At the centre of Michelle’s leadership as President of Akashic Communications Corp. is a simple but powerful thread: unearthing voices.
Over more than three decades working across the financial and mining sectors, she has built a career not defined by a single discipline, but by a consistent approach—listening across the full spectrum of community experience and bringing forward what might otherwise remain unheard. Whether through stakeholder engagement, human rights and social impact assessments, worker consultations on psychological health and safety, research with women in unconventional roles in Bolivia, or narrative initiatives such as My Mother’s Story: Gone Too Soon and GEMS Unearthed, her work has focused on creating pathways for people to speak in their own words.
This orientation toward voice shaped her contribution to sustainability long before inclusion became a formal expectation. Her reporting stood out not only as data-driven documentation, but as something people wanted to read—grounded in detail, curiosity, and an instinct to look beyond metrics to the human dimensions behind what they represent. She has always been drawn to the perspectives at the margins, seeking insight from those whose experiences are often overlooked yet essential to understanding how systems truly function.
Michelle’s leadership is expressed through the environments she creates. She is known for designing spaces where individuals feel able to share openly, where experiences can be normalized and validated, and where dialogue leads to better decisions and more durable outcomes. She believes that meaningful progress comes from asking difficult questions, encouraging thoughtful exchange, and removing barriers that prevent communication. Rather than speaking on behalf of others, she builds the structures and processes that allow their voices to be represented directly and authentically.
Her approach is both analytical and intuitive—mentally sharp, quietly confident, and deeply purpose-driven. She connects people and ideas with ease, guided by a belief that there is room for many perspectives and that collaboration, not competition, strengthens collective impact. This outlook has informed her mentorship, advisory roles, and continued advocacy for respectful workplaces and the integration of psychological health and safety into organizational practice.
To understand Michelle’s work is to understand leadership not as amplification of one voice, but as the careful, intentional work of making space for many. Unearthing voices is not a metaphor in her case—it is the method through which she challenges assumptions, enriches decision-making, and helps shape workplaces and industries that reflect the complexity of the people within them.
Here are the raw excerpts from the interview:
Every woman leader has a beginning. What early experiences shaped the woman you are today?
I feel what serves me best as leadership qualities today were equally shaped early by both nature and nurture.
On the nature front, I was fortunate enough to come into the world with personality traits and temperament that support strong leadership qualities. I naturally possessed a genuine and intense curiosity, I was responsible, practical, and strangely good at planning, I had an energy to get certain things done and I could laugh at myself. Even as a child people were drawn to me and at some point on the growth curve I realized in a general sense that I was leading more than I was following.
When it comes to nurture, I was most definitely taught the value of discipline and hard work and was bequeathed an exceptional intergenerational work ethic by my family.
I feel these elements of nature and nurture emerge in one way or another in times that require strength or grace under pressure.
If you had to introduce yourself beyond your title and achievements, who are you at your core?
When I consider who I am at my core I think of Michelle-centric qualities that endure over time or across situations like: genuine, loyal, determined, curious, reliable, decisive, resourceful (including being a natural ‘connector’), I’m a strategic/big picture thinker while also having an eye for detail, I have a deep appreciation for the beauty of nature, and I am thoughtful and thought-provoking (the latter of which can get me into trouble sometimes!)
This edition celebrates women who are rewriting what success looks like. What does success mean to you in 2026, and how has that definition evolved over time?
Success for me in 2026 includes both the advancement of certain goals but more strongly integrates one of the things I value most – connection.
I always have a list of things I would like to do, and achieving those goals will always somehow fit into my definition of success. That said, I think the way my definition of success has evolved over time is that as I set goals and my path to realize them, I finally truly understand the ‘more of a journey than a destination’ adage combined with choices that are guided by increased alignment with my personal values.
Once we are in a place where we have some experience under our belt and a reliable network of relationships built, we can settle into the luxury of discernment, meaning we can choose (or create!) projects and people to spend time with who share our passions, key values, and connect with those whom we simply enjoy.
The first of two forms of connection that have served me particularly well in the last while has been re-connecting with my ancestral heritage in my life and work. While almost all of my family tree from my grandparents up hail from Poland, after they passed, I was not living a particularly Polish-centric life and found myself wanting to reconnect with our Polish heritage. I began volunteering with the Canadian Polish Business Association (CPBA) in 2024; first as Manager of a Sustainable Cities Trade Mission to Poland and Ukraine and where I am presently their VP, National Strategy & Director. Being embraced and supported by this group has provided enriching exposure to projects and people of Polish heritage and while I was expecting ‘new’, what I found was an amazingly familiar sense of comfort and belonging –meetings and events feel like family gatherings as I continue to blend combining business networking and objectives with an expanded Canadian-Polish business network.
I’ve also leaned more into the enjoyment of teaming-up with other inspiring, interesting, and powerful professional women. Mrs. Aleksandra Kucy is an example of both types of connections. As the esteemed Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Vancouver, I learn much from her international relations knowledge and how she moves around in the world as an experienced diplomat and civil servant, and together we found we are also creative… and fun!
As our collaborative working relationship and friendship deepen, we enjoy our time together and benefit in many meaningful ways, which feels naturally aligned with both my personal values and my definition of success.
Many women leaders speak of a moment that shifted them from self-doubt to self-belief. What was that moment for you?
I don’t recall being besieged with any real uncertainty or self-doubt when I was young. I didn’t feel particularly brave. I just did stuff. It seems the clouds of self -doubt come with exposure to ‘larger social expectations times adulthood’! It’s almost like we have to reconnect with our childlike sense of wonder and re-remember our intrinsic superpowers to reclaim unbridled self-belief.
While I believe most of us experience self-doubt on a continuum between ‘CAN I do this?’ (a realistic question) to full-blown imposter syndrome from time to time, it’s possible my shift occurred when I was able to re-frame this narrative and call it something more like “evidence that someone is thoughtful and aware of the impact of their choices”. Conscious reflection is not necessarily a flaw to be eliminated, and is certainly not the opposite of confidence: It runs parallel, particularly in people who lead with integrity.
I also generally challenge the notion that confidence has to be a loud, polished, performance. Many great leaders carry themselves with a quieter, steadier form of self-belief that grows through the above-noted reflection, lived experience, and the courage to be candid and real about life’s obstacles and what has been difficult to overcome alongside celebrating jobs well done and achievements.
What barriers or biases have you had to overcome in your journey and which one took the longest to unlearn?
Not everyone has the intestinal fortitude to be an entrepreneur, which requires the ongoing ability to be okay with uncertainty. By this I mean a bit of a natural ability to overcome most nagging doubts and replacing these thoughts when they do arise with “it will all work out”. Entrepreneurs go forth, take risks, and spend their own time and money developing their skills, business, and projects that they believe will add value and will be successful. While I am an intrinsic risk-taker, letting go of attachments and unlearning equating success with very specific expectations of results and desired outcomes does take patience and practice!
What advice would you give women who feel they must conform or shrink themselves to fit into leadership spaces?
I might ask where those feelings of ‘must conform or shrink’ began (often childhood-of-origin experiences long before playing-out in a workplace scenario), which might mean these feelings represent internal limiting beliefs and a personal development barrier to overcome.
If the feeling is in real time from real colleagues, I might question who might benefit from you being ‘smaller’. Expectations of conformity can masquerade as ‘professionalism’ or ‘fit’, but it can also quietly erode clarity, confidence, and enjoyment from contributing your whole self in your role.
If someone is telling you that you are ‘too much’, it might just be that the space is too narrow.
Looking back, which achievement or milestone feels the most meaningful — not in scale, but in impact?
The creation and curation of the 2022 Amazon Bestselling anthology My Mother’s Story: Gone Too Soon was one of my most significant passion projects and meaningful milestones; not because of its scale, but because of its reach as a literature and legacy project and for its resonance and impact as a profoundly transformational shared experience en-route to becoming a loss and grief healing resource.
After writing my own mother’s story – the Story of Florence – in 2014, I became incredibly compelled to re-create the cathartic and healing properties I experienced during the process and to share these powerful ‘results’ with others who had also experienced early mother loss. I will be forever grateful to Marilyn Norry for her permission to let me ‘borrow’ the My Mother’s Story template and create a new anthology: A collection that would keep with the telling of extraordinary stories of ordinary women and bring focus to the lives that these women did have – albeit far too short – and authored exclusively by adults bereaved in childhood.
Used by individuals, therapists, educators, and support networks, Gone Too Soon demonstrates how the narrative writing experience can transform life-long feelings of a deep sense of absence into closeness, belonging, and finding and connecting with her presence.
Amazon Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=michelle+hohn&crid=5EPBCLFJU1E4&sprefix=michelle+hoh%2Caps%2C221&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
On International Women’s Day 2026, what message do you want to give women across the world?
I would want women across the globe to know:
Your life is already meaningful and story-worthy. Exceptional stories emanate from everyday truth and come from the most ordinary of moments long before they look impressive on paper.
You do not need to wait for a title, a milestone, or permission to tell your story about who you are, how you got to where you are today, and for your insights to have value. The wisdom you carry has been shaped in successes, challenges, and failures – and of equal importance are all of the in-between moments, which shape your authentic leadership style.
What’s your boldest aspiration for the next chapter of your journey?
Creating and launching GEMS Unearthed: Stories of Women Shaping the Future of Mining is without doubt the boldest aspiration for the next part of my journey.
This global digital archive initiative reflects a deepening of purpose: leveraging the combination of my experience and credibility in mining, sustainability, and expressive writing/publishing to hold space for reflection, courage, and truth—while building a body of work that future generations can turn to for insight.
At its heart, GEMS is a bold act of faith in women’s voices and embodies my conviction that when these voices are gathered with intention, they become something more than stories. They become a creative legacy that reshapes how we fully understand the lives of women including leadership, contribution, and collective moments which truly endure.
How do you hope your story inspires others, especially young women who are watching and learning from leaders like you?
I hope my story (alongside the creation of GEMS Unearthed and inspiring a global digital archive of stories) emboldens women—especially young women embarking on professional and business paths—to embrace a deeper sense of confidence and permission to define success on their own terms.
This includes permission to trust that your perspective, experience, and instincts belong in the room, even when they may challenge the status quo. It also means the permission to bring your whole, un-edited version of yourself into leadership—values, judgement, lived experience included, because this not only strengthens your own presence, it raises the quality of leadership around you.
