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Writer's pictureCatherine Hansen
Apr 9, 2023

We are going to the MOON!!!

Updated: Apr 13, 2023

Did you hear? My husband will be the first Canadian to travel to the moon! I know over the coming weeks and months leading up to this historic mission, I will have more to unpack about the strong partnership that is the bedrock of our marriage, the balancing act of parenting and the ways that we inspire, guide, and course correct for each other in our professional lives. But, today, I’m celebrating Jeremy! I’m still riding on some of the sentiments he shared on stage like this reflection to Americans, Canadians and global partners who are ALL sharing in this dream.... "I am in awe of what we can achieve with strong leadership by setting big goals with a passion to collaborate and a 'can-do' attitude." Honestly, me too!


Over the 20 years of our marriage, Jeremy and I have developed a strong partnership. From the ways he helped me to open my first medical practice to the loving, yet consistent, manner he has used to father our 3 children. We do the “stuff” to make our house run and our family function, but we are so much more than that to each other. Jeremy was a catalyst to the development of the Empowered Women’s Circle and a sounding board for the many academic, private, and consultative roles I have played in my medical and entrepreneurial career. In return, and without keeping score, I’ve held him steady through many of the inevitable ups and downs that come when you are a visionary ‘force for change’ inside systems and structures that can, at times, be rigid and unyielding. On the day we met, in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan, he told me he wanted to be an astronaut. I thought it was strange to say such things out loud, but I’ve since realized that that is EXACTLY what we need to do – say it out loud! Because when we say it out loud, others can rise to meet us by sharing their own scary truth. By hearing what’s inside each other we can help each other realize our respective and mutual dreams. Humanity needs us all to go out and realize our wildest dreams! Helping others succeed and rising together can only happen when we embody the definition of leadership that Jeremy shared on stage. Through his speech we are reminded that true leadership is to “seek out others who can contribute, allow them to rise up, lift them up to make their contribution and bring their genius.” Finding other like-minded and powerful people inside the types of safe spaces that allow us to shine so brightly can be challenging. That is why I founded the Empowered Women’s Circle in 2017. In a world that can sometimes try to dim your light, the EWC invites your big-ness, radiant beauty and wild success. When another woman sees us from her perspective, it shines the light into the little shaded places that we can’t see ourselves. It illuminates the parts of us that, through years of conditioning, we hide away – the big and beautiful parts. It cracks open some extra breathing room for us to expand into our fullness. We claim our space. We own our self-confidence, and we step into visibility with vitality and vigor.

Picture from announcement day April 3, 2023 (L to R): Katelyn, Jeremy, Ashley, Devon and Catherine. More to come about the Moon Mission but, for now, I leave you with some of the serious and not-so-serious clips from the past week. Official NASA announcement: https://youtu.be/KDs5AhJ93iQ


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