1. What do you do for a living and why?

Mediator/Conflict Resolution practitioner. As a kid I was always terrified of conflict. And as I grew older I began to be curious about resolving situations. My job allows me and others to explore what it means to reduce the amount of drama in life.

2. What is your idea worth spreading?

After hearing people say, “You spend more time at work than you do at home,” and seeing the defeated look on their face when they said it, I began to wonder if that statement was actually true. So I crunched the numbers and the results were surprising for me and for others.

3. Why are you excited to speak at TEDxWinnipeg 2017?

Whenever I show my findings to people, they are shocked and the effect is immediate. People begin to look at work in a whole new way. I feel that after hearing my talk, people have a chance to not be so consumed by their work, which for many might be beneficial.

4. What’s the best gift anyone ever gave you?

When I was a preteen, I was shopping with my Uncle and I was going to buy a backgammon game. My Uncle said he would like to give it to me as a gift. It was totally unexpected and the kind gesture still touches me.

5. Dumbledore or Gandalf?

Dumbledore – it looks like he has more fun. He has his moments where he needs to be serious and make decisions but he seems to have this overarching knowledge that everything is going to work out. A spark in his eyes – whimsy.

6. What’s on your playlist at the moment?

I’ve been listening to Leon Bridges lately.