MÄVVĪNCLASS: An Ottawa Leadership Forum Built for Real-World Decisions

MÄVVĪNCLASS (named for maven, someone with deep knowledge) is a focused, in-person morning forum for leadership and professional learning. Its programming changes by edition, but the established approach combines speakers sharing practical perspectives with guided discussion among professionals from different sectors.

A speaker might introduce a framework for handling a difficult conversation. A second may raise a question about growth, energy, purpose or resilience. Participants then have space to examine the thinking, relate it to their responsibilities and learn from perspectives outside their own industry.

At its 2026 Capacity Room edition, for example, two speakers were followed by two structured peer-dialogue sessions, professionally moderated by Samantha Moonsammy. The experience included opportunities to connect informally before and around the formal program. Individual editions vary; MÄVVĪNCLASS is not a fixed three-talk script.

This is leadership learning connected to professional experience—not a substitute for a degree, certification, coaching program or employer's long-term development plan.

A recorded talk can share a compelling insight with people anywhere in the world. Conferences can introduce leaders to new ideas and valuable speakers. MÄVVĪNCLASS does not need to diminish either format to explain its own purpose.

Its distinguishing feature is what happens after a speaker introduces an idea.

Participants are invited into facilitated conversations that cross industries, seniority and professional experience. A founder facing a staffing decision may hear how an executive handles a similar challenge. A professional advisor might notice assumptions that differ from those of a creative entrepreneur or nonprofit leader. An emerging leader can contribute rather than remaining a passive observer.

In the 2026 Capacity Room, the group discussions were deliberately designed to progress from accessible questions into reflection and practical application. The goal wasn't agreement. It was the opportunity to consider more than one informed perspective.

That is why the people sitting around the table matter alongside the people speaking onstage.

Across its programming since 2024, MÄVVĪNCLASS has explored leadership through distinct challenges, from resilience and entrepreneurial courage to trust, clarity and sustainable performance. The value of the record is not simply the number of speakers. It is the range of decisions their perspectives invite professionals to examine.

The first MÄVVĪNCLASS at Ottawa Art Gallery in November 2024 featured Janine Charron, Atif Rashid and Heather Coleman, with Samantha Moonsammy guiding the morning. Janine explored resilience and showing up through adversity; Atif presented The Power of a Positive Mindset; Heather spoke about financial wellness and its relationship to broader well-being.

The inaugural experience established the program's roots in focused knowledge-sharing and professional connection. Later editions developed more structured peer dialogue, an evolution worth showing rather than suggesting every session has always looked identical.

Level Up Your Purpose, Leadership & Network brought together three different professional challenges.

Tonya Dickenson, founder of Asymmetric by Design, explored The Courage to Start: Women-Led Innovation in Impact: making the transition from established professional success toward entrepreneurship rooted in creativity and values.

Mante Molepo, founder of Mante Molepo Consulting, presented What's at Stake When We Avoid Difficult Conversations?: why avoidance can undermine relationships and trust, and why leaders must make space for necessary discussions.

Christian Robillard, founder of Purpose Podcasting, addressed Beyond Mission and Vision: The Competitive Power of Purpose: examining how purpose can guide meaningful organizational choices rather than remain a statement on a wall.

The three talks invite questions that remain useful long after the event: What am I reluctant to begin? Which conversation am I avoiding? What principles are shaping this decision?

Lead With Clarity, Purpose & Resilience brought Nilufer Erdebil, Shelley Murdock and Calissa Ngozi into the same morning of learning. Their perspectives examined clarity and innovation, the connection between health and leadership performance, and resilience under pressure.

The combination was especially relevant to professionals who equate progress with continually doing more. Clarity can reduce effort spent on the wrong problem. Personal well-being influences the ability to sustain attention and judgment. Resilience benefits from realistic choices about energy and support.

Participant and Canadian landscape artist Noémie L. Côté described one specific takeaway:

My biggest takeaway was the intentional mental and physical care needed to perform and attain my long term goals.

That response is more useful than a generic rating of an event: it shows an idea travelling from a morning discussion into how someone thinks about their work.

The Capacity Room: Leadership, Energy & Sustainable Momentum featured Sunshine Tenasco and Michelle Weger at Ottawa Art Gallery.

Sunshine explored the role of joy, trust and human connection in building and leading. Michelle examined accessible high performance in the presence of genuine constraints, including identifying the real obstacle and choosing tools or support appropriate to the situation.

With Samantha Moonsammy moderating, six tables of professionals moved from the talks into guided dialogue. Participants could compare two complementary questions: What helps create energy and trust? And how should work be designed when time and personal capacity are not limitless?

Melanie Tracey, who participated in the experience, described what the discussions allowed:

Met some lovely people where we were able to really open up to each other and have meaningful conversations. It gets you out of your comfort zone.

The comment captures something central to MÄVVĪNCLASS: professional learning can become more valuable when people have the space and confidence to contribute.

Swipe to explore

1 / 3

For the fuller event-specific stories, read Inside MÄVVĪNCLASS: Building Learning Infrastructure for Modern Leaders and Inside The Capacity Room. Those recaps document the individual experiences; this article explains what the program's cumulative leadership themes offer professionals.

The speakers' experiences do not provide universal answers. They do suggest useful questions to bring back to work.

For a difficult conversation: What am I protecting by delaying it—and what trust might be lost by avoiding it? Mante Molepo's subject is relevant whether you're managing a team, advising a client or working with a business partner.

For a new venture or strategic decision: What is the meaningful purpose behind the work, and what action would make that purpose credible? Tonya Dickenson and Christian Robillard approached that question from entrepreneurial and organizational perspectives.

For sustainable performance: Am I solving the actual constraint, or simply adding effort? Nilufer Erdebil, Shelley Murdock, Calissa Ngozi, Sunshine Tenasco and Michelle Weger each approached clarity, well-being, resilience or capacity from different angles.

Choose one question that fits your current responsibilities. Discuss it with a colleague or peer. Identify one assumption worth testing. An hour of reflection won't replace sustained leadership development, but it can offer a more considered starting point for the next decision.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners can examine growth, difficult decisions and the demands of leading with limited resources. Executives and senior leaders can step outside their organizational routines to compare perspectives with people in other sectors. Managers and emerging leaders can encounter experienced speakers while gaining opportunities to contribute to professional discussion. Professional advisors and consultants can better understand the problems faced by business principals and other decision-makers.

A leader's title is not the sole measure of their potential contribution. Curiosity, professional experience and a willingness to engage matter too.

As an in-person experience, MÄVVĪNCLASS complements online talks, courses and longer training programs. It is especially relevant when someone wants to consider ideas with other people rather than consume them alone.

The forum is a distinctive part of RÄNDĀ VO͞O Rooms, but participation need not end when the morning does.

Through Intelligence, professionals can explore original interviews, practical leadership perspectives and program reflections. Through Moments, authentic video and photographs show the people, atmosphere and experiences behind the program. The MÄVVĪNCLASS category in Intelligence brings together the program's related articles.

Someone may discover an idea through a filmed speaker segment, attend a forum, explore a related editorial or continue a useful professional conversation later. Each is a different way for the program's value to extend beyond the stage, without claiming that one morning guarantees lasting transformation.

For a law firm, bank, accounting practice, consulting business or wealth advisory organization, supporting leadership learning can be relevant to both community contribution and professional relationship development.

MÄVVĪNCLASS gives sponsors an opportunity to support a substantive educational experience and, where agreed, to host participating colleagues or clients, receive appropriate recognition and connect that support with RÄNDĀ VO͞O's wider editorial and digital platform. The learning program comes first: featured speakers provide the substantive talks; sponsor recognition is brief, separate and not a sales presentation. Any on-stage sponsor acknowledgment is under two minutes.

Brazeau Seller Law has supported MÄVVĪNCLASS through its wider relationship with RÄNDĀ VO͞O. That history demonstrates an established form of participation, not guaranteed outcomes for future sponsors.

Commercial value should be evaluated through relevant professional audiences, agreed rights and deliverables, real participation and documented editorial or media exposure—not promised leads, attendee lists or assumed conversions.

Explore Partnerships and the Partnership Principles for the approach to fit, participation and accountability.

Leadership challenges will keep changing. New technologies, business models and expectations make it difficult for any one perspective to be sufficient.

MÄVVĪNCLASS is being developed as a recognizable place within Ottawa's professional community to encounter relevant ideas, engage experienced voices and examine real decisions with people who see the world differently.

It does not need to become another passive speaker series to achieve that purpose. Its distinctive promise is more participatory: the speaker ignites the idea; the room takes it further.

Explore MÄVVĪNCLASS articles · Discover Rooms · Read the Capacity Room recap · Explore Partnerships

Editorial note: This article draws on RÄNDĀ VO͞O's own MÄVVĪNCLASS programming history, original speaker topics and individual participant comments. It is not a claim that the program has been clinically or independently proven to improve leadership performance. Testimonials reflect personal experiences rather than guaranteed outcomes. Commercial support must remain distinct from the independent learning program.