Scott Tannas is a proud Albertan who was born in High River, Alberta where he resides with his wife Taryn. Together, they have four adult children and three grandchildren.

Senator Tannas is the only current Senator (and 5th in Parliament’s history) whose appointment to the Upper Chamber came as the result of a public election process. He was one of 13 candidates in the 2012 Alberta Senator-in-Waiting elections, where he received 349,346 votes and was ultimately appointed to the Senate by The Right Honourable Stephen Harper on March 22, 2013.

He is a founding member and Leader of the Canadian Senators Group. He is making Senate Reform one of his key priorities as a Senator and was a founding member of the Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization, which delivered a series of reports advocating sweeping changes to the operations of the Senate.

Senator Tannas is also a member of the Aboriginal Peoples Committee and the Committee of Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration.

Brian has used his passion to lead and grow organizations. Throughout his career, Brian Desjardins has accumulated a wealth of experience and proven record of success in tourism, recreation, government, and nonprofit sectors to lead and grown organizations. He has been able to experience Canada’s diversity through work and his many experiences, such as living in the Northwest Territories for 15 years. Brian has a strong professional background in marketing and communications, media/public/government relations, fund development, community engagement, financial and human resources management, event planning, and advocacy.

Chucks is a global real estate advisor at Sotheby’s International Realty. A former professional athlete in the Canadian Football league, Chucks has combined his dedication, attention to detail, and commitment to excellence to cater to the real estate needs of discerning individuals and their families globally and in Calgary’s most prestigious neighborhoods. Outside of real estate, Chucks is a board member and co-founder of The Calgary Black Chambers and volunteers as a football coach at Centennial High School.

Dallas Hayes-Sparks is a singer – specializing in opera – from Calgary, Alberta. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia majoring in opera performance and psychology. She is also an honours graduate of the Mount Royal Vocal Academy for Gifted Students. Dallas has been part of two performances at Carnegie Hall in her career and has worked as a singer with Cowtown Opera Company, Theatre Calgary and Arts Commons. Dallas is currently both a Community Ambassador and Chorus member at Calgary Opera Company.

Priscille is a writer, poet, spoken word artist and a teaching artist based in Calgary; she has been writing and performing for over 12 years. She has had the opportunity to be the supporting act and headliner at various popular events in both Calgary and Edmonton. Her versatility and talent have enabled her to perform at a variety of venues such as the 6 Degrees conference, churches, universities, schools, and marketing campaigns such as ATB Listen.

Her distinguished work and style have truly set her apart as a one-of-a-kind artist. Priscille continues to push the envelope with her work that highlights racial injustice like 16 Shots & Seat at The Table. Priscille was part of Arts Common Incubator program in its augural year 2021-2022 an initiative to support multidisciplinary artist and their artistic practice through networking, professional development, mentorship, paid live performance, and exhibition. In addition to her writing and performing, Priscille has expanded her skills to teaching up-and-coming young poets developing their writing techniques and stage performance at Arts common.

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/user/RealtalkPriscilla

Dr. Miriam Sekandi is an ardent educator who uses both her voice and writing, to lovingly impart wisdom into everyone who experiences her presence.

Born and raised in Uganda, she experienced extreme trauma from the community and schools that she attended.

Since moving to Canada 18 years ago to pursue graduate studies, Dr. Miriam made it her life’s work to combat ancestral and generational trauma that gets passed down through families, in the form of unhealthy parenting practices and intercultural disparities.

She facilitates training workshops for individuals, families, communities, visionaries and thought leaders on the intersect of parenting and intercultural education through her consultancy, Break Free Zone.

She has a wealth of experience in community leadership and advocacy and, is currently the Board chair of the Alberta Black Therapists Network. Dr. Miriam holds a PhD in Secondary Education (International and Intercultural Education) from the University of Alberta, and is currently working on her book, “It takes a Village to Raise/Wreck a Child”, which will be out in Summer 2022.

Adetola “aloT of Poetry” Adedipe is a Nigerian-South African poet and spoken word artist. While completing her degree in Kinesiology at The University of Calgary, she explored her love for performance and connecting with the arts community. Working with partners such as: Arts Commons, The Grand Theatre, University of Calgary, and Alberta University of The Arts. Through sharing her laughter and pain, she encourages everyone to listen to the stories of others, love themselves and be unapologetic about it.

Ellie Heath is a champion of arts, local business and community building in Edmonton. She is a founding member of the sketch comedy troupe, Girl Brain, as well as a singer songwriter, copywriter, playwright, producer and all around creative human being. You can find Ellie Heath on Instagram, Tiktok, Spotify and Youtube!

Sandra holds her Master of Arts degree in Leadership and Training from Royal Roads University and was awarded a Doctors in Laws by the University of Winnipeg for her lifelong advocacy for Indigenous Women and Girls.

Sandra is the principal of Northern Sage Consulting which focuses on human and organizational transformation.

Sandra has worked with a wide variety of teachers across different faith traditions. She brings together traditional spiritual wisdom with contemporary insight to co-create transformation in our inner and outer selves.

She is a rights holder with membership in Pimichikamak Cree Nation.

Connor holds a Jazz Performance Degree from the University of Manitoba with a double major in piano and saxophone. He has performed at numerous events including the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, the Downtown Concert Series, the Asper Jazz Series, the Assiniboine Park’s Jazz in the Garden and Summer Concert Series and plays with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra.

Connor is set to release his debut album, produced by Juno nominee Larry Roy.