Key To Motivation

With over 15 years of hands on experience, Paul Puzanoski has extensive experience in running all aspects of companies across multiple industries. His tenure as CEO of one of Canada’s largest employment agencies developed his assertive leadership style, along with his experience as CEO of an award-winning branding and design firm. Paul has consulted with organizations like the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Kids Cancer Care, Diabetes Association and other non-profits to develop marketing, operational, and event activities that raised hundreds of millions of dollars. In building his first company from the ground up at 21, he understands the value of hard work and is not afraid of getting his hands dirty. Well versed in events, marketing, business/brand development and sales, he has worked with a range of businesses, from start-ups to large international brands. Well connected in Advertising and Ad-tech, he played a key role in fostered relationships that ignited over $3.5B in annual spending from iconic brands and top-tier agencies in Canada and the US. Paul offers a track record of building sound corporate culture, along with developing solid partnerships. A father of 5 and self-described yogi and “spiritual fella”, Paul decided long ago that money is secondary to being involved in something that fuels his passion. Upholding trust, strong values and character, Paul’s believes making a difference is more important than making a fortune. He is continually advocating for more transparency and authentic connections on all levels, and truly believes that corporate culture, people and solid relationships are the strongest asset of any business.

Usually, when someone says “that guy wrote the book on advertising,” it’s just flattery. When they say it about Chris, it’s an observation: Contemporary Advertising, which Chris co-authors, is one of the leading college-level Advertising texts. It just published its 16th edition. In addition to his theoretical know-how, Chris brings more than 20 years of practical business, advertising and marketing experience. He has served in such positions as Managing Director, iMedia Partner at Catalyst S+F, President at MindTime Technologies, VP/Digital Strategy at DraftFCB and VP Group Media Director at Carat Interactive. In advertising, Chris worked on such clients as Motorola, RadioShack, Amazon.com, Electronic Arts, EarthLink, AT&T, Taco Bell, Levi’s, MLB.com, AAA, Microsoft, Avaya, Progressive insurance and more. He’s also been a successful entrepreneur, both in starting and helping to raise capital for companies. Chris continues to advise companies in the areas of business strategy, revenue/channel development, marketing, advertising and fundraising. He’s also an active leader in the digital advertising community, frequently speaking at industry events.

Beginning his career with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts based at the legendary Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Canada, William held a diversity of operational, leadership and sales positions in the Western Region. Ten of these years were dedicated to sales management roles representing the Fairmont Mountain properties –– the Fairmont Banff Springs, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and Fairmont Chateau Whistler. He was awarded the prestigious Fairmont Masters designation for top sales performance and outstanding service for three consecutive years. His time with the luxury hotel company created the foundation for substantial personal and professional growth, which included experiences developing and structuring cross-cultural global business opportunities; strategic planning; leading multidimensional stakeholders and teams; and delivering operational, service and financial results. William’s most important passion is playing the piano and composition, with an emphasis on classical music. He has been performing in public since the age of seven, and has played for numerous notable political leaders; A-list celebrities; and major business leaders. Recordings of his compositions are available online. In 2012, William led the strategy, business planning and launch of the John Perry Academy of Music & Festival in Southern California on behalf of the renowned pianist and pedagogy Prof. John Perry––he now serves on the academy’s board of directors. Since this time, Cunningham has assisted numerous organizations with their development and fundraising, including the Montreal Chamber Music Festival founded by cellist Denis Brott; and the Las Vegas Wine & Music Festival founded by pianist Alexandria Le. In 2014, William was hired by the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity as a consultant for conferences with the mandate of furthering business opportunities and establishing meaningful connections between arts programming and meetings. In this capacity, William worked with the TED organization to host the first ever “TED Talks Summit” Conference in Banff. In 2016, Cunningham served as Consultant and Interim General Manager at the Juniper Hotel & Bistro––a 52-room boutique hotel in the heart of Banff National Park featuring historical Indigenous significance. An avid world-traveler with a high degree of curiosity, William’s formal and informal education encompasses studies in music, language, business management, the arts, sales, negotiation, culture, and leadership. Cunningham has been a regular presenter at the SAIT Polytechnic and Selkirk College Hospitality Management schools; a personal coach for aspiring sales professionals; and is active as a leadership facilitator. William was invited by the MENSA organization to speak and lead a discussion that explores the relationships between science and music at their 2018 annual North American conference. William’s passion is for bringing people together and establishing meaningful relationships through his company, Meetings That Matter. His business objectives comprise of helping people succeed at pursuing their passions, while also empowering people and institutions to build great organizational cultures and achieve exceptional results. Cunningham is extremely grateful for the many caring leaders, mentors, and friends who have believed in––and influenced his development since a young age.

Anne Douglas has been practicing yoga and meditation for over three decades and teaching since 1989. She is a certified Kripalu senior level yoga instructor (RYT 500), Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist, Holistic Lifestlye Coach, iRest Yoga Nidra Instructor and is also a certified in Astanga Yoga. She has studied many hatha yoga approaches as well as Yogic and Buddhist Philosophy. Synthesizing all her studies, skills and experience, Anne created Anahata Yoga Therapy as a path of self-inquiry, loving kindness, integration and wholeness. She works with Richard Miller, PhD., for whom she helped develop the iRest - Yoga Nidra trainings. Anne also served as a Director on the Board of the Integrative Restoration Institute (IRI) in the U.S. and in Canada. She works as a supervisor, mentor and trainer of iRest –Yoga Nidra, where she specializes in therapeutic settings, dyads, customizing a practice and working with difficult symptoms, emotions and beliefs. Anne lives in the beautiful resort town of Banff, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies, where she offers classes, private sessions, workshops and retreats.

A Certified Personal Trainer and ACMG Hiking Guide, turned Yoga + Meditation Teacher and Lifestyle Coach, Kristen has been an explorer of movement medicine through sport, fitness, dance, climbing and yoga. Inspired by the wild surroundings of the majestic Canadian Rockies, Kristen is known for the reverent way she weaves rich wisdom from her studies in the ancient traditions of yoga and indigenous medicine and makes it relevant for modern day living. As a teacher, mentor and lifestyle coach her calling is to guide others towards their passion, purpose, and powerful presence in life. As creatrix of The Yogini Path, an empowering path of study and practice for women, Kristen is dedicated to guiding women towards their dharma as leaders and light keepers and to living their best life. She has also founded The Unity Project, a charitable cause that supports Ninos del Sol, a family of 25 orphan children in the Sacred Valley of Peru. Since 2011 she is committed to ensuring her Peruvian family goes on to secondary education, successful careers and thrive in their lives, breaking the cycle they were born into of poverty and abuse. As a teacher Kristen focuses on artful alignment, nervous system support and endocrine system balance. Her studies in yoga have explored various disciplines over the past 15 years spanning the physical, psychological to the very subtle body. Certified in Hatha, Vinyasa, Yoga Nidra and Level One Kundalini, Kristen aims to open others to the depth of subtle body study, powerful movement, neural re-programming and a rich multi-faceted yoga journey in body, breath and mind.

Caryn has a deep desire to share the wisdom of meditation, Ayurveda, and the ancient Vedic culture, and strives to make this wisdom relevant for living in today’s world. She is a co-founder of Instill Meditation, an Ayurvedic practitioner, a yoga instructor, and is highly involved with varying mindfulness projects within the community, most notably Kit and Ace's The Becoming Series and their collaborative mass meditations for Peace. One of Calgary’s women in wellness to watch, and regarded as a community leader in meditation, Caryn has been invited by various individuals and companies such as; Kit and Ace, The Wanderwell, The Nobles Management, Candor Connect, doctors and nurses, oncologists, lawyers, professional athletes, and various other entrepreneurs within the city and surrounding area to help improve both their individual and company performance through meditation. Lastly, she is also the creator of Dhára, a self-care home and beauty line providing ancient Ayurvedic rituals to support modern living. Caryn began her meditation journey over ten years ago while living in Japan. It was there where she was first introduced to the Japanese style of Zen Meditation that was unique to a temple she studied at, called Shinnyo-En. Inspired to learn more, upon her return back to Canada Caryn volunteered to help run monthly talks on mindfulness and meditation while she continued to deepen her practical experience in other traditions such as: Shambhala, Insight/Vipassana, Self-inquiry, MBSR, and both Kriya and Tantric lineages of Yoga Meditation. Throughout this inquiry she noted the impact meditation was having on her anxiety, behaviour, and psyche. After a serious road biking accident in 2012 combined with the built up stress and trauma from years of competitive figure skating, recreational and a short stint in competitive snowboarding, and multiple MVAs, Caryn found herself at a breaking point. Following a serious concussion (Traumatic Brain Injury) sustained in the accident, life was not quite the same from a physical, mental or emotional point of view. Several years into her recovery, upon the recommendation from one of her teachers, Caryn started exploring Vedic Meditation. After experiencing, almost immediately in comparison to the other techniques she had previously practiced, the profound physical and mental healing benefits this technique provided for her post accident, she began to understand through her teacher's guidance that although all meditation is good for us, not all meditation techniques are created equal. Some are more effective for certain people and even certain cultures as well as work with different parts of the brain, similar to how conditioning programs differ depending on the sport you play. Through the guidance of her highly skilled teacher and mentors, Caryn found the missing link to her practice and wellbeing that has allowed her to deeply unwind accumulated stress and regain a newfound quality of life. Caryn is currently undergoing an 1800hr Initiator Training in Vedic Meditation with her teacher and is scheduled to complete her training in late autumn of 2018.

Jessica is an inspirational speaker, author and purpose coach who awakens people to their unique soul purpose and arms them with the spiritual tools to live it. Her experiences and wisdom acquired along the way have lead her to a defining mantra: Dare to believe in your power to do good. Anchored in the core belief that the more we "dare to believe" via our actions and bravely leaping into the unknown, the closer we get to stepping out of an existence of lack and limitation and into our true potential. Her unique blend of open, honest, wisdom-sharing, leaves audiences exhilarated, uplifted and empowered. Jessica is a contributing author to Thrive and is publishing her first book, Dare to Believe, in the Fall of 2018.

Jason Burnham is a culture design and transformation strategist who helps businesses become change agents for social good and sustainability. Burnham has spent the past twenty years as a communications strategist and management consultant to hundreds of NGOs, B2B and B2C brands, agencies, media publishers, and technology providers. In 1998 Burnham co-founded Ad Age Top 25, digital marketing agency, Mass Transit Interactive, Inc., which was acquired in 2005 by Horizon Media, Inc. In 2006, Burnham launched his brand strategy and behavioral design firm, Burnham Marketing, LLC, providing marketing strategy, organizational development, leadership training, stakeholder engagement, and impact measurement services. In 2010, Burnham Marketing, LLC entered into a joint venture with MindTime, Inc. to introduce new psychometric methodologies into the fields of research, brand strategy, persona development, and change management. Since 2012, Burnham has donated his time as a social innovation and change management advisor to the United Nations, to support their transformation initiatives. In 2013, Burnham Marketing launched their brand culture design practice to help purpose-driven brands integrate human-centered design practices into the communications supply chain and workflow. In 2015, Burnham Marketing was acquired by experience design and cultural transformation firm, Strativity Group, Inc. Burnham now serves as Strativity's Principal of Communications & Design, Innovation Lead.