PACE Event Photos!

 

WE THINK OUR MIDDLE NAME IS CURIOSITY... AND FUN!


To demonstrte that, we celebrate our post-event for PACE: Impact Beyond Speed with this short video shot by our main stage photographer, Scott Blasken, during the initial talk by Julien LePage. We kicked off with a dynamic shared drumming activation, demonstrating that "pace" takes many forms...

Our event would not be what it was without our amazing volunteers and our speakers...

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For us, it's a rare thing to have one hard-working event photographer capture another having a moment of pure, raw, fun... that's what makes this such a delightful discovery when we were checking photo sets and saw this one of long-time volunteer and true TEDxCalgary friend Scott Blasken. He has captured more iconic images for us over the years with his masterful eye.than we can count, so our thanks to the About Love Photography team for this one!  

Just Released! Visit our TEDxCalgary photo account on Flickr to see speaker and participant photos from the amazing (always!) Scott Blasken of Chinook Arch Photography!

 

 

 


 

 Joining us this year as a first-time partner was About Love Photography Services, who were at our event to capture images of our Interactions Partners, participants, and volunteers!

They did an exceptional job and captured anamazing set of photos... thank you!!

 

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Gayathri Shukla - Storyteller

Gayathri Shukla is the founder of Campfire Kinship, a social enterprise that helps organizations build inclusive, trust-based cultures, by starting with one of the most powerful tools we all have: story.

With a background in electrical engineering, an MBA, and now pursuing her PhD in Transdisciplinary Research at the University of Calgary, Gayathri brings a unique mix of rigor, empathy, and lived experience to her work.

After 17 years leading teams in the energy and mining sector, she saw firsthand how innovation stalls when people don’t feel seen or heard. That realization led her to launch Campfire Kinship—where she now works with leaders across industries to move from check-the-box inclusion to real, human connection.

She’s the bestselling author of Landed: Transformative Stories of Canadian Immigrant Women, host of the Hearth 2 Heart podcast, and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for her community work.

 

What does the theme of PACE mean to you?

To me, this theme is a call to RESPOND, instead of REACT, to the unprecedented pace of change is our world today. This means that human presence, connection, and authentic interaction is still required, despite AI tools prioritizing efficiency. One way to do this is to reflect on what makes us uniquely human - our story.

Introducing our PACE: Impact Beyond Speed speakers...


PACE2025speakers

 

Announcing the full list of speakers for PACE: Impact Beyond Speed on October 25th! 

Individual speaker profiles will continue to appear over the next couple of weeks, but here's the overview of our speaker line-up.


Top Row, Left to Right

Chad Lefevre

Transformational Changemaker

Julien LePage

Registered Social Worker (BSW, MSW Leadership), trauma specialist, and lifelong drummer

Dr. Kerry Black, PhD, PEng

Associate Professor, University of Calgary and Canada Research Chair in (Re)Engineering Sustainable Communities

Kate Thompson, Architect, AAA, FRAIC

President & CEO of Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC)


Middle Row, Left to Right

Dr. Chelsea Matisz, PhD, MSc

Gut-Brain Scientist and Science Communicator

Wish Bakshi

Founder & AI Systems Engineer | Specialist in Commodities Trading & Operations (OT) | Power, Nat Gas, Data Centers, LNG, SCADA

Shone Thistle

Calgary Poet Laureate, 2024-26, author, poet and multidisciplinary artist

George Damian

Philanthopist and Tech Investor


Bottom Row, Left to Right

Gayathri Shukla, PEng., MBA

Storyteller and founder of Campfire Kinship

Dr. Laleh Behjat, PhD, PEng (b. 328/423 ppm*)

Professor in Electrical and Software Engineering at the University of Calgary and the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering – Prairies

Dr. Lina Kattan, PhD. P. Eng.

Professor in the Schulich School of Engineering, the Urban Alliance Professor in Transportation System Optimization, and program director of CREATE-Integrated Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities

The Honourable Leela Aheer

Former Alberta MLA and Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women (2019 - 2021)

 


*A personal measure of what the Earth's CO2 levels were at birth, compared to now. All of us should know this!

 

 

Check out our list of Past Events, complete with links to all the amazing talks we've recorded!

We're immensely proud of all our speakers, and encourage you to enjoy the talks.

The TEDxCalgary Team

 

Learn more about what to expect at a TEDxCalgary event!

Being at an event is a unique experience, quite different from simply watching a TED or TEDx talk online after the fact. Click to learn more about what to expect about attending one of our events in person, and why it's so worth the price of admission!