As an ambitious woman, I am fuelled by…
inspiring other women to breakthrough cultural barriers and become unapologetically herself.
Hello beautiful,
Let me start by saying thank you for being here.
I created this platform to raise the power we all possess and bring awareness to our endless potential.
Firstly, I want to share my background, education, and experiences with you. I was born and raised in Richmond, BC within a hard-working and traditional Indian family. I remember a joyful childhood, full of adventure, sports, and love. Once I became a teenager, I began working in my family’s restaurants. I quickly learned how hard my parents worked to raise my brother and I. As a result, I poured my heart into higher education for a brighter future for my family. I received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Minor in Commerce, and specialization in Human Resources Management.
During my undergrad, I volunteered within the Richmond Youth Foundation to empower students. I built a mentorship program to help students learn different career paths and discover which post-secondary schools allowed them to learn what they joyed. I have always wanted to share my experiences so others could learn from my lessons.
I started my career in the corporate world at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. This was a great organization for me to plant my feet in, I believed in their mission and core values. I worked my way into their HR department and then my career flourished. Since then, I have worked in small, medium, and large-scale organizations and have coached a diverse range of managers. Currently, I work at Amazon as their Senior HR Assistant. As a thought leader, I know that integrity, vulnerability, and strategic nimbleness scale teams, businesses and manifests a healthy bottom-line.
Earlier in 2020, I lost my dream job and ultimately what felt like my identity due to Covid-19. This made me question my life, my purpose, and quite deeply, my worth. I began to network heavily with leaders across the world, which ignited a fire inside me.
This unconventional year showed me how traditional methods we have grown accustomed to do not fulfill our internal needs. By breaking traditions, owning my path, and believing in myself, I became a resilient trailblazer.
I am focusing my time on women of colour, as I believe we are natural leaders. We possess nurturing abilities that allow us to be compassionate, vulnerable and courageous. I have seen how cultural barriers and negative self-talk make us question our value. Trust me when I say, you are powerful, strong, and worthy of greatness.
We are QUEENS and deserve to hold our head held high.
I believe women must build internal growth for fulfilling lives by starting with who we are on in the inside. Now I coach others on their self-growth and professional journey. This liberation is not just for us but our future generations to come. I customize a program for clients to ensure we are tackling the challenges and leveraging the opportunities that present themselves.
I look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
Alyssa Koonar
P.S. as you can tell, I enjoy being my authentic and vulnerable self, let me describe why by sharing my core values:
Unclouded
I am a straight-shooter. Through my direct language and integrity, I build long-lasting and respectable connections. After learning the power of honest feedback, I use my experience to build fellow leaders. I coach on how to act with intentional impact. I leave my title at the door and provide everyone with respect, dignity, and open feedback. When we create safe environments for uncomfortable conversations, we allow room for taking risks.
Unity
I am a curious being. I ask questions, listen attentively, and learn from those around me. We are all unique and that is our strength. By understanding intersectionality, I build trust through sharing unique experiences. As a natural leader in connecting and enlightening individuals from different walks of life, I look for opportunities to bring people from diverse cultures and backgrounds together. The more diversity in our teams, the more we learn and grow.
Untamed
I have drive and a strong voice. Driven by my entrepreneurial personality, I regularly devote myself to gaining knowledge and acquiring skills. I enjoy reading, traveling, and meeting like-minded leaders. I acquire knowledge more easily when I converse with progressive growth leaders. Thoughts come alive for me when I’m listening to people express their ideas.
Unconventional
I like to push my boundaries and dive deep. By encompassing a belief that I am humble but worthy, I feel empowered. I spend time with people who find the same humility in the world that I do. We energize each other. When I am presented with a challenge, I view it as a lesson to be learned. This mindset nurtures my growth. I remain upbeat in the face of unpredictability. While transferring this ability into my professional roles, I have become regarded as an inspiring and motivating leader.
