SPEAKERS
John Burns
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John Burns worked in journalism for 25 years. Early gigs ranged from community sports editor to managing editor of the Georgia Straight to editor-in-chief of Vancouver magazine. Along the way, there were side trips into book publishing and book writing, radio broadcasting and university tenure.
Now he is editorial director of Echo Storytelling Agency, a Vancouver-based custom publishing company that documents the lives and accomplishments of individuals and companies through a range of products, from books and magazines to websites and social media campaigns.
Somewhere in there, he also gained two children, a poodle, 20 pounds, and a healthier appreciation of his own limits.
Minelle Mahtani
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Minelle is an author, journalist and Associate Professor of Human Geography and Planning, and the Program in Journalism at University of Toronto-Scarborough. She is host of Roundhouse Radio’s late-morning show, “Sense of Place” on 98.3 FM and has written two books: Mixed Race Amnesia: Resisting the Romanticization of Multiraciality and Global Mixed Race. She has worked in the not-for-profit sector in Vancouver for the former firm IMPACS – Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society – and sits on the steering committee of UBC’s journalism school. She is former President of the Association for Canadian Studies and has won several awards, including a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Award for her contributions to journalism. She is a former CBC TV journalist who worked on The National. Minelle took a sabbatical from University of Toronto to take on this exciting role at Roundhouse Radio. She’s enthusiastic about what Roundhouse represents – inspiring active community citizenry. Roundhouse’s commitment to solutions-oriented programming echoes Minelle’s own professional passions – to encourage a heightened sense of human flourishing for all Vancouver residents.
Chris Morrissey
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Chris first became involved in immigration support work in 1989 on her return from Chile when she found it impossible to sponsor her partner, Bridget. Her actions led to a court challenge of immigration sponsorship rules that discriminated against sexual orientation and to the formation of the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Task Force (now: LEGIT Canadian Immigration for Same-sex Partners). Thanks to their website, news of LEGIT’s work spread and the organization began to receive requests for information from LGBTQ refugees in Canada and abroad. Chris went on to form Rainbow Refugee Committee to support LGBTQ and HIV+ refugee claimants in Canada. She also has responsibility for promotion of the sponsorship of LGBTQ folks fleeing persecution and needing to re-locate to a safe country.
Brian Scudamore
Brian Scudamore is a serial entrepreneur and passionate people-person.
He is well-known for pioneering the professional junk hauling industry with 1-800-GOT-JUNK? which he started here in Vancouver. He’s added brands in the painting, moving, and home-detailing industries under the O2E Brands banner.
Currently, he’s at the helm of a burgeoning home-service empire – each brand has franchise locations in every major metro in North America and Australia. He’s a respected industry leader and speaker, well-known in the business community for his belief in people and passion for innovation.
His companies have made celebrated appearances on shows including Oprah and CNBC. Brian is a regular contributor to Forbes and The Globe and Mail, and his story has been featured in other noteworthy publications.
Brian is a strong believer in ongoing personal and professional development, and has attended programs offered by MIT for several years. If he’s not launching a new brand or coming up with a new, big idea, he’s biking or hanging out with his family in Vancouver, BC.
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Mo is the director of strategy at Skyrocket, a Vancouver-based digital branding agency. When not brainstorming ideas that turn organizations into brand powerhouses, he tends to advise prominent arts and culture organizations, or check-in regularly for a concert at least.
Jocelyn Morlock
Jocelyn Morlock received her Bachelor of Music in piano performance at Brandon University, and both a Master’s degree and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of British Columbia. “With its shimmering sheets of harmonics” (Georgia Straight) and an approach that is “deftly idiomatic” (Vancouver Sun), Morlock’s music has received numerous national and international accolades, including Top 10 at the 2002 International Rostrum of Composers, the Mayor’s Arts Award for Music in Vancouver (2016) and the JUNO award for Classical Composition of the Year (My Name Is Amanda Todd, 2018).
Most of Morlock’s compositions are for small ensembles, many of them for unusual combinations like piano and percussion (Quoi?), cello and vibraphone (Shade), bassoon and harp (Nightsong), and an ensemble consisting of clarinet/bass clarinet, trumpet, violin and double bass (Velcro Lizards). Cobalt, a concerto for two violins and orchestra, was her first commission for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, in 2009. Her first full-length CD, also titled Cobalt, was released on the Centrediscs label in 2014. Jocelyn Morlock has been the Vancouver Symphony’s Composer in Residence since 2014.
Eric Peterson
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Eric Peterson is the founder and president of the BC-based Tula Foundation. Among other activities, Tula operates the Hakai Institute, whose flagship is a research station—a so-called “ecological observatory”—on remote Calvert Island, in the middle of the Great Bear Rainforest.
Eric is a fourth generation British Columbian, born in Port Alberni, with roots on the BC coast that run from Vancouver to Prince Rupert. His first career was in genetics and neurobiology. He started at UBC and ended up on faculty at McGill University in Montreal, with stints in between in the UK and USA. His second career spanned fifteen years as a tech entrepreneur in Waterloo, Ontario. Eric now knits together all those seemingly incompatible threads: he brings the attitude and energy of a tech startup to a science mission in a wild part of our coast where he feels very much at home.
Mark Winston
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Mark L. Winston is that rare individual, a scientist who can speak eloquently to the public. Recognized as one of the world’s leading expert on bees and pollination, Mark has had an illustrious career researching, teaching, writing and commenting on bees and agriculture, environmental issues and science policy. He directed Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue for 12 years, where he achieved wide recognition as a distinguished Canadian educator. He consults widely, in university, corporate, non-profit, government and community settings, utilizing dialogue to advance communication skills, thoughtfully engage public audiences with controversial issues, implement experiential learning and community engagement in educational institutions, and enhance leadership. Dr. Winston has written extensively for newspapers and magazines as well as six books, including his bestseller “Bee Time: Lessons From the Hive,” which won the 2015 Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction.
GALLERY
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