PATHWAY TO POTENTIAL PROJECT

PATHWAYS TO POTENTIAL

In 2025, Dr. Sara Cumming, alongside Sheridan College colleague Dr. Jessica Pulis and a multidisciplinary team of faculty and students, partnered with four women-led organizations—Women of Influence+, Balsam Advisory Group Inc., Trillium Health Partners’ Institute for Better Health, and WeirFoulds LLP—to launch Pathways to Potential, the fourth CCSIF-funded iteration of the Community Ideas Factory. Supported by $317,375 in CCSIF funding and over $57,000 in partner and institutional in-kind contributions, the three-year, mixed-methods project examines how adolescent and early-adult life experiences shape women’s pathways into leadership in traditionally male-dominated fields including healthcare, law, STEM, finance, and politics. Using national surveys, focus groups, and creative problem-solving sessions, the project translates lived experience and empirical research into practical, scalable tools for schools and community organizations. Pathways to Potential will produce evidence-based strategies and toolkits to cultivate leadership potential among adolescent girls and young women and to advance gender equity across Canadian institutions.