Ward 9 Calgary City Councillor

Gian-Carlo Carra has been the Ward 9 City Councillor since 2010. He is a professional urban designer, and has a degree in History. He is passionate about community building, disc golf and coaching his son’s soccer team.

https://www.calgary.ca/council/ward-9/ward-9-bio.html

You can listen to Gian Carlo on S1: Ep 3.

Indigenous Minister - Chinook Winds Region

Rev. Tony Snow is a member of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. He grew up on Treaty No. 7 land at Mînî Thnî, Alberta, where his father Dr. Rev. Chief John Snow Sr. attended the Morley Indian Residential School. Tony is a Day School Survivor. As a Traditional Knowledge Keeper, minister and consultant, Tony has worked for decades in public engagement and government relations, bringing awareness and healing to communities of faith and Indigenous peoples, as a continuation of his father’s and grandfather’s work.

https://chinookwindsregion.ca/indigenous-ministries/

You can listen to Tony on S1: Ep 4.

Training Centre Facilitator - Centre for Sexuality

Diana is a Registered Social Worker with over 25 years of front-line experience working with diverse populations including sexually exploited children and youth, sex workers, persons with disabilities, older adults, parents, natural supports and LGBTQ2S+ community. She is a passionate facilitator that strives to create lively and transformative learning environments for communities and professionals.

https://www.centreforsexuality.ca/

You can listen to Diana on S1: Ep 5.

Campus Minister - Campus United

Jess’ influential life experiences include working as a nurse in Ghana and with a Little Red River Cree community in northern Alberta, 11 years in outdoor education, pastoring a 2SLGBTQ+ affirming Christian church, and completing hermaster's degree in psychotherapy and spiritual care. She is currently bi-vocational, splitting her work time between Campus United (UCC campus ministry) at the U of C and MRU as well as working at Eckert Psychology as a Certified Canadian Counsellor. She has been married for 20 years and loves reading, dancing alone in her bedroom, chocolate chip cookies, and flowy downhills on her mountain bike! You might encounter her cheering wildly at one of her kids' soccer match!

https://campusunited.ca/mount-royal-university

https://campusunited.ca/university-of-calgary

You can listen to Jess on S1: Ep 5.

Poet, Playwright & Essayist

Bertrand Bickersteth is the 2024-2025 Writer in Residence for Athabasca University. His work explores the question of what it means to be Black and from the Prairies. His collection of poetry, The Response of Weeds, was the recipient of multiple awards.  His writing has appeared in many places including Geist, Prairie Fire, The Walrus, The Sprawl, and CBC’s Black on the Prairies. His current project features the history of Black cowboys in western Canada. He lives in Moh’kins’tsis (Calgary) and teaches at Olds College.

https://www.bertrandbickersteth.com/

You can listen to Bertrand on S1: Ep 6.

Visual Artist & Author

Aaron Navrady graduated from the Alberta College of Art & Design (now AUarts) in 2002. His current self-published comics project is ‘The Cold Fire’, a medieval epic about a Norman Crusader who joins a company of knights tasked with pursuing heretics across the Alps during the Albigensian Crusade. It can be found at thecoldfire.com

Other projects include a short story in Renegade Arts and Entertainment’s Anthology “HOME”, another on the history of the Grey Cup for Nelson Education, a zombie apocalypse mini comic promoting BionX power-assist bicycle tech and various short travel stories for Top Shelf 2.0. Aaron is also a former Art Director of the Panel One Comic Creator Festival.

Check out his work on Instagram:

www.instagram.com/rusty_pincers

You can listen to Aaron on S1: Ep 6.

Calgary-Acadia MLA

Diana Batten is the elected MLA for Calgary-Acadia and serves as the Official Opposition Critic for Childcare, Child & Family Services. Growing up, Diana worked at her family’s store and became a small business owner at the age of 19. She then went on to become a research scientist, registered nurse, and educator. As a Registered Nurse, Diana was on the frontlines in our health care system. Diana lives in Calgary with her fiancé and their rescue dog Sylvie & cat Peppercorn.

https://dianabatten.albertandp.ca/

You can see Diana on April 4th, 2025 at our live recording of S1: Ep 7!

Derek serves as the Director of the Canadian Poverty Institute at Ambrose University where he also teaches courses on poverty and Community Development. Derek’s work includes extensive experience in social research and policy development at The City of Calgary and in community development with various organizations across Canada. In 2018 he was appointed to the federal Ministerial Advisory Committee on Poverty, guiding the development of Canada’s national poverty strategy. Previously he served as the Executive Director of the Calgary Poverty Reduction Initiative, leading the Mayor’s task force on poverty reduction. Currently, Derek is a member of the Commission on Justice and Peace of the Canadian Council of Churches, serves on the Board of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Alberta, and is an Honorary Fellow at the Institute of Poverty Research and Management (InsPeK) at the University of Malaysia - Kelantan. Derek holds a graduate degree in Community Development from the University of Guelph, a BA in Political Studies from McGill University and is a Registered Social Worker with the Alberta College of Social Workers.

www.povertyinstitute.ca

You can see Derek on April 4th, 2025 at our live recording of S1: Ep 7!

Laura is the dedicated Executive Director of Two Wheel View, a transformative registered charity based in Calgary. They empower young people as they build life, leadership and employability skills and they do this using bicycles.  Laura's journey with Two Wheel View began as an intern with a three-month contract, and she has since devoted almost 15 years to expanding the organization's impact. Under her leadership, Two Wheel View has grown significantly, from a team of 3 staff members and 12 participants annually to a robust team of 25, engaging and supporting hundreds of young people each year.  

Laura holds a BA in Geography and an MA in Environmental Education and Communications, complemented by certificates in PR, Social Media, and Leadership from Mount Royal University and the University of Calgary. Beyond her role at Two Wheel View, Laura is the founder and lead gatherer of the Social Sector Social Club, monthly meet-ups that foster community and collaboration among non-profit professionals and the do-gooders of our community.  

Passionate about creativity and storytelling, Laura actively seeks opportunities to bring people together. Raised in a family deeply rooted in philanthropy and community service across generations, Laura values the ethos of giving back and supporting others. 

https://www.twowheelview.org/

You can see Laura on May 9th, 2025, at our live recording of S1: Ep 8!

Lor Gundersen (all pronouns) is an undergraduate student at the University of Calgary, where they have worked in campus ministry and been a long-time volunteer at the Q Centre, the central resource and community for 2SLGBTQ+ students on campus. As a part of his work with campus ministry, she has facilitated discussion events on topics such as “Listening as Peacemaking” and “What are God’s Pronouns? Exploring perceptions of a gendered and ungendered God.”

You can see Lor on June 20th, 2025, at our live recording of S1: Ep 9!

Tracy is a proud and affirming Diaconal Minister who spent three years in prison … as the Chaplain at the Calgary Young Offender Centre, and now serves St. Thomas United Church in Northwest Calgary. Before becoming a minister, she spent 15 years in the corporate world while living our her passion for youth leadership. She’s addicted to her three shelties, working out, caring for her congregants … oh yeah, she loves her husband, and spending time with her non-binary scion and their partner. An adult son is in there somewhere, too …

You can see Tracy on June 20th, 2025, at our live recording of S1: Ep 9!