The latest FIERCE information and networking event began earlier this month with time for a coffee and chat amongst the just over 20 women and gender diverse individuals attending. They seated themselves at tables laden not-at-all-subtly with toy gold coins acting as the perfect ice breaker. There was diversity in the attendees, but also unifying, shared interest in learning something new about finance while hopefully making a professional connection or two along the way.

In some cases, contacts were being shared even as event co-lead Stephanie Howlett was testing the microphone system in the modest space at The Annex in the St. John’s-adjacent City of Mount Pearl. The space is located alongside the Admiralty House Communications Museum.

With a “check one, two” on the microphone, Howlett smiled and threw in a “Show me the money!” to a smattering of shared laughter.

She continued the relaxed tone into introductions, as she emphasized the half-day event would be a welcoming space. The session involved a mix of presentation and open discussion. She was joined by her FIERCE co-lead Krista Lee Hynes, who took the lead on the financial explainers, peppered with personal stories.

In her day-to-day, Howlett is CEO of DiversityNL, while Hynes works as a certified financial planner, co-founder of Ignite Financial Solutions. The pair first connected in January 2025 and realized a mutual interest: wanting to supplement existing personal and corporate networking events, with active outreach to people who typically feeling unconnected or marginalized.

“It’s looking at any person who identifies as a woman or gender diverse, who might be in a professional space and wants to do some networking, wants to support one another, in a very safe space and environment,” Howlett said, in an interview after the event.

An official mission statement talks about their goal to “elevate and empower,” “amplify voices,” and “challenge outdated models of leadership.”

FIERCE is the name the duo chose for their endeavour. It will be the name they attach to all of their events. This latest session wasn’t the first. Their initial meeting was followed by “many, many Zooms,” Howlett recalled, with small efforts accumulating, building with intent to a conference on leadership in November of last year.

At that time, the FIERCE messaging connected with Laurabel Mba of Laurabel Mba Consulting, who separately told Atlantic Business Magazine she was ready to sign up for the fall conference before she was even asked to join as a speaker. Mainly, she heard the intention for an event stripped of too-common pretenses around business leadership, and inviting lived experience. Mba’s own work is as an anti-racism educator and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) strategist. Among other things, she’ll conduct workshops and guide companies through DEIB challenges.

“If you are from any marginalizing community, leadership feels very different. Your ability to show up as a leader, the things that you have to balance to be in those spaces feel very different. The ability to show up as a full person and not a role feels very different. And they wanted a conference that allows you to be the full person that runs your business, not your business identity and the way you have to market yourself,” she said.

“(In the fall) it wasn’t a leadership conference where you had to look like what you thought a leader should look like, or you had to speak the way you thought a leader should speak. It was very much: you are a leader. Here are the things in you that show that you are, here’s how you can still be your full self,” she said, expressing appreciation for the effort made for what’s becoming the standard FIERCE environment.

For her part, Hynes thinks there continues to be “room for other networks of people” beyond existing organizations designed for networking and information sharing.

“We aren’t covering any topics in any of our meet-ups or talks or specific sessions that are gender specific. Like leadership? That’s everybody. Finance? That’s everybody. Difficult conversations? That’s everybody. But we are putting an intentional lens on it so that you can walk into the room and be your authentic self and know that you’re not going to be judged,” she said.

Further FIERCE events are already on tap. Following the finance event, there were requests for regular coffee chat-type sessions for networking. They are also now looking at expanding their presence through virtual events, both in terms of minority interests (like a session for international students on finance) and geography (to reach beyond St. John’s).

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