Turning Point with Priya Sam

Tara MacLean is a singer and songwriter known for her hit songs, “Evidence” and “If I Fall”. She was discovered singing on a BC ferry (more on that in the episode!) and has toured with Dido, Tom Cochrane and performed at Lilith Fair.Tara recently released a new book called Song of the Sparrow where she shares her whole life story for the first time. Tara had a difficult childhood where she experienced abuse and instability until a massive fire at her home changed everything. Through it all music was her safe space and you’ll hear more about that and her biggest turning points in this interview. 

Emm Gryner is an award-winning singer, songwriter, actor and best-selling author. Emm sang and played keyboard in David Bowie’s band, and appears on numerous recordings with him. In this episode, we take a trip through Emm's biggest turning points including: getting her first record deal and being dropped by her label, touring with David Bowie, becoming a mother, getting divorced and finding new love and inspiration for her new album. Emm is down to earth and relatable and she shares valuable insight about what she's learned from each of her pivotal moments. Emm and I are both Fanshawe Alumni and we are so thrilled to have Fanshawe as a sponsor for this episode! If you're a Fanshawe alum who would like to share your story, you can find more info at fanshawealumnistories.ca

Meera Estrada is a radio host and the founder of Fusia Media, a company engaged in digital lifestyle publishing catered to South Asian Canadian Women.Her biggest turning point happened when she shared publicly that her family were part of the Dalit caste, also known as the untouchables or the lowest caste in the Hindu caste system. Meera found out that her family was in this caste as a teenager but it would be more than 20 years before she said anything about it publicly. Now, Meera uses her platform to raise awareness about the harm casteism causes around the world including in Canada and the US. You’ll also hear about how Meera came to found Fusia Media and an exciting upcoming project related to her activism around casteism. You can find Meera on Instagram @meera.estrada 

Dan Shaikh is the co-founder of Speaker Slam, a speaker development agency and the organization behind North America's largest speaking competition. When Dan was a teenager, he developed a condition known as gynecomastia  which caused him to develop breasts. He hid away behind baggy clothes and tried to fade into the background in general to avoid drawing any attention to himself. Eventually, Dan realized he didn't want to live his life this way forever. He started saying yes to new challenges and opportunities and eventually had a life changing surgery. You'll hear Dan's full story in this episode from dealing with body dysmorphia to sharing his story to creating a platform for other inspiring speakers.

Julie Lawrence is the editor of the newly launched DEFY magazine. The publication focuses on validating the experiences women have with misogyny in the workplace and offers tips and tools from professionals for how to deal with it. Julie’s biggest turning point was getting sober after years of drug and alcohol addiction almost took her life. Julie is raw and open about that period of her life in this episode. She shares that she was in and out of rehab, detox and hospital for years. At one point, her parents wouldn’t even let her in their home unless she took a breathalyzer. She’s now been sober for more than three years. In this interview, Julie also discusses becoming sober, learning to see the people around her as teachers and how her experiences with misogyny in the workplace led her to create DEFY Magazine.

Leroy Hibbert is a speaker, workshop facilitator and community educator. He delivers messages of anti-racism, anti-bullying, and cross-cultural conflict and understanding to community and civic organizations, police services, schools and businesses. Through his work, he hopes to help people understand how to identify racism, interrupt it, and take action to create a more inclusive community. In this interview you'll learn about Leroy's work and also about his personal experiences with racism and why he's passionate about the work he does. Leroy and I are both Fanshawe Alumni and we are so thrilled to have Fanshawe as one of our sponsors for this season of Turning Point. 

Farah Nasser was named Global National's weekend anchor in June, 2022. Shortly before that she was co-anchor of Global Toronto's 6:00 news. Towards the end of her time at Global Toronto, Farah ended up taking a leave of absence. She spent a large part of it going to therapy and unpacking her past including the death of her son. In this episode, Farah opens up about her mental health journey and taking the time to do intense therapy that changed her life. You'll also hear stories from her career including how she got her first job and more about her new role on the national stage. 

Bridget George is an an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator. Their debut book is a dual Language, English and Ojibwe children’s book, called “It’s a Mitig.”In this episode, Bridget opens up about taking an unconventional path. As a teen, Bridget was experiencing mental health issues and was expelled from high school but was determined to get an education. They went back and got their GED and then went on to study Graphic Design at Fanshawe College. The idea for "It's a Mitig" came as Bridget was preparing for the birth of their son, Noah. They wanted Noah to be surrounded by positive Indigenous representation and to learn Anishinabemowin. When Bridget couldn't find the books they were looking for, they decided to write their own. You'll hear more about Bridget's journey to being an author along with how they started to reconnect with their Indigenous heritage in this first episode of Season 3. We are so pleased to have Fanshawe College as a sponsor again this season! Bridget and I are both Fanshawe alum and we are so thrilled to kick off the season with this interview. 

Mary Berg won Masterchef Canada Season 3 and has since written two cookbooks, hosted two cooking shows (Mary Makes it Easy and Mary's Kitchen Crush), and makes regular appearances on morning shows and talk shows around the country. I'm so thrilled to have her as a guest for episode 50 and the final episode of season 2.There have been many turning points in Mary's life but the biggest was a tragic accident; when she was just four years old, Mary's family was in a car accident and her father was killed. In this episode we hear about the lasting impact the accident has had on Mary's life and how cooking is a passion that both she and her father share. You'll also hear about Mary's big win on Masterchef Canada and how she made the decision to leave her job as an insurance broker. A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season. You can find out more about Fanshawe's microcredential courses here: FanshaweC.ca/microcredentials

Camille Dundas is a racial equity educator specializing in anti-racism and allyship and she recently released her first online course on inclusive communication. How she ended up doing this work is part of her turning point. It all started with a presentation on another topic that turned into a discussion about hiring diverse candidates during the post-presentation Q&A. After that, she began speaking and doing DE&I workshops locally, nationally and internationally. Camille also has extensive journalism experience (part of another turning point you'll find out about in the episode!) both in traditional media and as the co-founder of the online magazine ByBlacks. You can find about more about Camille and her online course on inclusive communication here: https://theideapractice.com/A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season! You can find out more about Fanshawe's microcredential courses here: FanshaweC.ca/microcredentials