank, Mastercard and Imperial.

About WXN

WXN (Women’s Executive Network) is a one-of-a-kind community shaping the future of leadership across North America. We bring together thousands of bold women, allies, and corporate members in a rich and diverse ecosystem of professional development, networking, thought leadership, belonging, and celebration that propels professional women to rise and lead. 

Guided by our Owner and CEO, Sherri Stevens, and WXN’s Global Alliance of Inclusive Leadership (GAIL), we lead North America’s most prestigious events for women in business, create professional development programming, and champion thought leadership for professional women. This includes Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100™ Awards, the GAIL Conference and Awards, the Bold Convos series, and programs such as the  RAW Courage Coaching Program, Master Coach Xcelerator and the Boldly Forward Leadership Learning Series. 

For more information, visit wxnetwork.com. 

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