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The Storyteller Shares His Story

Adrian Harewood is a journalist, an Associate Professor at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University and co-anchor of CBC News Ottawa at 6. He is also host of the weekly Ottawa cultural magazine show Our Ottawa. He is the former host of CBC Radio Ottawa’s All In A Day and has been a guest host on local programs like Metro Morning (CBC Toronto), Here and Now (CBC Toronto) and Ontario Today. He has hosted national programs such as As it Happens, The House,  Sounds Like Canada, Counterspin, Hot Type, Spin Off, The Current, Power & Politics and contributed documentaries to shows like The Arts Tonight. He was host of The Actors, Literati, Playwrights & Screenwriters and The Directors as seen on BRAVO and PBS. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup he was network host of CBC Radio’s FIFA World Cup Today show. Adrian was the recipient of the 2020 Canadian Screen Award for Best Local News Anchor. He spent over a decade as a programmer at four campus/community radio stations. Adrian is on the Board of Directors for Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), the Editorial Board of the University of Ottawa Press, is a member of the Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ) and the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ). He has a BA in Political Science from McGill University, and MA in History from �Ӱ�ԭ�� University.

From Treating Illness to Improving Health: A student’s perspective

Quayce Thomas is the founder and developer of Timsle.com – a social accountability network for getting better with family and friends. He built Timsle to recover from mental health challenges while studying architecture at �Ӱ�ԭ��. His goal is to develop a low cost health system for countries without health infrastructure.

Experiencing social anxiety in a learning environment: How social anxiety can hinder learning and promote resiliency.

My name is Anna Stone, and I am a psychology student studying at the master’s level at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. In this talk, I will discuss how social anxiety has impacted my ability to learn in social situations, and how it has made me a more resilient student.

Dyslexia: “If I asked someone to help me read, I would be asking all the time, so I just stopped reading”

The title is the answer, the question “how do you cope with your problems in reading.” I was 10 years old and I can still visualize sitting in class frustrated and hurt that I couldn’t read and therefore couldn’t do my work. I struggled to connect letters to their sounds, which became obvious in the first years of learning to read and spell. Eventually, at 16 years old I was formally diagnosed with a language-based learning disability (a form of dyslexia). It was one of those moments that you don’t forget, and for me, it was positive. A few years later I would register at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University and obtain my degree in Psychology, which ironically, was a word I couldn’t spell. I will talk candidly about my struggles, the road to a diagnosis, the supports that I am grateful for, and the strengths that I have come to recognize.

Taking care of me: Self-care advice from my experience with grief

Dr. Carla Sowinski is a researcher that works for the Department of National Defence; her research focuses on workplace well-being. In December 2017, Carla’s husband, Derek, took his own life after eight years of struggling with treatment-resistant depression. Inspired by Lucy Hone’s Resilient Grieving book, Carla made a decision to cope with her grief in the healthiest way possible. In this talk she will discuss her lived experience of applying evidence-based strategies to promote well-being during that stressful time. Topics will include actively processing emotions, establishing healthy routines, self-compassion, connecting with others in authentic ways, and searching for the good things in life. Carla hopes that her story and her advice can help you or someone that you know that may be going through a stressful time (e.g., grief; divorce/separation/break up; job loss; trauma; personal illness or illness of a loved one; loss of “normal life” or stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic).

Mental Health Issues Affect Us All… Even CEOs

Gillian Stein is the CEO of iconic Canadian photography brand ���԰���’s. She also has bipolar disorder. Learn about Gillian’s journey, from enduring her first terrifying bipolar episode as a teenager, to travelling a long, never-straight pathway to diagnosis and treatment, to learning lifelong strategies for managing her mental health—all while becoming a successful businesswoman and ultimately taking the reins as the fourth generation to lead her family’s long-standing business. As a founding board member of the ���԰���’s Foundation, striving to destigmatize mental health for all Canadians, Gillian is proud to share her story to show that executives with mental illness not only exist, but they can be tremendously successful.