I DREAMED OF PLAYING IN THE WNBA

I dreamed of playing in the WNBA.

On April 24, 1996, women’s basketball announced “𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘵 𝘕𝘦𝘹𝘵,” and the WNBA’s first season tipped off in June 1997.

By September 1996, I was in Grade 11 and started taking basketball more seriously—thanks to my amazing high school coach, Jim Day.

Coincidence? Maybe.

But suddenly, there were women who looked like me (hello, Jennifer Azzi) in magazines—role models I could literally look up to on my bedroom walls.

Basketball took me places. I played for UBC (where my dad had played soccer), in Calgary with some of the best, and overseas in my grandparents’ home country of Holland.

More than that, it taught me skills that have shaped my career and still serve me today in my role as COO at Willoughby with Harbourfront Wealth Management, and in building a nonprofit women’s professional network: SHE’S GOT NEXT.

And on Friday, my dream came true.

I got to play for the WNBA.

Well, kinda… SHE’S GOT NEXT, Toronto Tempo (Canada’s Team!), and WNBA Canada came together to host a 200-person pre-game event with athletes, students, and leaders in and out of sport to connect over the future of women’s basketball in this country.

We also helped connect the WNBA with communities in the city, bringing another 200+ young girls and boys to the first ever regular season WNBA game in Canada, to watch these amazing women athletes in action—growing the game and shifting mindsets.

In 1998, I was lucky enough to see Michael Jordan play in Vancouver.

In 2025, kids get to see Brittney Griner and Nneka Ogwumike, and they’ll look up to them the same way I looked up to Jennifer Azzi.

It may have taken longer than most of us would have liked, but dreams do come true.

On Friday, I stepped onto a WNBA court—in CANADA—and hopefully made an impact by bringing people together to push the game forward in Vancouver, my hometown.

I will continue to “play” for the WNBA by elevating women’s sports from the sidelines. Especially for the Toronto Tempo, as they bring two in-season WNBA games to Vancouver during their inaugural 2026 season!

Why? Because basketball has given me so much, and the next generation deserves these opportunities—and more.

A BIG thank you to Karen Christiansen for stepping up for us once again, Ashton Lawrence for her work in bringing the game here and enhancing our event (you are THE BEST!), and to the Toronto Tempo team, Whitney Bell, Morgan Young (Todd), and Zhané S. for connecting with the SHE’S GOT NEXT community and being the most responsive, hardworking, and wonderful people to work with.

TEMPO FAN FOR LIFE 💜