Profile
“I’m so proud to see that through my hard work and that of my team, we have built trust with our industry partners”
Victoria Coster,
Credit Fix Solutions
Katherine Hensel is highly respected for her work in serving Indigenous communities, ability to handle complexity, and ability to withstand pressure without flinching.
She no longer has to remind herself she is “just a technician,” a tool for clients to achieve their goals. She brings that perspective to every moment of every day professionally, which keeps her grounded when the work she is asked to do involves attempting to address, prevent, mitigate, and recover from some of the most profound collective and individual traumas imaginable.
“Otherwise, the complexity and unfairness would be a crushing burden,” she explains. “To remember that I did not cause these enormous problems, and I will not be able to solve them. But I can support and, at times, force, the recovery, the mitigation, and the prevention of further trauma, if I am effective.”
As a junior counsel, Hensel’s work with the Ipperwash Inquiry and the resulting report was instrumental in transforming Ontario’s relationship with Indigenous people. The hearings, resulting report, and recommendations continue to inform improved approaches to policing, intergovernmental affairs, and reconciliation, more generally.
“I was able to play a role in building relationships between the Commission and the affected communities at Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and Stoney Point, and with elders and the George family, particularly with Sam and Clifford George, to prepare and examine witnesses, and to contribute the ultimate report and recommendations,” she explains.
That experience laid the foundation for the work she has been able to do ever since before the Courts and with communities. It also taught her the skills to tackle large, multi-faceted projects through litigating complex cases, conducting investigations, drafting, and operationalizing laws, and otherwise supporting communities in the exercise of inherent jurisdiction.
She had always hoped to serve Indigenous communities and support the recovery and development they are pursuing. She diligently set out to become the best lawyer possible to gain the skills that would allow her to embrace opportunities to serve Indigenous peoples.
Working with Indigenous communities and Nations requires Hensel to travel to meet, build, and maintain relationships with people and territory. She considers doing that work in person a privilege, but the travel and time away from her home and family is challenging.
She deals with that by ensuring the necessary supports are in place when she is away and spending as much time as possible with her children when she is at home.
“But effective or ineffective, I’m a bit player in a lengthy, complex, ever-changing narrative,” adds Hensel. “It’s a privilege to do the work and a relief to know it’s not about me. That allows me to dedicate myself more clearly and fully to the work itself, shrug off obstacles and irrelevant distractions and, hopefully, more effectively serve Indigenous communities.”
77 King Street West, Suite 3000, PO Box 95
416 864 7608
khensel@foglers.com
ca.linkedin.com/in/katherine-hensel-2b62a062
foglers.com
Katherine Hensel
Partner
Co-Chair Indigenous Practice Group
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Milestones
“I’m genuinely keen to keep bettering myself”
Victoria Coster,
Credit Fix Solutions
2004–2007
2007–2011
2011–2021
2022–present
2003–present
Assistant Commission Counsel at Ipperwash Inquiry
2004–
2007
Lawyer at Stockwoods
Arleen Gross Awardee by Advocate’s Society in 2013
Minaake Awardee for Advocacy and Human Rights by Native Women’s Resource Center of Toronto in 2013
2007–
2011
Founding and Principal Lawyer at Hensel Barristers
2011–
2021
Partner at Fogler, Rubinoff LLP
2022–
present
Co-founder of Rubin Thomlinson LLP
Received Lexpert’s Zenith award and National HR Awards’ Employment Lawyer of the Year
Received Chambers and Partners award for Corporate Social Responsibility and Inclusion, Canadian Who’s Who and Lexpert’s Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada
2003–
present
Assistant Vice President and Senior Broker at MJ Hall & Company since 2018
Present
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
Coster brings depth and breadth of experience to her current position, having joined the industry as a mortgage processor before leaping into broking. She later honed her credit reporting education and credit repair skills for several years while working directly for various brokers.
“Starting Credit Fix Solutions was a deliberate move, as I saw there was a niche in ‘no win, no fee’ credit repair that the industry didn’t currently offer,” she says.
As a CEO, Coster learned through business coaching that there are no challenges in business, only opportunities to learn and grow. She wholeheartedly adopted that perspective, enabling her to overcome the obstacles inherent in team management and implement new and improved systems. She employs several strategies for challenging situations, such as following routines, forward planning, sleeping well and exercising.
“If I make sure I look after myself, have a plan of action, and I’m organised, then I can overcome any challenge (opportunity to learn) if and when it presents itself,” Coster says.
A firm believer in the power of leadership, Coster strives to set an example that the next generation of women and men can look up to. She prides herself on her reliability and trustworthiness and is the first person to show up and the last to leave the workplace.
“I’m genuinely keen to keep bettering myself,” she says. “Even now, at the top of my game, I’m still always learning.”
Guided by her favourite quote, “It’s better to be green and growing than ripe and rotting”, Coster constantly stokes her curiosity and keeps an open mind about life and business. Her kindness, positive attitude, business acumen and dedication to her profession make her a trusted and valuable partner to her peers and the mortgage industry.