Liz Chisholm
Chair fof the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women

Ladies we would like to introduce you to another empowered woman, Liz Chisholm. Liz is Chair for Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. She sits on the Town council for the Town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, along with sitting on 13 other different committees. Liz has been involved with politics since the tender age of thirteen but persuade a career as a teacher. Obtaining her degree in teaching at St. Frances Xavier University in Antigonish she also holds a degree in Special Education from Acadia University.

In her younger years she described herself as having a wholesome life growing up on a dairy farm and was involved in 4-H . Liz’s 4-H experience gave her a great deal of confidence for public speaking. Along with the tremendous encouragement from a grade 8 teacher who had the foresight to tell Liz “You are a leader”. Liz shared with us that these earlier experiences where a valuable impact on her outlook in life.

One of Liz’s empowering moments happened in 1984 while running for her Progressive Conservative party in a provincial election, against all odds and viewpoints; she won over 3 male opponents on the first ballet. Those moments are what we like to refer to as a “Super Women Moment”, but this was not Liz’s last one. In 1993 she ran again and won.

Liz and her husband raised five daughters throughout her career. So it comes as no surprise that one of her greatest joys is time spend with her family and eleven grandchildren.

It is clear Liz is passionate about her community including the Scottish culture, Nova Scotia and women in local governments. One of the things that angers Liz is the “Token Women”. She firmly believes women should not just fill a spot but have a voice.

As we talked about our roles as women Liz felt empathy was one of our strongest qualities. In herself she values “my inability to say no.” She is always there to offer a helping hand. Loyalty, friendship and support of one another are qualities she admires in other women and of course a good sense of humour. If she could change one thing it would be “peace”. When asked what message you would like to say to other women she replied “Don’t let failure stand in your way, keeping trying. Nothing in the world you can’t do or achieve. Follow your dreams. Go for it”. Wise words from an empowered women.

We would like to thank Liz for taking the time out of her busy weekend to sit with us to enjoy a great cup of coffee and fabulous conversation. We truly enjoyed our visit.

On a last note, we hand wrote our first draft to this interview thanks to hurricane Noel that knocked out our power for 3 days. So be sure to check out our article on generators.

Our Past Empowered Women of the Month

Brenda Payne
Lisa Drader-Murphy
Dorinda MacIsaac
Mayor Anna Allen

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