Latest news with #MeaganWard
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Yahoo
Security heavy in court for teen who murdered young mother, threatened judge
The teen was on crutches when he shot Jordanna Kucher in the back outside an east-side Saskatoon pub last fall. The 16-year-old was using them because he'd been shot himself in a gang fight a month earlier. The detail emerged Thursday in provincial court during the the teen's sentencing hearing. The boy, now 17, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Nov. 14, 2024 death of Kucher outside The Copper Mug pub and restaurant. He shot the young mother during a robbery. Kucher's friends and family spent five hours in court listening to the prosecutor, defence and judge try to arrive at a sentence that fit the teen's personal circumstances, offered some justice to Kucher's family and protected society when he is released back into the community in his early 20s. Security in the courtroom was heightened by the presence of extra deputy sheriffs, including ones placed by the prisoner's box. "It's a very tragic case," said defence lawyer Meagan Ward. "And it's a very tragic back story as it relates to the accused." Crown attorney Shaela Verma read an agreed statement of facts into the record. Police were called to The Copper Mug on 8th Street East at 6:25 p.m. CST on Nov. 14. They arrived to find Kucher face down on the pavement with a gunshot wound to her back. She died half an hour later. Investigators quickly pieced together what happened through surveillance video at the pub and in taxis used by two suspects. They were able to track a young male suspect, on crutches, and a female, to a house at 320 Ave. Q South. The in-car footage, which included audio, revealed that the teen had a firearm in his waistband. After the shooting, they were heard on tape discussing "murder," and "taking care of business." A man with Kucher that night said they had walked from McDonalds to the coffee shop to buy cigarettes. They were confronted outside the pubp, and that Kucher was shot during a robbery. The 16-year-old was arrested at the house on Avenue Q and charged with first-degree murder. A 36-year-old woman, Katelin McGillivary, was also arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Her trial is slated to begin Sept. 22. 'Better to be the one doing the killing,' teen said of gang life Verma and defence lawyer Meagan Ward agreed the boy should get the maximum youth sentence of seven years. But they diverged on how much credit he should be given for the time he had already spent in custody, and whether he should be forced to take an intensive rehabilitation program. "There were some challenging legal issues in terms of pre-sentence custody and how that gets considered," Ward said outside court. Comments the teen made during a psychiatric assessment further complicated sentencing him. Court heard how the teen had told the report writers that "I'd like to be the first kid to punch a judge in the face." He also said, describing his involvement with gangs, that "it's kill or be killed out there." "It's better to be the one doing the killing." Verma said the pre-sentence report offered "a roadmap to how he ended up here," and that he had "a very complicated family and upbringing ... marked by trauma and survival." He had significant gang involvement "and is ambivalent about leaving the gang life." She said that his older brother murdered a Saskatoon newcomer in 2019 and then, in 2022, was himself murdered in front of the teen. "Violence is his main problem-solving strategy," she said, quoting from the report. Ward said the teen was born in Yorkton and had minimal contact with his father. She said that he's close to his mother but that she struggled with her own addictions and gang involvement. None of his family members were in court Thursday. She said that he's the third oldest of 10, and that all of his brothers and sisters are in foster care. "The street became his family," Ward said. "He became ingrained in street life at an early age. The criminal lifestyle is the only lifestyle he was exposed to." Ward said he began drinking at age 8, and that he used cocaine and crystal meth. Verma had recommended the teen be placed in the Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) program, which offers specialized therapeutic programs and services for youth with mental health needs who are convicted of a serious violent offence. But Ward said the teen was not interested in an IRCS sentence and would not participate in any of the programming, even if ordered. He did not explain why he did not want the enhanced care. 'How do you sum up a life in a page?' Kucher's parents, siblings, cousins and friends were in court for the sentencing and spent an hour reading victim impact statements to the judge. Court heard how Kucher was adopted when she was three. "How do you sum up a life in a page," said her mother, Dana. "She was a firecracker from the first day ... she needed an outlet, and discovered dance." Premier Dance in Kindersley, Sask. put together a photo tribute page for Kucher, describing her as "a talented, naturally gifted dancer who trained her entire dance career at our studio." "She completed several major exam levels in Ballet & Tap." Kucher had a nine-month-old daughter at the time she was killed. Speaking to the teen in the prisoner's box, her mother recalled learning that Jordanna's daughter had just taken her first steps when she died. "She lay dying in a parking lot, surrounded by strangers, as her daughter took her first steps," she said. Her older sister, Nikita, added that she came to court "to speak her name." 'You have a debt' Associate Chief Judge Sanjeev Anand sentenced the teen to seven years, but did not force him to take the IRCS programming. The sentence broke down to four years in custody, followed by three years under close supervision in the community. Anand also imposed a lifetime firearms ban. "I hope you're impacted by the victim impact statements you've heard," he said. Anand acknowledged the teen's traumatic background, but added "you took a life, that's on you." "You have a debt. You have to spend the rest of your life paying that debt." The boy declined to speak when offered the chance by Anand.
CBC
08-08-2025
- CBC
Security heavy in court for teen who murdered young mother, threatened judge
The teen was on crutches when he shot Jordanna Kucher in the back outside an east-side Saskatoon coffee shop last fall. The 16-year-old was using them because he'd been shot himself in a gang fight a month earlier. The detail emerged Thursday in provincial court during the the teen's sentencing hearing. The boy, now 17, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Nov. 14, 2024 death of Kucher outside The Copper Mug coffee shop. He shot the young mother during a robbery. Kucher's friends and family spent five hours in court listening to the prosecutor, defence and judge try to arrive at a sentence that fit the teen's personal circumstances, offered some justice to Kucher's family and protected society when he is released back into the community in his early 20s. Security in the courtroom was heightened by the presence of extra deputy sheriffs, including ones placed by the prisoner's box. "It's a very tragic case," said defence lawyer Meagan Ward. "And it's a very tragic back story as it relates to the accused." Crown attorney Shaela Verma read an agreed statement of facts into the record. Police were called to The Copper Mug on 8th Street East at 6:25 p.m. CST on Nov. 14. They arrived to find Kucher face down on the pavement with a gunshot wound to her back. She died half an hour later. Investigators quickly pieced together what happened through surveillance video at the coffee shop and in taxis used by two suspects. They were able to track a young male suspect, on crutches, and a female, to a house at 320 Ave. Q South. The in-car footage, which included audio, revealed that the teen had a firearm in his waistband. After the shooting, they were heard on tape discussing "murder," and "taking care of business." A man with Kucher that night said they had walked from McDonalds to the coffee shop to buy cigarettes. They were confronted outside the coffee shop, and that Kucher was shot during a robbery. The 16-year-old was arrested at the house on Avenue Q and charged with first-degree murder. A 36-year-old woman, Katelin McGillivary, was also arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Her trial is slated to begin Sept. 22. 'Better to be the one doing the killing,' teen said of gang life Verma and defence lawyer Meagan Ward agreed the boy should get the maximum youth sentence of seven years. But they diverged on how much credit he should be given for the time he had already spent in custody, and whether he should be forced to take an intensive rehabilitation program. "There were some challenging legal issues in terms of pre-sentence custody and how that gets considered," Ward said outside court. Comments the teen made during a psychiatric assessment further complicated sentencing him. Court heard how the teen had told the report writers that "I'd like to be the first kid to punch a judge in the face." He also said, describing his involvement with gangs, that "it's kill or be killed out there." "It's better to be the one doing the killing." Verma said the pre-sentence report offered "a roadmap to how he ended up here," and that he had "a very complicated family and upbringing ... marked by trauma and survival." He had significant gang involvement "and is ambivalent about leaving the gang life." She said that his older brother murdered a Saskatoon newcomer in 2019 and then, in 2022, was himself murdered in front of the teen. "Violence is his main problem-solving strategy," she said, quoting from the report. Ward said the teen was born in Yorkton and had minimal contact with his father. She said that he's close to his mother but that she struggled with her own addictions and gang involvement. None of his family members were in court Thursday. She said that he's the third oldest of 10, and that all of his brothers and sisters are in foster care. "The street became his family," Ward said. "He became ingrained in street life at an early age. The criminal lifestyle is the only lifestyle he was exposed to." Ward said he began drinking at age 8, and that he used cocaine and crystal meth. Verma had recommended the teen be placed in the Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) program, which offers specialized therapeutic programs and services for youth with mental health needs who are convicted of a serious violent offence. But Ward said the teen was not interested in an IRCS sentence and would not participate in any of the programming, even if ordered. He did not explain why he did not want the enhanced care. 'How do you sum up a life in a page?' Kucher's parents, siblings, cousins and friends were in court for the sentencing and spent an hour reading victim impact statements to the judge. Court heard how Kucher was adopted when she was three. "How do you sum up a life in a page," said her mother, Dana. "She was a firecracker from the first day ... she needed an outlet, and discovered dance." Premier Dance in Kindersley, Sask. put together a photo tribute page for Kucher, describing her as "a talented, naturally gifted dancer who trained her entire dance career at our studio." "She completed several major exam levels in Ballet & Tap." Kucher had a nine-month-old daughter at the time she was killed. Speaking to the teen in the prisoner's box, her mother recalled learning that Jordanna's daughter had just taken her first steps when she died. "She lay dying in a parking lot, surrounded by strangers, as her daughter took her first steps," she said. Her older sister, Nikita, added that she came to court "to speak her name." 'You have a debt' Associate Chief Judge Sanjeev Anand sentenced the teen to seven years, but did not force him to take the IRCS programming. The sentence broke down to four years in custody, followed by three years under close supervision in the community. Anand also imposed a lifetime firearms ban. "I hope you're impacted by the victim impact statements you've heard," he said. Anand acknowledged the teen's traumatic background, but added "you took a life, that's on you." "You have a debt. You have to spend the rest of your life paying that debt." The boy declined to speak when offered the chance by Anand.
Japan Times
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Times
Detroit-Nagoya network empowers women-owned businesses around the world
The statistics around the gender investment gap are grim. A joint analysis by global startup accelerator MassChallenge and Boston Consulting Group revealed that businesses founded by women raise less than half the amount of funding compared to those founded by men — an average gap of more than $1 million. Globally, less than 3% of venture capital goes to women-led startups. At the same time, data shows that women-led businesses produce higher returns on investment and create more jobs while doing so. Finding ways to address that contradiction is the mission of femUniti (rhymes with 'community'), a Japan-based company supporting female entrepreneurs and business owners around the world. The company was established in Nagoya in January 2024 by Meagan Ward, founder of Detroit's first women's co-working space, and Setsu Suzuki, a pioneering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultant. Complementary communities Ward, 34, a third-generation entrepreneur, launched her first business while still at Western Michigan University. Her family home was facing foreclosure during the 2008 recession, her single mother trying to make ends meet. Ward began doing freelance business marketing to help out, building up a client list by pounding the pavement. This allowed her to meet many women running businesses in Detroit, engendering a passion for supporting their entrepreneurship. It ultimately inspired her to found the co-working space Femology in 2017. The success of that facility brought her to the attention of the State Department, which recruited her for the U.S. Speaker Program to engage with geopolitical allies on the topic of empowering women entrepreneurs. Ward's Motor City pedigree made her a natural fit for a stint in Japan's automotive capital, so the program sent her to Nagoya in 2022. That's where she met Suzuki, the founder of Japan Institute of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion (SD&I). Suzuki, 50, is a Nagoya native who studied business at Nanzan University and Yonsei University in Seoul. After briefly working in wholesale and founding a corporate training company, she was contracted to direct a supplier diversity program at WEConnect, a nonprofit that connects major corporations like Intel, Accenture and Johnson & Johnson with small- and medium-sized suppliers run by women. The experience underscored for Suzuki how many challenges entrepreneurs from marginalized groups face due to lack of funding and other resources — so she decided to found SD&I to collect the data needed to lobby for change. When Ward and Suzuki met at an event at the U.S. Consulate in Nagoya, they bonded over their shared passion for supporting women founders in the startup space, particularly in underrepresented fields like manufacturing and energy. They immediately began talking about a potential collaboration and noted how their communities were complementary: Suzuki's network was full of suppliers, many of whom had inherited family businesses and had experience with the ins and outs of operations, while Ward's was full of scrappy new entrepreneurs, including ambitious first-generation business owners with scarcity-driven innovation. 'We kind of understood that ... women in Japan have what women in Detroit need: infrastructure, knowledge about succession (and) community,' says Ward. Meanwhile, her peers in Detroit came armed with the knowledge of 'how to start with zero resources (and) the resilience of a city coming back from bankruptcy.' Setsu Suzuki (left) and Meagan Ward bonded over their shared passion and discovered they had complementary networks from their career trajectories in Nagoya and Detroit, respectively. | Courtesy of Setsu Suzuki Suzuki and Ward decided to launch an exchange program to support cross-cultural, peer-to-peer mentorship between the two cities. With the assistance of corporate partner Delta Airlines, they were able to complete an exploratory exchange in April 2024, bringing the groups to the TechTown and Bamboo Detroit innovation hubs as well as women-owned businesses around Detroit. 'This pilot provided us with countless sources of inspiration and revealed the potential that arises when women entrepreneurs visit each other's spaces and exchange ideas,' Suzuki says. 'Blueprint for the future' FemUniti will launch its first official Global Entrepreneurial Exchange Program in 2026, with Amazon signed on to sponsor. Five women will be selected from both Japan and the United States to take part. Months of online discussions will help them curate an itinerary for their visits, ensuring their time is spent as productively as possible. Ian Conyers, Amazon's head of community affairs, says the company sees the program as a way to foster both hyperlocal and global impact for women. '(FemUniti's) work to expose women to entrepreneurship and take their business to the next level represents true community values.' FemUniti has already emboldened its members to dream bigger for their companies. Yuko Higashiyama founded Momono Trading, a company in Okayama promoting traditional Japanese crafts. 'FemUniti gave someone like me — from a rural city in Japan — a chance to step onto the global stage, proudly carrying our culture and craftsmanship,' she says. Similarly, Kaoru Tsukamoto, president of Kirari Corp., a company that connects single mothers with employment opportunities, says the group gave her 'the confidence and community to take that next step (towards expanding internationally).' To help members finance their goals, femUniti is also working to establish the femUniti Fund, a financial ecosystem that connects a network of socially conscious venture capitalists, angel investors, microfinanciers and others looking to prioritize ESG investments. (ESG refers to a method of evaluating potential investments based on environmental safeguards, social impact and responsible governance.) The fund is scheduled to launch in 2027. Suzuki says they wanted to take their time in launching the fund to ensure it has a meaningful impact. 'We have come to understand that the realities faced by many women entrepreneurs in Japan are still largely underrecognized. This has highlighted the importance of first building a strong community and uncovering those realities through trust-based engagement.' Ward and Suzuki are quick to point out that investing in women-owned businesses isn't just the right thing to do to address inequity; it's actually more than likely to be profitable. The aforementioned BCG analysis found that women-run startups generated 78 cents of revenue for every dollar of funding, while startups run by men only made 31 cents. Ward and Suzuki say this increased profitability is because women tend to do business differently. One way is in risk assessment, where women tend to be more conservative, says Ward. They tend to run leaner businesses with higher profit margins. Nonetheless, investors still tend to favor businesses run by men. Ward thinks this is mostly a self-fulfilling prophecy. Startups are more often run by men, so many investors expect to see a man at the helm and feel more comfortable with that scenario no matter what the financial projections may say. Another typical difference of women-run businesses is their relation to labor and the wider community. According to research conducted by SD&I and other analysts, businesses owned by women tend to hire more employees from disenfranchised groups, and offer better compensation and more flexible working conditions. They also tend to be social entrepreneurs, focused not on the traditional startup goals of immediate profits and exponential growth but on addressing a need or issue in their community while laying the groundwork for long-term growth — a holistic approach taken by what are now called 'zebra companies.' 'Not only is it the right thing to do but it's the more profitable thing to do,' says Ward. 'And so what we're gonna start to see (is) ... more funding pathways to entrepreneur startups and those zebra companies because innovation is the answer.' Although the recent backlash against DEI in the United States has presented some challenges for femUniti, Ward and Suzuki are still optimistic and grateful for the support of their members and partners. 'As DEI gets rolled back or politicized, the needs don't disappear — and that's exactly where femUniti steps in,' says Ward. 'At a time when DEI is being challenged, we're proving that inclusion isn't a trend — it's the blueprint for the future.'
