Or as my dad would say, a “liberal, leftist snowflake”.

My story

I grew up in a conservative, Republican christian, military, trailer park home. We didn’t go outside of our communities or our seemingly “safe spaces” very often. The love and kindness I was taught was too narrow for the world I found myself in.

The fear of others, an inheritance of racism, bigotry and white supremacy, tried to become the banner of my life. But my story wasn’t going to be written by others. It was going to be written by me.

So here I am.

I’m a descendent of mixed ancestry, with my mother’s Indigenous Mexican side being a long held family secret and my dad’s militant German side the “pride” of our Westfall name. I inherited white saviorism, whiteness and had the justification to Karen my way into any political or social situation presented to me.

The beauty of inheritance, though, is you get to choose what to do with it. So I chose to look at it right in the face. To sit across the table from racism and see it fully in me. To listen to the old narratives of othering and realize there were other stories waiting to be heard. To look at myself honestly and see what was actually there and choosing to love myself while taking off the shrouds of harmful beliefs I swallowed.

Yes, I am a people champion. Yes, I make mistakes. And yes, I find incredible joy.

And it’s a joy we all deserve.

Janklin is my answer to that. Not a training. Not a checklist. But an invitation to embrace the joy of cultures, the joy of diversity and the joy of leadership.

Meet Andrea

I’m PMP Papered

Project management. It’s a snore without culture’s spice and life. Our charters and strategies are built with Western methods in mind but geez! There’s a more flavourful (and fun) way to lead project teams.