Featured Speakers

Nadine Spencer is the founder and CEO of BrandEQ Agency, a global firm specializing in social change marketing and public relations. She has a proven track record in accelerating brand visibility and strategic growth through multi-tiered corporate campaigns for a diverse client portfolio. Nadine pioneered BrandEQ's cultural sensitivity arm, BrandEQ Black, which examines racial biases in advertising and marketing, generating long-term value for clients and societal change through her "People Matter" strategy.

​

Nadine's role as the past President (2017-2021) and former CEO (2021-2023) of the Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA) was instrumental in driving the organization's growth and enhancing its brand visibility. Under her leadership, Nadine spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives to improve Black business visibility and address long-standing structural inequities. She is an accomplished businesswoman, entrepreneur, and community leader who remains dedicated to advancing Canada's Black community through equity and programming initiatives.

​

Nadine is an active member of several prominent organizations, including sitting on the Toronto Police Services Board, where she co-chairs the Anti-Racism Advisory Panel and serves on the Budget Committee. She also serves on the board of the Canadian Association of Police Governance and chair of the Revenue Committee.

​

Nadine is committed to empowering women in entrepreneurship, serving on the Advisory Committee for Accelerating Women Entrepreneurs, a US organization co-founded by the CEO of Wholefoods John McKay. She is also the Vice Chair and Co-Founder of the Federation of African Canadian Economics(FACE) where she sits on the budget committee. She is also a member of the Board of Governors at York University where she serves on the External Network and Governance Committee, contributing to the university's growth and inclusivity.

​

Recognized for her philanthropic efforts and contributions to society, Nadine has received accolades such as the Harry Jerome Business Award, the United Nations Volunteer Award, and the CGA Businesswoman of the Year award in 2020. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with Honors from York University. Her dedication to fostering inclusion and representation of diverse communities extends to her role as a member of the Toronto Star community advisory panel.

Kierra is a proud 2x Olympian Canadian breaststroke swimmer. She won a gold medal in the 200m Breaststroke and a silver medal in the 4x100m Medley at the 2015 Pan American Games.

​

Along with two silver medals, one in the 200m Breaststroke and one in the 4x100m Medley at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

​

She eventually went on to take home the bronze medal in the 4x100m Medley at the 2019 World Championships.

​

In the Autumn of 2019 she was member of the inaugural International Swimming League swimming for the Energy Standard International Swim Club, who won the team title in Las Vegas, Nevada, in December.

​

Kierra, demonstrates resilience and determination. Her journey inspires countless souls to pursue their dreams with unwavering passion and belief.

 

She showcases the profound impact of grit and unwavering determination on the path to greatness and shows us all that great success is achievable with hard work.

Organizational Psychology & Psychometric Assessments

• Master of Science Occupational Psychology: University of Leicester (MSc.Occ.Psy.)

• Graduate Member: British Psychology Society (GMBPsS)

• Licensed Psychometric Assessor: BPS Register of Qualifications in Test Use

 

Since starting her professional life in the Okanagan at the age of 17, Ester Pike has had the privilege of working closely with a wide range of valuable organizations, locally, nationally, and internationally in both leadership roles and as a consultant.

 

Her experience has led her to working with the Canadian Red Cross, YMCA Canada, Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, KPMG Canada, Canadian Tire, and many more familiar names.

Specializing in Human Factors, she has helped these organizations engage their workforce in finding unique tactics and tools to help build a thriving culture, as well as delivered countless workshops, seminars and speaking events on the subject.

 

Through these experiences, Ester has observed firsthand the critical importance of understanding and cultivating the “people” part of a business. Human Factors are what create the unique fingerprint of every organization, and it is her passion to provide you with the tools and skills necessary to lead your business to functioning at its peak through your greatest resource of all: you.

Krystal, a certified Life Coach, supports and coaches women of all types, in all phases of their mindsets with her energetic/intuitive gifts.

​

She is a mother, a wife, a lover of nature, dancing her a$$ off, poutine, and deliciously long hugs.

​

Krystal guides clients to living their most aligned life and back to their personal power, through her programs and mentorship. Her mindset and energetic work evolves client's beliefs around self worth, money, and personal success.

 

She is your ultimate hype girl for living your most Soulfilled life.

​

Her utmost mission is teaching people how to release energetic blocks and leverage their personal power so they can be open to receiving more abundance and fulfillment, whatever that looks like for them.

 

Supporting them in their unique and perfect desires that may include earning more, meaningful impact, working less, spending more time with family, more time at peace, and creating a deeply abundant life.

Alison Ruks brings over 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur and executive leader in consumer packaged goods, natural health, cannabis, and education. Her brands and opinion pieces have been featured in Forbes, Medium, Authority Magazine, MSN, Motherly, and SheKnows, and she has demonstrated success with multiple brands that resulted in sales and fundraising results in the multi-millions.

 

She currently oversees a company she founded in the sustainable baby accessories category, provides mentoring and growth consulting services for entrepreneurs, and has worked with Accelerate Okanagan as an Executive in Residence business mentor and teacher.

 

Alison’s passion for health led her to begin her career studying natural medicine. She then acquired a business degree - graduating with honours - from the University of British Columbia and shortly afterward became certified as a Chartered Human Resources Professional with a goal of building a portfolio of businesses that foster positive, healthy, and productive workplaces.

 

In 2011, she was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis), an incurable autoimmune disease, where doctors predicted she would be in a wheelchair by 2016. She developed her own four-pronged approach to healing, through mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional wellness utilizing numerous therapies from nutrition to psychedelics, and her success has baffled many in her medical community. Her resilience and determination in the face of adversity have inspired many people, especially those who are facing similar challenges.

 

As a leader and mentor, Alison is passionate about empowering women to pursue their dreams and succeed in their chosen fields. She is a true inspiration, not only for her achievements in business but also for her resilience, determination, and commitment to be her best self and make a positive impact in the world.

​

​

* 20+ years coaching and training top performers

* Trusted by Olympians, CEOs and business owners

* 100 + workshops delivered

* Facilitated over 70 mindfulness, meditation & yoga retreats

* 300,000+ Podcast subscribers

 

Organizational Impact

Tracey is the Director of the Mindset Division of Action Edge Business Coaching and is the founder of the wellness company BalanceQuest.com. Over the last two decades Tracey has coached and facilitated presentations, workshops and retreats to owners, CEOs and employees of hundreds of businesses. She teaches practical mindset performance and stress management strategies and techniques that result in enhanced focus and productivity, a calmer mind, being less reactive and increasing one’s resilience to change and challenges.

 

Her clients have also reported an overall improved sense of well-being, decreased stress levels, sleeping better, feeling happier and having a more positive mindset. Tracey loves working with and empowering woman and has facilitated a number of women's only retreats and workshops. 

 

Tracey has also had a positive impact on athletes from a number of Canada’s National teams including the Canadian National Alpine, Freestyle, Cross-Country Ski, Biathlon and Surf teams, as well as Britain’s National Biathlon team. She has taught these athletes mindset performance and mindfulness techniques and strategies to enhance their ability to calm their mind, manage their emotions and stay present during competition.

 

Tracey has helped athletes get on the podium at various World Cup competitions, as well as at the Salt Lake and Vancouver Olympics. She has observed that the athletes who can stay mentally and emotionally composed during competition are usually the ones that win medals. Similarly, business leaders that master these mindset skills are better able to guide their businesses and their personal lives towards success.

 From humble beginnings in rural Saskatchewan, Kris grew up in the business of farming and was not shy to throw in a lemonade stand or two along the way. Beginning her coaching career early on with a national weight-loss chain, Kris lead her team to successfully build the number one location out of 300 in Canada as well as an additional 12 locations in the top 20. Tenacity and fastidiousness to building best business practices made her the ‘go to’ change agent for her team, peers, franchisee’s, and even the franchisor.

 

Track Record of Results:

2020 Top 25 ActionCOACH Globally (Top 2%)

Kris’s passion for scaling businesses established her reputation within the industry leading her to a period in which she was contracted exclusively with a serial entrepreneur to assist with making the hard decisions while creating the foundation for consistency and continue to drive growth. Kris lives to create freedom for others and her diverse experience and success across many industries makes her an ideal coach.

 

Her peers have said “Kris is an outstanding leader who motivates others to consistently put in 150%…Kris was a joy to work with/for and has helped me grow personally and professionally in ways I cannot describe”. 

 

Kris shares her success with her husband Kelly and their senior cat Cola. You will find out quickly that Kris is extremely passionate about golf, to the extent she created an annual Women’s tournament in 2018. She just celebrated their second year by tripling attendance with the full intention of starting up an Okanagan chapter. Kris believes the numbers tell a story, what is yours?

 

Be who you want to be, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want to have!

Angela is a sustainability expert with more than 20 years of experience in project management, business development, marketing and public relations.

 

She has lived and traveled extensively throughout the US and Canada, working with all levels of business, utilities, as well as various levels of governments, on a variety of engineering, energy efficiency, environmental and sustainability related projects.

​

Angela’s experience also includes politics, and she was elected to Kelowna City Council and appointed as a Regional District Director in 2008, the same year she co-founded GreenStep.

​

She is certified in Organizational GHG Accounting and as a Sustainability Practitioner through The Natural Step.

 

Community activity:

Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, Advisory Council Member; Okanagan Sustainability Leadership Council, Zero Waste Valley; former City Councillor, City of Kelowna; former Board Member of Regional District of Central Okanagan, Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and Okanagan Car-Share Coop (now part of Modo).

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Camille Saltman is a dual citizen - Canadian and American entrepreneur. She returned to Canada from a 20-year career leading tech companies in San Diego.

 

Over that time she led two award winning, multi-million dollar ad and PR agencies with clients that included Siemens and Ford Motors Company. She was President of MD Revolution, a SAAS digital health company and Malama Composites, a bio-composites company.

 

Prior she was President and a Board member of the business accelerator CONNECT, credited with building San Diego's leadership as one of the top tech clusters in the world. Camille has held board roles with Tony award winning La Jolla Playhouse and globally recognized La Jolla Music Society.

​

She served on the board of two California-wide business associations - BIOCOM, California's pharmaceuticals and biotech trade organization and was Vice Chair of EvoNexus, the telecom and digital technologies organization. She also founded the international digital health business association, Wireless Life Science Alliance, along with CleanTECH San Diego and Action and Sport Innovators.

 

Since moving to Okanagan she has joined the Kelowna Art Gallery Board, Co-chaired the Opera Kelowna Board of Directors, co-founded and is a General Partner of Okanagan WMAN angel fund, and built e @UBCO, the business accelerator for the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus.

When we think of a Boss Babe VIP we think of Brea and the powerhouse of a woman she is when navigating the tech industry and pushing the limits in her career to bring her to CEO.

​

Brea recently has been awarded Business Leader of the Year!

​

On top of everything, she has been supporting the growth of the Okanagan tech community for 10+ years through her work at AO. In her previous role as Director of Operations, she managed the team, ensured the successful implementation of entrepreneurial programs as well as strategic initiatives. Lake, an Okanagan College Alumni, has experience with local tech companies like Disney’s Interactive Studios where she was responsible for curriculum development, global training and policy documentation.

 

She is currently an Advisory Board Member for the Canadian Digital Media Network, an Executive Committee Member for the Cascadia Venture Acceleration Network, Director for the Okanagan College Foundation and an Executive Board Director for the YMCA Okanagan.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​