Speakers | Schedule | Registration

OPENING KEYNOTE
Decoding Emotional Intelligence & Building Resilience in an Age of Burnout

*Watch Jody's Speaker Reel

Emotional Intelligence has long been discussed as a requirement for the "soft skills" in organizations, the things considered secondary after ensuring policies and procedures were firmly in place. Turns out, however, that the most mentally well, productive, and best-led teams these days have a clear understanding of emotional intelligence. Despite technological advances that allow for efficiency and less face-to-face connection than ever before, we cannot automate relationships.

As we step back into the unfamiliar world post-pandemic, many organizations are understandably witnessing what burnout looks like. Emotional exhaustion, a lack of compassion, and an experience of futility have become common experiences for many teams. Dr. Jody has begun walking hundreds of organizations through the process of reconnection to combat burnout and build mental resilience. She has created specific strategies to shift culture, bringing hilarity and truth while reigniting purpose and productivity with this game-changing talk.

In this talk, Dr. Carrington helps audiences understand how to perceive better, control, and evaluate emotions, both in oneself and in others. This leads to more impactful leadership, reduces experiences of burnout and helps people better navigate challenging conversations and change. From a neuro-physiological perspective, we will walk through what it means to access the best parts of ourselves and our employees and discuss practical, easily implemented strategies to create the most successful, connected teams.

Dr. Jody Carrington
Renowned Psychologist | Human Connection Expert | Bestselling Author

Dr. Jody Carrington is a powerhouse speaker and fearless champion for authentic human connection. She is highly sought after for her expertise, energy and genuine approach to helping people solve the most complex human-centred problems. Jody’s work focuses on the value of reconnection – the key to healthy relationships and productive teams. Her authentic, honest (and often hilarious) approach never fails to inspire and motivate audiences.

Dr. Carrington is the founder and principal psychologist at the Carrington Practice, where she uses her twenty-plus years of experience to empower the clients she connects with. Jody’s unique resume of clients – from kids to major institutions – provides her with the insights and depth of experience to present unmatched value to her audiences. Her core message resonates with everyone from the practice to the world stage: our power lies in our ability to acknowledge each other first.

She is the bestselling author of Kids These Days (2019), Teachers These Days (2021) and the emotionally charged and introspective chart-topping, Feeling Seen (HarperCollins, 2023).

Jody lives in small-town Olds, Alberta, with her husband and three children (she had three kids in 2 years to test her own resilience) and leads the amazing team at Carrington & Company.

Labour & Employment Law Case Studies

This session will provide an overview of the duty to accommodate and workplace termination followed by reviewing case studies related to those topics. Attendees will be provided the opportunity to discuss real life scenarios and review best practices.

Shane Buchanan, CPHR
Lawyer, MLT Aikins LLP
Saskatoon, SK

Shane Buchanan maintains a general labour and employment practice. With a background in human resources and a CPHR designation, Shane provides an understanding of the issues faced by human resources professionals and provides practical solutions to all areas of labour and employment law, including collective agreement interpretation, workplace policies, discipline and discharge, employment contracts, OH&S, workers’ compensation, labour standards and human rights, including the duty to accommodate.

Pursuit of Integrity

Despite an increased emphasis on ethics training in the educational, organizational, and legal realms, ethical failures, scandals, and human rights violations continue to occur. Many questions remain as to what must be done to support integrity development and facilitate the ethical conduct of business school graduates and professionals in today’s complex world. In this presentation, I will share findings from my doctoral research titled The Pursuit of Integrity: Using Undergraduates’ Conceptions of Integrity to Inspire Teaching and Learning Innovation in a Post-Secondary Business School Context. This research uncovered insights that could be used by business school educators and leadership development practitioners seeking new ways to help individuals develop a deeper, more transformative understanding of integrity during the educational process.

In this session, I will introduce a conceptual model that I developed from my research findings which visually depicts increasingly advanced ways of understanding integrity. I will also highlight several guiding principles and considerations to help inform teaching practice, support curriculum design, and provide a foundation for the creation of an integrity development learning pathway in the organizational context.

Lorelei Nickel BScOT, MBA, DSocSci
Faculty Member | Edwards School of Business

Dr. Lorelei Nickel is a faculty member with the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan where her primary focus is strategy, ethics, and leadership.

Managing Unconscious Bias with Cultural Intelligence (CQ)

This interactive mini-workshop will focus on addressing and managing bias in hiring practices. Participants will learn about specific workplace biases and how they impact our daily decisions and actions. There will be opportunities to share observations and examine challenges. Exploring various biases will help foster a deeper understanding of pervasive obstacles, and it will help lay the foundation for improved interactions with current and future employees. The scientific model of Cultural Intelligence will be used as a method for creating a deeper understanding between cultures.

Learning outcomes include:

• Understand why bias matters
• Recognize sources of conscious and unconscious bias
• Practice CQ® strategies to disrupt bias
• Improve self-awareness of own biases
• Identify systemic bias in the workplace
  
  

Malvina Rapko
Intercultural Consultant | Facilitator | Relocation & Settlement Specialist

Malvina has been working and volunteering as an Intercultural Consultant and Facilitator and as a Relocation and Settlement Specialist as for over twenty years. She has a B.A. in International Studies and is a certified Cultural Intelligence (CQ®) Facilitator and Emotions-Centered Coach. Her family’s newcomer journey, her formal education and her work experiences have helped her gain a deeper understanding of inclusion challenges in the workplace as well as anticipating the diverse needs of people relocating to a new country. She has done extensive work within international education and newcomer settlement. Malvina considers herself a cultural sponge and creative communicator. She’s studied six languages to improve her intercultural communication skills, travels the world to indulge her curiosity and attends multicultural events to celebrate diversity. Her efforts have been recognized by a national education and economic development award (WUSC), the Saskatoon YWCA Woman of Distinction Award, the Canadian Red Cross Merit Award, The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee pin and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal.

CLOSING KEYNOTE
The Pursuit of Excellence: Embracing "Silver Medal Moments" to Find Growth in Successes and Setbacks

*Watch Sarah's Speaker Reel

Excellence isn't a fixed point; it's a continuous journey that drives individuals, organizations, and societies towards constant growth. In this engaging keynote, we will delve into the characteristics of excellence, including grit, passion, and resilience. We will examine the importance of setting goals and taking action, while also acknowledging the transformative potential within "silver medal moments," those times when we learn and evolve through setbacks. Through real-life examples, captivating stories, and practical recommendations, this keynote will provide attendees with actionable insights and tools that will challenge them to rethink their approach to personal and professional growth. It will inspire them to strive for greatness, cultivate excellence, and embrace the process of continuous improvement.

Key Take-Aways

• An understanding that hard work won’t always lead to success, but being resilient will always lead to another opportunity for success.
• Recognition that success or failure is not permanent, but instead a pathway.
• A revelation that your highest level of success is not your new baseline.
• An understanding on how to cultivate an excellence mindset that sets us up to reach new heights, think innovatively, and remove the barriers of our own limiting beliefs.
  
  

Sarah Wells
Olympian| Pan Am Silver Medalist | Founder of The Believe Initiative

As an Olympic hurdler, Pan Am Games Silver Medallist and founder of the Believe Initiative, Sarah is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. Before finding the sport of track and field, Sarah was jokingly awarded Least Athletic Person at her high school. It was thanks to a teacher who suggested she try running that led her to start training for hurdles – that teacher believed in her before Sarah ever did in herself.

Sarah recognizes not everyone is going to have that “teacher” in their life, and she has now committed herself to be that person for as many people as possible. Sarah has travelled across North America, sharing her story in hopes of helping individuals and organizations build resilience while finding meaning in the obstacles they face.

In today’s fast paced world and increasingly competitive markets, more than ever, teams and individuals are searching for the motivation that gets them to the top of their game. Sarah’s journey through athletics taught her the essence of resilience, the power of grit, and how to turn failures into steppingstones for success. As the founder of Impact Leadership, Sarah has inspired over 125,000 individuals across North America, sharing her story to ignite belief and resilience in others.

As a trailblazer in leadership and innovation, Sarah’s work with giants like Salesforce, Deloitte, Proctor & Gamble, Kraft-Heinz, Bell Media, and Google has transformed how teams view resilience and purpose. She’s also appeared on talk shows such as CityTV, CP24, and Your Morning to discuss resilience, pursuing excellence, and how to win your race. Most recently, you might recognize her as the runner-up from Season 7 of the Amazing Race Canada, where she showcased her skills in a thrilling new arena.