Speakers
Clint Butler
Speaking:
Saturday / June 11, 2022 / 10:30am
Bio:
Clint Butler is an award-winning stage and screen actor, originally from Newfoundland. In 2021, he launched 4CO Films with a mandate of socially-responsible storytelling, creating art as a means of healing. This is his first film.

Braedon Riehl
Speaking:
Saturday / June 11, 2022 / 10:30am
Bio:
Braedon has operated as a filmmaker/photographer full time since 2018, and has travelled to multiple continents establishing a global clientele and endeavouring to create high quality film and photo content that connects meaningful causes, brands, stories and locations to a broader audience.

Zak Simon
Speaking:
Saturday / June 11, 2022 / 10:30am

Sam Hester
Speaking:
Saturday / June 11, 2022 / 10:30am
Bio:
A leader in the emerging field of graphic recording, Sam Hester creates visual stories that transform dry meeting minutes into eye-catching tools for engagement.
A longtime advocate for comics as a medium for serious storytelling, Sam is a contributor to comics journalism, comics in academia and the graphic medicine movement. She writes and draws comics about real-life local stories in her hometown, Calgary, in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.

Henry Daeman
Speaking:
Saturday / June 11, 2022 / 1:30pm
Bio:
Henry is an emerging young director who was born in the Netherlands and raised in southwestern Ontario. During his time in Sheridan College’s Film and Television program he made his directorial debut with his short films Freebird (2021) and Solitude (2021). Henry currently works in the film and television industry in the camera and lighting departments as well as working on visual effects. His career goal is to direct a feature film or narrative series and to continue sharing emotional experiences with audiences through film. Henry always strives to put a lot of heart into his stories and capture the small things that make life so beautiful.

Dr. Verena Menec
Speaking:
Saturday / June 11, 2022 / 1:30pm
Bio:
Dr. Menec has published extensively in the field of aging. Her interests lie in the areas of social determinants of healthy aging, social inclusion, and age-friendly communities as a way to promote healthy aging. Her work includes having served on the board of the Canadian Association on Gerontology from 2014-2020, first as chair of the social science division and subsequently as vice-president. She was the director of the Centre on Aging at the University of Manitoba from 2004 to 2014 and she is the Manitoba site lead of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, the largest study on aging ever conducted in Canada that will follow approximately 50,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 85 for at least 20 years.

David Hogan
Speaking:
Saturday / June 11, 2022 / 4:30pm
Bio:
Born and raised in Quebec, David’s post-secondary education took place at St. Francis Xavier University and Dalhousie University where he graduated with an MD in 1977. Subsequent post-graduate medical training took place at the University of Alberta, University of Ottawa, and Western University. In 1990 he, Janet, and their 4 children moved to Calgary. David is currently finishing his term as the Academic Lead of the Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging in the O’Brien Institute for Public Health at the University of Calgary.

Scott Harper
Speaking:
Saturday / June 11, 2022 / 4:30pm
Bio:
Scott Harper is an award winning documentary filmmaker. His company – Sunday Night Entertainment – is focussed on long-form documentaries that explore a broad range of contemporary social issues. Character-driven POVs and science-based films are also a big part of the slate at SNE.

Bilko Cuervo
Speaking:
Sunday / June 12, 2022 / 10:30am
Bio:
Bilko Cuervo is an award winning Cuban director, cinematographer and writer with over 10 years filmmaking experience. His skills as a visual artist, besides garnering him an impressive number of awards for his work, have made him one of the most sought after young directors and cinematographers of his generation. Opening doors that have given him the opportunity to create mesmerizing works of art in many places around the world, aside from his native Cuba. Bilko is widely viewed as an auteur by his peers for his truly unique style and vision.

Joseph Miller
Speaking:
Sunday / June 12, 2022 / 10:30am
Bio:
Joseph Miller is an accomplished musician, actor and voice over actor. He is also a songwriter (pop, country, R&B) and star tenor saxophone player who toured with Ike Turner and Tina Turner. He studied songwriting in Los Angeles with Al Kasha and Robin Frederick. He’s written the lyrics to the African hit “Badonka Donk Lady” and the R&B Religious “Down to the River,” and dozens of additional songs with lyrics, music, and producing credits.

Jessica Simon
Speaking:
Sunday / June 12, 2022 / 10:30am
Bio:
Dr. Jessica Simon (she/her) is the Division Head for Palliative Medicine, Department of Oncology, UCalgary. She works as a palliative care doctor and as a researcher. Much of her research is about how we can integrate palliative care soon after diagnosis of a serious illness to better support people in living well right to the end-of -life. Originally from the UK, she can’t believe she has already lived in Calgary 21 winters, has aging parents and children who are almost grown-up, and now a COVID puppy. She loves to share why palliative care is a helpful added layer of support when living with serious illness and is not only about dying.

Lisa Poole
Speaking:
Sunday / June 12, 2022 / 1:30pm
Bio:
Lisa Poole is a family caregiver & provides insight from the perspective of lived experience. Her father, John has vascular dementia. Lisa is on Dementia Network Calgary’s Strategic Council, the board of Gordie Howe C.A.R.E.S., founded Dementia Connections Magazine and is involved with several other dementia-related community initiatives.

Lorraine Price
Speaking:
Sunday / June 12, 2022 / 1:30pm
Bio:
Lorraine Price is a Canadian Screen Award-winning writer/director who makes character driven films about people living unconventional lives. Her films have screened internationally at festivals such as Hot Docs, AFI Docs, Big Sky and Hot Springs and been presented on PBS/POV: Docs, Bell Media’s Crave, and CBC to name a few. In 2017, Lorraine was selected among hundreds of applicants to take part in a filmmaking workshop with Werner Herzog. She is Canadian/American and currently resides in Montreal.

Jennifer Hewson
Speaking:
Sunday / June 12, 2022 / 4:30pm
Bio:
Dr. Jennifer Hewson is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Her research areas include age-friendly communities, specifically social participation, respect and social inclusion; gerontological social work education; aging and the human-animal bond; evaluating the delivery of social and human services; and intergenerational relationships. She is the Team Lead of the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Social Work Practice – Gerontology offered by the Faculty of Social Work. She has been actively involved in community and professional service related to the older adult sector and the field of gerontology since she started at the University of Calgary in 2005.

Ruby Lecot
Speaking:
Sunday / June 12, 2022 / 4:30pm
Bio:
Ruby has a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Calgary and has enjoyed a 25 year career in the non-profit world so far. With work experience in mental health and addictions, child and family services, clinical counselling, and community development, landing at LINKages Society was a natural next step. Older adults are one of our greatest resources and by pairing seniors with youth over the long term for shared learning and fun, we truly make people and communities stronger.
