The VOW

Ramya S. Kapadia is a Knoxville-based artist who wields her talents in Bharatanatyam dance, Carnatic music, Warli art, and children's fiction. With a background in Medical Physics and Neuroscience, Ramya has transitioned seamlessly into the world of art, captivating global audiences with her performances.

As the founder of Natyarpana School of Dance & Music, she's dedicated to sharing the richness of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam throughout the US. Beyond her artistic pursuits, Ramya is a passionate advocate for integrating traditional Indian arts into education, ensuring accessibility for all, including children with special needs.

From receiving awards like the Emerging Artist to shaping compassionate communities through her art, Ramya's journey embodies the fusion of tradition and innovation. Join us as we uncover the inspiring narrative of Ramya S. Kapadia.

Sherrie Laryse is a dynamic Emotional Intelligence teacher with over a decade of experience delving into human behavior, neuro linguistics, and the intricacies of grief, trauma, and mental health. Her passion lies in equipping individuals with tangible techniques to tackle life's challenges head-on. Through personalized consultations, captivating group sessions, and compelling public speaking engagements, Sherrie ignites transformation. Her journey is a tapestry woven with vulnerability, showcased in her unfiltered and empowering book, "On Path." Sherrie's unique approach empowers individuals to reframe their perspectives, fostering a profound sense of liberation in their authentic selves.Embark on a journey of profound change with Sherrie as she guides you through the art of embracing life's complexities, emerging stronger, wiser, and truly empowered.

Pamela Joyce Liggins, an author and speaker from Harlem's Lincoln Projects, draws from her upbringing, fourteen years of marriage, and motherhood to create compelling stories. Her journey as an author gained momentum after her ex-husband's 2003 arrest, leading to her transformative role as a published author on May 23rd, 2009. She pioneers by releasing her books as audiobooks, with titles like "Family Tyme! Don't Get Caught Up!" and "FYER! The Diary of a BI Sexual Woman." Pamela's impact resonates through her works and her upcoming Off Broadway play "Side Chick" and series "I Am Not Defined By My Address." Today, I have the pleasure of hearing Pamela's journey as breast cancer survivor, advocate and author.

Lindsay Blaze has developed a culture of connection that is currently represented through a country gas station in Bon Aqua, Tennessee. As a curator of story and branding throughout her travels and career, Lindsay seeks to reveal the raw and real in life. A year and a half ago, she took over the gas station, a place known as the number one drug pick up and drop off for three counties. Today, Gas Boss thrives as an experience of joy that comes from genuine connection through the presence of emotional intelligence; so much so that the station opened an ice cream shop in it called Giddy-Ups. Lindsay’s heart and passion is to bring value to both staff and customer through the daily invitation and welcoming of them to be exactly who they are.

Erin Thorp is an empathic keynote speaker, writer and coach for leaders who struggle with conflict, communication, and performance during high-stress times. Erin’s life suddenly took a turn when her daughter was diagnosed with a severe learning disability along with ADHD. Having spent 20 years in the masculine dominated engineering and construction industries, Erin decided to take a leave of absence from her career to explore her superpower of empathy to help her daughter achieve the success that she has today, along with coaching many others on empathy and compassion. I have the pleasure of sitting down with her today to discuss how the impacts of her daughter's learning disabilities altered the trajectory of her life today.

Caitlin Devall is an experienced real estate professional with a wealth of industry knowledge, has dedicated numerous years to her career. Caitlin reached a pivotal moment of self-determination and was faced with the choice between freezing her eggs and exploring the possibility of using a donor, she ultimately embraced the latter as her golden opportunity to embark on the journey of single motherhood.
In this episode, Caitlin candidly recounts the challenges, triumphs, and transformative experiences that have accompanied her resolute decision.
Currently expecting her second child and generously shares her personal odyssey of navigating the complexities of solo motherhood, offering valuable insights to her listeners.

Sharon Costanzo is a relationship & communication coach who specializes in helping women speak up and work through hard conversations so they can feel more confident and connected in their most important relationships. She hosts the Keep Talking Revolution Podcast and Respected + Connected, an online coaching program and community for women who are working on improving their relationships in a more empowered and authentic way. Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Sharon and gaining insight into how to effectively communicate with our partners.

Brenda Beckedorf is the Executive Director of Alberta IoT, a non-profit member-based association established in 2017 to support the growth of all things digital by creating a space for connection, collaboration, and innovation. In her role as Executive Director, Brenda’s focus is to bring our community together to provide a common voice in advancing the knowledge, adoption, and growth of the Internet of Things industry within the province of Alberta and throughout the world. Brenda has a story that is one of resilience and strength. She is a domestic abuse survivor, and I have the honour of speaking to Brenda today to hear her journey through turning trauma into triumph.

Michelle Furgiuele is a Canadian Human Trafficking Survivor, speaker, consultant and Peer Advocate with Restorations Canada. With over fifteen years of experience in multiple facets of the sex trade, Michelle now uses her story and extensive knowledge to educate and train various sectors on the realities of Human Trafficking. Through her work Michelle has been presenting preventative practices to High Schools, Police Agencies, Service Providers, the Hotel and Hospitality industry, as well as the aviator and travel sector. Michelle has co-written several manuals on how to detect Human Trafficking along with assisting victims in crisis and provides ongoing mentorship. Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Michelle to hear about her journey.

In this mini Mother’s Day episode Tanya had the pleasure of interviewing her mother, Ginny Eklund. It was truly such a special day. In their interview, Tanya learned more about her mothers life, marriage and motherhood.

Born in Baghdad to an ancient lineage called the Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians who still speak Aramaic), Weam Namou immigrated with her family to the United States at age ten. She is the Executive Director of the Chaldean Cultural Center, which houses the first and only Chaldean Museum in the world. She’s an Eric Hoffer award-winning author of 15 books, a two-time international award-winning filmmaker, journalist, poet, and an Ambassador for the Authors Guild of America [Detroit Chapter], the nation’s oldest and largest writing organization. Her script Pomegranate was chosen as a quarter finalist by Francis Coppola’s Zoetrope and was turned into a feature film. It's currently touring film festivals. Namou hosts a half-hour weekly TV show, and she’s the founder of Unique Voices in Films, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. A keynote speaker, her essays, articles, and poetry have been published by national and international publications. Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with her about what it is like to be an immigrant women in them United States and what we can do as a community to encourage individuality, creativity and pursuing one's passion regardless of the where they were born. 

Dr. Naminder Sandhu is a born and raised Calgarian and proud daughter of Punjabi immigrants who practices Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor with the University of Calgary and an active educator at the undergraduate and postgraduate medical education levels with over a decade of teaching experience. She is a respected leader having served as PEM subspecialty residency program director for numerous years and more recently as interim section chief. She is an active member of various committees supporting the Department of Pediatrics with her growing professional interests lying in the spheres of equity/diversity/inclusivity; physician mentorship; and burnout/wellness.

She serves as a director on the board of Canadian Women in Medicine, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women thrive both personally and professionally. As a lifelong learner, Naminder is pursuing training in functional medicine on the side and recently received her certification as a yoga teacher who offers her skills to her colleagues to promote self-care since the COVID-19 pandemic. She was raised to value community engagement and serves as a board member of Between Friends Calgary, a local agency benefiting people with disabilities. A life in medicine thus far has been a challenging one, and the recent pandemic has renewed her mission to find fulfillment and value in our communities, connection, and ourselves. I have the pleasure of sitting down with her today to hear her journey through medicine.

Ariel White is a Marketing and Communications expert, and Sr. Account Manager at a creative agency. She also serves as a strategic advisor for a global eCommerce retailer, a Community Manager for Toast, a talent partner that helps connect women to tech roles, and is the Founding City Director for the Victoria chapter of WNORTH, an organization dedicated to empowering women to advance into senior leadership positions.  

A storyteller by nature, Ariel’s passion for writing led her to start a daily blogging practice in 2017. What began as a fun way to share recipes and outdoor adventures soon became an outlet for her to initiate and engage in deeper conversations around mental health, recovery from food and substance-use disorders, and finally disclose the secret of her childhood sexual trauma. Ariel currently works to amplify the voices of those fighting silent battles through advocacy and education, and leads conversations about trauma-informed practice and how it shows up in our leadership. Today, I have the pleasure of hearing her journey.

Amy Reding is an author, artist, and cancer survivor. At the age of 25 she was diagnosed for the first time with stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Since 2019, Amy has fought cancer on three different occasions and experienced multiple treatments of chemotherapy, fertility treatments, biopsies, immunotherapy and a stem cell transplant. Amy shares openly about her journey with cancer as a young adult, side effects, relationships, and choosing joy and adventure in the midst of compounding bad news. Today I have to pleasure of sitting down with her to listen to her journey.

Dr. Jessica is a strategic leadership and workplace culture consultant with a focus on self-intelligence and relationship intelligence. She is an award-winning international speaker and best-selling author who is on a mission to empower and unlock the inner voices of high-stressed high-achieving leaders. Dr. Jessica’s first book Speak Kindly, You’re Listening has been flying off the shelves! As a former Dental Oncologist and Education Director at one of the top 5 cancer centres in the world, Dr. Jessica knows first hand the challenges that come with high-stressed careers. She started out by teaching the medical and dental community how to improve a patient's quality of life post-cancer therapy and now elevates leaders and their teams to improve their quality of life through confidence, collaboration, culture and communication. I am honoured to be siting down with her today to hear her journey. 

In this mini episode, Tanya shares with her listeners about her experience with aging parents. While all of us know that it is inevitable, it is important to remember that time is extremely precious. Tanya speaks to how her fathers mild stroke last Christmas shifted her perspective on understanding the reality of aging parents. She concludes this episode by urging her listeners to spend time with those who we love because life as we know it is far too short.

With a struggle of body positivity, a unique family upbringing an ongoing battle with imposter syndrome, Andrea Mondoux is a Best Selling and 3x published Author, Speaker, Host of The Balance + Bliss Podcast, Coach and a Curvy Body Advocate changing the future of health and wellness, and how those perceive achieving it. She is passionate about supporting people in their pursuit of wellness and happiness by sharing relatable, actionable, and authentic strategies to help empower them to take control of their lives. With over a decade of lived experience transforming her habits, despite the diet culture, she is committed to changing the way people think about themselves. I am so excited to be speaking with her today to hear about her journey.

Bethany Gettis is a highly dynamic Internationally known Certified Holistic Nutritional ConsultantTM and REAL Food Advocate. Bethany is focused on guiding busy, health-conscious parents to their optimum healthy lifestyle, through nutrition while creating a holistic balance. After all, she created her business Nutritious & Delicious because she believes a healthy family starts with a healthy parent. The unexpected loss of her husband left Bethany to be a widow to raise her two boys on her own. I am sitting here today to hear her story of how she navigated this tragedy, pivoted and became the leader of her life and shifted her focus on happiness from within.

Let's talk about sex, baby! Dr. Jordin is a Pleasure Expert, Naturopathic Doctor and Author. She is the CEO of the Pleasure Collective, a coaching community for CEOs and founders who want to be as badass in the bedroom as they are in the boardroom. She is the author of The Pink Canary, an investigation into the hidden secret to optimal women’s wellness and podcast host of The Pleasure Principles. She is a regular contributor to articles and TV, including Cityline, Cosmopolitan, and The Washington Post, advocating for women’s health and right to pleasure. Combining her years of medical and holistic knowledge with personal experience and exploration, she unlocked her desires, attracted her reality as a fulfilled CEO, mom, stepmom, doctor, friend, lover, and women’s wellness advocate. I am so excited to sit down and talk to her today! 

In this episode, Tanya gets vulnerable with her listeners about the time that a pulmonary embolism nearly took her life. While training for the Boston Marathon, Tanya began to experience severe chest pain that progressively got worse. It wasn't until she was admitted to the hospital that the doctors discovered she had blood clots throughout her chest due to the birth control pill. Tanya informs her listeners to listen to their body, and no matter how healthy or in shape you may be, it is still so important to listen to the signs and symptoms that could potentially be life threatening. 

Dr. Parul Dua Makkar completed her Bachelor of Science from University of Central Oklahoma in 1999, Magna Cum Laude and then obtained her Doctor of Dental Surgery from University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry in 2003. She practiced in Alberta, before moving to New York. Currently she is the owner of PDM Family Dental in Long Island, a place she resides in with her husband and 2 boys. Dr. Makkar's life took a different trajectory when she lost her only and younger sibling, Dr. Manu Dua, to Oral Cancer last year. He was a well-known and practicing dentist as well. Since his death, she has devoted her time educating doctors and patients alike about risk factors, prevention and advocating for early diagnosis of Oral cancer. She has co-authored several Dental journals, has been presenting lectures to Dentists and has been a guest at several podcasts, besides her own.  She believes oral care is the gateway to overall well being and aims to have open conversations with her patients. I am honored to be sitting here today to bring awareness on head and neck cancer in the dental community. 

In this mini episode, Tanya shares with her listeners about her passion for philanthropy and how it came to be.  She discusses the importance of seeking out a charity, person or organization that resonates with you and your values. If you do not have the financial resources, donating your time is a wonderful way to give back! 

Chelsea Squires is an extreme data generalist, collaborator, and storyteller with over five years of energy industry experience and a successful pivot into the tech industry. After suffering for many years with a love-hate relationship with her brain, Chelsea was diagnosed with extreme ADHD. Learning to navigate life with her diagnosis has had its ups and downs. Today, I have the privilege of sitting down with Chelsea to openly discuss ADHD and how others going through the same can find resources and support to help guide them through their journey of life.

In the first mini episode of 2023, Tanya shares with her listeners as to her perspective on goal setting. While it has been a key component to her success, Tanya is more of the mindset in sharing your goals with others whether that is a business coach, a family member or friend. In speaking to the milestones that she wants to get done in each quarter, it works to keep her accountable. The episode concludes with Tanya sharing her goals with her listeners as well as encouraging others to find what works for them in attaining the life that they desire.

In this mini episode, Tanya celebrates The VOW's 100th episode. She speaks to how the podcast has changed her outlook and allowed her to gain a deeper understanding and connection with women who have demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity. The VOW has been a platform that encourages women that it is a strength to be vulnerable and share their story with listeners. Connection is the foundation of The VOW and Tanya thanks all guests who have shared their story, while sharing her excitement for guests who will join the podcast in 2023. 

Dr. Alisha Rai is a mother and the co-founder of  Hope for Cerebral Palsy and the Author of Mighty Mr. Aiden. She shares her journey through infertility, multiple miscarriages and her pursuit of motherhood. Dr. Rai will lead our listeners down an unconventional way of finding her miracle rainbow baby. In this episode, Dr. Rai speaks to her experience through a traumatic delivery, NICU and becoming a special-needs mama. After a diagnosis of PTSD, Dr. Rai learnt how to process her grief. The prompting of a still small voice inside, "Your pain won’t have purpose if it’s in private," has led her to openly share her journey and how  she's choosing to turn grief into giving, ache into action, and pain into purpose. I have the privilege and honor to speak with her today and share her story in hopes of helping other woman  going through a similar experience. 

Nina Purewal faced an unexpected childhood tragedy, which inspired her mindfulness and meditation journey over twenty years ago. After climbing the corporate ladder in sales and marketing for nearly a decade, she took a sabbatical and moved to California to unplug and live in an ashram for a year to further her learning of ancient wisdom and letting go. It’s been her greatest passion to help others find happiness through adversity. With that, she founded Pure Minds, a social enterprise that conducts mindfulness and meditation workshops for the corporate sector, with over 50 clients. She is the co-author of the International Bestseller, Let That Sh*t Go and has also partnered with A Kids Company About as a podcast host and kids meditation mentor. Today, I am honored to be speaking with Nina as she opens up about the tragedy that changed the trajectory of her life, turning her pain into purpose. 

Armed with multiple degrees in psychology, two decades of working one-on-one with individuals, and facilitating internationally, Gemma is laser focused on helping people build emotional intelligence. Gemma is a natural-born storyteller who inspires compassion, with every breath. Her fresh, accelerated and loving approach to healing is changing the psychology industry. I am so lucky to be basking in her presence today sharing her story with our listeners!

In this mini episode, Tanya discusses the importance of finding joy in your day. While every day may not go to plan, it is important to find gratitude for the moments that bring us a sense of joy. Later in the episode, Tanya gets vulnerable with her listeners and shares her own personal journey with practicing compassion for those who share a difference of opinion relating to all things religion, politics and health.

Born in Iran and raised in Tehran Atousa Sepehr received her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and worked as an electrical engineer for almost 10 years in Tehran. In 2011, she made the decision to move to Canada with her husband with hopes of finding work as skilled worker immigrants.

On this podcast, Atousa and Tanya discuss the current situation going on in Iran. Protest movements began 8 weeks ago for women and human rights due to the government's brutality on women and young girls. Atousa will share with our listeners and speak to the truth as to what is currently going on in Iran as well as share what we Canadians can do to help.

Eve Aboka is a Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Advocate, and a Career and Academic Advisor with a restorative justice lens approach to informing organizational change, career development and social justice.

She is the Founder and C.E.O at Capability Career Group (CCG) and an Executive Director at Immigrant Champions of Canada (ICC).

Through the Working Workplaces Program at Capability Career Group, Aboka has coached over 70 organizations in Alberta with a result-oriented D&I overhaul approach, that invites organizations to follow the steps of Assessment, Awareness, Alignment, Action, and Advocacy; to realize holistic organizational D&I change.

Aboka's empathy style in delivering D&I sessions has seen many participants demonstrate higher levels of engagement in the sessions and recorded high participation rates in social change advocacy. Employers have also been motivated to rewrite and change their policies to reflect the change required in today's and tomorrow's workplace. Besides D&I, she has published 3 books.

Beth Hoel began her career in criminal justice in 1998 at just eighteen years old when she began working in the Presentence Division of the Maricopa County Adult Probation Department while attending college at Arizona State University.  During this time, Beth went to the Maricopa County jails where she interviewed hundreds of inmates awaiting sentencing for felony offenses ranging from drug sales, kidnapping, manslaughter, murder, and sexual crimes.  After graduating from college with a B.A. in Sociology, she became an Adult Probation Officer where she supervised a caseload of sexual offenders on probation for child molestation, rape, voyeurism, and other sexual offenses.  She supervised this caseload for nearly five years before promoting to management in 2009.  Beth was a supervisor in the Presentence Division for fifteen months before transferring to a sex offender unit where she spent thirteen years managing a team of Intensive and Standard Officers who supervised sexual offenders. During her time in this role, she has managed thousands of complex cases, expertly navigating the complexities of each. Beth has developed several pieces of training related to sex offender topics regarding supervision and treatment in collaboration with treatment providers.  She managed a grant for a dynamic risk assessment and is trained on several risk assessment tools for general offenders and sexual offenders.  In 2022, Beth retired from Maricopa County after nearly twenty-five years of service to start BHG Consulting Group, where she believes in taking a holistic approach to cases to make families healthier and communities safer.  Beth provides consultation to attorneys, clients, and their families regarding the justice system specific to sexual offenses and provides in-depth, quality mitigation reports to the Court on all types of criminal cases. Beth also collaborates with treatment providers as well to ensure clients have access to the most appropriate treatment for their specific situation.

Beth is a native of Maricopa County, Arizona where she resides today.  She has been a member of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers since 2017 and serves as a Commissioner for Governor Ducey’s Commission to Prevent Violence Against Women in Arizona.  You can contact her at beth@bhgconsultinggroup.com or www.bhgconsultinggroup.com

Ashley is an author, recipe creator, and fitness enthusiast with a master’s degree in nutrition. After being awarded a tennis scholarship in her late teens, she moved from Kelowna to the United States to start her post-secondary studies. For over a decade, she’s worked as a nutritionist in the US and Canada – offering individualized guidance and meal prep services. She takes a compassionate approach to educating others on the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and she primarily focuses on sugar awareness and flexible balanced eating strategies. Ashley currently lives in Calgary and has recently branched into a micro-influencing role on Instagram, while creating and facilitating a home fitness program. If she’s not busy in the kitchen, she’s enjoying moments with her family, husband, friends, fur babies, and nature.

The last fifteen years of her life took her on an unpredictable journey filled with darkness and shame. She neglected her own needs and suffered through PTSD, trauma, and hurtful relationships in silence. The hardships, fatigue, pain, and feeling like a societal misfit finally made sense when she discovered she was an empath. Ashley is now breaking her silence, hoping to bring awareness and comfort to those who need it.

Welcome to The VOW's first mini episode where Tanya discusses her experience and the residing trauma that she deals with from being bullied as a younger girl. It is through her vulnerability that she is able to find the blessings in the hurt. Tanya discusses the importance of identifying the triggers that spark the trauma response in the body based on past experiences. As a leader of love in her own life, with a hunger for knowledge in self-awareness the episode concludes with a Tanya reading a chapter from the book, "The Greatest Salesman in the World" written by Og Mandino. 

The Voice of Women host, Tanya Eklund shares with her listeners about the triumphs, tribulations, and life lessons that she has learned throughout her life. In these mini episodes, Tanya dives more into her own personal story and opens up about her journey in life, love, business and everything in between.

I owned a 6-figure digital marketing company for 9 years, working with brands to create digital 'spaces' that represented who they were through their websites and social media. After battling through another case of 'burnout' I decided to close it down, change course, and follow my own motto: 'Figure out what you love to do and find a way to make money doing it. Interior design and home staging became my new career.

Women often stay in careers because the income is good but often don't feel fulfilled. Tune in to Sarah's journey on how she discovered what she was truly meant to be doing.

As an avid traveller with a goal of visiting 1 new country per year (33 and counting), I have stayed in well over 200 Airbnb in the last 10 years, all across the world. This has given me insight into what gets clicked, what gets booked, and what earns those coveted 5-star ratings.

My interior decorating business is more successful in its first year than the marketing company was in its last few, and my first retail location is opening up this fall!

Marci Warhaft is courageous & resilient, she is an author, a rebel, a couch and a body image advocate. Her book The Good Stripper: A Soccer Mom's Memoir of Lives is Marci's story of her earlier years in which she shares her destructive behaviours, a bank robber father, eating disorders, a struggling marriage, and her sexuality. Marci is a mother of 2 that was married for 22 years and has come out as a gay woman and is ready to share her journey with us. 

Jodie Tilley is an Aussie import and has now lived in Canada for 27 years! After graduating university on the sandy shores of the east coast of Oz, she set off on her mountain adventures to the Canadian Rockies. Staying long term in the great white north was never her intention, but serendipity played a part and many years later she met her now husband and is mum to very active twin 6 year old boys.

Jodie’s career started out as a medical device rep and after many years working in the plastic surgery space, she and her 27 year bestie - Lisa (a very talented nurse injector) decided to open PHI Medical Aesthetics. She has found her passion and life long dream of being an entrepreneur who’s business focuses on restoring the confidence of the patients who visit phi, through medical aesthetics.

About 10 months ago, Jodie found herself in the emergency room in excruciating pain, only to be diagnosed with advanced metastatic colon cancer. After undergoing immediate and lifesaving emergency surgery, she then spent 7 months in intense chemotherapy. And she’s very grateful to be through the craziest year of her life and wants to spread awareness and educate young people on signs and symptoms of colon cancer so that others might not have to endure the same terrifying journey.

Jo Burston is one of Australia’s most successful female entrepreneurs. She has launched six businesses, the standout being Job Capital which went from $0 to $ 40 million turnover in five years and has kept her on the list of Australia’s top 30 female entrepreneurs since 2013. Jo has worked in partnership with the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) and Office For Women (OFW) as well as global brands such as Microsoft, Google, EY, PwC and XERO. Her most recent launch is a startup business, which runs entrepreneurial Learning in Action programs for school-aged children in the curriculum in every state in Australia. Jo is passionate about the idea that you can’t be what you can’t see and uses these programs, as well as her globally recognised social impact business Inspiring Rare Birds, to inspire, support and educate women in business with the goal of providing equal opportunities in entrepreneurship and leadership for everyone.

In 2015, Gloria Di Sabatino and her husband started trying for a family. After a few miscarriages later a series of unlikely diagnoses, including a rare balanced translocation found in less than 1% of the world's population leading to recurrent miscarriage and infertility, they soon found out that her husband carried this condition. After losing six babies in 4 years, and breaking clinic records, they decided it was time to go a different route. Gloria touches on the difference between treatments, the cost of treatments and her journey with infertility.

Gloria is a nurse, a pastor and a running enthusiast. She can be found either playing the piano or baking. She’s been married to her teenage sweetheart and the love of her life for 10 years. Together they have three children, ages six, four, and two.

Award winning journalist, Linda Olsen, is a proud born and raised Calgarian. She graduated from SAIT in Calgary in 1988 with Honors in Broadcast Journalism and started her career that same year at Global Saskatoon.

Linda joined Global Calgary in 1995 and since then, as a reporter, anchor and producer, has covered some of the biggest events to hit the city, including the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic from day one, bringing audiences the important information they were looking for as the situation unfolded, as well as the 2013 Southern Alberta floods. Linda co-anchored live flood coverage for 10 hours on that first day keeping viewers up to date on the significant event.

Linda was also host and producer of Global’s Woman of Vision series from its inception in Calgary in 1998. For 15 years, she highlighted the stories of inspirational women in the community with monthly television news features and a column in the Calgary Herald. In 2001, the Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA) nominated the special as Best Public Affairs Program. In 2002, Linda received the AMPIA Award for Best Anchor, and in 2003 she accepted the Best Host award for the Woman of Vision Special. As a senior anchor at Global News, Linda was also part of the team that won RTDNA’s award for Canada’s Best Newscast in both 2018 and 2014. She was named a recipient of Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 by Avenue magazine and received Global Calgary's Woman of Vision award for her commitment to the program and the community.

An advocate for the community, Linda is a board member with the Calgary Children’s Foundation and an honorary board member of Believe in the Gold, a local charity raising awareness and supporting research for children with cancer.  Linda has also been recognized with an Honorary Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from SAIT and the Honorary Fellow Award at Calgary’s St. Mary’s University.

When she’s not on the anchor desk, Linda can be found out in the city hosting a number of charity events or spending time with her three adult children.

Darby has over a decade of experience working as an accessibility strategist. She established Level Playing Field in 2015 and is an expert in Universal Design and international accessibility guidelines and standards. Darby has successfully contributed to the removal of barriers at municipal, provincial and national levels, ultimately establishing inclusive environments all across Canada. Darby’s expertise in Universal Design has developed throughout a wide range of public roles including her achievements as a competitive para-alpine skier. She is committed to contributing her unique lived-experience and various political appointments to passionately advocate for lasting inclusive environments that benefit everyone, regardless of age, circumstance, or ability. Darby is both a Top 25 Women of Influence (2021) and Top 40 Under 40 (2021 & 2018) honouree and recipient of the 2016 Calgary Stampede Western Legacy Innovation Award.

After the loss of her son-in-law Darryl, in an impaired driving crash, Denise Dubyk became a founding member of the MADD Calgary Chapter in 2001. She has been involved with the mission of the Chapter since that time and held the positions of President, Vice-President, and Treasurer currently sitting as a Board Member.

In 2003, Denise was the recipient of MADD Canada Western Region Award and the John G. Bates award for local and national Volunteer of the Year and was nominated and awarded a Diamond Jubilee Year commemorative medal in 2012.

In 2009 Denise took on the role of MADD Canada Regional Director for the Prairie Provinces, North West Territories and Nunavut Region and in 2010-2013 served as National President for a 3-year term. 

Denise works passionately at educating and creating awareness about impaired driving and advocates to provincial and federal governments regarding strengthening impaired driving legislation.

Denise believes that stopping impaired driving is everyone’s responsibility. That by working together, with the strength and commitment of the MADD Chapters across the country and under the leadership of MADD Canada, positive changes will continue to be made in our communities to lessen fatalities and injuries attributed to impaired driving.

Denise is married, with one daughter, two stepsons and five grandchildren. Along with an eclectic nature, interests such as gardening, reading, close friendships and enormous amounts of quality time with grandchildren keep Denise busy.

Note: for reference to the dates mentioned this episode was recorded in October 2021

Carol Todd has impacted the world as an educator, an advocate, parent and leader for social action in speaking openly about the bullying, cyberbullying, exploitation and the mental health challenges that Amanda went through.  In 2012, Carol’s daughter Amanda took her own life at the age of 15, following the posting of a YouTube video that detailed the exploitation via an international predator and severe harassment, both by peers and online, that she endured.

From this place of tragedy, Carol has found that by sharing Amanda’s story, she could help others. In memory of her daughter who took her life in response to cyberbullying and online exploitation, Carol founded the Amanda Todd Legacy Society to create further awareness surrounding these important issues that many young people are facing around the world. She currently speaks internationally about her experience, as well as her daughter’s struggles with bullying, cyber abuse, online victimization and mental health, to empower youth and adults with strategies and resources to address these social issues.

“Making a difference by sharing Amanda’s tragic story is important to me as her mother and encourages me, through her voice to prevent others from going through what Amanda went did.” Carol has become a voice of global change and advocacy and is driven by her passion and leadership to change the mindset behind negative behaviours and the challenging barriers of stigma by sharing Amanda’s story. 

Website - http://www.amandatoddlegacy.org/