Shannon Crate, Ma'iingaans, is an Anishinaabe kwe from the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation. For 28 years, she has served as the Child and Family Wellbeing Manager and Band Representative for her community, promoting positive change in Native Child Welfare and family services. 

A Feather Carrier teacher, IADR facilitator, and storytelling educator, Shannon draws on teachings from her parents, elders, ancestors, and children to guide her work. She shares lessons learned through storytelling, including insights gained from the inquest into the death of Devon Freeman, emphasizing life promotion and holistic healing. 

Shannon holds a Masters of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University (Indigenous Field of Study) and a Bachelor of Social Work from Toronto Metropolitan University. She was instrumental in developing Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child and Family Services, regional protocols, and customary care homes that set many standards for respectful collaboration between Children’s Aid Societies and First Nations. 

Before returning to her community, Shannon worked in Vancouver with Squamish Nation and the Native Court Workers Association, where she also created the first Native Circle Sentencing Program for the Attorney General’s Office of B.C. 

Shannon trains CAS staff, mental health professionals, and educators in Indigenous wholistic helping and emphasizes the importance of storytelling in personal growth and professional practice. She and her husband of 30 years share two daughters and a pack of rez dogs, reflecting her deep connection to family and community.

Eva Coles has been in service to Indigenous communities for over 35 years both in urban and rural settings. She is known for her Eagle eye and warm approach when working with families and communities.

Eva has a BA in First Nations studies, MA in Organizational Leadership, and is a Certified Executive Coach. She is the 2019 Recipient of the Cindy Blackstock Award of Excellence in Indigenous Child Welfare. She and her team have won 2 awards for Innovation in Child Welfare.

Eva has been a Keynote Speaker at National Conferences, podcasts with Kempe Centre for Families as well as being featured on CBC Unreserved with Rosanna Deerchild. 

In leadership roles, Eva has been the CEO for Metis Commission for Children and Families of BC, ED of Secwepemc Child and Family Services and CEO of Chief Red Bear Children’s Lodge. She was one of the leads for the Coordination Team to bring Cowessess First Nation to become the first nation in Canada to sign a C92 Jurisdictional agreement. 

In 2024, Eva was on the Support Team for Cowichan Tribes who completed their jurisdictional agreement

Dr. Marlyn Bennett, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Children’s Wellbeing at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work and Werklund School of Education. 

A proud member of Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation, Marlyn has over two decades of experience working with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous governments, organizations, and communities in senior academic and research roles. Her interdisciplinary research explores the lived experiences of Indigenous women and youth in the child welfare system, employing qualitative methodologies such as narrative inquiry, photovoice, and arts-based approaches. She is dedicated to advancing culturally safe practices and integrating Indigenous perspectives into social services, focusing on areas impacted by colonization. 

Marlyn has led research initiatives addressing sexual violence, digital storytelling, and the intersections of health and child protection services. Marlyn’s leadership includes serving as the former National Director of Research and Principal Editor-in-Chief of the First Peoples Child & Family Journal. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and co-edited key works on Indigenous child welfare. Her contributions to policy and practice development have shaped systemic changes in child welfare. 

Recognized for her work, Dr. Bennett has received the 2024 Faculty of Social Work Research Innovation Award. 

The internationally renowned keyboard artist Alexander Weimann has spent his life enveloped by the therapeutic power and beauty of making music.

Alex grew up in Munich. At age three he became fascinated by the intense magic of the church organ. He started piano at six, formal organ lessons at 12 and harpsichord at university (along with theatre theory, medieval Latin and jazz piano.)

Today he is in huge demand as a director, soloist and chamber player, traveling the world with leading North American and European ensembles. He is Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver and has appeared on more than 100 recordings, including the Juno-award-winning album “Prima Donna” with Karina Gauvin and Arion Baroque orchestra.

Alex offers master classes at European and North American universities and is on faculty at the University of British Columbia.

More than anything, he loves to improvise - something, he says, humans do all the time, just by making conversation.

Internationally renowned Acadian soprano Suzie LeBlanc's singing career includes performances and widely acclaimed recordings with keyboardists, chamber ensembles and orchestras in new, early and traditional repertoires.

She received the Order of Canada (2015) and four honorary doctorates for her prolific performances of early music, as well as for her contribution to Acadian culture. In 2021, she was the recipient of the Prix Éloize for the most distinguished artist outside Acadia. She commissioned eleven Canadian compositions set to the poetry of Pulitzer-Prize recipient Elizabeth Bishop and recorded them on the album “I am in need of music” which won an ECMA for Best Classical Recording. Ms. LeBlanc began her career as a well-known performer and scholar of Baroque repertoire. Residing in Europe between 1987 and 1999, she performed on main stages such as Het Concertgebouw, De Nederlandse Opera, The Vienna Konzerthaus,Wigmore Hall and the Proms in London. She toured Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, the US and South America with world leading early music ensembles. In 1998, she was invited to perform for the former president of Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel, at the Canadian Embassy in Prague.

Returning to Montreal in the year 2000, she performed with major symphony orchestras on both sides of the border. In 2005, she founded Le Nouvel Opéra, a Montreal-based company that produces baroque opera and contemporary works. Three of Le Nouvel Opéra’s productions were featured in Early Music Vancouver’s Summer Festival (2005, 2006 and 2008).

Her thirst and curiosity for new vistas led her to expand her repertoire from mainly Baroque to a full range of classical and modern, as well as improvisation. After her Mozart lieder album with the renowned conductor and pianist Yannick Nezet-Seguin, she recorded works of Olivier Messiaen, winning a Quebec Opus award for best contemporary music recording, explored the art of improvisation with the ensemble Mélosphère on the CD "Tempi con Variazioni," which won an Opus Award for best World Music. Fascinated by the music of her native land, she recorded three CDs of Acadian traditional music (ATMA). Her recordings, numbered at 70, have received international praise and several prestigious awards: a Grammy award for Lully's “Thésée” and a CINI award (Italy) for the opera "Orfeo" by Sartorio, in which she sings the leading role.

Moved by the migrations and upheavals of her Acadian ancestors, she created a multimedia performance with composer Jerôme Blais: “mouvance” unites the words of 13 contemporary Acadian poets to Blais’s original music. The pivotal project will be released as a CD in November of 2023.

In January 2021, Suzie took on the role of Artistic and Executive Director of Early Music Vancouver, where she now resides.

Alana Wilcox is the Editorial Director of Coach House Books, an independent literary publisher of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. She sits on the board of the Association of Canadian Publishers and is the recipient of the 2018 Janice Handford Award and the 2023 Ivy Award for her contributions to literary publishing in Canada.