The Ampersand - Unplugged

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to The Ampersand: Unplugged! We're thrilled to be back after a hiatus, and let us tell you, these past few months have been quite the journey. In this episode, we're excited to finally reveal what we've been up to lately! This season, we're diving deep into candid conversations with both our clients and candidates. It's all about revealing the...

Send us Fan Mail In this season finale episode, we take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey we've had during Season 3, where we dove deep into the world of ESG and its profound importance in today's business landscape. From exploring sustainability initiatives to discussing ethical investing and corporate social responsibility, it's been a season filled with eye-opening in...

Send us Fan Mail As we draw the curtains on another enlightening season of The Ampersand: Unplugged, join us for a special wrap-up episode with Christy Elliott, SVP, Sustainability, External Affairs & General Counsel at Keyera. Together, Christy and our co-hosts dive deep into the world of ESG strategy and overall business sustainability. Throughout this season, we've explored the intrica...

Send us Fan Mail As we begin to close this season off, we have Matt Mayer, Founder of Arete Initiative, an organization whose mission is to help people and organizations live up to their highest potential through strategy, innovation and organizational excellence. The clients and initiatives that Arete works with are driven by realizing a sustainable future for people, planet and profit, and Arete...

Send us Fan Mail In an era marked by the pressing need for sustainable practices and environmental stewardship, the significance of Indigenous relations in the realm of ESG cannot be overstated.  Join us in this enlightening episode with the Vice President, External Affairs at Pembina Pipeline Corporation, Sarah Schwann, as we delve into the profound intersection of Indigenous communities, corpora...

Send us Fan Mail In this eye-opening episode of our podcast, we delve deep into the realm of Environmental, Social, and Governance practices in the marketing world, with a special focus on the importance of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion within this framework. Join us as we explore how these three essential pillars are interwoven and crucial in shaping the future of responsible marketing. Our gu...

Send us Fan Mail In this thought-provoking episode, our co-hosts delve into the captivating realm of the legal profession and explore the pressing issue of equity, diversity, and inclusion within the Canadian legal sphere with Dr. Kellinde Wrightson, Executive Director of The Foreign-Trained Lawyers Program for the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary.  Our focus? The experiences of foreign...

Send us Fan Mail In this edition of The Ampersand: Unplugged, co-hosts Kiara Marika and Adam Pekarsky sit down with Sol Zia, the Executive Director of the Calgary Hotel Association. The discussion again focuses on our Season 3 topic of ESG, this time through the lens of the Tourism and Hospitality sector. While the sector has returned to form following two very difficult Covid years, the impact of...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we embark on a journey into the heart of the ESG framework, shining a spotlight on the crucial environmental & governance aspects. Join us as we dive deep into the intricate web of sustainability, uncovering the pivotal role it plays in shaping the future of our communities and businesses.  Alan Ross, Managing Partner at one of Canada’s largest and oldest law f...

Send us Fan Mail *Disclaimer* We were having some technical difficulties with our audio on the day we recorded this episode, so please bear with us while you tune in for a really interesting conversation. We appreciate your patience!* In this edition of The Ampersand: Unplugged ,  co-hosts Kiara Marika and Adam Pekarsky sit down with longtime friend of Adam’s, and of the firm, Alex MacWilliam, the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with the esteemed Dean of the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, Ian Holloway. In addition to being a long time friend of the firm and Adam's boss in Adam's capacity as a sessional instructor at U of C, Ian is a great story teller and scholar. Our discussion is wide ranging and talks about university campuses and...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged, we sit down with Chad Aboud, former General Counsel and Law Firm lawyer who now focuses his immense energy and passion into helping other lawyers uncover their natural traits and skills so that they are more successful and feel happier in their careers. A gifted and articulate speaker, Chad’s passion for helping others comes through in...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , our first official podcast of Season 3, we sit down with Rosa Rivero  from Responsibility Matters for a primer on all things ESG. Think of it as ESG 101, a great level-set for the season ahead where our focus will be on the emerging topic of Environment, Social, and Governance as it impacts organizations public and private, large and s...

Send us Fan Mail We are back!! In this brief teaser episode, co-hosts Adam and Kiara hint at the season to come, our new theme music debuts and the usual hilarity ensues. Tune in to find out what to expect in the season ahead! Want to stay connected with us? Follow us on our  LinkedIn !

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , we visit with our very own Kate Spencer for a highly enjoyable conversation about her role at our firm, how she arrived at Pekarsky & Co. after having known Adam for 25 years. We share stories about the firm, Kate’s views on equity, diversity and inclusion and have a proper conversation about Taylor Swift. As you can easily tell fr...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , we sit down with Pekarsky & Co.’s newest hire, Shannon Leo. Shannon will be leading and building the Toronto office of Pekarsky & Co. She listened to all of our podcasts as part of her due diligence on us; now’s your chance to listen to Shannon and learn about her background, her move out of law and her decision to join our hum...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , we were honoured to be joined by Wes Hall, Founder of the BlackNorth Initiative, Dragon and Founder of Kingsdale Advisors; and Dr. Chika Onwuekwe, Vice President, Legal, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Trican Well Services and ENMAX Board Member.  Join us as Wes and Chika share their very personal immigrant stories, Wes from...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with Susan Reckseider, Director of Interpretation at Heritage Park and Cheryl Foggo, Canadian author, documentary film director, screenwriter and playwright. We dive into a fascinating conversation about history, generally, and black history in Alberta, specifically. Where we’ve been, where we’re headed and why it all matters...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , we sit down with Deborah Yedlin, President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Deborah shares with us her views on why “silence is violence,” why you can never take no for an answer and the irrevocable gift of education. We talk about breaking the “pale, stale and male” stereotype as both a Chamber and as a city and we talk abo...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged, Kiara and Adam sit down with two of Canada's most respected and oldest professional services firms and their leaders. Brian Thiessen, Managing Partner of the law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and Kent Kaufield, EY Canada's ESG Markets Leader & Chief Sustainability Officer join the Pod to talk about all things EDI. They...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , we sit down with two incredible women – Beba Svigir, CEO of the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association and Shannon Doram, CEO of the YMCA Calgary – to unpack the very du jour and critically important topic of diversity, equity and inclusion. We discuss diversity as a state of mind. We dissect what it means to feel included versus truly...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, co-hosts Kiara Marika and Adam Pekarsky discuss their plans for the season ahead as well as look back at the lessons learned from their inaugural season of hosting The Ampersand: Unplugged .  A candid conversation where Kiara puts her boss on the hot seat about returning to work, and the two have a funny, honest conversation about the season ahead and even sprinkl...

Send us Fan Mail In this, our final episode of Season One of The Ampersand: Unplugged, our co-hosts, Kiara Marika and Adam Pekarsky spill the tea on what worked, what didn’t, how Podcasts are made and their plans for Season 2. This at times giddy second-take recording of our big finale is a must listen as Adam and Kiara compare life in Alberta to the Lord of the Flies, opine on the art of being a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with another member of the Pekarsky & Co. team, Client Partner, Erin Dand. We have a great chat about growing up on a farm outside a small village in Saskatchewan, heading to the "big city" (of Kindersley!) for school, chores on the farm, getting into trouble, and much more. We sort of geek out on what the whole...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with Mayoral candidate, Jan Damery. Jan, presently on leave from her role with the YW of Calgary, is seeking the Mayor's chair after a lifetime of involvement in political and community matters. We have a wide-ranging discussion about the pros and cons of being an outsider, how Jan's life experiences have prepared h...