Guy Felicella

Guy Felicella

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Vancouver, British Columbia

Harm Reduction Advocate, Advisor and Addiction Educator

Guy Felicella is a harm reduction advocate and addiction educator who has spent 3 decades in grips of addiction and surviving many life-threatening infections. Guy Felicella spends his time educating youth and consulting with political leaders and policymakers on the importance of alcohol and drug prevention.

GUY FELICELLA BIOGRAPHY

Guy Felicella grew up in a middle class home in Richmond but fell into addiction at a young age. Guy spent 30 years in the repeated cycle of gangs, addiction, treatment and jail. He spent nearly 20 years residing in the two block radius in the Downtown Eastside and using many resources, including harm reduction, to keep himself alive. Guy Felicella spent three decades living in the grips of addiction and homelessness, surviving multiple life-threatening infections, several public health crises and six overdoses. Today, Guy has escaped the grips of the turmoil that kept him suffering and resides with his wife and three young children with over a decade of sobriety under his belt.

Guy Felicella is passionate about advocating for the vulnerable people who still suffer from addiction and educating communities on harm reduction to eliminate the stigma that exists around it. Currently, Guy works for Vancouver Coastal Health, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction and the BC Centre on Substance Use. Guy Felicella spent nearly his entire life suffering in addiction and now he is using his experience to change the hearts and minds of people to the idea that recovery is harm reduction and harm reduction is recovery.

Gone are the days when it’s either harm reduction or recovery; it’s both! Guy Felicella has been featured in the media including, but not limited to, The Today Show on NBC, CTV Vancouver and two TEDx Talks. Guy Felicella currently speaks at conferences, symposiums and workshops for different organizations as a harm reduction advocate, addiction specialist and inspirational speaker. Guy Felicella is on a mission to bring new awareness to help treat mental health, addictions, homelessness and harm reduction as social welfare and health issues and to negate self harm and blame on those who suffer from challenging circumstances related to trauma.

Videos

Podcasts

Play

Knockin‘ Doorz Down

Jason & Mikey

Guy Felicella - From Homeless Heroin Addict Living on the Streets of Vancouver to TEDx Talk Motivational Speaker Working with Vancouver Coastal Health.

Guy Felicella Topic Presentations

removing the stigma of harm reduction and the discrimination against substance users.

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • Harm reduction saves lives; without resources like safe consumption sites, I would not be alive today. Simply put, you can’t save a dead addict. 3 out of 4 people who will die today in BC due to drug overdose will be in a private residence, blue collar people with diverse careers. Who we initially picture to be the face of a substance user, the “homeless user,” isn’t correct.

safer alternatives

bridging the gaps between harm reduction and recovery.

reducing harm in the community

narcan training: reducing stigma in the workplace

Testimonials

I’ve had the opportunity to witness Guy’s lectures on several occasions over the years and it never ceases to amaze me how he touches the audience with the passion he brings to telling his story, keys to being not just a good public speaker, but an excellent one. His ability to frame his story to keep the listener engaged displays professionalism and expertise. Guy Felicella is actively engaged with his audience while displaying a strong stage presence. The knowledge translation that can occur from someone who has lived it cannot be overstated. Guy Felicella is able to do what so little can, tell his story, make the listener feel as though they are there living it with him, and provide...

Robert L. T

anguay BSc (Hons), MD, FRCPC, CISAM, CCSAM  Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Calgary

We consistently receive enthusiastic and positive feedback from program participants regarding the practice changing impacts of Guy’s presentations. His contributions in the media and at other public events, as well as in briefings at the municipal and provincial level with elected officials and staff have helped to bring a human face to the issue of problematic substance use. Most recently, he closed out the BCCSU’s first annual provincial conference on substance use and addiction with a standing ovation. He simply is an amazing story teller.

Cheyenne Johnson

MPH, RN, CCRP. Co-Interim Executive Director
British Columbia Centre on Substance Use

Guy Felicella is an amazing human being with an incredibly inspiring story. He came and spoke to all the students at Parkland Secondary School and made a huge impact on the students and staff. I would highly recommend bringing him in to your school, your office, your organization….. because we can all benefit from becoming more compassionate human beings. Thanks Guy!

Lizanne Chicanot

Principal
Parkland Secondary School

Guy is an abundantly inspiring colleague and compelling speaker, who has a gift for drawing upon his personal experiences to educate, motivate, and challenge assumptions about substance use, addiction, recovery and harm reduction. He has the ability to mobilize his audiences to action by weaving his own journey into powerful calls for necessary changes within systems, policies and practice Guy’s wisdom and leadership are an asset to every discussion on harm reduction and substance use, whether he is addressing a room full of law enforcement professionals, healthcare providers, or families impacted by addiction and substance use, or a small, focused meeting with policymakers, regulators,...

Miranda Compton,

Regional Director, Prevention and Addiction Programs
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority

Articles & Media

Coming Soon!

Books

Coming Soon!

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How much does it cost to hire Guy Felicella for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Guy Felicella is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada's talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Guy Felicella speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Guy Felicella to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Guy Felicella for your event. As Guy Felicella's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization's behalf to try to help you get in touch with Guy Felicella and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Guy Felicella Disclaimer

Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Guy Felicella for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Guy Felicella, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada's top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Guy Felicella we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization's event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Guy Felicella about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker's fees. If you are looking to hire Guy Felicella, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.