[Fort McMurray, February 14, 2024] –  Girls Inc. of Northern is thrilled to announce Kyla Penner, the founder and CEO of KPSquared Innovative Child Care – a 24-hour childcare centre, as the fifth and final Women of Inspiration 2023-24 award recipient presented by Bouchier.

Kyla is changing the face of childcare. She is an agent for change for fostering ‘whole family unit care’ and women’s labour force participation – resulting in enhancing quality of life in communities and, ultimately, love. 

“Each of us carries an abundance of purpose and part of mine is to help communities shift the culture… and bring a higher quality of life to families… and to the land”, Kyla says. 

How Kyla got to where she is today is propelled by her strong sense of self, intuitions, resilience, and lived experience as a teenage mom. Wanting to continue schooling, Kyla sought the only resource she could find for teen parents in Alberta at the time – Terra Centre at Breamer School in Edmonton with on-site childcare. Despite career advancement in the oil sands industry upon graduation in Fort McMurray, Kyla was forced to forfeit her career when she became pregnant after struggling to find accessible childcare that would meet the needs and demands of shift working parents. 

Kyla never gave up there. She pursued online school for Licensed Practical Nurse with a specialization in palliative care. Kyla had started a day home in the meantime, where she faced healthcare workers’ similar and intersecting challenges that Kyla had experienced earlier in terms of access to flexible, extended-hours and overnight childcare. While developing a network of dayhomes with her colleagues, this became a pivotal moment for Kyla where she had found a niche to explore in the Wood Buffalo region.

Kyla eventually creates a solution for the region – an innovative and strategically sound solution that would contribute to its sustainable economic growth based on benefits from the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. As a Métis woman herself, Kyla understood the truths behind these lenses. As Kyla puts it, it is a program to “support the parents on releasing that parental guilt and shame… it was beautiful and magical to watch families come together to change the quality of life”. 

Kyla has faced numerous challenges and adversity along the way. The words cannot describe what she went through. And, there was a time where she almost called it quits. It was, however, her business partner’s words – “Kyla, you are meant to change the world. Do not stop.” –  that revived the power within her. As shared by Kyla, “There is no such thing as failure. It’s like every roadblock is a detour in the right direction… Whatever is meant for you will not pass you by.” 

Kyla has been nominated as “so determined, thoughtful, inspirational, successful, empowering, spiritual, supportive, uplifting, wholesome and full of gratitude and love”. These accolades are due in part to her tireless lobbying efforts to change the provincial legislation, making it possible to provide 24-hour childcare in 2021. These efforts inspire and advocate for many women; women whose children she cares for, women who she employs, and women who can look to her example that nothing should stand in your way. “You have to love you for who you are, authentically and sincerely. When you live in that direction, you become an energetic match for people who are also in alignment.”

With the success of KPSquared Innovative Child Care, Kyla is now working towards creating a partnership in Fort MacKay to ensure that Indigenous communities can access well-needed 24-hour child care to fill the existing systemic gap. While this will empower more women by creating employment opportunities with a peace of mind to follow their employment dreams, it will create opportunities for elders and children to connect one another. Further, her wholistic vision and plan include sharing the best practice beyond the Wood Buffalo region – including the state of Montana, USA. 

Kyla Penner will join four other Women of Inspiration to be honoured at (EM)POWER: Women of Inspiration Celebration on March 9, 2024, at Shell Place, MacDonald Island.