Day 1 Opening Keynote Address

Dr. Shimi Kang

The One Skill Needed for Lasting Success

Award-Winning Harvard-Trained Physician | Bestselling Author | Global Social Entrepreneur

An award-winning medical doctor, researcher, and lecturer on human motivation, Dr. Shimi Kang offers the keys people of all ages need to succeed in the workplace, the classroom, and at home. With over fifteen years of clinical experience and extensive research in the science that lies behind motivation and wellness, Dr. Kang shows people how to cultivate the key 21st century skills needed to flourish both professionally and personally.

Dr. Kang is the Medical Director of Child and Youth Mental Health for Vancouver and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. She is the author of The Self-Motivated Kid and The Dolphin Parent: A Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy, and Self-Motivated Kids. This critically acclaimed book became a #1 Canadian Bestseller, released in Germany, Russia, and China, and won the 2015 US News International Book Award.

Dr. Kang uses irrefutable science, unforgettable true stories, and her own life experiences to show how to develop self-motivation, adaptability, and the key 21st century skills of communication, collaboration, contribution, creativity, and critical thinking.

In the media, Dr. Kang is a writer with articles featured in The Huffington Post, Psychology Today, South China Morning Post, and Time magazine. She is a recognized media expert for discussing both common and complex conditions such as health, lifestyle, motivation, leadership, workplace culture, and 21st century skills. She has been invited to contribute to major news outlets such as NPR, CBC National News and Radio, CTV National, Al Jazeera, Der Speigel, and Washington Post.

Dr. Kang is seriously concerned about the direction of humanity and has made promoting mental health and wellness a priority. She is Global Presence Ambassador – a humanitarian organization that works to promote life skills for youth around the world. She has recently launched DolphinKIDS: Future-Ready Leaders, her own Innovation, Leadership, and Wellness Programs for youth in Canada, US, and India.

Dr. Kang was honored with the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for her years of outstanding community service. She has received five national awards in the field of addictions and mental health including the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Research Award and was the 2016 recipient of the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in Health and Wellness for Vancouver.

 

Day 2 Opening Keynote Address

Michael Landsberg

Darkness and Hope: Depression, Sports, and Me

Brash and witty, Michael Landsberg generates great fun during his interactive talks. A seasoned on-stage pro, his talks are diverting and smart, injected with large doses of humor. Not one to shy away from anything, he talks frankly about mental health—and specifically, his own struggle with depression—and urges others to do the same.

The phrase “off the record” connotes a hushed conversation. TSN’s Off the Record, hosted by Michael Landsberg—the 18-season series that ended its storied run in December, 2015—was anything but. Landsberg’s popular talk show, full of personality, brag, fun, healthy argument, sports talk, pop culture allusions, big name personalities, and celebrities, was one of the most entertaining half hours on Canadian television. Anyone who watched him on television knows how diverting and intelligent Landsberg can be. On stage, he’s even better.

Michael Landsberg was the charismatic and outspoken host of TSN's Off the Record—and from watching his show, you'd never guess that he has been battling mental illness and depression for most of his life. Lifting the stigma from this topic, Landsberg delivers a powerful and personal keynote on the dangerously misunderstood issues of depression and mental health. Depression can affect even the most successful of athletes—from Clara Hughes, one of the great amateur athletes in Canada, to four-time World Series winner Darryl Strawberry. Landsberg shares the story of his own battle with mental illness, as well as the unexplored stories of some of the world's most recognizable sports figures, to show us that recovery, strength and hope are possible in some of our darkest times.

In 2013, Landsberg’s documentary, Darkness and Hope: Depression, Sports and Me, was nominated for a 2013 Canadian Screen Award for Best History or Biography Documentary Program or Series. In 2012, the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health also named Landsberg one of its Champions of Mental Health. Landsberg also takes to Twitter, using the hashtag #sicknotweak to encourage discussion around mental health and create a forum for those needing help. For his longstanding dedication to promoting mental health awareness, Landsberg was honoured with the Humanitarian Award at the 2015 Canadian Screen Awards.

 

Day 2 Closing Keynote 

Bob Gray 

Renowned Memory Expert

Bob Gray teaches audiences how they can improve any aspect of their lives by simply improving their memory recall. This is not just a shopping list of memory tricks; Gray's keynote is about making a real impact on how we relate to people and excel at our jobs.

Gray's clients have included GE, Kodak, Ford, Bell, and many others. The consensus is that this Guinness record-holder has a lot to teach people. His talks are designed to immediately generate improvements in our memory and recall for use in real world applications.

The Power Of Connections

In this interactive Keynote Presentation, Bob Gray reveals the untapped memory potential in each of us.

He begins by sharing the hilarious story of how his unique skills enabled him to immigrate into Canada. The fact that he was able to write extemporaneously upside down (plus upside down and backwards with both hands and feet while blindfolded and speaking phonetically backwards) pretty much proved to a stunned immigration official that he was not taking a job from a Canadian—or for that matter, anyone else on the planet!

Gray then delivers two incredibly powerful memory demonstrations, which never fail to astonish. After entertaining the audience with his own memory, he enriches their minds by teaching the hilarious and practical ‘Chain’ system. (A system dating all the way back to ancient Greece, which is an invaluable tool for memorizing speeches, presentations lists, complex equations and more!)

The members of the audience always leave grinning and eager to test their new skills.
Are you ready to accelerate your memory into rapid recall?