Loren Kousaie

“I didn’t have a lot of experience with working with newcomers to Canada before, but it seemed like an area that needed more attention than it’s getting in this country, so I thought I’d dip my toe in and see if it’s something that works for me,” Loren Kousaie said.

Loren has been an integral part of ACCESS despite only volunteering for just about one year. Initially drawn to facilitating for the Women’s Business Accelerator Program, Loren’s journey with us has been a dynamic and everchanging one, one where he embraces new opportunities as they arise.

“I’ve found that the role has been to kind of say, ‘Yes, I think I’d be interested in helping,’ and as it turns out, there are lots of different ways to help at ACCESS,” Loren said. His willingness to say yes to opportunities demonstrates not only his dedication to supporting the community that we serve 

but it reflects ACCESS’ goal of saying yes to our Clients who come to us looking for support.

Loren’s decision to volunteer with ACCESS stemmed from his desire to seek meaningful avenues to make an impact after transitioning away from his professional career. Serendipitously, Loren stumbled upon ACCESS, recognizing the opportunity to bring his professional background to assist newcomers to Canada.

“When I first got into it, I thought, ‘I’m gonna get to help people who want to be entrepreneurs but have no idea how to get started, but I quickly realized I would be learning so much more from them,” Loren said. “It’s an awesome experience to be part of for eight weeks and sometimes beyond.”