Shamena Maharaj is an award winning Human Resources Professional, Scholar, Author, Philanthropist, Coach and Speaker. Shamena is the author of two books Becoming my best self: my shero attributes and Joy, Happiness and Mindfulness.
Shamena is passionate about coaching others and provide them with the tools to transform their lives holistically within their profession, community, personal and organizational. Shamena delivers powerful keynotes and workshops that have an impact on all participants with her caring and compassionate nature. Shamena has over 20 years of experience to share and with her audience.
Shamena shares her experiences from her own personal and professional life and the lessons that she has learned that has contributed to finding joy, happiness with mindfulness and falling in love with herself all over again.
She shares her story combined with proven strategies on how to navigate life journey and keep your most important attributes of love, safety, wholeness and self-worth as you move towards a life of self compassion and success.
On November 2005, 30-year old Shannon Moroney was a respected educator, proud homeowner, active volunteer and happy newlywed. While away attending a conference, a knock at her hotel room door shattered the life she knew. It was a police officer, there to deliver the shocking news that her home was a crime scene. Her husband Jason was in custody after confessing to the violent sexual assault and kidnapping of two women. Grief, confusion, stigma and loss stalked her. Within weeks, she lost her job, her income, her ability to trust and the future she planned for. She felt agony for the assault victims but was powerless to help them. The effects of her husband’s violence rippled through the community and lines were drawn. Some relationships ended, while others strengthened.
Shannon Moroney also had to grapple with Jason’s past. His past included a violent episode as a teenager which ended with the death of a woman and conviction of second-degree murder. A decade in prison followed by years of parole had made him a success story of rehabilitation and an example of the redemptive powers of the system. By the time they met, Jason was re-establishing his life and giving back to the community. Officials were certain that he would never re-offend. Therefore Shannon chose to become part of his second chance: the best second chance that anyone could ask for. They built a beautiful life together.
But underneath his positive exterior, Jason had hidden a dark side: fear, addiction, sexual deviance and a childhood history of abuse. Telling himself that he was in control of his demons, he didn’t reach out for help until it was too late—until he’d terribly harmed two innocent victims, torn apart the lives of many more, and landed himself back in prison. While Jason spent months in solitary confinement, Shannon was thrust into a painful and uncertain new identity—left to answer for Jason in his absence, face public scrutiny over her marriage, cope with a major criminal investigation, and mourn the loss of the life she’d known.
Shannon Moroney faced difficult choices as she searched for a path that would lead her out of trauma and toward a positive future. She was awarded a fellowship to complete a Masters’ degree in England where she studied trauma and resilience. When she returned to Canada, Shannon Moroney became active in the emerging field of restorative justice and began speaking out about her experience. She shares a raw and honest account of the impact that Jason’s crimes had on her professional and community status, as well as on her relationships with others and herself. In detailing her heartbreaking story of grief, violence, judgment and stigma, she also tells the story of a journey filled with compassion, restoration, forgiveness and hope. Since 2008, Shannon has been addressing audiences around the world.
Her memoir, Through the Glass, was published in Canada in 2011 where it became an instant national bestseller and nominee for several awards including the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction. In 2012, it was published internationally. Shannon Moroney now lives in Toronto, Canada, where she is remarried and the mother of twins. A volunteer with Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE), she is also a contributor to the international Forgiveness Project.
Simon O’Byrne is an award winning urban designer/planner and is Senior Vice President of Stantec’s 2,000 person Community Development Business Line. As a planning expert, he is frequently quoted in the media and is a sought after global public speaker. Simon has led multi-disciplinary design teams in the planning and successful delivery of large, complex and politically charged projects.
O’Byrne’s experience ranges from intensive urban revitalization redevelopments, to master planned communities, to transit-oriented developments and more. Projects include the Edmonton Downtown Arena and Entertainment District, creating resiliency in Hull, UK, redevelopment of the Alberta Legislature Grounds, the Saskatoon City Centre Plan, Lower Athabasca Regional Plan, Alberta Capital Region Land Use Plans, the Hunts Point Plan, Bronx, New York and more.
As a recognized urban design and planning expert, Simon O’Byrne is frequently quoted in the media in both Canada and the US and is a sought after speaker on both sides of the border to professional, community and leadership groups. He is an experienced speaker who delivers keynotes at major provincial, national and international conferences. Simon is also has a TEDx talk on how to create vibrant communities.
In 2015, Simon O’Byrne was selected to become the Allard Chair in Business for MacEwan University. The Edmonton Journal named Simon as one of the city’s Power 30. Alberta Venture magazine named Simon as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Alberta. In 2009, Avenue magazine named Simon as one of the Top 40 Under 40. Simon O’Byrne is a community leader who currently volunteers with the following: Downtown Vibrancy Task Force (Past Chair), Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (Honorary Chair), City of Edmonton’s Winter City Advisory Committee (Co-Chair) and Winter City Urban Design (Chair), Canadian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility and the University of Alberta Planning Program Advisory Committee.
Simon O’Byrne volunteers and leads many different civic, economic, social justice, charity, and professional boards and committees such as; the Habitat for Humanity National Leadership Council, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce (2014 Chair), Edmonton Renewable Energy Task Force, Greater Edmonton Regional Chambers of Commerce (2012 Chair), Community Sustainability Task Force, Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, Hope Mission, Urban Development Institute & the Alberta Professional Planning Association.
Simon has a Master of City Planning Degree from the University of Manitoba. He has also completed a Master of Science in Environmental Planning scholarly exchange at the Pratt Institute in New York City. Simon’s first degree was a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta.
Dr. Sinclair MacRae, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Professional and Business Ethics at Mount Royal University in Calgary. He is a passionate and award-winning speaker, teacher, researcher, author, and consultant. Dr. MacRae delivers two terrific and dynamic presentations: Ethics for Professionals and Building Trust Relationships to Succeed. These presentations either can be keynote and seminar addresses or in highly interactive workshop formats, lasting between one and a half hours to one half day.
Dr. MacRae can help you improve business profitability and organizational performance through enhancing employee engagement, workplace culture, and ethics. His focus is on the practical and actionable. His delivery style is casual, accessible, and humorous. Dr. Sinclair’s presentations are content-driven, drawing on his extensive experience and expertise. He is currently researching and writing a book on competition, trust, and ethics. His first book was An Introduction to Ethics: Theories, Perspectives, and Issues.
Sinclair MacRae is the author of the Mount Royal Faculty Association’s Code of Ethics and a past Chair of its Ethics Committee and the Mount Royal University Research Ethics Board. He has been a member of several professional and community-based associations including the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, the Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards, the Canadian Psychological Association, the Canadian Business Ethics Research Network, the Integrity Network of Calgary and the Alberta Press Council.
Sinc’s presentations are an excellent fit for a wide range of professional associations and groups. Dr. Sinclair MacRae shapes his presentations to meet specific needs and requirements to deliver a compelling professional development seminar or workshop.
Sinclair MacRae has spoken at numerous conferences and society meetings across North America and he has twenty-five years’ experience teaching at universities and colleges in Canada. He mainly educates students in courses and programs in ethics, applied ethics, the good life, professional ethics and business ethics.
Dr. Sinclair MacRae has previously taught at Dalhousie University, the University of Toronto, George Brown College, the University of Manitoba, Saint Mary’s College, the University of Calgary, and Mount Royal University. He is an acclaimed expert on matters relating to business and professional ethics. Many media outlets including CBC news, the Canmore Leader, Global TV, The Calgary Herald, CHQR 770 AM and CTV News have interviewed Sinc on a broad range of issues and topics within his areas of expertise.
The words “get it done” have taken on new meaning for Spencer Beach. They were among the last instructions he received from his employer on April 24, 2003, at a routine job site in Edmonton’s Rutherford Close neighbourhood. Beach, a floor-layer by trade, was there to replace a linoleum floor because the homeowner didn’t like the colour of the original. It was a job he had performed many times and he knew the risks well, especially those involved with using a highly toxic solvent called Roberts 1901, used to dissolve the adhesive that held the linoleum to the subflooring.
Once inside the home, Spencer Beach began, as he always did, by turning down the furnace and opening the doors and windows for ventilation. Although he should have been wearing leather gloves to protect his hands, he opted to leave the gloves under the seat of his car because they left his hands hot and sweaty, making it difficult to manipulate his tools. For the next few hours, he focused on the task at hand. Every so often the wind would shut one of the doors and he’d have to stop what he was doing, get up and open it again. Anxious to finish work for the day, Beach looked forward to planning a stag party for a good friend later that night.
With only 12 square feet of flooring near the home’s front entrance to finish before calling it a day, Spencer Beach closed the front door. At the same time he heard the door to the garage – which he had opened earlier that day – blow shut. Knowing he would be finished in the next 15 minutes or so, he decided that it wasn’t worth worrying about.
He was wrong. Seconds later, he was immediately surrounded by flames after hearing a heard a loud explosion. He reached for the door handle in front of him, but the fire had created a vacuum inside the house and the door wouldn’t budge. Blinded by the scorching heat, Beach ran down the hallway toward the laundry room and eventually found the door to the garage. It wouldn’t budge, either.
By now, he could smell his hair and clothes burning and feel the skin on his face tightening around his bones. He ran back to the front door and pulled desperately on it, but it still wouldn’t open. The fire raging inside the house was now at 1,500 degrees and Beach could feel his skin bubbling from the heat.
No more than 20 seconds had passed since the explosion. Beach, unable to get either of the doors to open, curled into a ball on the floor and prepared for death. He distinctly remembers a feeling of peace and a sense that time was slowing down. But he also remembers thinking of his wife, Tina, who was four months pregnant, and the burden that his death would place on his family. And so, one last time, he reached for the now red-hot door handle and pulled with everything he had. This time it opened, and Beach fell several feet into a pile of highly flammable construction garbage, including the linoleum flooring he had just removed. Now completely engulfed in flames, he stood up and ran down the driveway. Two-thirds of the way down it, he collapsed.
A man standing at the end of the driveway turned his garden hose on Spencer, and a woman, a nurse, knelt beside him and told him an ambulance was on its way. Beach told the nurse to contact his pregnant wife and make her aware of the accident. He could smell charred flesh. His lips felt swollen and strange. He wondered about his fingers, his toes and his ears. “My life is over,” he remembers thinking to himself.
For the next six weeks, Beach remained in a medically induced coma at the Firefighters Burn Treatment Unit at the University of Alberta Hospital. After that, he had to overcome months of surgeries, an addiction to painkillers and an overwhelming feeling of depression. The doctors stapled 90 per cent of his body with Cadaver skin. Only the skin on his groin, knees and the bottom of his feet survived the fire.
Spencer Beach has reinvented himself as a motivational speaker, working to encourage employees and employers to operate safely. He believes that the provincial legislation identifies all strategic and education knowledge for employers. The challenge, he says, is getting employers – all of them – to truly take the issue of workplace safety seriously. Spencer Beach has presented to multiple organizations in North America. His story is one that audience members never forget. Beach’s storytelling ability draws audience members into his personal struggles along his journey. His presentations are straight from the heart, and he does not leave any truth uncovered in his story of recovery and survival.
Robert Hawke is a speaker, comedian and cancer survivor. He uses his 20 years of comedic experience and the lessons he learned in his battle with cancer to uplift and entertain audiences across the country. Rob comes alive onstage. He inspires audiences to care, to take risks and to work outside of their comfort zones to create extraordinary results in their lives and their work.
While Rob was facing life threatening challenges as a cancer patient, the entire focus of his life changed and he was inspired to bring his formidable skills as a comedian and content creator to help people live more courageous and authentic lives. His storytelling and comedic skills were honed while working for the world renowned Second City Comedy Troupe. He has shared in a Canadian Comedy Award and Gemini Award Nomination for Best Writing in a Comedy Series.
His keynotes Laugh It Off: Harnessing Humour At Work and The Excellence Principle: When We Feel Good We’re Better At Everything are the culmination of his most impactful work to date. Hawke’s presentations inspire, entertain and give audiences immediately usable tips and tools that make their lives and work better.
A pioneer in the world of using humour to teach and create change, Robert has created educational content for University of Toronto Medical School and worked as a Wellness Educator for the University Health Network. His audiences have included national associations, governments, financial experts, medical professionals of all kinds, cancer patients and their families.
Some of Rob’s clients include The Ontario Hospital Association, Sun Life Financial, Excellence Canada, The University of Toronto Medical School and PharmacyU to name a few.
He wrote the books Kicking Cancer’s Ass: A Lighthearted Guide To The Fight Of Your Life and Doing Happiness: Uncovering The Hidden Benefits Of Feeling Good. He lives in Peterborough with his terrific wife and ridiculously small dog.
If you want your group to laugh, learn and be turned-on-to-contribute then Rob is your speaker. Check out Rob’s speaker demo to see for yourself!
Penny Tremblay helps people learn to play nice in the sandbox…and when they don’t, she helps them fix broken relationships.
As we approach 2021, it is more important than ever for workplaces to inspire collaborative teamwork. Moving through conflict to cooperation fosters more productivity and profit. Engaging and retaining top talent is a great investment. People rarely quit jobs; they quit managers or toxic cultures for something healthier.
Penny Tremblay had been teaching audience members and participants practical ready to use skills and while boosting their confidence to be more productive, restore damaged relationships, improve communication and develop strong leaders for over 20 years. Tremblay’s advanced mediation certificate from Harvard, combined with years of conflict resolution facilitation, bring stories, experiences and guidance to enhance learning and shift minds.
Penny Tremblay is passionate on helping individuals and organizations succeed. Her unique approach leaves a strong impact with the audience member as her highly interactive and contain the right mix of ‘edu-tainment’ which inspires better human relations, self growth and commitment to ones work for performance and team synergy. Her captivating style is authentic and swings like a pendulum from the depths of human emotion to hilarious. Audiences are taken on an unforgettable journey of possibility, realizing the value of relationships, and how the one we have with ourselves is foundational to the relationship we have with others.
Penny Tremblay can deliver keynotes, workshop and training sessions. She enjoys taking a deeper dive into each organization, event and industry to customize her presentations for each client. She looks at each event as a chance to shift mindsets; with relevant tools to approach difficult conversations, negotiate win/win outcomes, build rapport and improve relationships immediately.
Tremblay lives in Northern Ontario and enjoys outdoor activity. She travels regularly to serve clients across the vast province of Ontario. She has a big heart for First Nation communities and the Indigenous peoples that are face a variety of challenges and require assistance to promote stronger collaboration with neighbouring communities and municipalities for equal treatment and access to social programming.
Peter Brown has always had one foot in two different worlds. By day, he’s spent two decades as an award-winning radio host, celebrated for his intellectual curiosity, thorough research and intelligent questions. By night, he’s a quick-witted comic improviser. As an Emcee, Peter Brown brings the best of both. An experienced producer, Peter works closely with clients to get a clear sense of their goals. He develops a sharp, clear script. When it comes time to deliver, he’s a master of reading the room. And his quick wit and inclusive humour keep things on track no matter what happens. In fact Peter’s clients often say his spontaneous “saves” are highlights of their event.
Brown’s career started after he studied at the University of Saskatchewan where he had the opportunity to do graduate work in English at the University of Cambridge. This involved long hours poring over 17th century manuscripts, and in his spare time doing comedy sketches. Those years led to both a Master’s Degree in Literature and a comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe that was featured on BBC Radio. After returning to Canada, Peter Brown became a producer and host for CBC. This is where Brown’s career took off as he got to develop his skills on multiple platforms. He got to interview Prime Ministers, premiers, scientists, artists, athletes, business leaders, and “ordinary” people doing remarkable things. He worked hard to craft interviews that were well-researched, challenging and revealing. There were serious days too, and moments of grief and tragedy.
Peter Brown also had the opportunity to create moments of entertainment and fun. When former listeners talk to him now, they mention memorable moments of spontaneity and adaptability when conversations and interviews went off the rails or took an unexpected tangent. Peter Brown hosted CBC Edmonton’s afternoon radio show Radio Active, where his intelligence and humour won him a loyal audience. He also hosted music and culture shows, and for seven seasons led the creative team on the award-winning comedy program The Irrelevant Show and is the only person to appear on both The Debaters and Ideas.
Peter is most proud of heading the creative and production teams on The Irrelevant Show as it was a great combination of science and art. His job was to tune a complicated production machine in the service of some cleverly observed sketches and occasional goofy jokes. There was nothing more satisfying than turning a phone conversation in November into a fully-produced radio sketch that was heard across the country in January.
As a comedian Peter Brown has written for many TV sketches and programs. He regularly performs with Edmonton’s improvised comedy soap opera “Die Nasty” among other shows. That rare combination of skills makes him a sought-after Emcee, with clients who bring him back year after year. Peter Brown thrives on creating a strong, clear plan, and also shines if the plan ever falls apart: his quick-witted humour keeps events on track, and creates memorable moments of fun and connection.
Peter Brown is no longer with CBC and has committed himself to Podcasting, Improv Shows, Playwriting and Keynote Presentations and Hosting Conferences/Events. He is passionate in bringing his skills and interests to any project, organization or cause. He excels in combining research and production skills with an element of performance. He is an expert at adapting to challenging situations, being in the moment, and reacting spontaneously. A lot of it boils down to the same path: asking the right questions, developing a solid plan, executing the details, and making people laugh along the way.
Randal Craig has been advising on Web and Social Strategy since 1994 when he put the Toronto Star online, the Globe and Mail’s GlobeInvestor/Globefund, several financial institutions, and about 100+ other major organizations. He is the author of seven books, including the recently released “Everything Guide to Starting an Online Business”, and speaks across North America on Social Media and Web Strategy. Randall Craig has founded several successful start-ups, held a long-time position at a “big-four” firm, and was an executive at an American public company.
Randall is the author of seven books, including the best-seller Personal Balance Sheet, the Online PR and Social Media series, Social Media for Business, and the Everything Guide to Starting an Online Business. He has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows, and has been profiled in all national media. Randall speaks often on digital strategy and social media risk, blogs for the Huffington Post, and hosts the weekly interview show Professionally Speaking TV.
Randall has held leadership roles on a number of boards, and has earned a CFA, MBA, CMC, CSP, and a Black Belt in Karate. Randall Craig helps organizations and individuals move the Social Media strategy airplane from 30,000 feet to landing. He shares practical, been-there-before advice from his 23 years of Web and Social Media experience as a Consultant, Senior Executive, Entrepreneur, Best-selling Author (and Black Belt in Karate). He does this for 12-person teams, 800-person webcasts, and at conferences with over 1500 people in the audience.
Ravi Tangri (CSP), has invested his whole life studying and applying the science of success. Tangri helps individuals, teams and organizations identify the key habits, systems and processes that play a key role in what limits and increases engagement, productivity and accountability in today’s fast changing working environments. Ravi Tangri has earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, the highest earned designation for the speaking industry and he was the 2011 national president of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. He has an M.Sc. in nuclear physics and an M.B.A.
Tangri’s background as a nuclear physicist is where he first honed his skills in how to simplify complexity and chaotic systems – learning how to find and use the leverage points that make everything transform. This expertise is the lens he uses in the corporate arena to help you grow your co-creative leadership skills, engage key stakeholders and find the leverage points to co-create win-win-win solutions to the complex challenges you face. While he uses quantum physics to create innovation, his solutions are refreshingly easy to understand and have been helping leaders navigate their complex worlds and generate solid results for over two decades.
Ravi is the Chief Rocket Scientist for Chrysalis Strategies Inc. and the author of ‘Leading Authentically’ and ‘StressCosts Stress-Cures’. Whether he is growing co-creative leadership to transform the health care system, helping the largest liquid natural gas company in the Middle East grow its leadership, or helping entrepreneurs develop strategies to address today’s fast-changing world, Ravi Tangri helps leaders navigate the complex challenges they face today.
On top of this, Ravi Tangri is a master facilitator, with the ability to engage all they key players in the meaningful conversations they need to have to collectively co-create the way forward. Because the ideas he catalyzes originate with his clients, team buy-in and ownership results in innovative solutions that actually work. He has a solid track record of results both working within organizations and from the outside as a consultant, coach and facilitator. Ravi Tangri ensures that his audience not only gets inspired during his talk but does it in a way where they’re able to apply their learning immediately within their organizations as well as their personal lives.