Michael Strong, a respected educator, established the Socratic Experience for students in grades 3-12 to cultivate creative thinking and assist young individuals in identifying their strengths. Utilizing the Socratic method, he encourages independent thinking and reflection on personal passions and societal needs. Additionally, Michael explores the fundamental aspects of mental health, namely connection, community, meaning, and purpose.The podcast goes on to discuss Michaels' journey as an education entrepreneur, expanding the Socratic Experience globally. He encourages young people to take ownership of their education while criticizing traditional school systems for promoting passivity. He believes that there is great power in being purpose-driven in life which is a highlight of the discussion.To connect with Michael, reach out on the following platforms: Programs Website: www.socraticexperience.com YouTube: @SocraticMichaelStrongTwitter and Medium: @FlowidealismLinkedIn: @SocraticStrongExperienceWe value your input! If there are specific topics from this conversation that you would like us to explore further, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]. We look forward to having Michael join us again to delve deeper into the concepts discussed.

Joining us on this episode of Talking Impact is Jessica Peters. Jessica is the founder and Chief Possibility Officer (CPO) at Wealth Coaching and Consulting. In addition, Jessica is a board member here at Impact Society and holds several awards for her not-for-profit leadership roles. Jessica introduces us to the four elements that came together to influence her path to becoming a coach; including her confusion about what she wanted to be growing up, the purpose she saw in volunteerism, and a traumatic brain injury. Amongst a whirlwind of challenges, she knew she was just getting started in her career, and a physical setback would not stop her. Since then, Jessica has built a successful leadership practice that coaches leaders of a wide array of individuals (eg. from teenagers to businesspeople, to retired folk) on how to transform themselves and their work into something meaningful. She says that by helping others find their purpose work, productivity and retention increase, and stress decreases. When Chris asks about the consumer aspect, Jessica tells us that coaching is not prescriptive, but about meeting people where they are. This a great leadership-based episode to watch if you’re searching for your own purpose!

Joining us today is Sat Parhar, Calgary’s former Deputy Chief of Police, here to discuss all things leadership, diversity, and the future of modern youth. Sat describes how leaders are often put on a pedestal, and as a result, can be struck down when sharing their ideas. From growing up in a Sikh immigrant household and how impactful his Mother’s steady leadership was to Sat's growth, to why he whispers “I love you” into his newborn grandson’s ear every day, Sat shares personal experiences that have modeled him into a resilient leader and father. He shares an account early on in his decades-long career with CPS, and how it taught him an invaluable lesson to call something out in the room, rather than leaving it for an office discussion later on. Through open conversations about what is happening in modern policing, Sat helps us understand how we are all change agents, and why that makes each of us important in our ever-changing pluralistic society.

Joining us on this episode is David Harvey, the teaching pastor at Westside Kings Church in Calgary. David earned his PhD of Theology from the University of Manchester, and relocated to Canada five years ago! Starting off with the bad reputation that sermons sometimes receive, he tells us how they can be both an amazing and horrible medium in our experience. With oral storytelling dating back far in humanity, David shows us how stories are still so entrenched in our everyday lives. We love stories so much we rush home to watch a new season of our favorite fictional stories. Every interaction between people is a curation of some stories, which leads David into some examples in the Bible, that the books of the New Testament are also curated to elicit specific meanings and direction. Furthermore, we dive into David’s own story a little bit. His family moved to Sierra Leone during his youth, and he describes how the stories of its postcolonial brokenness cannot be fixed by simply ‘asking people to believe in Jesus’ nor erasing the past, but by going back far enough in the story to see who the problem was, and how it seeped into modern day. With lots of jokes and interesting things to think about along the way, David tells us that the biblical word of ‘Shalom’, meaning wholeness, is what he envisions in his story about our world, and how he tries to embody that in his community. 

Jean Côté and Luc Martin are sports psychologists, and happen to be colleagues at Queens University. What brings them together is the belief that involvement in sport goes beyond performance; an interest in how sports can support the development of individuals. Jean’s work focuses on legitimate research without an emphasis on just elite athletes. He speaks about how in the last 30 years, he’s witnessed a positive shift in the world of sports psychology, from one with a BIG emphasis on performance, to one where sports are a tool to springboard personal development! Having put forth an entire framework relating to this, Jean takes us through the breakthrough term of “Transformational coaching”, and how studies have shown that on a  scale of coaches, it is only interpersonal skills that sets apart a bad coach and a phenomenal one. Luc, on the other hand, takes a keen focus on the team dynamics side of sports, and how team dynamics can give way to a kid's developing a sense of identity. Luc gives us insight into the story based programming that pushed forward a 5-week pilot program, in which youth hockey teams watched videos of pro players introducing growth-related topics. The feedback was overwhelmingly strong, even as a pilot program, with parents saying they saw a common language forming between them and their children. Videos like one of Andrew Ladd recounting troubles with an injury, gave kids a feeling of relatability, pointing towards a change that sports psychology is seen as a necessary mental health piece in sports, and no longer something that needs to be swept under the rug. Lots of interesting dialogue will have you thinking in this episode!

On this episode of Talking Impact, Chris sits down with resilient business-woman, life-long learner, and founder of Komo Consulting - Kelsey Komorowski.A graduate from the University of Toronto (Master of Global Affairs) and Queen’s University (Bachelor of Arts, Honours), Kelsey did not always have such success in school. When she was younger she often felt like she was falling behind and unable to grow in her areas of weakness.Today, she has 16 years of experience working closely with students to develop the skills, mindsets and attributes they need to thrive not just in school but as lifelong learners and thoughtful, productive humans.  Kelsey loves empowering parents with the skills and knowledge to help their kids reach their potential while establishing positive household dynamics around school. She knows that every student can succeed in school, so long as they’re shown how.

This episode features a conversation with Vanisha Breault, an incredible woman, fellow podcast host, and the founder of the Terminator Foundation, a nonprofit organization helping youth overcome addiction. She vulnerably shares about her childhood and personal journey with addiction, a powerful story that became the catalyst for the creation of her foundation. Vanisha gives a glimpse into her 'why', how fitness has impacted her life (among others) and what the future holds for the organization.Terminator Foundation's motto is 'The Truth is You Can Recover' and drives the mission to revolutionize lives through the sport of triathlon. Offering one-on-one coaching, training, support, mindfulness practices and a guaranteed non-judgemental atmosphere, the Foundation hosts an annual conference and several fundraisers to help support individuals and families impacted by addiction.

This episode features a beautifully candid conversation with Mitch Lagadin. Not only is Mitch the Launchpoint Sport & Event Strategies' day to day leader, he also hosts his own podcast called 'Slow Down, Man'. He shares about his journey of finding purpose, how he uses his own experience to mentor others, and gives a glimpse into how his own mental health struggles have impacted his life.

On today's episode we feature a conversation with Zac Rinaldo who is currently playing for the Calgary Flames. In addition to being a member of the Flames Foundation 'Hockey Talks', a family man and NHL player, Zac is an advocate for providing mental health resources to people of all ages. He shares a bit of his story, gives a glimpse into some of the struggles he faces as a younger person in the world of hockey, as well as dreams for ways he can make a difference.

On this episode we had the privilege of sitting down with the Alberta Minister of Community and Social Services, Rajan Sahwney. She gives an honest glimpse into her upbringing, the things that shaped her trajectory, and challenges she’s faced along the way.