Houston Speakers:
Calgary
Our Calgary Talented Teachers & Volunteers
Gareth Bane
Jenny Miller
Jordyn Slominsky
Karen Hinton
Karen Judge
Kristin Boettger
Parker Shaw-Bane
Richard Wilkinson
Toni Snyder
Featured Volunteer
Amy has been involved in the the childbirth community in Calgary since 1999 as a birth educator, a pre and postnatal yoga teacher, teacher trainer, doula and friend. Her experiences with new parents and babies lent her insight when her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2012 and she took on another role, that of caregiving to a loved one with dementia.
Amy and her husband moved in with her parents in Nebraska in 2016 to help her dad and other family members caregive for her mom. Two and a half years of sharing caregiving in home, and the last six months of her mom's life in a wonderful dementia care facility, Amy has gleaned perspective through her loss and grief. She also has a strong belief that community and relationship are the deepest, most meaningful ways of finding and feeling support.
Amy and her sister Ann wrote about their journey through the last year and a half of their mom's life in nine issues of a "Zine" for conscious caregivers. The "In It" zine was part of their process and attempt to share and normalize their experiences. Using caregiving and their beautiful, sad and challenging experiences with their mom as a portal to a deeper understanding of themselves, they have shared with hundreds of other caregivers a sense of connection, solidarity, and love.
Amy and Melissa met on a path of healing through smiles and swimming, and share the gift of teaching others in a widespread yoga community. They discovered more parallels in their lives as their friendship blossomed, including a deep desire to share these gifts with caregivers. Amy considers it an honour to be the "team leader" and volunteer coordinator of the Calgary.
"I’ve never had a volunteering experience where I felt so nourished, so cared for and so refreshed at the end of the day! I was happy to help, but really didn’t expect to receive so much from the experience. Met so many good people, learned a lot, gained a new perspective on aging and was simply reminded of how good it feels to be a part of something where people are simply experiencing support and the company of others as we all take time to care for ourselves. Not to mention that all your organizing was done with such heart and skill and generosity."
-Kristin, Artist & Art Therapist and Calgary Volunteer
Houston
Our Houston Talented Teachers & Volunteers
Ada Liaw-Martinez
Aline Houston
Amy O'Conner
Ashley Maltz
Beth Reese
Bev Fanarof
Blanca Luna-Zillner
Brittany Ann Pires
Cara Miller
Chris Webb
Cynthia Dehlavi
Felicia Gilbert
G.J. Hodson
Heather Gette
Hope Willis
Jackie Rowan
Janett Gutierrez
Jennifer Plessner
Jessica Willburn Trione
Julie Marzetti Taylor
Justine Fanarof
Kat Steele
Kathi Crawford
Kim George
Kristine Flaherty
Larry Thraen
Leila-Scott M. Price
Leslie Lowry
Leslie Marchand
Marlo Payne
Mary Kathryn LeMaster
Matthew Paradise
Melissa Smith Wilkinson
Mo Hendrix
Nathalia Obara
Nicola Cowburn
Richard Wilkinson
Sacha Finnis Goolsby
Shelby Cefaratti
Stephanie Niemeyer
Warren Andrade
Wilma Schindeler
Kathryn Watson