Speakers 2023

Rose Chiron-Howitt
Investment Strategist, Bridgestone Financing Pros
Saturday March 4, 10:45-11:15am
Rose assists clients by providing knowledge that will support them in understanding the value they have as homeowners. She facilitates the process of understanding how to invest, through strategic planning, for future wealth-building possibilities. Rose is a member of REIN (Real Estate Investment Network)
Alisa Aragon-Lloyd (above), Financing Expert and Rose Chiron-Howitt, Investment Strategist from Bridgestone Financing Pros will be speaking on how you can build wealth through real estate. How to plan and get into the real estate market so you can start building equity. And, if you already own a property, how you can leverage your equity to expand your real estate portfolio.

Alisa Aragon-Lloyd
Financing Expert, Bridgestone Financing Pros
Saturday March 4, 10:45-11:15am
Alisa’s passion is creating financial independence. She has been a licensed mortgage expert since 2010 who quickly gained a reputation for finding creative solutions to purchase and invest in real estate. Alisa has been an active member of the Homebuilders Association of Vancouver (HAVAN) since 2012. Also, is a Director on Board of HAVAN. She is a regular contributor to the New Home & Condo Guide and is a past monthly contributor for Real Estate Weekly (REW.ca).
Alisa Aragon-Lloyd, Financing Expert and Rose Chiron-Howitt (below), Investment Strategist from Bridgestone Financing Pros will be speaking on how you can build wealth through real estate. How to plan and get into the real estate market so you can start building equity. And, if you already own a property, how you can leverage your equity to expand your real estate portfolio.

Vesanto Melina
MS, Registered Dietitian
Saturday March 4, 11:30am-12:00pm
Sunday March 5, 3:00-3:30pm
Talk Title: Healthy, Delicious, Easy Plant Based Eating Though Life
Is your diet moving in a plant-based direction? Would you like to fine tune your way of eating (and still have it taste good)? Are plant-based diets suitable for every stage of the life cycle– pregnancy, childhood, adulthood and the senior years. Do vegans and vegetarians get enough protein? Which vitamins, minerals, essential fats, or other nutrients need special attention? Can top athletes compete successfully when their diets include no animal products? Can seniors avoid sarcopenia (muscle wasting) while eating only or mainly plant foods?
Vesanto Melina MS, Registered Dietitian, is an award winning speaker whose presentations have inspired audiences from Barcelona to Reykjavik, from Dresden to San Paulo and across North America. She has been on the faculty of the University of British Columbia and of Seattle’s Bastyr University. She is co-author of 13 bestselling books on plant-based nutrition and foods with almost a million copies in print in English and now in 9 other languages. She is author (with Brenda Davis) of the award-winning Becoming Vegan: Comprehensive Edition and Becoming Vegan: Express Edition, and of the Kick Diabetes Cookbook, Becoming Raw, and The Raw Food Revolution Diet. Vesanto is lead author of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics current position paper on vegetarian diets.

Rick Fischer
HTMA Practitioner & Instructor, Integrative Health Coaching
Saturday March 4, 12:15-12:45pm
Sunday March 5, 1:00-1:30pm

Jason Watkin
Co-Founder and Chief Formulator for PURICA
Saturday March 4, 1:00-2:00pm
Talk Title: SHROOMS EVERYDAY – Ancient Wisdom meets Modern Science for a healthier YOU!
The integration of traditional eastern medicine and modern-day western practices can be a powerful ally in the fight against daily stress, dis”ease” and aging. PURICA Founder, CEO and Chief Formulator Jason Watkin gives you a strong game plan and winning strategy based on the power of Medicinal Mushrooms to improve physical and mental health.
We will cover
• How stress is the true culprit behind aging
• How stress initiates the most serious of ailments & disease
• How stress affects your gut & bone health
• How stress is at the root of inflammation
• How to mitigate stress, inflammation & aging by incorporating positive lifestyle solutions
• How to quickly find balance and relief through the transition to Menopause with powerful medicinal mushroom formulas.

Dr. Weidong Yu
TCMD, R.Ac, BM (China), MPH (Belgium)
Saturday March 4, 2:15-2:45pm
Dr. Yu is one of Canada’s leading Doctors of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), world-renowned for his successful treatment of retinal eye disorders.
He also co-founded the Wellspring Clinic, where he has improved the vision of over 1,000 patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare eye disease previously deemed untreatable, and hundreds of patients with other eye disorders such as Macular Degeneration, Myopia, Presbyopia, and Dry Eye Disease.
His 20+ years of research and clinical practice allowed him to discover key factors in both vision health and healing, which he used to treat age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, dry eye disease, myopia, astigmatism, amblyopia, and viral optic neuritis.
Dr. Yu has practiced Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine in Belgium, Canada, US and China and he is a Licensed Acupuncturist in the State of California, US. He’s also the author of 30+ publications in both Chinese and English medical literature.
His purpose: Sight for Humanity.

Kimberley Thompson
Certified L.E.A.N. Health Coach
Saturday March 4, 3:00-3:30pm
Sunday March 5, 2:00-2:30pm
Talk Title: Take Control of Your Food Supply: How Growing Your Own Chemical Free Produce Can Help Cut Food Costs.
Given the changes in the past couple of years to how we behave and feel about work/life balance, health and wellness, and the quality (and quantity) of food found in grocery stores, more people than ever have taken up gardening in an effort to take control of their food supply. Kimberley wants to share a little insight about how indoor gardening can help ensure that you have access to healthy, high-quality food without the grocery store price tag.

Lindsey Shields
Registered Holistic Nutritionist B.A., B.ED.
Saturday March 4, 3:45-4:15pm
Lindsey Shields, The Holistic Mama, is also the creator of The Holistic Mama Method, Owner of Holihappy, retreat host and most importantly a mama of two sweet babes. She will be talking about the missing link in your fertility and perinatal journey. Come learn about how it is crucial to take a true WHOLE-istic approach to enhance and boost fertility and support your growing baby to create their healthiest first home- your womb.

Robbie G.
Leadership Expert, Speaker, and Author
Saturday March 4, 4:30-5:00pm
Talk Title: Love & Other Needs: Identify Your Needs & Fulfill Your Dreams
Robbie G. is a leadership expert, speaker, and author. His upcoming book: “Love & Other Needs:
Understand your needs & fulfill your dreams”. Robbie will explore the various ways our
unfulfilled needs impact us physically and mentally in the areas of our core values, mental state,
behaviours, and progress. He will use various case studies as a tool for us to examine our lives and be
mindful of what we focus on. Finally, he will guide us on how to identify and fulfill our needs, setting and
achieving goals, and ultimately, finding fulfillment and happiness. Join him in his high-energy, mind
boggling, and thought provoking presentation on Love & Other Needs.

Fatima Zaidi
Motivational Speaker | Leadership Strategist, Project Instigate
Sunday March 5, 10:45-11:15am
Fatima is a leadership strategist and expert, motivational and two times TEDx Speaker, and the Founder of Project Instigate. Most comfortable and “in her element” on stage, as a storyteller Fatima discovered her passion for public speaking at age 7. From magic shows to inspirational talks, she discovered the power of influence through her stage presence. Having lived in three continents and four countries, Fatima experienced both barriers and opportunities in each culture and lifestyle and used public speaking as an avenue to shatter glass ceilings and to push the envelope on what is considered “possible” quickly gaining the reputation of being “unstoppable”.
Most recently, Fatima has developed a ground-breaking program called Biotope Leadership that she facilitates at schools, organizations and businesses teaching how to create a thriving environment for us and those around us and lead a purposeful and fulfilling life.

Susan Horning
Herbalist
Sunday March 5, 11:30am-12:00pm
Talk Title: Journey To Gut Health with Herbal Medicine
Some believe that gut health is the best indication of our overall health. With a baffling number of gut health supplements on the market such as probiotics, digestive enzymes, reflux medications, antacids, as well as multiple and conflicting diet recommendations, a changing food system ripe with pesticides and genetic modification, not to mention the stress of everyday living, it’s not surprising that our guts are challenged!

Rebecca Stonecypher
BSC, RN & Certified in Plant-Based Nutrition
Sunday March 5, 12:15-12:45pm
Rebecca Stonecypher is a Registered Nurse who gets excited about health in every way. She is passionate about making healthy food taste GREAT and enjoys teaching plant-based cooking classes to demonstrate how cooking healthfully doesn’t have to be hard. She is also a fitness enthusiast with past experience in personal fitness training.
Breakfast Cooking Class:
Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day and yet many are quick to skip it due to time restraints, work, or even because they are trying to lose weight. Join Rebecca to learn why breakfast is such an important part of the day! She will discuss the influence that breakfast has on what you’re tempted to eat throughout the rest of the day, its effect on overall calorie intake, and its impact on overall daily cognitive function. She will also demonstrate how to make quick-and-easy, on-the-go breakfast foods that are both filling and nutritious!