The Voice of Women Podcast Episodes: Women's Interesting and Inspiring Real Life Stories
Episode 31 - Jennifer Neil
Jennifer Neil, is the program coordinator and Assistant Personal Training Manager at the Bankers Hall Club, a downtown squash and executive fitness centre. She is also a personal trainer, registered yoga teacher, registered holistic nutrition consultant, massage therapist, professional fitness model with the WBFF, Team Canada Masters Track and Field Athlete and mom of 3 boys (6, 10, and 14). Jennifer has been a competitive athlete most of her life in gymnastics, martial arts, fitness/body building, as well as track and field. She believes our health is our wealth! She loves helping others reach their fitness and wellness goals. After 20 years of coaching and being in the fitness and wellness industry and still hungry to learn, Jennifer is also currently in a health science degree (masters) program at University of Calgary and completing massage therapy at Mount Royal University. Her philosophy has always been the best practitioners will be able to see movement, feel tissue, coach natural/alive/good quality foods and affect change! Her favourite quote is "train like an athlete, eat like a sports nutritionist, sleep like a baby and win like champion!"
Jennifer married her best friend Paul Anthony who is also an international top strength and conditioning coach, world champion body builder and previous team Canada for track and field (Olympian). He is one of her biggest inspirations and together they own DreamBody online personal training. DreamBody stands for a community where they believe you can achieve by Dreaming It, Training It, and Living it! As coaches they focus on the physical body with (cardiovascular, strength training, and flexibility), emotional through (sports psychology and nutritional support), spiritual with (meditation, yoga, and DreamBodies own mind gym) with combined focus and support in all of these areas we believe this will lead you to the BEST version of yourself! Their future goals are to travel internationally and inspire transformation.
Episode 30 - April Hicke
April is currently the national operations manager at PwC Products & Ventures and has more than ten years of client-facing and leadership experience. She is known for swift and savvy problem-solving and some say her personality is just like an exclamation mark! When she smiles, it's big and when she laughs it's loud. April is an advocate for women in sobriety and is very passionate about mentorship and women in leadership. She strongly believes that we are given our baggage so that we can show others how to unpack it.
Episode 29 - Shantelle Murphy
Shantelle Murphy is the Founder and CEO of Bon Aesthete Inc., a company dedicated to enhancing the medical aesthetic experience for patients and providers. The Bon Aesthete portfolio includes Astrk Skincare, an elegant medical-grade skincare line, and Beauty Brand Persona, an online course for business and marketing strategies in medical aesthetics.
Shantelle’s science background, along with her keen eye and appreciation for beauty, led her to pursue a career in Medical Aesthetics. She has over a decade of experience working with hundreds of physicians and clinic owners across Western Canada and helping thousands of patients look and feel their best. Witnessing the transformative affect healthy skin can have on a patient is what motivates her. She believes in skincare with an impact, active ingredients, and results that inspire confidence. She believes in having real customers represent the brand.
Prior to the pandemic, Shantelle was traveling 4 days a week and putting in 70+ hour work weeks. Quarantine allowed time for reflection and goal setting with her partner. Looking to find balance in her personal life and career, Shantelle endeavoured down the entrepreneurial path. Next steps then became obvious, creativity flowed, and Bon Aesthete Inc. came to fruition.
Shantelle has always been a driven individual that excels in the face of challenges, leading to many achievements and awards throughout her career. Part of her success can be attributed to saying “yes”, when amazing opportunities arise, and trusting that she can figure it out. Another part can be attributed to audacious dreams, appreciating the little wins, and having an amazing support system around her.
Episode 28 - Mara Grunau
Mara Grunau is the Executive Director of the Centre for Suicide Prevention, a branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association in Alberta. Established in 1981, Centre for Suicide Prevention equips Canadians to respond to people at risk of suicide. She holds a Bachelor of Education and a Master’s of Public Administration.
Upwards of 4000 Canadians die by suicide annually. Each year around the world, more people die by suicide than by homicide and war combined. Yet there are few best practices. People are complex, therefore suicide is complex. No two people’s journeys to suicide crisis are the same; each person needs to be considered as the individual s/he is. Because of this complexity, there are few best practices that exist can be grouped in to 4 broad categories: easy, open access to mental health care, responsible media reporting, restriction of lethal means and education (including surveillance and further research). Centre for Suicide Prevention provides the education through secondary research. By collecting all available literature on suicide prevention, CSP boasts the largest English-language library on suicide in the world. We work to continually translate this research into a variety of usable, readily accessible media including webinars, workshops, articles, toolkits and Twitter. Suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility and once we are equipped with knowledge and skills, we are better prepared to support someone in crisis.
Episode 27 - Siobhan Chinnery
An experienced executive with extensive background in successfully leading change and transformation in small and large organizations. With over 25 years of supply chain management roles based in global resource sectors, Siobhan has a strong understanding of leading change. Having risen through the ranks leading teams and executing change, she has also been an active coach and mentor for much of her career. Siobhan has combined her career as a successful change agent and leader with her passion to empower women to create Purpose with Ease. She is unique in her spirit, determination, experience and relationship skills.
Siobhan writes a blog on Grief & Gratitude called Bee Happy. In 2019, her husband Scott passed away after a brief but brutal illness which ended when he chose to access medical assistance in dying. She is grateful that Scott was with her to celebrate accomplishments in 2019 which his support played a large role in their achievement. She was named one of 100 Most Influential Women in Canadian Supply Chain in 2019 and she was a keynote speaker at Famous 5 luncheon on May 8, 2019. Siobhan is so grateful that he was well enough to share those moments with her. Gratitude gives Siobhan the strength to get through the darkest moments and the grace to truly enjoy the highlights. It is these lessons that she humbly shares with others in the pursuit of inspiring change.
Siobhan is the mother of two amazing young women and is a professionally trained leader of change and experienced mentor and coach who is passionate about unleashing the feminine and empowering women to also live a life of purpose.
Episode 26 - Lisa McCallum
Lisa McCallum is a Divorce Specialist who shows people how to let go of relationships that are holding them back from achieving their dreams, especially the relationship within themselves. She is the Author of the book Your Dreams First... the Divorce Within Yourself. She is the Authority on helping people move forward after divorce.
Through her courses, coaching and speaking she will show you how to put yourself first so that you can have the freedom to live your life the way you want after divorce.
Her courses 5 Lessons on Divorce, 6 Lessons on how to be Exceptional after Divorce, Your Dreams First and two 30 Day Challenges provide the tools for you to know how to make yourself a priority, let go of relationships that aren’t serving you, create the best relationship with your kids, yourself and future partners.
If you are having serious doubts about your relationship her latest and most powerful course can be found at doistayordoigo.com.
Lisa has interviewed Dr. Phil at the Mega Success Event hosted by JTFoxx in LA where Dr. Phil said, “ people not only need Lisa’s help but DESERVE her help.”
Lisa lives in Calgary with her three children and has recently been nominated as a Woman of Inspiration with the Universal Women’s Network.
Episode 25 - Kaeyae Alo
Kaeyae Alo is a woman on a mission to let her light shine for the world. She is an artist on a journey of authenticity and love, creating R&B soundscapes with her culminated perspective grounded in resilience, innovation, rawness and black beauty. Born in the UK, raised in Zimbabwe, Kaeyae Alo now resides in Canada. Striving to continually best herself and develop her unique sound, she is ready to share more of her warmth, more of her spirit, more from her lens with her upcoming release, 17 Times.
You can find all things Kaeyae Alo here
Episode 24 - Gloria Jones
Gloria’s extensive education and many years of experience in the financial industry have equipped her with an innovative, practical approach to designing custom solutions for her clients. Her aim is to listen well to each of her clients so she may assist them with their unique situations in a conscious and effective manner.
Through the operation of her own business, Gloria has acquired an unparalleled understanding of how to remain competitive and persistently aware of the rapid changes in our world today. Gloria values an open and personable approach to financial planning that fosters learning and security.
Episode 23 - Mary Moran
Mary became President and CEO of Calgary Economic Development in 2015. Under her leadership there has been greater focus on Calgary’s competitiveness in the new economy; including the areas of talent development, innovation, placemaking, and the business environment.
Mary initially joined Calgary Economic Development as Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Research in 2010. She brought extensive leadership experience in the development of strategy, marketing, stakeholder relations and fund development with leading companies, including TELUS Delta Hotels, Canadian Airlines and Wardair.
At Calgary Economic Development, Mary led teams that created the Calgary Be Part of the Energy promotional brand adopted by all civic agencies, the award-winning 2013 flood recovery campaign YYC is OPEN, and oversaw development of two iterations of the city’s economic strategy, Calgary Building on our Energy and Calgary in the New Economy. Mary is the CEO of the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund, a board director of the Calgary Film Centre, and was CEO of Calgary 2026 Bid corporation developing and promoting a bid to host the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Mary earned an MBA from Royal Roads University. She is active in the Calgary community and serves as a director for the Calgary Petroleum Club, O’Brien Institute for Public Health and is the Chair of Sport Calgary. She is a past Chair of Ronald McDonald House Southern Alberta.
Episode 22 - Stephanie Nychka
Stephanie Nychka is a multi-disciplinary professional athlete, a Doctor of Chiropractics, and a mother of three. Although currently not practicing so she can be at home with her children, she started a Calgary-based luxury concierge service dedicated to assisting other busy households. Raised with 3 brothers in Beaverlodge AB, Stephanie became comfortable in pushing her limits to demonstrate that girls can do everything boys can do (and more). This mantra carried her through a lifetime dedicated to sport, including garnering her a spot in the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame as part of the U of A Championship Panda's volleyball team.
After concluding her professional volleyball career in Denmark, Stephanie returned to the U.S. to complete her education and began pouring herself into Downhill and Slopestyle mountain biking - earning accolades and quickly making a name for herself by competing against male riders in Crankworx and Redbull events. Over a decade later, she continues to challenge herself and in 2019 became the first Canadian Women's freestyle BMX Champion. Sidelined by a knee injury and unable to train for the Olympics, she poured her energies into developing a competitive jump series to support female riders (Women's Slopestyle Tour).
Stephanie still competes but has found a second passion in coaching, volunteering for not-for-profits and mentoring riders of all ages to help them fall in love, with life on two wheels.
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