A Conversation with My Best Friend’s Closet Program Manager Ameera Memon

“It’s more than clothes. We are about empowerment,” explained Ameera Memon, the program manager at My Best Friend’s Closet, her excitement radiating through her square on the computer screen. Since taking on the position of program manager in January of 2021, Ameera has flourished in the passionate community at MBFC.

““It’s more than clothes. We are about empowerment.””

— Ameera Memon

Come Nov. 22, Ameera will start a new role with Alberta Health Services as an advisor in the evaluation capacity, but she is excited to remain involved with MBFC by volunteering and assisting in online workshops. We had the opportunity to speak with Ameera about the things she loves about her position as program manager and share in her excitement about the great things that MBFC has to offer the community.

“What I love about being program manager here is that you get to do a bit of everything,” Ameera shared. Aside from contributing to the momentum of the program’s vision and examining key performance indicators, Ameera loves to participate in the one-on-one client experiences that My Best Friend’s Closet offers to youth between 12 and 18 who identify as female.

After earning her master’s degree in public health from the University of Waterloo, Ameera worked with Alberta Health Services before becoming a part of the Making Changes community. In her early days at MBFC, Ameera was involved in the implementation of the organization’s virtual program. The program was developed to set up virtual meetings with clients during the stricter times of the COVID-19 pandemic and allowed clients to browse through a curated “look book” to choose their style before their Zoom appointment.

“It’s all about people empowering each other and learning from each other,” Ameera commented on the creative process at My Best Friend’s Closet. “You should be excited! Creating is fun! Clothes are fun!”

As program manager, Ameera has been dedicated to nurturing the structure of the workshops offered to girls in the community. Focusing on empowerment, confidence, and building life skills, the workshops are designed to educate girls on future career and education paths, beauty and wellness, mock interviews, nutrition, and finance.

Ameera credits the success of the workshops to working with such an amazing team of “women helping women,” especially Cathy Coutts, the executive director of Making Changes Association, who inspired Ameera to dream big and explore ideas to serve youth in meaningful and different ways.

“Clothes are the medium through which we reach the youth,” Ameera shared, addressing the importance of MBFC’s role in the community. “These are young girls. Just coming into their own. They have a lot of decisions to make about their lives.”

Ameera encourages anyone interested in My Best Friend’s Closet to reach out and get involved. “When you walk in, it feels like you are with a bunch of friends,” Ameera shared, addressing how at MBFC volunteers build friendships and community while supporting one another on their personal journeys. MBFC accepts volunteers aged 14 years and older and offers positions that are both in-person and virtual.

When not at the boutique, Ameera spends time with her two children aged 11 and eight. She is a ‘scary place’ enthusiast and can be found looking for a thrill, whether it be at a spooky abandoned gas station or on the couch watching a horror movie. In a round of rapid-fire questions, Ameera shared that she would wear heels over flats any day of the week if given the option. Preferring cats over dogs and peonies to any other flower, Ameera is a luminous member of the Making Changes community who has once been described as embodying ‘joie de vivre,’ spirit of life.

Happy Retirement to Elaine Lupul, Employment & Life Skills Manager!

When Elaine Lupul started her work in the Employment and Life Skills Program of Making Changes, she didn’t know the 20-year impact she would have or the 1,800 participants she would help, but she knew she was in the right place, at the right time.

“When I started delivering the program, I felt like I was home,” said Elaine. “It set me on a career path that for me was the perfect intersection of business and people, where I could demystify the employment landscape for new immigrants.”

With her recent decision to retire, come August 31, 2021, we sat down with Elaine to hear about the Employment and Life Skills program and the legacy she is leaving.   

Change mindsets, change lives

While Making Changes turns 25 this year, the Employment and Life Skills program pre-dated the umbrella organization that Making Changes has become and marks 40 years in existence. 

“When I joined, the program design felt revolutionary for the time,” shared Elaine. The work was “routed and planful, taking women through a journey of empowerment.”

What was designed to be a six-day program was delivered over a six-week period, to give women a chance to learn, digest and apply the skills being taught. The program covered important attributes such as assertiveness and self-discovery, and practical skills like how to conduct job research, at a time that predated internet access as a staple in every home.  

While curriculum and delivery formats have changed, the foundation of the program has not. Over the years it has supported women from varied circumstances, from refugees to clients who packed up their professional lives in another country, in search of new opportunities in Canada.

“These doctors, engineers, professional women would arrive in Canada and speak about their careers like they were in the past; ‘I was an engineer,’” shared Elaine. “I was quick to remind them, you didn’t leave your skills on the tarmac.” 

Helping reframe mindsets and looking for the marketable skills these women already demonstrated in the move to Calgary – logistics, project management, global mobility – Elaine set these women on a path to a successful transition. 

The proof is in the impact:

• 66% of participants are working within one year of attending the program ( Jan 2021)

• Increase in confidence and self esteem

• Feeling of being connected and building a network

• Knowledge of where to find information and employment resources

• Skills and strategies to enter the labour market

Participants have an action plan to reach their goals and go on to attend other programs, to pursue further training or education, become self-employed, and begin to volunteer. Former participants have started related support organizations: Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association, Alberta Network of Immigrant Women, Women Support Group Calgary, and Calgary Immigrant Women's Meetup.

Elaine’s journey

“I felt like I went through a similar experience as many of our clients; after losing a job early in my career, I packed up and moved to Calgary,” shared Elaine. 

Elaine started her career in the corporate business world in manufacturing and marketing. It wasn’t long before she realized she didn’t want to work with things.

“I knew I wanted to work with people,” said Elaine. “I had a background working in equity and diversity when I was invited to apply for the facilitator position with the program through my network; I was on a board with a woman who sat on the Making Changes Board of Directors.”

Making Changes supported Elaine’s growth as a career development professional and it was then she really discovered how leading edge, and what a gem, the program was for the women who attended. 

Elaine has taught 79 groups and  more than 1,814 people. With the addition of partnering with Maple Leaf Academy’s Language Instruction for Newcomers program  in the fall of 2019, the program started including men. 

What’s next?

So, what’s next for Elaine? She’s busy planning activities with her already-retired husband: hiking, skiing, food and family fun - plus travel , to name a few.

What’s she going to miss the most? Without hesitation, the women – the participants who shared their stories and journeys - and contributing to the impact Making Changes has in someone’s life. The feeling is mutual. 

Praise for Elaine:

Cathy Coutts, Executive Director Making Changes:

“The Employment and Life Skills program, has often been referred to as Elaine’s program, because it truly reflects her passion, commitment and dedication to inspiring and mentoring newcomers, and helping them discover their skills, value and opportunities as they make Canada their home. Not only has Elaine delivered the program in a very caring, engaging and nurturing way, she continues to remain in contact with many of her clients from over the years, providing support and friendship. Each day Elaine exemplifies the values and mission of Making Changes. She will be truly missed.”

Client Quotes 

“We will be stronger than before because you have opened our mind.”

“Thank you for driving away the ignorance and lighting the lamp of knowledge.”

“After every Monday (session), I felt that I could do more in my life.”

“The most valuable of the course is when as a result of all your time and motivation, the participant’s Self Confidence starts growing or just waking up from a long dream, it’s wonderful and I strongly believe that it’s the flame that all of us need to go ahead with our personal and professional lives, after we have faced great changes and challenges coming to a new life.”