HALIFAX, NS— Entrepreneur. Storyteller. Performance artist. Those are some of the terms used to describe the next RBC Talent Hub Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Saint Mary's University's Entrepreneurship Centre (SMUEC), SMU alumna Leah Skerry.
Leah Skerry BComm '09 is a performing artist, producer and entrepreneur. Her work depicts Skerry's fascination with technology, storytelling, and gamification. She is currently co-producing a hybrid aerial dance show pushing the boundaries of set design and function, funded by the Canada Council of Arts and Montreal's National Circus School.
"Moving back to the East Coast and the opportunity to give back to students and the community where I developed my entrepreneurial sea legs is a full-circle moment," says Skerry. "I hope my experience spanning education, technology, and arts will help others on their path to new ideas and inspire more to seek a multidisciplinary life-long education."
Prior to taking the leap into professional dance and circus, Leah co-founded Squiggle Park by Eyeread Inc. (acquired by Dreambox), an adaptive online reading game with over 3 million kids learning. In addition to studying at the Sobey School of Business, Leah studied design at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and contemporary circus arts in Chicago and Montreal.
"Leah is an experienced entrepreneur with a broad range of interests that will help her connect with our students whose business ideas can be very diverse and touch on many different sectors," says Michael Sanderson, Director, SMUEC. "We are ecstatic to have her join our team and share her knowledge with the next generation of great Canadian entrepreneurs."
As part of her role as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Skerry provides Master Class lectures, workshops, and one-on-one coaching at conferences held by the entrepreneurship centre and weekly office hours for student and community entrepreneurs to offer support, coaching, and advisory assistance.
"We are thrilled Leah will be the next entrepreneur-in-residence at the RBC Talent Hub," says Kellie Sauriol, RBC's Regional Vice President, Business Financial Services, Atlantic Canada. "Students will benefit greatly from her diverse professional background, leadership skills and proven entrepreneurial success."
As home to the RBC Talent Hub, the SMUEC hosts Entrepreneurs-In-Residence (EIR), giving students access to some of Canada's top entrepreneurs. They are selected based on their passion for entrepreneurship and their ability to provide a breadth of advice and information. The RBC Talent Hub also includes an entrepreneurial mindset success certificate, multi-level skilled entrepreneurship training workshops, a student consultant team and a talent fund for co-operative education. All of these initiatives are made possible through the RBC Foundation in support of RBC Future Launch.