Jennifer Harper - Presenter
Founder
Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics
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My name is Jenn Harper, founder of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics INC. I was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario and relocated to the Niagara Region where I was raised and developed a passion for cosmetics. I am happily married, with two beautiful children and still living in the Niagara Region to this day. Make-up has become a means of expression that has amazing power! I created Cheekbone Beauty because I felt there needed to be a brand for real people, that offered the latest trends and was super easy. There needed to be a brand that was made in Canada, that was never tested on animals AND that gave back to the First Nations community. The brand did not exist, so I created it! Through countless hours over the past two and a half years, Cheekbone Beauty was born!
Over the past ten years, I have had a very successful career in sales and marketing with two large international corporations. During my first week of training session with one of these companies 10 years ago, a questionnaire asked: “What is your dream job?” I wrote “To be the CEO of a major cosmetic brand.” At the time, there was no indication that I would eventually set out to build Cheekbone Beauty, still gives me goosebumps. During the development of Cheekbone Beauty, I researched the industry as well as charities that are helping close the educational funding gap that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. After a my research, we found the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society (FNCFCS) and Cheekbone Beauty continues to support the FNCFCS today. During Cheekbone’s infancy, I suffered a heavy personal loss with the suicide of my brother B.J. This loss, though difficult, has remained a driving force behind the desire to see Cheekbone Beauty succeed with its mission, to empower Indigenous youth.
In addition to Cheekbone’s mission, I strive to educate as many Canadians as possible about the Residential School System and the effects it has had on my family and friends through decades of generational trauma. I speak regularly to university, college and high school students about social entrepreneurship, empathy and the history of my First Nations family. I was also invited to speak to various entrepreneur groups, women in business associations, Apple Canada and First Nations organizations.
In 2017 I was awarded the “Social Enterprise Award” at the 17th Annual Women in Business Awards by the Women in Niagara (WIN) Council and the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) for my work on Cheekbone Beauty, what an honor.
Over the past ten years, I have had a very successful career in sales and marketing with two large international corporations. During my first week of training session with one of these companies 10 years ago, a questionnaire asked: “What is your dream job?” I wrote “To be the CEO of a major cosmetic brand.” At the time, there was no indication that I would eventually set out to build Cheekbone Beauty, still gives me goosebumps. During the development of Cheekbone Beauty, I researched the industry as well as charities that are helping close the educational funding gap that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. After a my research, we found the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society (FNCFCS) and Cheekbone Beauty continues to support the FNCFCS today. During Cheekbone’s infancy, I suffered a heavy personal loss with the suicide of my brother B.J. This loss, though difficult, has remained a driving force behind the desire to see Cheekbone Beauty succeed with its mission, to empower Indigenous youth.
In addition to Cheekbone’s mission, I strive to educate as many Canadians as possible about the Residential School System and the effects it has had on my family and friends through decades of generational trauma. I speak regularly to university, college and high school students about social entrepreneurship, empathy and the history of my First Nations family. I was also invited to speak to various entrepreneur groups, women in business associations, Apple Canada and First Nations organizations.
In 2017 I was awarded the “Social Enterprise Award” at the 17th Annual Women in Business Awards by the Women in Niagara (WIN) Council and the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) for my work on Cheekbone Beauty, what an honor.
Jennifer Harper's Sessions
Workshop
With Jennifer Harper
Date: March 15, 2021
Time: 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm