Benedita was born in Portugal (Europe) near the coast.  At a young age she moved to France, to live in Corbeil-Essonnes (near Paris) and studied there for a number of years.  She then returned to Portugal where she finished her studies.  In 1987 she moved to Canada to pursue new opportunities, and completed further studies at Seneca College.

Her career started in the film/animation industry having worked for Nelvana Ltd. (producers of such child programs as “Care Bears”, “Babar”, and many more).  She also worked with Airport Development Corporation / Huang & Danczkay Developments Inc., a “turn-key” organization that built Terminal 3 at Lester B. Pearson Airport in Toronto, as well as the first conversion from an office building to a residential building in Toronto (the “Phoenix”).

Upon marrying, she moved to Montreal where she worked for Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada (also known as Manulife), as an Underwriter she oversaw the transition of over 6,000 files from paper to digital to its successful conclusion.  She then worked with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (Nagoya) in the Design Phase of the Aft Fuselage of the CRJ Series 700 Aircraft in conjunction with Bombardier Aerospace.

Upon her return to Toronto she joined Yolles Partnership Inc., where she oversaw and instituted changes for the drafting of responses to RFPs, and organized the Marketing Department to better respond to these project proposals in the future.

She then moved to Vancouver, BC where she worked at BC Gas Inc. / BC Gas Utility Ltd. in their finance department working with a team that oversaw financing projects totaling over 2.8 billion dollars.

Returning once again to Ontario, she was keenly involved in various community driven projects, and in 2013 she received the Good Neighbours Award from the Member of Provincial Parliament (Julia Monro) and the Member of Parliament (Hon. Peter Van Loan).

In 2017 she joined Lean Excellence Canada and helped various organizations obtain government grants to train their personnel, improve morale and employee performance, and help those organizations further their successes.  She then worked at the Town of Georgina, Ontario and had the privilege of working directly with Her Worship Margaret Quirk.

Her professional life in a variety of sectors, have provided her with a well-rounded background, as well as numerous connections.  Her skills in Management, Business Development, and Team Leadership paired with her language skills and fluency in English, French, and Portuguese have allowed her to succeed in her endeavours.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benedita-wilkerson-86a4a47a/

On a personal level, Benedita is a mother of two wonderful individuals currently pursuing their passions in post-secondary environments.  She loves animals, and has over the past five years fostered numerous kittens/cats to find their “fur-ever” homes.  She is invested in her community and has strong ties to non-profit organizations.