Ten years after it first launched in Whistler, the WNORTH Conference is going strong in the resort community where it all began.
The 2025 edition of the women’s leadership event runs April 30 to May 2 at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, bringing together more than 300 attendees for keynote presentations, panel discussions and networking events.
WNORTH was founded in 2015 by Heather Odendaal, who at the time was working remotely for a Fortune 500 company and looking for a conference that supported women in mid-level leadership positions.
“I felt there was an underserved group of high-potential, middle-management women,” she said. “At that time, there were a lot of conversations about how few women were in the C-suite, but very little about the missing middle.”
Odendaal, who moved to Whistler in 2004 to work in events and festivals, saw an opportunity to create a leadership conference that would double as a destination retreat. The inaugural WNORTH Conference welcomed 120 participants to the Westin Resort & Spa in March 2015.
“It was an incredibly powerful experience,” she said. “It was an enormous amount of work to get off the ground.” Shortly after the event wrapped, Odendaal found out she was pregnant with her first child, and wasn’t sure whether the conference would return.
But support from the local business community—including one woman who was a general manager of Nita Lake Lodge—helped WNORTH gain momentum. The conference relocated to the Nita Lake Lodge the following year, where it remained for five years.
Since its inception, WNORTH has expanded beyond its Whistler origins. It now operates as a membership-based community with 1,700 members and seven Canadian chapters, as well as hubs in New York and Austin. The organization has hosted 86 events to date, offering a mix of in-person and virtual programming.
“I’m most proud of the growth of our membership and how many women have found a sense of community,” said Odendaal.
The 2025 event features a full schedule of talks and panel discussions, including sessions on AI-powered leadership, navigating risk as a founder, and closing leadership gaps. While NHL coach Jessica Campbell was initially scheduled as a keynote speaker, she will now appear virtually. Best-selling author and CEO Emily Chang has stepped in as the in-person keynote.
Featured sessions include Leading Through Uncertainty, with Canadian entrepreneurs Kendall Barber and Melanie Auld, and The AI-Empowered Leader, a fireside chat with Whistler-based entrepreneur Paola Telfer and strategist Rika Nakazawa of NTT.
Social impact, innovation and sustainable leadership are central themes of this year’s program, which also includes offsite experiences like a private event at Scandinave Spa.
WNORTH continues to work with Whistler-based vendors and venues. Odendaal said the ongoing local support has helped sustain the conference over the past decade, including through the challenges of the pandemic.
“I’ve lived in Whistler for 21 years, and it’s meaningful to still be here,” she said. “A lot of attendees haven’t been to Whistler before, and I’m always happy to introduce them to this place.”
For more information, visit wnorthconnect.com/2025conference.
