Face 2 Face With David Peck

Zehra is a passionate about what she does. Listen in as she talks about how she didn’t go to school to learn about her take on local and global change, how she launched her entrepreneurial and socially innovativeStudio 89, and what she’s doing to bring together the for profit and not for profit business models.BiographyZehra Abbas is the Founder and Executive Director of YTGA (Youth Troopers for Global Awareness), a youth led non-profit organization mobilizing and empowering young people for domestic and international social justice through campaigns, workshops and the arts.Zehra and the YTGA team have recently launched a social enterprise in Mississauga called Studio.89, part fair-trade cafe and part artademic resource centre. The cafe encourages ethical and healthy consumerism while hosting numerous community events and initiatives. The artademic centre offers arts, academic and lifestyle workshops as well as free resources and entrepreneurial opportunities.Zehra and her team have combined their multi-facet

Rob has temporarily moved on as ED of Basic Income Canada Network to work as interim ED with the Green Party. Listen in today as he gets a little more political, talks about social justice, why people on welfare are so not lazy and why dealing with poverty matters.Read more by Rob here.BiographyRob has 20 years of experience in not-for-profit leadership, primarily in environmental conservation and sustainable development and more recently concerning poverty in Canada. He has been described as a mentor who is “light on my feet” with respect to his capacity to initiate and make decisions.Through his new consultancy, CauseWorth Mission Impact, he is applying his experience, knowledge, skills and contacts in support of organizations involved in social justice, social service, personal development, conservation and environmental protection. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ryan is a passionate guy who has a PhD in geography and eco-tourism. Listen in as he talks a great deal about poverty and selfless and altruistic people and why the fact that there were over a billion people travelling the globe last year is important. He tells us why he thinks that sustainability is a three-legged stool, about creative ways to change the world and about how his successful social enterprise is changing the way people think.BiographyRyan was raised in Nairobi, Kenya where his parents were teachers at an international school. After returning to Canada for university, Ryan earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and his Master of Arts degree in International Development. After graduation, Ryan worked in various relief and development projects throughout Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Mozambique, and it was here that Ryan gained an appreciation for the local culture, language, and challenges that are currently facing sub-Saharan Africa.Through the combination of a semi-traumatic even

Patrick is a theologian, author and professor who has plenty to say about religion-less Christianity, truth and the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If the idea of religion-less Christianity or ethics or pacifism interests you then there is plenty here for further reflection.Biography:Patrick Franklin (BA, MDiv, ThM, PhD) is Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics at Providence Theological Seminary in Manitoba, Canada. He is the author of Being Human, Being Church: The Significance of Theological Anthropology for Ecclesiology (Paternoster, forthcoming) and several peer-reviewed articles, including two on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Dr. Franklin’s theological interests include ecclesiology (the church; both historic and contemporary expressions), theological anthropology (the human person), trinitarian theology, Christian ethics, and the life and thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He is also interested in the relationship between the sciences and Christian theology and serves as the coordinating book review editor for Pe

This week’s podcast was a fun one to record. Taped in front of a live enthusiastic and thoughtful audience this past December in downtown Toronto. I chatted with two magicians, on stage and post show, James Alan and Mike Close. The food was good, the magic terrific and the conversation engaging. Listen is as we talk about magic, wonder and reason in the 21st century.BiographyJames Alan is a magician based in Toronto. He is the producer of James Alan’s Magic Tonight, a live dinner-theatre-style magic show performed in Downtown Toronto, Mississauga, and Pickering. He has produced two acclaimed one-man shows;The Uncertainty Project and Lies, Damn Lies & Magic/Tricks. Check out some of thereviews from Magic Tonight.Michael Close is a magician, musician. He is a world-renowned magic inventor and consultant. He is the author of numerous magic publications including Closely Guarded Secrets, the Workers series and a joke collection, That Reminds Me. He is currently the editor of MUM, the journal of the Society of

Listen in to this weeks interview with Peter Singer about this new book The Most Good You Can Do and see what he has to say about giving, philanthropy and utilitarian ethics.BiographyDr. Singer may be, as The New Yorker calls him, the planet’s “most influential living philosopher.” He specializes in applied ethics, to which he takes a secular, utilitarian approach — minimize suffering, maximize well-being. He gained recognition in the 1970s with his groundbreaking book Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for Our Treatment of Animals, which questions society’s tendency to put human needs above those of members of other species.Singer’s collective body of work is more acclaimed than controversial. He has written the classic text Practical Ethics and many other books and articles, including Unsanctifying Human Life: Essays on Ethics, One World: Ethics and Globalization, The Moral of the Story: An Anthology of Ethics Through Literature, In Defense of Animals. The Second Wave, The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matt

Today’s conversation is about thinking local, acting municipally and global change. Robert talks about a “space for alternatives”, his own approach to the environment and a “transportation solution” and why altering the chemistry of our planet is essential to our future.BiographyRob Shirkey is a recognized global authority on the subject of climate change warnings on gas pump nozzles. He has given lectures on the topic across Canada and has been featured in media all over the world.Rob is a lawyer from Toronto, Canada. Prior to founding Our Horizon and launching its globally unprecedented campaign, Rob operated a private practice in downtown Toronto. He also has experience as an Assistant City Solicitor and Prosecutor. Before completing his law degree, Rob studied business, economics, and psychology at the undergraduate level. He graduated with distinction and was the university valedictorian.Rob’s talks draw on the latest in climate change research. He gathers insights from psychology, sociology, economic th

Join Kalyanee and I today as she talks about her love for Cambodia and the environment, about “us” as the centre of the ripple, the universal nature to stories and why as a film director she feels that we need to “touch and feel” to get a better understanding of the world we live in.BiographyKALYANEE MAM (DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, & CINEMATOGRAPHER) Award-winning filmmaker, lawyer, and born storyteller, Kalyanee Mam, is committed to combining her passion for art and advocacy to tell compelling and universal stories. Born in Battambang, Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge Regime, she and her family fled to the refugee camps at the Thai-Cambodian border and eventually immigrated to the United States in 1981. Even to this day her mother recounts stories of their flight through jungles laden with land mines. These stories and many others inspired Kalyanee to return to her native homeland and to make films about atrocities occurring in Cambodia even today.Most recently, Kalyanee directed, produced and shot A River Chang

Today’s conversation is about water, social enterprise and about being a “rational optimist.” Listen in as Bradley tells us about his passion for clean water, the market place, and why he believes that more equality is fundamentally a good thing. He talks about gratuitous wealth, conspicuous consumption and about why he was “unhappy about being in a cubicle.”BiographyBradley Pierik is an engineer who has worked for the past 10 years with water charities in developing countries. He has lived and worked in remote places around the world, shared stories and meals with countless families, and been upstaged in soccer games by hundreds of nimble-footed kids.Throughout these years Bradley developed a vision for how water treatment might be done better.He has now created a company called Tapp, where he and his team intend to change the way families in the developing world get their drinking water.Read more about the product and Bradley here, here and here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Listen today to the interview with one of my favourite people in the field of social justice, innovation and change. Hear what he has to say about perseverance, measuring the little things and structural violence and why he believes money can be dangerous.BiographyVeteran civil society organization executive director skilled in CSO capacity building. Retired Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Ontario. Currently active in international development and global justice issues.Instructor: Post Graduate Certificate Program, International Project Management Humber College: Member Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. Certified Member AAETS in Acute Traumatic Stress Management. Traumatology Institute trained Compassion Fatigue Educator and Treatment Specialist.Livingworks Institute Certified SafeTALK Trainer by Wallis Balog and graduate of Certificate in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Suicide early intervention, safety plan and referrals.Guest lecturer in i

Justin will change the way you think about design. He’s a Lego advocate and always appreciated the simple building block like nature of the toy. He has a relational edge when it comes to design and believes that spacecan inspire. Listen in to why he thinks that design is an exercise in compromise, how good design transcends and why we all need to feel like we’re a little more at home in the world.BiographyJustin Rahim is the Principal Designer and Owner of Black Label Urban Design, he specializes in Residential & Commercial Design, as well as Retail and Product branding.He is in constant pursuit of new ways of articulating spaces, structures and forms combining luxury design with day-to-day liveability. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mark talks to day about shame versus guilt, mental health issues and how we are all wired for relationships. Listen in to hear his thoughts on desperate and difficult issues of our time. Mark tells us why we need to listen more, how we should reflect on despair and why we all need to look beyond ourselves.Biography Mark is our Executive Director. He has been a marriage and family therapist since 1988 and came to Shalem in 2004. He has worked in child welfare (Northumberland Children’s Aid Society) and in children’s mental health (Kinark Child and Family Services). Until 2004, he served for almost 15 years as the Coordinator of what was then called Children’s Case Coordination Services for Northumberland County, an advocacy position which that involved him directly in the child welfare, children’s mental health, health, adult mental health, youth justice, developmental, medically complex, and education systems. Throughout that period he maintained a private practice in marriage and family therapy. From 2004-20

Gwyneth talks about giving back, being hooked on volunteerism, why her right and left-brains are intimately linked, and why numbers are the key to the universe.BiographyGwyneth is a partner in Cody and James and worked for several years providing management and financial consulting to a variety of corporate clients before acquiring TCP Accounting in 2009.A strong believer in giving back to the community, Gwyneth volunteers her time with many local charitable organizations including the Peterborough Community Futures Development Corporation, Women’s Business Network, and Peterborough Theatre Guild.She writes for Cottage Country Connections.Check out one of her entries on charitable donations here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Listen in today to a friend and one of my former professors talk about some interesting things. We talk sex, gender, and pornography. Jean has plenty to say about how we use labels and often don’t understand them, respect for other people, and what we need to do with hypocrisy.BiographyJean Saindon, Ph.D., is a retired professor of philosophy and science at York University in Toronto. His areas of research and interest include (in philosophy) argumentation, critical thinking, applied ethics, and epistemology; (in science) the history and philosophy of science, most recently evolution and genetics, the social and ethical implications of science, and the interrelationship of science and religion; (in sociology and philosophy) sexuality and gender.He is currently exploring the application of neuroscience and cognitive science for student learning and the implications of these for the theories and teaching of critical thinking.In addition to his academic work, Jean was Director of Training and Development for a m

Listen in today as I chat to one of my new heroes from India. Smita tells us why she works in the world of human trafficking, how young women are so resilient, why the issue is not always related to poverty and how she thinks things are getting better.BiographySmita grew up in a Christian home where she was inspired to help others. She knew at a young age that she would pursue a degree in clinical psychology. Once she graduated, she worked as a counsellor for a drug and rehabilitation clinic. Then continuing to follow her heart, she made the transition into an international justice organization that rescued young girls who were sold into the sex trade in Kolkata.As she participated in this work, helping to rescue over 171 girls, Smita noticed that many times they were rescuing the same girls and realized the need to good aftercare to prevent re-trafficking. She set out to start a holistic aftercare home that was dramatically different than the existing institutions that were like “processing warehouses” for r

Today’s interview was a real thrill for me. I was able to spend some time with the former Prime Minister of Bhutan – Jigme Thinley while he was in town for a Humber College IDI and SoChange Symposium recently called: Beyond GDP. Listen is as he talks about Gross National Happiness, “enlightened selfishness”, creating living conditions that matter, how to control our greed and about universal aspirations and the ultimate good.BiographyJigmi Y. Thinley was the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Bhutan and founding President of the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa party. He has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Home and Cultural Affairs, and twice as Prime Minister when the post was held on an annual rotational basis by the Cabinet Ministers. He is a strong advocate of the philosophy of Gross National Happiness, is the chair or on the leadership of numerous boards and international organizations and has been conferred, among many awards, the Druk Wangyel Medal, which is the highest civilian d

Abram today talks about the moral and wise application of knowledge, learning to be quiet, why technology is only going to take us so far, “crops of merit” and how humility is essential to good development.BiographyDr. Abram Bicksler is the Director of the ECHO Asia Impact Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand. For over 30 years, ECHO has been helping thousands of development workers and organizations around the world to better access vital information and other resources needed to improve food production and security for small farmers and gardeners. Since 2009, the ECHO Asia Impact Center has been equipping and training development workers and organizations in Asia to extend relevant information, techniques, seeds, and information to improve the lives of the poor in Asia. Formerly an Instructor for the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute (ISDSI) in Chiang Mai, Abram spent the past 4 years teaching and facilitating American undergraduate students to learn about sustainable development in the trop

Photo By: Tina RowdenToday’s conversation covered a lot of ground. Listen in as Atom speaks about his approach to understanding the human condition, remorse and reconciliation, national self-determination and the stories he tells.BiographyWith fifteen features and related projects, Egoyan has won numerous prizes at international film festivals including the Grand Prix and International Critics Awards from the Cannes Film Festival, two Academy Award® nominations, and numerous other honours.  His films have won twenty-five Genies – including three Best Film Awards – and a prize for Best International Film Adaptation from The Frankfurt Book Fair.  Egoyan’s films have been presented in numerous retrospectives across the world, including a complete career overview at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, followed by similar events at the Filmoteca Espagnol in Madrid, the Museum of The Moving Image in New York and the Royal CINEMATEK in Brussels.His body of work – which includes theatre, music, and art installations – delv

Wendy talks about shame, guilt, principled pluralism and the walking wounded. She considers how many of us have been socialized to feel disgust for the other and touch on how secrets breed toxicity and ultimately cover up truth and justice.BiographyWendy Gritter, M.Div, D.Min cand. is the author of, “Generous Spaciousness: Responding to Gay Christians in the Church.” She has served as executive director of New Direction Ministries since 2002 and is committed to cultivating generous spaces in Christian community where LGBTQ+ people can explore and grow in faith in Christ.Wendy is married 20 years, a proud mom to three teens and three puppies, enjoys playing strategic board games, and talking films with other movie buffs. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Steve discusses his passion for clean water, prioritization, volunteerism and mentorship. He reminds us that even Ghandi used the media well to further his cause and speaks about the power of one.Check out The Cherry Trees Band initiative and their website and find out more about what Steve’s up to on their Facebook page.And for more info check out this piece in the Globe and Mail and a recent 24 News Article.BiographyStephen J. Mallory “Steve” is CEO of Directors Global Insurance Brokers Ltd., a professional services firm which supplies commercial insurance brokerage and risk management advice to some of Canada’s top performing organizations. D&O insurance and Enterprise-wide risk services are two focuses of Directors Global. In December 2012, Steve was appointed to the Board of Directors of VIA Rail Canada by the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport.He currently Chairs the Governance, Risk and Strategy Committee, sits on the Pension Investment Committee, and leads board risk oversight. Previous