Posted on March 25, 2026
After 12 months in their positions, two of our employees, Cec Lopez and Jenny Steinke-Magnus, will be bidding adieu to the Manitoba Queer Chamber of Commerce. Both staff members will be moving on to other projects following the completion of their employment terms with the organization.
Cec’s position of Program Coordinator and Jenny’s position of Executive Director were created last spring thanks to funding from the Canadian Queer Chamber of Commerce and the Government of Canada. For the first time ever, the Chamber was able to hire staff to grow the organization. And just after Jenny and Cec, the MQCC hired Drake Perry as the Membership & Communications Coordinator.
This past year, thanks to the hard work of the MQCC staff and board, the MQCC was able to complete many key projects: we underwent a name change and rebrand, launched and completed the first cohort of the EMERGE Queer Entrepreneur Development Program, restructured grew our board from two to nine directors, revived our networking events and annual business awards, and built relationships with hundreds of 2SLGBTQIA+ and ally entrepreneurs, professionals, students, businesses and organizations in Manitoba and beyond.
We are grateful for all of the contributions that Jenny and Cec made to this important work with the queer business community, and we wish them all the best as they move on from their roles after March 31.
What’s next for the MQCC? Our board and staff team are continuing work behind the scenes for future MQCC events and initiatives, and looking for more ways to enhance membership benefits. After such a full year of projects, we are more committed than ever to serving the 2SLGBTQIA+ business community. We will continue to build on the momentum from the past year and hope to grow even more.
Drake Perry, along with our board members, will continue to keep things running behind the scenes, connecting with members, updating our website and social media platforms, and responding to inquiries. If you have any questions about your membership or how to get involved in the MQCC, or just want to say hi, be sure to contact us at info@mbqueerchamber.ca!
Hope to see you at a future MQCC event!