Jessica Dumas

Jessica Dumas is a leader and sought-after speaker on the topics of women in business, leadership and personal resilience. She is the president of Jessica Dumas Coaching and Training and a professional certified coach who specializes in speaker coaching, helping women across North America speak with clarity and confidence. She quickly gains the trust of her audience with her warm, engaging personality and energetic motivation.

In 2018 on the TEDx stage, Dumas shared her story about turning the tragic and sudden loss of her brother in 2005 into an opportunity to lead others to overcome challenges and hardship by developing personal strengths, vision and self-confidence. Today she is a powerful role model and advocate for social justice, while demonstrating her own story of reconciliation.

Dumas has been honored for her professional expertise with many nominations and awards. She was the recipient for the 2017 Future Leaders of Manitoba, the CBC’s Top 40 Manitoban’s under 40 for 2015 and Ace Burpees Most Fascinating Manitobans for 2019.

Her volunteer contributions have gained her wide respect across Manitoba. She is the first Indigenous woman to char the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce (2019-2020), at which time she spearheaded their Truth and Reconciliation Roadmap (2020) and had the pleasure of introducing Michelle Obama to the Chamber’s audience (2019). She has served as chairperson of the Aboriginal Chamber of Commerce (2014 to 2016) and she is a member of the City of Winnipeg Mayor’s Indigenous Advisory Circle (2015 to 2021) and continues to sit on numerous committees and boards at the executive level.

Dumas’s career started with over 10 years of corporate experience before gaining a certificate in Conflict Resolution and Workshop Facilitation and since then has become a master of facilitation.

To support her practice in Design Thinking for Innovation, she has certificates in Advanced Business Design Facilitation from the University of Toronto and Rotman School of Management Executive Programs. She also completed the Advanced Program in Management, Leadership and Strategy from the University of Manitoba Asper School of Business.

Dumas is a mother to three sons and a band member of the Anishinaabe community, Keeseekowenin First Nation in Manitoba, Treaty 2. She brings with her a strong message of awareness on diversity, inclusion and Indigenous history, with hopes for people to gain a deeper understanding on the importance of taking action on inclusivity, and to motivate solutions for the current challenges diverse populations face in Canada.

Today, you can find Dumas lending her expertise on several media outlets, hosting local and national events or facilitating a masterclass. Dumas believes that the best teaching happens through storytelling. When you share stories and get to know people, you find ways to relate and start to care for each other and this is how you truly build community.