Lead with Confidence. Learn with Purpose. Step Into Your Future.
UP&GO empowers women and girls across New Brunswick to explore, pursue, and thrive in careers across STEM, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Through mentorship, community, and career-connected learning, we’re building a more inclusive future – one leader at a time.
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About Us
Up+Go is a female-led initiative built to spark confidence, digital curiosity, and leadership in the next generation of women across New Brunswick and beyond,
We design learning experiences for girls and women at three key stages – high school, post-secondary, and early career to help them explore careers in tech, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Our Mission
To close the gender gap in digital careers by building confidence, connection, and career readiness in girls and women.
What Makes Us Different:
Career-Connected Learning: Real-world exposure to tech tools, pathways, and employers
Confidence First: We focus on mindset, identity, and leadership, not just skills
Mentorship That Matters: Every participant is matched with a mentor that aligns with their interests
Local Roots, Big Impact: Designed for New Brunswick, delivered province-wide.
Stories that Inspire: Our programs create ripple effects through storytelling
Why It Matters
Women and girls are still vastly underrepresented in STEM fields, leadership roles, and as founders of startups. This gap isn’t just a gender issue; it is a missed opportunity for innovation, creativity, and economic growth in New Brunswick.
The stats speak for themselves:
Women make up less than 30% of Canada’s STEM workforce (Government of Canada, 2023)
Globally, women represent only 29.2% of the STEM workforce (Society of Women Engineers, 2023)
Only 35% of STEM graduates in G20 countries are women (United Nations, 2023)
These numbers make it clear: while progress has been made, there’s still a long way to go.
Up+Go exists to close this gap by empowering girls and women in New Brunswick to build confidence gain skills, and see themselves as future leaders in STEM.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Up+Go exists to change the narrative, starting early and building momentum through mentorship, digital skill-building, and community. We help girls and women see themselves in theese careers, not as exceptions, but as leaders, innovators, and builders of the future.
By empowering young women, we’re investing in a stronger, more inclusive workforce, one that reflects the full talent and diversity of New Brunswick.
Our Focus Areas
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Building digital fluency and sparking curiosity
There has never been a better time to be a girl. And there’s never been a more important time to make sure she knows what’s possible.
LEADERSHIP
Encouraging bold ideas and creative risk-taking
STEM
Developing confidence, voice, and value-based decision-making.
Programs
At Up+Go, we create learning experiences that meet girls and women where they are and help them grow. Whether someone is in high school, mid-degree, or just starting their career, our programs offer the mentorship, tools, and confidence they need to take their next step in tech, entrepreneurship, or leadership.
Each Program is delivered over 8-10 weeks and includes a blend of self-paced learning, live sessions, and mentorship. These are not cookie-cutter workshops; they’re career-connected journeys that center real people, real skills, and real possibility.
Built Around Four Core Pillars:
Step Up
Digital Skills - Practical Exposure to tools and technologies shaping the modern workforce
Confidence and Growth Mindset - Identity-building, goal setting, and resilience development
Career Exposure - Industry speakers, mentorship, and tech pathways tailored to New Brunswick
1:1 Mentorship - Two personalized sessions with a professional woman in tech
Founder, Cathy Simpson leads a 7-week leadership program for grades 10-12 for 2 hours weekly. The program is based off personal discovery and learning about various subjects including:
Yourself and what makes you unique
Individual skills that if cultivated grow into powerful tools
How to be willing and able to voice your thoughts and emotions in an honest and powerful way
Inspire the young women to Get UP and GO for it!
Cathy uses many different teaching styles during her workshops including guest speakers, building vision boards, videos and group activities.
Speak Up!
Targeted towards middle school girls, this three week program includes 3x 30-60 min sessions focused on discovering the power of your voice and using it to express who you are.
Week 1 focuses on getting to know each other, introducing a growth/fixed mindset and confidence in body language.
Week 2 is focused on the power of our voices, gaining the confidence to ask questions, and the introduction of Galentines to share with others.
Week 3 is centred around handing conflict without being aggressive or disrespectful and is done through role playing. The session concludes with Galentines and creating a Tree of Growth.
UP+GO has hosted a number of events over the last 5 years including film screenings (Hidden Figures and Dream Girl), networking events, and career/industry days.
The focus on all of these is to connect like-minded women through education and celebration. See some photos from past events below!
UP+GO also shares ideas, concepts and stories through our blog, which can be accessed below.
Storytelling & Events
Our Team
Cathy Simpson
Founder | cathy@thecasmpgroup.com
Cathy Simpson is a mother of three, a TECH executive, and a life-long learner and teacher of the things that inspire her – seeing the potential and impact of girls and women in our communites and economy.
Originally from Newfoundland, Cathy Simpson is an entrepreneur, tech executive and ecosystem builder with a career dedicated to growing Atlantic Canada’s innovation economy. She is currently the CEO of TechImpact, a non-profit accelerating digital transformation and innovation across the region by connecting industry, government, and academia. A co-founder of PropelICT and past Chair of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Cathy has long been a champion for startups and the growth of the region’s tech sector.
Over 10 years ago, she founded UP+GO, a social enterprise empowering high school girls through leadership and career-readiness programs. Through the signature STEP UP program, she brings awareness and education to careers in STEM, entrepreneurship, and how to step into this world with confidence and conviction to be your true self.
Her lifelong passion for women’s equality and excellence has not gone unnoticed. In 2023, she was named one of WXN’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, was awarded the Business Champion VIVE award, Minister’s Award for championing Gender Equality from the Government of New Brunswick in 2022, Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Atlantic Canada, Atlantic Business Magazine in 2021, and the Equality Endorser category for the YMCA Woman of Distinction award, in 2019.
.Cathy is an Acadia University graduate and member of the universities Board of Governors. She resides in Rothesay, NB.
Sophie Leonard
Program Manager | sophie@thecasmgroup.com
Sophie Leonard is a program manager, community builder, and someone who’s always looking for the next adventure. She studied Community Development at Acadia University because she cares deeply about fostering relationships and creating meaningful change.
Over the past few years, she has worked on programs that support young women in building confidence and figuring out what’s possible for their futures. She helped launch the Step Up program and now works at TechImpact, where she leads digital skills and workforce initiatives with job seekers, tech companies, and community partners across New Brunswick.
In 2024, she completed a three-month adventure guide program in Patagonia. Before that, she travelled through U.S. state parks in a converted van she built with with her partner. Their next planned adventure is a long-distance bikepacking trip. Sophie feels most grounded when she’s outside, living simply, connecting to people, and pushing herself in uncomfortable but rewarding ways.
She believes deeply in living with intention, compassion, and the courage to carve your own path, whatever that may look like. That’s why she’s proud to be part of UP&GO, because every girl deserves a space where she feels like she belongs, where she can dream big, be supported in those dreams, and meet other women who are living proof that it’s possible.
Maggie Alexander
Marketing Coordinator | maggie@thecasmgroup.com
A recent graduate of Rothesay High School, Maggie is following in her mother and sisters’ footsteps and joining the Up+Go crew. Growing up, Maggie participated in STEP UP programs throughout middle and high school, while also attending a variety of STEM conventions, conferences, and camps alongside her mother. This upbringing, rich in opportunity and exploration, sparked Maggie’s passions for technology, science, and empowering women and girls in these fields.
As a summer intern, Maggie brings her voice and vision to content and curriculum development, as well as marketing and communications. She is excited to support meaningful learning experiences while helping amplify Up+Go’s mission through creative storytelling.
Outside of working hours, Maggie can be found on the volleyball court, she’s a competitive player fulfilling her childhood dream playing at the collegiate level in the upcoming school year. She also finds joy in cooking, staying active, and soaking in quiet moments surrounded by nature and her friends.
This fall, Maggie will begin her Bachelor of Science at Mount Allison University, majoring in Biopsychology. She plans to pursue medical school after graduation, aiming to blend her scientific curiosity and deep compassion to make a meaningful impact, supporting those in need and inspiring the next generation of girls to follow their passions and dreams.
Join Us!
You can contact us on any of our social media accounts, or by sending an email to cathy@thecasmgroup.com.
We operate through New Brunswick and are headquartered in Saint John.