Friday, November 7, 2025 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. (EST) | Virtual
As financial systems evolve, technology can be both a tool of empowerment and a means of harm. Building on last year’s Help Us Rise campaign focus on technology-facilitated economic abuse, this webinar brings together CCFWE and Interac to explore how survivor-informed policy, digital innovation, and cross-sector collaboration are reshaping the future of safer finance in Canada.
The session will highlight groundbreaking approaches that integrate safety and inclusion into digital banking systems, including protective features developed within e-transfer platforms to prevent economic abuse and safeguard survivors’ financial independence.
Join leaders and advocates as they discuss the role of financial institutions in preventing economic abuse, and how centering lived experience drives meaningful innovation for survivor protection.
Khushbu Shah, Product Designer, Interac Corp
Khushbu is a product designer at Interac, currently designing for e-Transfer notifications. With a passion for human-centric design, she builds features that solve real-world problems and is dedicated to creating inclusive and empowering digital experiences.
Rhiannon Wong, Technology Safety Project Manager, Women’s Shelters Canada
Rhiannon Wong is the Project Manager for Women’s Shelters Canada’s new Technology Safety Canada project. Through her project addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence, Rhiannon has been developing practical technology safety resources and training for Canadian anti-violence workers that addresses how technology can be used both to keep survivors safe and misused by perpetrators to commit crimes of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, impersonation and harassment.
Rhiannon was selected as a member of the official Canadian delegation to the 67th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, where she presented Tech Safety Canada.
Michaela Mayer, Senior Director of Programs and Policy, CCFWE
Michaela Mayer is the Senior Director of Programs and Policy at the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE).
She leads the Centre’s strategic initiatives to advance research, public policy, and national programs related to economic abuse and financial inclusion.
Through her leadership, Michaela bridges the lived experiences of survivors with systemic policy change, helping to build a safer and more equitable future for all women in Canada.
Meseret Haileysus, Founder and Executive Director, CCFWE
Meseret Haileyesus, Founder and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE), is recognized nationally and internationally for her leadership in addressing economic abuse and advancing women’s financial security.
A 2025 recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, she has brought economic abuse to the forefront of the national conversation and helped drive major policy changes across the country.
Under her leadership, CCFWE leads the Help Us Rise campaign, mobilizing financial institutions, governments, and community organizations to build a safer, fairer, and more inclusive Canada.
