Karen Dosanjh - An extraordinary legacy built with mother's heart

I BELIEVE THAT MOTHERS ARE THE HEART OF THE HOME AND HAVE THE INNATE ABILITY TO UPLIFT EVERYONE AROUND THEM.

Karen is trailblazer in the Marketing, Public Relations & Communications industry in Canada. Throughout her remarkable 30-year career, she has overcome both gender and cultural barriers to reach new heights in the business & technology sector. She is one of the first women of Punjabi heritage to practice public relations in Canada (1992) and serve on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Public Relations Society in Vancouver (1995-1998). She currently serves as the Vice-President, Marketing at OSI Digital and leads the global marketing strategy for the leading digital transformation provider. Karen is a force to be reckoned with in Canada’s tech marketing sector. She has been instrumental in the launch of three successful start-ups throughout her career including Bit Stew Systems, which she helped lead to acquisition for $200 million by GE in 2016.

Karen has earned numerous awards and accolades throughout her esteemed career. In 2019, she was named a Shakti Award recipient for her Professional Achievements. In 2023, she was named a finalist for the Surrey Board of Trade’s Women in Business Awards in the “Corporate Leader” category. In 2023, Karen earned the title of BC Business “Women of the Year” in the “Entrepreneurial Leader” category and was the first woman of Punjabi heritage to be featured on the cover of the magazine. There’s no stopping her. In 2024, Karen was declared a finalist for the YMCA Woman of Distinction in the Business & Professions Category.

Career achievements aside, giving back to her community is a big part of what makes Karen who she is. In 2018, she established the first-ever GE Women’s Network in BC to help women break into careers in the technology sector. Karen also serves as a volunteer mentor and speaker at Young Women in Business (YWiB), SFU’s Beedie School of Business, Segal Graduate School of Business, and UBC’s Sauder School of Business on various noteworthy topics. Karen also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Be the Light Society which raises funds for scholarships for South Asian girls in financial need.

In May 2020, she volunteered her time and talents to write ‘Untold Stories: The South Asian Pioneer Experience in BC’, which shines the light on the journey of the first wave of Sikh settlers who migrated from India to Canada in the early 1900s. Karen is a shining example of a woman who gives all her heart to her family, her work, her community and to the next generation who can learn from her experiences and knowledge.

Rewarding part of being a mom

Our sons are young men now and our oldest Navin is 22, and our youngest Dayvn is 19. My husband Darsh and I look back and realize that all the pure love, energy, and heart that we put into raising our boys mattered and had a profound impact on who they are today. In the future, we hope that our boys do have lives and career paths that are rewarding and spark true happiness for them. Most importantly, we hope to have raised respectful, loving, and caring young men who make the world a better place with their presence. I know that this will be my greatest reward and joy of motherhood. Being Navin and Dayvn’s mom is truly my life’s greatest work.

Striking balance in life

Women often ask me how I manage all the things that I do in my work, career, homelife and community. I want to be honest by saying it hasn’t always been easy. Like most working moms I’ve struggled with maintaining a busy career and community work all while managing everything that comes with being a super hands-on mom. I wanted to be there for everything and didn’t miss a single game, a camp send off or countless volunteer duties. It all mattered to me, and I wanted my boys to see me fully present in their world in those formative years. My message to young moms is to hang in there because with each phase, things do get a little easier. It is important for moms to lean on their support networks in the critical child rearing stage. Try to be that support network for others too, whether it is ridesharing with other moms, or just being a person to call upon when someone needs a helping hand. As your children become more independent and self-sufficient, moms do have more time to do the things that ignite their own spirits. It’s all worth it so keep going, moms!

Feeling of being a miracle mom

I am impressed with all the miracle moms in my own life. I have watched marvelous and highly capable women handle a multitude of tasks so easily and they always do it all with such warmth and grace. I don’t think men truly understand how much women contribute to their homes and so much often goes unnoticed. For example, to arrive at a major speaking event, I have to be fully prepared and knowledgeable. I must be nicely put together and I will have made dinner for the family before I even left the house. My example is not unusual as this is a common theme for most women running busy households. We have this innate ability to manage so much, and we do it all from the deepest part of our hearts and souls. We are all miracle moms!

Qualities of a miracle mom

I have learned strength and resilience by having a first-hand view of my own extraordinary mothers. My mom, Harbans Kaur Johal, 92, is a partition survivor and has now lovingly raised three generations in Canada. My mother-in-law, Gurdev Kaur Dosanjh, 80, is a cancer survivor and has also caringly raised three generations in our family. From them both, I have learned to love unconditionally and without question in the various special roles that I hold dear. Whether that is as a mother to my own boys, or as “Auntie Karen” to many and now “Dadi K” and “Nani K” to our family littles. These are some of my most cherished roles and bonds in life. From these two wonderful women I have learned that love holds no bounds and that there is no limit to how much love you can give others, especially children.

Spotlight on the miracle moms

I hope that when other women see this cover, they see a little bit of themselves in each of these incredible women’s stories. We share the same triumphs, the same struggles, and we share the same joys as mothers. We are actually more the same, than we are different. I believe that mothers are the emotional backbones of our families. We provide a safe holding place for everyone’s needs and feelings and we do our best to protect our loved one’s day in and day out. I hope that mothers reading this take time to take care of themselves too, and just know how much they are valued and needed in this world.