Roxanne Joyal

Roxanne Joyal is CEO of Me to We, an innovative social enterprise Me to We provides people with better choices for a better world, including life-changing international volunteer trips, sustainably made clothing and accessories, leadership training programs and materials, an inspirational speakers’ bureau, and books that address issues of positive change. Half of Me to We’s net profit is donated to charity partner Free The Children, while the other half is reinvested to grow the enterprise and its social mission.

Roxanne’s involvement with development work began at a young age, when she spent six months in the Klong Toey slum of Bangkok, Thailand, caring for mothers and children afflicted with AIDS. She graduated with distinction from Stanford after completing a degree in international relations. Upon winning a coveted Rhodes Scholarship, she pursued a law degree at Oxford University and completed her training by clerking for the Supreme Court of Canada in 2005. In 2012, Roxanne received an honorary doctorate from Nipissing University in recognition of her innovative work in education and human rights.

Roxanne is responsible for corporate and family engagement at Me to We. She established Bogani Cottages and Tented Camp in Kenya, a first-of-its-kind facility designed to educate and engage youth, adults, families and corporate groups through international volunteer adventures. She is now heading up the expansion of this niche product and experience at Araveli Cottages and Tented Camp in the Rajasthani province of India.

As founder of Me to We Artisans, Roxanne also leads social and economic empowerment initiatives for women in Kenya, India and Ecuador. This initiative currently employs more than 800 women, and it has been proven that every dollar earned by a mother directly impacts her home, her children and her community.

Roxanne, a French-Canadian, has been featured as “Faces of the Future: 100 Young Canadians to Watch” in Maclean’s magazine, and she is an Action Canada Fellow. In 2005, she was selected by the Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100: “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100.” Her work has been extensively covered by the "CBC, the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen and the Winnipeg Free Press."