Having a professional coach on board as an ongoing partner is always a benefit to an all-volunteer organization like ours, especially when it's the dynamic and always-practical voice of Marcel Hertzfeldt that's involved. He is our super-hero Chief Operations Officer by night (and many times by day!), and keeps us on track with a smile and sounds words of advice.

Since our earlier events, TEDxCalgary has partnered with the always-amazing folks at the University of Calgary Alumni Association and the university community at large to offer discounts to the many tens of thousands of UCalgary graduates living around the city, and across the globe. For our 2024 programming, we celebrate our partnership at the Visonary Level with special discounts for alumni members, and look forward to profiling many specially-designed interactions from various areas of the university!

Dr. Rupinder Toor is a medical doctor who is passionate about women’s health and believes that empowering women through reproductive health is the key to building strong families and communities. She has proven to be a champion, innovator and thought leader in the areas of women’s health, birth control, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and culturally appropriate health care and has successfully redefined women’s health as a primary care speciality.

Anila is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Newcomers, and has 25 years of experience in the settlement sector. During her tenure as CEO, she has spearheaded programming to include volunteer-led refugee supports; indigenous integration for newcomers; LGBTQ+ supports, domestic violence, homeless and mental health support services and broadened vulnerable youth programming and social venture opportunities.

Dr. Ryan Todd is a psychiatrist at Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Alberta, where he has seen and treated thousands of individuals who have a mental illness as a result of trauma, medical or surgical illness.

Dr. Todd believes mental wellness can be learned and practiced by everyone, and that technology is a vital resource in helping bridge the gap between demand and mental healthcare today. This belief fuelled his desire to start headversity, a mental wellness tech company where he acts as CEO. Through headversity, Dr. Todd envisions building a culture of mental wellness in the Canadian workforce through mobile, micro, and measurable training.

What else do you do after you've been a world traveller (including working as a carnie and on a cattle station in Australia), ran for city council at age 20, and completed an engineering degree? Move to Canada and start over 75,000 conversations that matter, of course!

We first saw glimpses of Jan's skills with deep conversations at TEDFest in 2018, when his Ask Deep Questions cards were being used to spark new ideas and deep conversation across TEDx organizers from around the world. Right then, we knew he was someone we wanted as part of our ENGAGE: with Ideas series, which is all about making new and deeper connections across our participants. Jan is a connection coach based in Toronto, a video creator, and a passionate entrepreneur.

Spoken word poet meets eternal optimist: Miranda's poetry ranges in topic from child's play to empowerment, giving life's obstacles a feel-good finish. A Calgary Arts Development grant recipient, a 2-time Canada Council for the Arts grant recipient, a member of the 2016 national wild card team, and a member of the 2013 Spoken Word Program at the Banff Centre, she now runs the spoken word network YYSpeak: a communal and supportive space for local spoken word artists.

Since "a dozen different cultures who historically hated each other had to make love to make [her]," Krogstad has developed a keen interest in inclusivity and acceptance. From fully-captioned shows to events on gender equality, mental health, and cultural diversity, her spoken word poetry strives to be empowering and accessible to varying abilities and languages. Ultimately, her work encourages individuals of all walks of life to share their voice kindly, bravely, and inclusively.