Leading voices: Conversations with women making Winnipeg a better place

Our City, Our Podcast episodes highlight the impactful work being done in our community

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New episodes of Our City, Our Podcast are released the first Wednesday of each month.

As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8, its theme of 'Give to Gain' feels exceptionally meaningful for us. Every day, we see employees give their skills, passion, and leadership to help make Winnipeg a better place.

You may have heard some of their stories on Our City, Our Podcast. We’ve been fortunate to feature many impactful women. They’ve graciously shared their time, insights, and experiences. In doing so, they’ve inspired both us and our listeners.

If you haven’t had the chance to listen yet, we invite you to explore these episodes. We hope they leave you with greater understanding and appreciation for the work they, and their teams, are doing in our community.

Inspector Peters from Winnipeg Police Service

Inspector Helen Peters is the Divisional Commander of the Central District for the Winnipeg Police Service. She’s also helping make downtown a place where everyone feels safe and supported. She said how we’re all here to serve each other and we're all here to take responsibility for building a better, safer, more positive community.

This episode was released in June 2025.

Martha from Urban Forestry

Martha Barwinsky is the City Forester. She’s leading a team responsible for our tree canopy made up of over 300,000 trees in our parks and on boulevards. She makes sure her staff can do what they love and end the day safely so they can go home to their families.

This episode was released in May 2025.

Linda & Lana from Water & Waste

Linda McCusker and Lana Obach are both engineers and instrumental in the upgrades at the North End Wastewater Treatment Plant. It is one of the largest and most complex infrastructure projects underway in North America. They share how they are making a difference for Winnipeg and the environment for years to come.

This episode was released in February 2026.

Rebecca from Road Safety

Rebecca Peterniak is a Road Safety Management Engineer. She said road safety is the one field where she really saw a direct link for how she could impact people's quality of life. She and her team are helping us meet our road safety goals.

This episode was released in October 2024.

Jenn from Recreation Services

Jenn Sarna is the manager of Recreation Services. She initially started with us as a play leader at 16. Now she manages our recreational facilities and programming year-round. She shares how part of her mission is to ensure access to those services no matter who you are in Winnipeg.

This episode was released in July 2025.

Sarah from Archives

Sarah Ramsden is our Senior Archivist. She works to preserve the stories within our archival collection, so they continue to be shared with future generations. She said how seriously she takes her responsibility to serve the public by making records available.
 

This episode was released in January 2025.

Jennifer from Data Science

Jennifer Bodnarchuk is a Senior Data Scientist. She loves data, and her work with it supports our decision-making and public transparency.

This episode was released in March 2026.

Our City, Our Podcast

New episodes of Our City, Our Podcast are released the first Wednesday of each month. You can find all our past episodes on all major podcasting platforms, at winnipeg.ca/ourpodcast, or in the player below. If you have any suggestions for future episodes, email us at city-podcast@winnipeg.ca.

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