StepUp was founded in 2019 in Toronto, Canada by Emily Thorn Corthay and Leila Sepahi with the idea that Canada could achieve its Paris Accord greenhouse gas reduction objectives 1 faster and with a greater chance of success with improved equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in leadership positions. Within a year of StepUp’s beginning, this idea of improved environmental
outcomes through EDI was proven true through a separate and independent study done by Foreign Policy Analytics called “Women as Levers of Change.” This study showed that companies with improved gender diversity on boards from 2013 through 2018 were 60 percent, 39 percent, and 46 percent more likely than those without to reduce the intensity of energy consumption, GHG emissions, and water use, respectively.

Emily and Leila are professionals in the energy management 2 sector, and thus wanted to apply these efforts to the energy management sector (later, StepUp broadened to include energy generation and energy transition companies as well).

Emily (Chair of the Board) and Leila (Director of Finance) recruited the other founding Board members of StepUp: Utilia Amaral (Vice Chair), Jamie Hutchins (Director of Events), Megan Bennett (Director of Communications), and Cathy Zheng (Director of Outreach), who were instrumental to building StepUp.

Mathieu Cote, Executive Director at the Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET), first introduced Emily and Leila to each other and suggested they might want to start a non-profit to assist women in energy management (which evolved into StepUp). It was thanks to Mathieu’s leadership that CIET provided StepUp’s first financial sponsorship to help StepUp begin. Other key initial sponsors included Summerhill, CLEAResult, who provided in kind contributions (and financial) with access to meeting space for our initial Board meetings, and to Gowlings, for providing in kind support by creating StepUp’s bylaws as well as event space early on.