Sonia Strobel (Tilley), BA’98, BEd’03

What did you think you would be doing when you started university?

When I started University, I thought I would be an artist/ writer. I thought a lot of different things over the years, but the one thing I never, ever dreamed I would be doing is what I’ve ended up doing and that’s becoming a social entrepreneur and starting a business to make the world a better place. Looking backward, it makes complete sense that I ended up doing what I’m doing, but from where I was at the start of university, I could never have imagined the world of possibilities out there.

If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?

I would have kept a more open mind during my university years. I had a lot of judgements that temporarily closed some doors for me. For example, I saw the world of business as inherently unjust and didn’t see that businesses could be designed to create justice and change the world. When I began to be more open to possibilities, humble enough to listen to what others had to say, then I began to see more opportunities for growth and fulfillment.

What is your dream job?

I’m working in it right now! I’m founder and CEO of my own company, Skipper Otto's Community Supported Fishery which connects small-scale independent fishermen and their sustainably harvested catch to conscientious consumers across western Canada. I founded a movement which has spread around the world and which is changing the problematic global seafood supply chain. I have complete authority to manifest my values in the world around me, to co-create the world I want to see with an amazing team of like-minded people I have gathered about myself!