The Connector Next Door with Lisa Gareau

Send us Fan Mail Nita Knapp has lived – and invested her ability to connect – in small rural communities all her life. She grew up in Evansburg, Alberta – a community of 700 people and then “moved up in the world” to a community 1500 people when she moved at 17 to Mayerthorpe, Alberta. In spring of 2021 I met Nita – and fell in love with her heart for people – as we both participated in a communit...

Send us Fan Mail Vanisha Breault is a fighter. We all have our battles in life but Vanisha’s “war on addiction” has come from her fight for survival – for herself, her children, her family and their future. Over the last decade, her fight has gone beyond her own family as now she is on a “tour of duty” in the war on addiction and says, “we can NEVER give up on HOPE! If our kids are above ground, t...

Send us Fan Mail Dawn O’Connor is the founder of Focus Bubbles and the facilitator of connection, community, and productivity! Focus Bubbles is a membership-based virtual coworking platform, supporting knowledge workers to be productive from home or wherever they chose to work. Dawn says, “Hosting Bubbles, and supporting our team of facilitators, is the most gratifying job of my entire career. Eve...

Send us Fan Mail My Life Lessons Part Four & What Inspired Level Four of The Connection Architect Program by Lisa Gareau • Event Marketing Lisa Gareau has lived a life that has both informed and inspired her work as a Connection Strategy Coach. Since founding Candy Event Consulting in 2008, she has helped guide 1000’s of planners and their teams to build more meaningful connections with their...

Send us Fan Mail My Life Lessons Part Three & What Inspired Level Three of The Connection Architect Program by Lisa Gareau • Event Stakeholders Lisa Gareau has lived a life that has both informed and inspired her work as a Connection Strategy Coach. Since founding Candy Event Consulting in 2008, she has helped guide 1000’s of planners and their teams to build more meaningful connections with t...

Send us Fan Mail My Life Lessons Part Two & What Inspired Level Two of The Connection Architect Program by Lisa Gareau • Event Planning   Lisa Gareau has lived a life that has both informed and inspired her work as a Connection Strategy Coach. Since founding Candy Event Consulting in 2008, she has helped guide 1000’s of planners and their teams to build more meaningful connections with their c...

Send us Fan Mail Lisa's Life Lessons and What Inspired Level One of The Connection Architect Certificate Program   Lisa Gareau has lived a life that has both informed and inspired her work as a Connection Strategy Coach. Since founding Candy Event Consulting in 2008, she has helped guide 1000’s of planners and their teams to build more meaningful connections with their customers, clients, and...

Send us Fan Mail Kim Westlund is an Entrepreneur, Speaker, Moderator and Podcast Host who is focused on connecting people with their purpose and helping them tell their unique life and business story. 2021 was a big year for her as she took the leap and launched her new entrepreneurial journey with Channel One Productions along with The Business B-side Podcast !  Kim and I have been good friends f...

Send us Fan Mail On December 24, 2021 my Mom, Mary Bartel, turns 89. Her legacy of connection inspired and influenced my life and work like no other. Mary was the 10th child in a family of 11 kids. Her mom, my Grandma, loved to have guests in their home – no matter if there was food to feed them or a clean couch to sit on. Grandpa was always ready to feed the horses even if surprise guests would v...

Send us Fan Mail On her Linkedin Profile Candace Giesbrecht, CPHR, ACC describes herself as a Remote Performance Coach, Strategic HR Consultant, Mentally Healthy Workplaces Champion, Word Lover, and Community Builder. Candace is the Director of the Remote Performance Academy with Teamit.com , Teamit is the leader in modern talent strategy, helping growth-focused companies recruit, cultivate, and s...

Send us Fan Mail Michelle Hrycauk Nassif is the Founder of I AM A Feminine Leader , helping women “Identify, Articulate, and Embody” their unique feminine leadership style so they can project their leader's voice, transform lived experiences into powerful lessons, and take inspired action – all with the goal of creating a more meaningful lives for themselves and their families. As a stay-at-h...

Send us Fan Mail Skevi Constantinou is a highly experienced former Executive Assistant who is a dream builder and a firm believer that, when in a supportive community, assistants and business support professionals really can level up. Skevi spoke to me from her home in Birmingham, England, UK and shared how connection to her means “community” and her experience of community is clearly the foundati...

Send us Fan Mail Jason Bacon is a coach, consultant, and champion of entrepreneurship. As the founder of Sunstone Strategic he works with startups, side hustlers, and solopreneurs. Sunstone was built with the mission of  'Moving Business Forward'. But it’s not all business for Jason. He’s written a book, called Entrepreneur-ish - Inspiration and Lesson’s in Entrepreneurship from Vikings,...

Send us Fan Mail Joel Olandeca is an Entrepreneur, Business Owner, Event Professional, Event Technology Innovator, and current Chair of Canada’s, International Live Events Association or “ILEA”. Joel is the creator and co-founder of SOS Charging Solutions and SOS Web. AR. SOS is known for providing mobile device charging at events across the globe, but for them it's more than just charging. I...

Send us Fan Mail Elan Marko is the founder of Deep Work Sprints , a virtual coworking world that helps entrepreneurs build a 2hr work day, so they can land more clients and get more work done … all from home! He started his first business when he was 10 years of age and moved on to formal education at the Richard Ivey School of Business.  I first met Elan when I was invited to join his session to...

Send us Fan Mail My good friend Vince is one of those people that, when you start a conversation, you just want to keep going. There is always another idea, thought, or theory to discuss.  Vince has lived a rich life in the military, in sales, and now works as a high performance coach to entrepreneurs. His investment in empowering other coaches has also made him the "coaches coach" as he...

Send us Fan Mail When I think of Tollisha Joseph , I get a smile on my face and the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from the give-and-take of a good relationship.  My new friend from Florida has boundless energy, an appetite for meaningful conversation, and a kindness in making connections that emerges from her core.  Tollisha teaches Founders & CEOs how to master the art of networking to get on...

Send us Fan Mail A couple of years ago I was asked to give a presentation for event planners talking about mental health in the event planning industry. It was a daunting request as the topic was so personal to me but also because I had never felt free to share how the stress of event planning - that we often glorify - became an overwhelming weight, caused periods of breakdown, and created acute f...

Send us Fan Mail  Rivers Corbett was born to be an entrepreneur! As he says on his LinkedIn profile he was fortunate to discover this path in his early twenties and has been pursuing that path ever since. He’s a serial entrepreneur of numerous companies, TEDx speaker, Entrepreneur in Residence for the province of New Brunswick, video author of 13 Fears of Entrepreneurs, host of the Startup Canada...

Send us Fan Mail Jordan Guildford is a small-town Nova Scotian girl who moved to Calgary in 2014. It was getting close to the Christmas holiday – and she had a desire to help make survivors of domestic abuse feel seen. There were many steps that led her to this moment, but on this day she decided to jump in to do something about it. She initiated a jewellery drive – ultimately resulting in hundred...

Send us Fan Mail Sharleen Gatcha is an energy professional with over 25 years of experience in the electricity industry, recently joining Hardline Engineering as the Vice President, Business Development. I first met Sharleen in 2019 when she joined in on one of our Candy community workshops for in-house and do-it-yourself event planners called Planning with Vision : An Event Planners Vision Boardi...

Send us Fan Mail Nancy Milton is an international facilitator and executive coach who has been spearheading her leadership and communication organization, Nancy Milton Inc. , for 13 years.  Based out of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Nancy touches hearts through anything does, but she also puts her head and her hands to her work as well. I was introduced to Nancy a couple of months ago when I was s...

Send us Fan Mail For over a decade, Tanya Koshowski has led the team at Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids as the Executive Director. For 30 years Brown Bagging has inspired Calgarians to take meaningful action by feeding and caring for kids who would otherwise go hungry. As a leader who has walked the path of change and challenge, Tanya now also works to empower other leaders to listen to themselve...

Send us Fan Mail Jay Baydala is a serial entrepreneur with 25 years’ experience in Corporate IT Project Management and is making his mark as a pioneer and thought leader with 18 years in the digital social impact space.  Jay’s enthusiasm to shift the Corporate Social Responsibility landscape led him to create Goodpin 2011, a platform to help companies democratize their CSR efforts and truly engage...

Send us Fan Mail Kyle J. Mason is an experienced award-winning Indigenous Leader, Change Agent, Speaker, and as you will hear today, a natural connector. The son of Indian Residential and Day School Survivors, Kyle grew up in the North End of Winnipeg in a single parent family. They often struggled to make ends meet, for secure housing, and had to make use of food banks and other social programs....