HI! I’m Marilyn.
I’ve been on a journey of re-rooting, re-connecting and re-grounding myself. A journey of rest, healing and change. A transformation or metamorphosis towards embodying the ancestor and leader I want to be.
I have been reflecting on and making peace with the stories and narratives I have been telling myself. As well as rooting deeper to gain clarity on my purpose and vision for myself and my business.
Time needed to heal and transform the narratives I wish to share. Stories that help us heal, grow and unite.
So let me re-introduce myself as I work on updating my website and social media profiles.
About Me
Marilynngujunga. Innuvunga ammalu Polish-Ukrainian. Albertamiuttaujugut. Treaty 6 territory. AnaanangaKinngaitmiuttausija. AtaatagaPolandmiuttausija.
In the Indigenous language I am re-learning – Inuktitut (a dialect of the language Inuit speak) I shared with you:
I am Marilyn. I am Inuk and Polish-Ukrainian. I am originally from Alberta – a province here in the so-called country of Canada. I grew up in Treaty 6 territory. My mother is originally from Kinngait, Nunavut. My father is originally from Poland. Me and my family are currently visitors residing on the traditional, unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw People. A place that is colonially known as Nanaimo, BC on Vancouver Island.
I am a dual-heritage Inuk woman with a passion for supporting people in building their capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy and mutual respect.
My parents are of two different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Which I now see as gifts I’ve been given.
I am a cultural navigator – a child of a bi-racial relationship who has been navigating the spaces in between:
- my mother’s Inuit culture,
- my father’s Polish Ukrainian culture,
- growing up in the South (south of the 60th parallel)
- being a dual-heritage Inuk surrounded and influenced by Ukrainian culture,
- while living in the cultures of rural, suburban and urban Canadian society.
Navigating the Spaces In-Between
The common thread woven throughout my life is one of being a cultural navigator. A role that I inhabit in all the spaces of my life.
I realize I have resisted being forced to fit myself into ‘a box’ my whole life. What box? Why? There has never been ‘a box’ that speaks to my cultural identities.
I live an interconnected life. Which may be one of the reasons why I have been wrestling with how to introduce myself.
My understanding about the different ways my parents’ cultures communicate have imprinted on me, my understanding of how a wide range of society communicates. As well as how the broader society shares its varying worldviews and perspectives.
I am, and have been, a bridge builder and connector ever since I was a kid. I have always been curious and wondered:
- What are the similarities between my parents’ cultures?
- What are the differences between Inuit and Polish & Ukrainian cultures?
- What are the similarities between my parents’ cultures and the cultures of the various communities I live and work in?
- How do you build bridges between people where there doesn’t seem to be any?
I have decades of lived experiences of “You don’t belong here”. That message has come from toxic, oppressive environments, spaces, and places such as educational institutions, workplaces, healthcare, the social sector.
A few of the ways I have experienced being told ‘You don’t belong here’ are:
- telling me to my face
- exclusion
- lack of anyone who looked like me or my family in any of the books and magazines I read, TV shows and movies I watched
- people asking “What are you?” when someone looks at my physical appearance. An appearance that seems to be racially ambiguous.
That message – You don’t belong here – was fuel to my fire.
Personal Leadership Journey
I was an educator for almost two decades of my work in the K-12 education system in Canada. I heard that message directed towards children, youth, families and communities that are purposely and historically excluded, pushed to the margins, under-served, and under-recognized.
This message, and its ugly tendrils, showed up in the classroom. It continued to show up as I moved through positions of leadership (e.g. teacher leader, instructional leader, learning coordinator, student achievement officer).
The guiding purpose in my work was, and still is:
For people to know that there is a space and place for them in this world.
To know they belong. They are worthy. They matter. They are valued. They are whole. They are enough.
I had great mentors through the stages and phases of my own leadership journey. I see now that there were aspects of informal coaching in my mentoring relationships.
Yet, as I journeyed through positions of leadership, there were very few people who looked like me. Very few people who understood the world the way I do. That way being is:
- holistic
- relational
- community/ecosystem oriented
- grounded in Inuit values, beliefs and guiding principles.
There were no formal leadership development developed with people like me in mind. Nor were there any leadership development designed with or by people like me.
When the pandemic hit, I burned out. Let me rephrase that. My body had finally said enough!
I spent so many years focused on making and holding space for everyone else. Spending more time looking after other peoples’ needs. Building other people up. To be seen as worthy and knowledgeable.
I forgot to hold space for me. I forgot to build me up. I forgot to take care of me. I focused more on ‘doing’ and not ‘being’.
The burnout felt like a one-time, big star exploding event. The signs were there and kept presenting themselves over several years. I wasn’t paying attention to my intuition. Nor did I stay connected and listen to my body.
The burnout was a culmination of years spent ignoring my needs and wrestling with healthy boundaries for myself. Mixed in that burnout was a me that:
- experienced two big life events within a year: i) having a child in my early 40s, and ii) moving a family across the country with a 9-month-old baby
- was dealing with postpartum depression and anxiety, but didn’t realize it. Or didn’t want to acknowledge it.
- was figuring out who I was after giving birth to a child. Who was I as a parent? As a spouse/partner? A sibling? A daughter? A career driven/oriented person, community-oriented, purpose driven person?
- navigating returning to full-time work as a mother, parent, and spouse
- navigating my changing priorities and values
- trying to figure out how my changing priorities and values aligned with a system that wasn’t designed for me
- was starting perimenopause and not realizing this is what was happening with my body
- and other experiences and moments I acknowledge as I continue to rest and heal
What was missing in my journey of personal leadership growth and development was:
- a holistic understanding of all the parts of me
- how I carry all those parts of me into spaces, places, environments and relationships.
- a coach to support me in holding space for myself to heal and nurture myself. To support me in embodying the leader and ancestor I wanted to be.
- a root network to connect with, nurture and support each other’s growth and development
- a community of practice with others who felt like I did:
- i) they are the ‘only’ in their work,
- ii) they are isolated,
- ii) they are the token doing the work of reconciliation and equity for a system and institution
I want to change that narrative with other people. People who are status quo disruptors. People who feel like they are the ‘only’ and isolated in carrying out their vision to collectively care for the next generations.
New Beginnings
I want to bring people together to co-create brave spaces of collective belonging. Spaces of collective care and collective humanity.
Spaces where people feel empowered to be themselves. To be honest. Come as they are, as their full self. No masks. To be truthful and speak their minds.
I help people who are:
- relationally oriented
- human-centred
- heart-centred
- purpose driven
- status quo disruptors operating in transactional spaces
move from human ‘doings’ to human ‘beings.
I support human & heart-centred leaders to slow down. To help clear the clutter and noise so they can get back to themselves. Because they understand they can’t do this work until they have done the healing themselves. And that they can’t do this work on their own.
I’m a listening partner. A thought partner who works with you to create a roadmap that inspires meaningful and transformational change.
I support and serve relationally oriented leaders to nurture themselves. To tend to their inner ecosystem. To support human-centred leaders dismantle the empire and systems of oppression within themselves
I hold space with you to help you prioritize yourself. To the put the oxygen mask on yourself first. As this work of decolonization, equity, justice and liberation is a journey. A marathon. Nor a destination.
What is my why? For people to know that there is a space and place for them in this world. To know they belong. They are worthy. They matter. They are valued. They are whole. They are enough.
Ready to partner with Marilyn? Let’s connect.
If you are curious to learn more about coaching, I invite you to my TidyCal to schedule a discovery call.
This is a no pressure call. It is an opportunity for us to get to know each other. And to see if we are a good fit for each other.