Bruny Surin was recently inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and by doing so, became the first athlete with Haitian roots to earn this prestigious honor. An athlete that was born in Cap-Haiti, and later immigrated to Montreal, Canada at the age of 7 with his parents and sisters. His achievements and accolades speak for themselves: At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta he played an intricate role on one of Canada’s proudest sports accomplishments alongside Donovan Bailey, Glenroy Gilbert, Robert Esmie and Carlton Chambers by winning the Olympic Gold Medal in the 4x100m relay.

In 1993, Bruny emerged on the world tour, capturing his first of two back to back World Indoor Championships over 60m. He was ranked on five different occasions as one of the top ten sprinters in the world and ran seven times under the 10.00-second barrier. To date, his personal best of 9.84 seconds is the 5th fastest of all time. Today, Bruny leads by example influencing, motivating and encouraging by telling his story of sacrifices, hard work and dedication. He offers his services across the country to schools, corporations and organizations with hopes of inspiring them to reach their respective dreams.

He is a humble and conservative man – fitting for a man who ran the third leg of Canada’s gold-medal relay squad in Atlanta. The Quiet Lion – the title of his biography – was the setup man for Mr. Bailey’s glory, but victory wouldn’t have been possible without Mr. Surin’s workmanlike run around the bend. He is now a president and chief executive officer of his own group of companies, including Sprint Management, now uses what he learned to maintain a stable of more than 20 athletes. Services include the handling of endorsements, post career counselling and financial planning. He also runs a charitable foundation, has a clothing line and invests.

Bruny is convinced and is living proof that his message of perseverance during hard times along with setting and managing goals are instrumental keys towards success. Bruny Surin: Olympic Champion, Canadian Track & Field Legend and entrepreneur. On more than 500 occasions, Bruny has shared his remarkable path to success with students, corporate clients and business leaders. More than 150,000 people have been influenced and inspired by his conferences across Canada.

Bruny’s accomplishments:

• Inducted to the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame
• Has captured a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
• 2 gold medals, 1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal at World Championships
• 2 gold medals at the World Indoor Championships
• Broke the 10 second barrier in the 100 meter on repeated occasions

The Bruny Surin Foundation:

• Provides scholarships to support young people financially;
• Provides sport-scholarships to financially support young student-athletes by allowing them to excel in their discipline while successfully completing their studies;
• Conducts awareness-raising and preventive education campaigns for young people;
• Organizes charity events to raise funds and support the Foundation’s mission;
• Inspires sponsors and donors to contribute to the success of the Bruny Surin Foundation’s mission.

 

Speaking to groups large and small, Carissa Halton uses humour and story to explore how we find and build community wherever we are: at work, at home, in our neighbourhoods. Sharing stories from her debut book Little Yellow House; Finding Community in a Changing Neighbourhood, her keynote and breakout sessions can be tailored to meet a diverse range of organizational needs. She also builds workshops for groups who want relevant strategic planning sessions for their professional development days or issue-oriented conferences.

Carissa Halton is an award-winning writer and author. Her essays have been anthologized and won an Alberta and National Magazine Award and have appeared in many publications including: Today’s Parent, Alberta Venture and Postmedia Newspapers.  Little Yellow House; Finding Community in a Changing Neighbourhood is her first book and was a finalist for the 2019 Edmonton Book Prize.

Her leadership and community advocacy have spanned multiple sectors. She has worked as an inner-city non-profit managing director, a political advisor to government ministers, and communications consultant. Each step of her career has inspired her belief in the power of passionate people to make a big difference in their community, which sparked the beginning of her own consultancy, Halton Strategic. When not speaking or writing, she now helps teams, boards and organizations to strategically plan for the future and to communicate in an increasingly complex world. Trained by the International Association of Public Participation, she believes good public policy and successful programs start with engaging people impacted the most.

No matter what work Carissa has done, telling stories has been at the centre of it. Her narrative style and voice reflects storytelling forms she developed as a long time tour guide in various Alberta historical sites. Further, the themes she returns to in her writing and speaking are shaped by strong social justice values developed in her time spent learning from individuals in Edmonton’s inner city. Sharing these stories, discovered with curiosity, empathy, and humour, guides her work as a professional speaker.

Carissa is active in her community school and is on the boards of the Friends of the Edmonton Downtown Farmers Market Society and the Right at Home Society. Carissa lives with her children and husband in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Carole Anne Devaney is as authentic as they come. She brings class, candor and a touch of self-depricating humour to your ceremonies. As a proven and seasoned Master of Ceremonies, she will make your event come alive with her warmth and her energy.

Carole Anne Devaney is a veteran television journalist who co-anchors the News Hour at 6.00 p.m. with Gord Steinke on Global Edmonton. She has held the position since November 2011; before that, she was a reporter for CBC Edmonton and CTV Ottawa. Carole Anne Devaney is a proud French-Canadian who was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. She landed her first on-air position as a student reporter with CTV Ottawa. Her experience then took her to Parliament Hill, where she reported for a French political show, on CPAC.

In 2008, Carole Anne decided to move west, after accepting a position with CBC Edmonton. She is the distinguished winner of a Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) Award for producing an undercover investigative series on out-of-town vehicle inspections. Carole Anne Devaney speaks three languages: English, French and Spanish. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Carleton University School of Journalism, with a Minor in Spanish.

Carole Anne has successfully presided over dozens of events and fundraisers in Alberta. The most prestigious being in front of 18,000 Oprah Winfrey fans. She was the opening act for the talk-show star during her 2013 Edmonton appearance, and had the opportunity to introduce her on stage. Carole Anne also spearheaded a Global Edmonton initiative that raised more than $100,000 for breast cancer research.

As a career woman with two little girls, Carole Anne Devaney isn’t afraid to show the good, the bad and the ugly of motherhood. She has a large following on social media, where she often makes light of the realities of parenting. Carole Ann Devaney has a reputation for engaging her audiences, rolling with last-minute changes, keeping the program on time, and, of course, keeping it real!

Carolyn Stern is a successful entrepreneur who specializes in helping professionals get unstuck. As a life-long learner and academic, Carolyn is a university professor, corporate trainer, certified Emotional Intelligence Expert, author and professional speaker.

Due to her undeniable passion for all things EQ, in 2017, she launched a new division of her business called EI Experience, which creates comprehensive learning and development experiences for corporations. EI Experience offers a combination of EQ Assessments, Private and Group Coaching Sessions, Leadership Development Workshops, Online Programs, Off-Site Retreats, and Inspirational Keynote Presentations that come in recommended packages or can be customized to the needs of your organization. Since launching, Carolyn has single-handedly trained and coached over 6,300 leaders across Canada and the United States.

In her spare time for the last 20 years, Carolyn is an accomplished professor at Capilano University. She has taught Public Speaking, Organizational Behaviour, Marketing, Event Marketing, Professional Sales, and Advertising in the Faculty of Business. More recently, she teaches our future leaders about Leadership, Business Management, and Leadership in Teams, and in 2021 will be launching a new undergraduate course called Leading with Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace.  In addition to her passion for sharing knowledge, she is committed to her corporate vision – “Learn More. Be Better. Teach Others”.

Carolyn holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Marketing, a Bachelor of Education, Business Education and a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Primary Education from the University of British Columbia. She has also earned a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in International Business from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and completed a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University. Lastly, she is a Certified Facilitator in the area of Emotional Intelligence with MHS Inc.

Finally, Carolyn is a professional member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, the National Speakers Association, and the Global Speakers Federation, making her a popular guest speaker at national and international conferences and seminars.

Carrie Anton is a gold medal Paralympian from the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Summer Games in the sport of Goalball. She is also an Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame inductee.

She continually promotes equity as a coach, a volunteer, and an athlete in a variety of sports. Recreationally, she is involved in goalball, blind ice hockey, tennis, soccer, tandem cycling, skiing and much more. She enjoys her role in the community on various boards such as the Edmonton Sport Council and the Alberta Sports & Recreation Association for the Blind.
Professionally, Carrie has over 25 years experience as an assistive technology and accessibility specialist. Her passion lies in ensuring accessibility and she works on projects that advance and enhance quality experiences for people with disabilities in employment, education, sport and life.

Charmaine Hammond is a highly sought-after business keynote and workshop speaker, entrepreneur, author and educator who teaches and advocates the importance of developing trust, healthy relationships and collaboration in the workplace. She has helped clients in many industries build resilient and engaged workplaces, develop high trust/high accountability relationships, and solve workplace issues that get in the way of success and profitability. She is respected as a “no fluff” and “rich content” speaker who delivers tangible tools to step into action immediately.

Before committing herself to the speaking industry, she used to be a correctional officer. It was in her experience in dealing with difficult inmates, colleagues and challenging situations that Charmaine Hammond became passionate on developing strategies to help herself and others grow. She later worked in the mental health field as a counsellor, program manager and crisis responder. She went back to school to obtain a Master’s in Conflict Analysis & Management  and a B.A. in Social Development. She went on to obtain her Chartered Mediator and Conflict Management certificate from the Alberta Arbitration & Mediation Society.

Hammond is now one of Canada’s leading authorities on Conflict Management, Resilience and Workplace Wellness/Mental Health and Effective Communication. She understands the challenges that individuals and organizations face in today’s fast paced and fast changing working environments. Her humourous and inspirational presentations are packed with powerful and strategical insights on how to improve team synergy, leadership development and create a positive workplace culture.

Her presentations deliver a heartfelt approach with rich content, high energy humour, and expert storytelling that the audiences remember and talk about for years’ after the presentation. Her sessions inspire individuals to step into action and implement her strategies immediately following her presentation. She has a highly interactive speaking style which focuses on releasing the audiences from former misconceptions and assist them to identify problematic behaviours and habits within themselves and their team, so that they can grow and fulfill their full potential.

A fifth-generation entrepreneur, Cherry Rose lives and breathes what it means to create companies that matter. With 12 years of expertise in psychology, she has guided thousands through the trenches of mental health. A mentor for the Inc. Founders Project, she coaches CEOs on emotional resilience and moonshot leadership.

As the CEO of #realtalk, the mental health movement for the tech industry, she speaks on stages around the world. With 70+ champions across North America, CEOs pledge their most vulnerable stories.

A mental health authority, she has been featured in Forbes, Inc., and more. She teaches at the Schulich School of Business.

Olympic Silver Medalist, Cheryl Bernard is a dynamic and powerful keynote speaker. She draws from her business, non profit and sporting success to inspire audiences to achieve their maximum potential. She is an expert speaker and is in high demand as a presenter across Canada. Born in Grande Prairie, Bernard moved to Calgary as a young child and was raised at the curling rink, calling the former Northwest Curling Club in Crescent Heights her “babysitter.”

In her 20’s, she was founder, owner and president of a successful Calgary-based insurance agency for over a decade before focusing her attention on building an elite curling team. Cheryl learned early on that by creating a dynamic workplace culture that empowers the team helps flourish business results. She and her staff propelled the agency to 6 Million in sales in 11 years. At that time, Cheryl Bernard decided it was time to re-focus on curling, writing and fundraising. So she sold her agency to Western Union Insurance due to her wanting to focus on her passions and dreams. 

Cheryl Bernard is has a long list of curling accomplishments and awards. She was 43 when she won the silver medal as skip at the 2010 Vancouver Games. She is a four-time Alberta women’s champion, Canadian Runner-up, TSN Skins finalist and has maintained a top 5 status on the World Curling Tour for many years. Cheryl Bernard is now the president and chief executive officer of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame where she looks forward to bringing the work ethic and leadership skills she learned in sport to her new position at Winsport’s Canada Olympic Park.

Cheryl’s life changed when her father was given 6 months to live after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Bernard was lucky to be able to devote most of her time to caring for her father and trying to find a cure. Sadly he passed away 2 years later. However, her father’s illness was the catalyst for her to create the annual “Curl for a Cure” in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Curl for a Cure helped raise over 1.3 million dollars in support of the CBCF.

Bernard has been an ambassador for the Alberta Children’s Hospital, the Toronto Sick Kids Hospital, Children’s Miracle Network, Dairy Queen, Miracle Treat Day, Goodwill Industries of Alberta, and World Vision Canada. She has also been the official spokesperson for the 2010 “Terry Fox Run”.

Cheryl Bernard also co-authored Between the Sheets -Creating Curling Champions, which describes the mental side of the game of curling. Bernard just recently published the second edition of the book entitled The Silver Lining. Cheryl delivers practical solutions and insights from her careers throughout her presentation. As an Olympic Silver Medalist, she will tell her story of determination and dealing with high pressure situations.

Bernard’s experience in business and sport has also seen her work as a corporate keynote speaker, sports ambassador and as a TSN broadcast analyst. As a result of her career accomplishments, charity work and her experiences, Cheryl brings a unique perspective to every event so that she can inspire and change individuals and organizations through her presentations.

In December 1984 Chief Clarence Louie was elected as the Chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band, part of the Okanagan Nation in south central British Columbia. Chief Clarence Louie has consistently emphasized economic development as a means to improve his people’s standard of living. Under his direction (20+ years), the Band has become a multi-faceted corporation that owns and manages nine businesses and employs hundreds of people. The Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation initiatives are to manage and provide strategic direction to the existing businesses. The OIBD also seeks out new economic opportunities.

Other achievements under Chief Clarence Louie’s tenure include the negotiated settlement of three Specific Land Claims. He also successfully negotiation of over 1,000 acres of lease developments. He also acquired hundreds of acres of land to add to the reserve. The Osoyoos Band also purchased a viable off-reserve businesses. Under his leadership the Ossoyos Band also provided financing of a major golf course development. He also facilitated the initiation of the Osoyoos Indian Taxation By-law.  Most noteworthy, Chief used profits from his business to the finance and build a new pre-school/daycare and grade school. He also helped to finance and construct a new Health Center and Social Services building and a 1st class Youth Centre.

The Osoyoos Indian Band has modeled not only sustainable business development, but also socio-economic development. Their mission and strategy is to improve the community’s social needs. Chief Clarence Louie’s constant message is that Socio-economic development is the foundation for First Nation self-reliance. First Nation communities need to become business minded and begin to create their own jobs and revenue sources, not just administer underfunded government programs. Each of our First Nations must take back their inherent and rightful place in the economy of their territory. Native people must therefore change their mindset from; Spending Money To Making Money.

As confirmation of the Osoyoos Indian Band’s commitment to business, the Band owns and operates nine businesses on the reserve. The Band owns and operates multiple vineyards, many retail stores and a construction company. In addition, they also own and operate a Readi-Mix company, a championship golf course, eco-tourism businesses and activities in the Forest Division. In 2002, the Band opened the first Aboriginal winery in North America-Nk’Mip Cellars. The winery is a joint venture with Vincor International.

Although economic development is the means to achieving self-sufficiency, Chief and Council continues to emphasize the importance of maintaining the Okanagan language and culture in all aspects of the band’s activities including business. The establishment of the Nk’Mip Desert& Cultural Center is a testament to this commitment of balancing business while investing time and money in culture. This eco-cultural center provides visitors an opportunity to experience the Okanagan culture. It also helps educate visitors to help them explore the desert lands that are a part of the traditional territory. The Nk’Mip Desert & Cultural Center is also an example of the continued growth of the band’s businesses.

Chief Louie believes that job creation and increasing business revenue in a responsible manner will bring back what he describes as, “our working culture, the self-supporting lifestyle of our ancestors”. First Nation leaders have a responsibility to incorporate First Nation’s language and culture in all socio-economic initiatives. This strategy is a means to improve and protect your First Nation’s heritage in Canada. Chief Louie played a key role in the successful negotiations to return “Spotted Lake,” to the Okanagan Nation. As a result, his people and visitors can now experience take pride in the lake and restore a part of First Nations culture.

A lifelong student of “Native American Studies”, Chief Clarence Louie shares his experiences with audiences through his keynote presentations. He conveys and teaches the best lessons learned throughout his experiences to Native peoples, Government and Corporate agencies across the world. His speaking style is a direct business smarts approach. Chief Clarence Louie believes that Aboriginal people and government must make Economic Development a priority. He conveys that self-sustaining job creation and business growth an everyday priority. A real decent paying job that provides real opportunity is the very best social program on any Rez!”

The Osoyoos Indian Band’s corporate motto is “In Business To Preserve Our Past By Strengthening Our Future”. Chief Clarence Louie has spoken at Native government and industry conferences in around the world. He is in high demand across Canada as a leader, consultant, educator, advocate and businessman.

Andrea Holwegner is an award winning writer, health & wellness leader that delivers nutrition, energy and productivity solutions as a keynote speaker. She has counseled hundreds of individuals, including Olympic athletes, CEOs and families on the benefits of healthy eating. Andrea Holwegner leads a team of highly trained and experienced dietitians in her practice. Known as the “chocoholic nutritionist”, she believes anyone can achieve health without guilt, and that the secret to success is having fun.

Andrea Holwegner is one of a handful of Registered Dietitians in North America that is a qualified and entertaining speaker. She knows how to deliver relevant content, mixed with humour and fun to capture corporate, association and government audiences. She is a highly credited with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition & Food Sciences and Dietetic Internship from the University of Alberta. A certified Craving Change expert that specializes in strategies for problematic and emotional eating. Andrea Holwenger is a Member of the Dietitians of Canada, the College of Dietitians of Alberta, Restaurants Canada and the Canadian Obesity Network. Due to her expertise, Andrea Holwegner is a media expert for the Dietitians of Canada and a recipient of a regional award by the Dietitians of Canada: the Speaking of Food & Healthy Living Award for Excellence in Consumer Education.

Andrea Holwegner’s simple ideas elevate productivity, work-life balance and health. Andrea is a columnist for The Calgary Herald. She also is an on-air expert for QR77 Radio, Global Calgary Morning News and CTV Morning News. She has written articles for CBC News Online and is a Member of the Chatelaine Health Advisory Board. Andrea was a dietitian on the Life Network’s popular reality weight loss show “Taking it Off”. She has appeared on CTV National News and CBC News Today Newsworld. In addition, CBC Radio has also interviewed her in almost every province in Canada. She has counseled Team Canada Olympians and leads a team of Registered Dietitians at her practice. She is also a media spokesperson for the Dietitians of Canada. As a result of her experience, achievements and expertise, Andrea consults and advises Jugo Juice and Bright Path to improve their nutrition and health focused strategies.

Most of all, Andrea Holwegner delivers powerful presentations with a balanced message regarding health and good living. Holwegner is a foodie, a die-hard chocoholic. Andrea is happily married to a wine importer that is a “meat head”. She has the ability to translate the complex science of medicine, nutrition and health into easy to understand strategies. As a result, Andrea provides easy steps and simple solutions for busy people that want to look and feel their best.

The topics of health, nutrition, stress management and productivity are especially relevant to the success of your workplace. Health and Nutrition have a direct impact on health benefit costs, employee absenteeism, safety concerns and lost productivity. Andrea Holwegner teaches audience members how to become healthier, happier, less stressed and more productive by sharing her knowledge and expertise on increasing health and nutrition awareness.