Exploring the power of innovation in advocacy work with and for communities!
Most consulting firms position themselves as experts who solve problems for hefty fees. Relationships are transactional, advice is one-way, and community impact is not on the radar.
Meet Dr. Ashley Sisco, the woman who is rewriting the rules of the consulting industry! At her firm, Sisco & Associates Consulting Services Inc. (SISCO), listening, learning from and supporting clients and community partners to make positive change takes centre stage. She explains that “Our clients and community partners know best what they want and need, we can only lend our skills and insights to support them.”
Dedicated to advancing social and economic equity and wellbeing, Ashley began in a traditional consulting setting, but her love of community-driven work inspired her to start a consultancy that shares her ideals.
She has assembled a team that reflects the communities her company serves, motivated by an ambition to create beneficial social impacts where they are most needed. While focused on advocacy research that strengthens communities, her company has grown globally under her leadership.
Ashley describes herself as a heart-driven learner / educator, bridge-builder, and change-maker. She is committed to continuing to work to transform systems, communities and societies for the better.
Let’s learn more about her journey:
A Sweet Start to Support Communities
Ashley established Sisco & Associates Consulting Services Inc. (SISCO) to leverage her skills for positive social impact. With a background in consulting and research at the Conference Board of Canada, she recognized her passion lay in community advocacy rather than traditional consulting focused on government and corporate influence. This realization prompted her to create an organization aligned with her values, allowing her to work more directly with communities and toward social impact. Describing her journey, Ashley states, “I suppose I felt that an organization where I could do this type of work in a way that aligned with my values did not exist anywhere else, so I created one.”
She describes herself as an “accidental entrepreneur,” although she has always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit. Her first venture, as a child, was selling bulk candy with her brothers at a price-point that undercut the local corner store but still allowed them to make a profit. She says of the experience “Sadly, the condominium manager shut us down when we could not present our business license, but the unsellable surplus candy gave us a lot of influence on the playground that summer!”
The Accidental Entrepreneur
Ashley’s journey in consulting began unexpectedly in 2010 when she left the Conference Board of Canada to pursue her PhD in Australia. Initially agreeing to assist the Conference Board as a remote consultant during their transition, she soon found herself receiving numerous requests for consulting services, revealing an opportunity beyond a mere side gig to make a living doing what she loves most. Upon returning to her home community of London, Ontario, she worked with various organizations while simultaneously growing her consulting business.
She discovered her passion for collaborating with non-profits and local First Nation communities as a settler (non-Indigenous person) committed to allyship, leading her to hire project-based contractors from the communities she served. As demand for her services increased, she faced a pivotal decision: invest in her venture or continue supporting other organizations. Ultimately, she chose to focus on building a firm dedicated to advocacy research and support for equity-denied and marginalized communities and social impact where it counts.
By 2019, she expanded her team, hiring a Director of Operations and several research associates, ensuring representation from the communities they served. Today, SISCO is a proud woman-led and majority Indigenous-operated firm that has expanded internationally, celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2024 in the company’s innovative cottage workspace.
Fostering Growth Through Authentic & Compassionate Leadership
Ashley’s leadership is guided by authenticity, kindness, a strengths-based approach and a commitment to continuous growth.
Ashley keeps it real, “I can only be me, and I want people to show up as themselves every day as well. Pretense is a waste of time and energy, and it interferes with real relationships.”
She believes that kindness is an unsung leadership quality that all workplaces need, “people often mistake kindness for weakness, but kindness takes courage. Our hearts compel us to do the most difficult things.” For Ashley, part of being a kind leader is fostering a flexible workplace that prioritizes work-life balance and employee wellness. Understanding the demands of her multifaceted life as a CEO, part-time professor, mother, and volunteer, she ensures that full-time employees work between 30 to 35 hours a week. This flexibility allows team members to manage personal commitments without compromising their professional responsibilities.
Ashley also takes a strengths-based approach, “Everyone on our team brings unique gifts; it’s my job to help them figure out what those are and how to use and build on those strengths to do great things together.” She emphasizes the importance of creating an environment where employees feel safe to acknowledge their mistakes. She models humility by openly discussing her missteps, encouraging a culture where vulnerability is viewed as a strength rather than a weakness. By reframing mistakes as opportunities for learning, she promotes critical self-reflection and excellence within her team. “When you a have a team of people who come together with different strengths, and we feel safe enough to take risks because we know if we fail, someone has our back and we can try again to do better, it’s a win-win.”
Through these core values, Ashley not only shapes the culture at SISCO but also drives meaningful social impact in the communities they serve.
Supporting Other Women in Business
Ashley stands with other women in entrepreneurship and leadership who have faced unique challenges in patriarchal environments. Her experiences have fueled her passion for entrepreneurship and inspired her to write a book that amplifies the voices of over 50 incredible women entrepreneurs. This project reflects her commitment to supporting the rise of feminist organizations that work for everyone.
She began her consulting career in her early twenties, before the Me Too movement. During this time, sexual harassment was rampant, and women were often blamed for such behavior. She recalls how older male clients and colleagues would make inappropriate comments about younger women, undermining their credibility. One particularly disheartening encounter involved an older woman colleague who dismissed her abilities based solely on her being a young woman, stating she lacked the “gravitas” to facilitate effectively. Ashley says of these experiences, “These microaggressions have never stopped me; instead they motivate me to find the right people to work with (which you can do as an entrepreneur!) and prove the others wrong.”
Now in her early forties, with a PhD and extensive experience, she finds that she is taken more seriously. However, she still encounters outdated perceptions. At a recent event, an older man expressed surprise at her position as a Board member, highlighting the ongoing underrepresentation of women in leadership roles.
In response to these challenges, she actively addresses misogyny and is dedicated to uplifting younger women in their careers, especially Black, Indigenous, and racialized women, as well as individuals from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. She recently became a mentor through Scotiabank’s Women’s Initiative, recognizing that mentorship is vital for fostering growth and empowerment among women.
Advice for Women Leaders
“I don’t believe in leaning in; women do not need to change ourselves. We are already more than enough! Instead, we need to lean out and the systems need to change to make room for us. We don’t really need to do anything aside from showing up authentically and unapologetically as ourselves, lifting one another up, and demanding change when we have the power to do so.”
She also advocates for openly embracing feminism, asserting that supporting equity for all is crucial. “As women entrepreneurs, we have a unique opportunity to create organizations that work for us. Establishing feminist business practices is not just an act of empowerment but also a demonstration of love for oneself and the community. Feminism is for everyone.”
By fostering environments where women can thrive authentically, we can collectively challenge outdated norms and pave the way for future generations of women leaders.
Commitment to Community
Ashley takes pride in her firm’s commitment to making a positive social impact across diverse communities. Over the years, they have mentored and employed 38 youth from 11 Indigenous communities in Canada and Chile, building meaningful relationships along the way. However, their work extends beyond this, addressing critical issues like food and housing security, economic development, and trauma support, among others.
The firm’s broader mission is evident in their success raising over $7 million for underfunded non-profits, empowering these organizations to continue providing essential services. Their initiatives include a $5,000 emergency bursary for post-secondary students, which has supported 40 students from seven communities with $25,000 to date.
Ashley’s approach measures success not just in numbers but in the depth of the connections formed and the lasting impact on all communities they engage with, ensuring their work is inclusive and respectful of the diverse populations they serve.
Balancing Leadership and Academia
Ashley skillfully balances her role as CEO of SISCO with her academic responsibilities as an Assistant Professor at Huron College and Western University. She values the opportunity to engage with students and teach courses that align with her expertise in entrepreneurship, research, and consulting.
She ensures that her academic work complements her consulting practice by being selective about her teaching commitments. “I think part of what makes me entrepreneurial is that I don’t define myself by a position that I am in with a particular organization, but by my role in society. So, I don’t see myself as a consultant or academic, but as a learner / educator, bridge-builder and change-maker, and how I take up those roles can be dynamic.”
This strategic alignment allows her to share valuable insights and experiences with students eager to learn. “Teaching is a wonderful opportunity to share my work with folks who are keenly interested and to inspire the next generation of change-makers!”
Through this balance, she exemplifies how leaders can integrate professional and academic pursuits, ultimately enriching both their work and the lives of those they mentor.
Future Goals
Ashley envisions a future for SISCO focused on deepening their impact within the communities they serve. She emphasizes the importance of monitoring their impact in communities and providing ongoing support, distinguishing her firm from others that offer only quick fixes that amount to band-aid solutions.
Building long-term, trust-based relationships is a priority. She also aims to diversify the firm’s advocacy efforts by expanding into new areas of social impact and reaching more equity-denied and marginalized communities, both domestically and internationally. Another key goal is to enhance direct community contributions through increased sponsorships and donations.
Ashley believes in community capacity development as a succession plan, “I have a responsibility to support capacity development in the communities we serve and to leave them better than we found them. I would say the same is true of my firm, I want to leave something special for the next generation to take up and make their own.”
Right now, she is most excited about her upcoming book, which she hopes will inspire and connect women entrepreneurs.
