TRUTH IS…
The talented Truth is… will be performing at our TEDxIBYork event this year! Truth Is… A poet, a writer, a motivational speaker & an educator. In addition to slams & performances across Canada & the U.S., Truth Is… has headlined several conferences focused on social equity, gender equality, and youth motivation. We are excited to have her with us!
ROB STEWART
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Rob Stewart started his journey to becoming an award-winning filmmaker at the age of 13 when he began photographing the underwater world. By the age of 18 he became a scuba instructor trainer and then moved on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, studying in Ontario, Jamaica and Kenya.
Before making Sharkwater (2007), Stewart spent four years traveling the world as chief photographer for the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s magazines and as an award-winning freelance photojournalist. Leading expeditions to the most remote areas of the world, Stewart has logged thousands of hours underwater, using the latest in rebreather and camera technologies.
Stewart’s award-winning library of underwater motion and still images has been sought out by some of the most popular and well-respected media companies around the globe, fromBBC Wildlife, Discovery Channel, ABC, Asian Diver, Entertainment Tonight and various GEO magazines.
While on assignment to photograph sharks in the Galapagos Islands, Stewart discovered illegal long lining, indiscriminately killing sharks within the marine reserve. He tried promoting awareness through print campaigns, but when the public didn’t respond, Stewart decided to make a film to bring people closer to sharks. At the age of 22, he left his photography career behind and embarked on a remarkable journey over four years and through 15 different countries, resulting in the epic: Sharkwater (2006).
JULIE HARTLEY
Julie Hartley is a writer, director, storyteller, speaker and playwright who teaches theatre at the high school and university level, in Canada and in the UK. She is the author of more than twenty plays for young people, many of which have been performed across Canada and the British Isles. Hartley was shortlisted for the International Pilot Pen writing award and was the recipient of the 2010 Peace Poetry Prize in the UK. Her poetry and short stories have been published in literary magazines in England and Canada, including This Magazine, The Antigonish Review, Event Magazine and CV2. She is a founding director of Centauri Summer Arts Camp, which offers 40 residential summer arts courses each year for youth from all over the world. Hartley works as a freelance writer, director, storyteller, theatre workshop leader and keynote speaker, while continuing as a director of Centauri Summer Arts. She is currently working on a novel, and completing a drama handbook for teachers.
CHRIS CUMMINS
Chris Cummins has been speaking professionally for 9 years. He has trained over 15,000 business owners, and physically presented in over 300 offices across the country, and he has learned how to hold audiences in the palm of his hand from the first moment he takes the microphone. A naturally gifted speaker, Chris takes everyone on an exhilarating journey that educates with expert storytelling, dramatic personal stories, and humorous anecdotes. His warm and engaging, yet powerful and dynamic style is irresistible. Whether laughing till their sides ache or alternately pausing to ponder life’s ironies along the way, Chris ensures everyone leaves with a fresh outlook on life, renewed enthusiasm for business, and a joyful, infectious spring in their step.
Chris has entertained audiences across North America, training entrepreneurs, executives and sales professionals to take their business and their lives to the next level. He has worked as a promotional speaker forAnthony Robbins’ event “Unleash The Power Within” and spent three years with Real Estate Trainer and Coach Richard Robbins (no relation to Tony).
Senior executives, business owners, sales people & real estate professionals appreciate Chris’ unique ability to deliver highly educational content in a hilarious, approachable and very “real” style.
Chris often says that people who say something can’t be done are often interrupted by someone doing it. In his upcoming book, “You Can’t Do That! – Oh Yeah? Watch Me!”, Chris interviews people who were told they would never be able to accomplish something and then they went and did it anyway. Chris walks the talk and will take you on a journey that will leave you with the tools for living the “When you Believe, You Achieve” lifestyle.
MAUREEN HOLLOWAY – MC
Maureen Holloway is heard in Toronto as co-host of Derringer in the Morning on Classic Rock Q107, and across Canada as host of The Last Word, a commentary on the foibles of the famous, featured live every morning on Q104 Halifax, More 103.9 London, Power 97 and CJOB Winnipeg, Joe FM Edmonton, Q107 Calgary and Rock 101 Vancouver. On television, Maureen has hosted The Dish Show, the Comedy Network’s Gemini-nominated gabfest, and Flick, the Life Network’s movie review show, as well as regular features on CTV’s eNow and Canada A.M. Maureen is the recipient of the Canadian Association of Broadcaster’s Gold Ribbon Award for Humour. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, Maureen is an outspoken advocate for women’s health issues, and proud to be associated with fundraising campaigns for St. Michael’s Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital and Women’s College Hospital. Maureen is in frequent demand as a lecturer and keynote speaker, where her topics encompass women, humour and wellness.
JEAN-FRANCOIS ARCHAMBAULT
Jean-François Archambault is the Executive Director and Founder of La Tablée des Chefs. Passionate about the restaurant and hotel industry, he completed his hotel management training at the ITHQ in 1997 and worked as Sales and Marketing Manager for the Marriott hotel chain in Montreal. But all the while, Jean-François had a dream: to create a movement among chefs and pastry cooks in Quebec in order to feed the underprivileged.
In 2000, he founded what would eventually become La Tablée des Chefs, an organization driving chefs, cooks and confectioners in Quebec to community involvement. He set up a food recovery program with some important establishments such as the Bell Centre, which provides more than 60,000 meals a year alone to people in need.
A social entrepreneur at heart, Jean-François believes Quebec chefs have an incredible ability to come together and help young people fight poverty by sharing their culinary knowledge with them in order to break the poverty cycle. In June 2007, he founded the Taillevent culinary camp, which enables more than 475 underprivileged kids from all over Quebec to enjoy culinary workshop vacations with the support of Ricardo Larrivée, Honorary Chair. He launched the Ateliers du Frère Toc workshops offered in 11 public high schools in Quebec. These workshops aim to develop culinary independence among troubled youth.
In 2007, he was named Person of the Week in La Presse/Radio-Canada. In 2008, Jean-François was named Young Socially Responsible Business Leader in Quebec and received the Arista award from the Jeune Chambre de Commerce de Montréal. He was then a finalist in the Quebec Social Entrepreneur of the Year category of the Ernst & Young 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year awards. He was recently named Fellow of the prestigious ASHOKA movement, which unites leading social entrepreneurs from around the world
James Lockyer
James Lockyer obtained his LLB at the University of Nottingham in 1971 and is a member of the Bar in England. From 1972 until 1977, he was an Assistant Professor at the Law Faculties of McGill University and the University of Windsor. In 1977 he was called to the Ontario Bar and began to practice criminal law. He has been a criminal lawyer for 33 years.
He is a founding director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC), a Canada-wide organization that advocates for the wrongly convicted. In that capacity, he has been involved in several high profile wrongful conviction cases including those of David Milgaard, Guy Paul Morin, Robert Baltovich, Peter Frumusa, Gordon Folland, James Driskell, Clayton Johnson, Steven Truscott, Kyle Unger, William Mullins-Johnson, Romeo Phillion, Erin Walsh, Sherry Sherett-Robinson, Anthony Hanemaayer, Dinesh Kumar and Tammy Marquardt.
YALE FOX
Yale researches social nightclub behaviour with a particular emphasis on music and how it affects people at an implicit level. With a background in biology, psychology, and sociology, Yale investigates such topics as how music can affect bar sales and people’s ability to multitask, how it determines listening patterns, and how the stock market can affect mood, which in turn predicts the characteristics of popular music. His research has been published in international publications, documentaries, and textbooks. Additionally, Yale’s position in the nightclub industry gives him access to a vast quantity of unique data, which has already led to some remarkable conclusions.
STEFANIE BLAIN
Stefanie is passionately interested in creating expressive communication technologies that allow individuals with severe disabilities to create meaningful interpersonal connections with their friends and family. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Sciences and is currently completing a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, where she is working with brain-computer interfaces. Outside of her academic activities, she is a musician, a beginner ballroom dancer, a faculty member at Shad Valley Waterloo and a passionate reader. She is thrilled to be presenting at this TEDx conference, where she can share with others an idea that connects many interests and aspects of her life.
MIKE JUTAN
At age 10, Mike Jutan envisioned his future at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), George Lucas’s groundbreaking visual effects film studio. His passion for computer graphics led him to earn his B.Math (Honours Computer Science Co-Op) degree at the University of Waterloo. He now lives his childhood dream every single day as a Research & Development Engineer at ILM in San Francisco, California. Mike is always busy planning his next adventure, to explore the globe and to make a difference to the world around him. Using his mentoring skills and extremely contagious enthusiasm, he is determined to share his joie de vivre with the world and inspire the next generation through a blend of art and science.
LARA BOZABALIAN
Lara Bozabalian’s poetry and prose have been published in literary journals, as well as in two literary anthologies. She is the author of four chapbooks, Exhale to December, The Morning Glories, New Dream and Free, and her first full length collection,The Cartographer’s Skin, was published by Piquant Press in May 2010. She has featured at literary festivals and universities across Canada, including the Art Bar,Vancouver Poetry House, Harbourfront’s Canadian Voices Festival, Queen’s University, Luminato ‘New Waves’ Festival (Yonge Centre for the Performing Arts), the Eden Mills Writers Festival and the Words Aloud Festival.
As a member of the Toronto Poetry Slam Team, Lara represented Toronto at last years American National Poetry Slam and the 2009 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. She also competed at the 2008 Individual World Poetry Slam and at the 2009 Women of the World Poetry Slam. As Head of English at a public high school, Lara founded and runs a spoken word festival for high school students across York Region, and is a founding member of Toronto Poetry Project, a collective dedicated to fostering social change and creative writing opportunities for youth.
