The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce has launched its “40 Under Forty” for 2020. The chamber is now calling for nominations.
This is the Kelowna chamber’s sixth year of searching for the city’s high achievers and bringing their stories to the public.
BDO Canada LLP will make up the independent panel of judges.
In 2019, Amal Alhuwayshil started ‘I’m All Courage,’ a social enterprise to support and empower people of all identities and genders.
As a diversity and inclusion, inspirational speaker and a coach, a portion of her income gets contributed to support gender equality and inclusion advocacy groups and not-for-profits.
Amal is also a yoga teacher, who’s practice has supported her with mental health, in times of depression and anxiety, and she loves sharing this gift with her students.
Amal has been involved with various student movements in B.C.
She was elected as vice-president external affairs (201718) of the UBCO Student’s Union, then as the first female president (2018-19).
She has successfully shifted the organization from a corruption and party-focused culture to a thriving and student-centred culture.
She was elected by post-secondaries across B.C. as the campaigns coordinator (2018-19) for the BC Federation of Students, which plays both an activist and advocacy role.
Leadership to Amal is to take a part of the solution rather than just talk about the problem.
The UBCO Students’ Union was known for its corruption, misuse of students’ money, running on an $83,000 deficit, and was not operating under its constitution.
She decided to run to challenge the status quo and to create the change needed. The first year was the reform, the team ended employment and changed the staffing structure and the bylaws and policies that allowed the corruption to happen. The following year she was elected as the first female President to continue working on the transition and nurture the culture shift.
Amal is currently the director of external events for the Junior Chamber International Kelowna (JCI or Jaycees), and a member of the JCI community improvement committee aimed to liaise with municipal, provincial and federal government officials and advocate for issues to improve the lives of the 18-40 age group living in Kelowna.
Amal dedicates her time volunteering throughout the community. She is a champion for Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society’s #SpeakOut campaign. She has participated in Motionball Kelowna for three years.
As a board member of HER International, she was a co-chair/chief of operations for the Breaking Boundaries Conference (an International Women’s Day Conference/fundraiser for House of Hope) in 2017, and a former volunteer with Hope Outreach and the Kelowna Women’s Shelter.
Amal has her Bachelor of Business Management from UBC Okanagan.
Amal’s other achievements include but are not limited to; JCI Breakout Member of the Year Award, 2020; second place in the Trellis Sprout Challenge 2020; Donor of the Campus Engagement and Leadership Award (2019-24), 100 Awesome People in 2019; and a TEDx speaker in 2017.