Born just outside Edmonton, Erin Holowach and her husband Travis are the minds behind ComFree, which is a name well-known by anyone involved in Edmonton real estate in the early 2000's. Nowadays, Erin and Travis run its spiritual successor, homeFree, and are bringing fully supported private sales back to the real estate market.

In 2009, in an attempt to take ComFree to the national level, the pair entered into a merger- which unfortunately had disastrous results. Other shareholders had different plans for the company, bringing an end to ComFree and leaving Erin and Travis reeling.

Over the next 12 years, in search of a new business plan, Erin and Travis became full-time entrepreneurs. As it turns out, real estate was their specialty: they were involved in quite a few startups, investments and mergers, culminating in the creation of homeFree. In Erin's own words from her biography, she also "Continues to be involved in multiple entrepreneurs’ organizations, leadership summits and business coaching, helping other leaders and entrepreneurs grow and operate their business to their fullest potential."

To learn more about Erin, follow her on LinkedIn or Facebook. Also, if you're considering buying or selling a property anytime soon, check out homeFree for all your real estate needs.

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Joanna Griffiths is the Founder and President of Knix and Kt by Knix the direct-to-consumer intimate apparel brands reinventing intimates for real life. Since launching the company in 2013, Joanna has built Knix into one of the fastest-growing intimate apparel brands globally. Through a focus on impact work and product innovation the brand is on a mission to empower people to be unapologetically free. 

Joanna holds multiple patents and helped invent the leakproof underwear category which is pacing to become a billion dollar category and has changed the lives of millions of people around the world. 

Joanna broke the Canadian record for the largest publicly disclosed sale of a private company by a female founder when Swedish health and hygiene Giant Essity purchased 80% of Knix valuing the company at just over half a billion dollars. Always one to push for greater change when asked about the record Joanna said she “hopes it is a title she holds for a short period of time and can’t wait to cheer on whoever holds it next.”  

Joanna's long list of accolades includes being named Waterstone's Most Admired CEO and an AdWeek Women Trailblazer. Recently she was named the national winner for EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award and will go on to represent Canada for the global title in June. Joanna holds an MBA with Distinction from INSEAD, sits on the board of Futurpreneur Canada and released her first book “Life After Birth” via globally renowned publisher Rizzoli in 2021. 

For more on Joanna and Knix, visit their website, or follow Joanna on Instagram and Twitter.

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Dr. John Demartini is a polymath and a world-renowned human behavior expert. His work has been described by students as the "most comprehensive body of work", "an extensive library of wisdom".

Dr. John Demartini's mission and vision is to share knowledge and wisdom that empowers you to become a master of your own life and destiny.

He's an internationally published author, a global educator and the founder of the Demartini Method, a revolutionary tool in modern psychology.

His education curriculum ranges from corporate empowerment programs, financial empowerment strategies, self-development programs, relationship solutions and social transformation programs. His teachings start at the core of the issue, addressing the human factor and range out to a multitude of powerful tools that have proven the test of time. He has studied over 30,000 books across all the defined academic disciplines and has synthesized the wisdom of the ages which he shares on stage in over 100 countries.

His teachings are the synthesis of knowledge and wisdom from the greatest minds through history and his curriculum is designed to help you empower and inspire all 7 areas of your life.

For more on Dr. Demartini, including information on how to purchase Dr. Demartini's courses, click here to visit his website.

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Come and listen to a story about how a group of talented experts have developed a credit card sized kit that can save people who are having a heart attack.

About half of adult Canadians have at least one risk factor for a heart attack; diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, family history over the age of 55. One third of those of Canadians who have a heart attack will die before they get to medical attention. James Stewart, an engineer, says he’s had “friends and relatives who have died of a heart attack. So that's been my motivation right from the beginning. I've used to carry ASA and nitroglycerin in a baggie and I've carried this in my emergency kit for a long time. And it wasn't until somebody who came with me on one of these snowmobiling excursions actually mentioned to me, ‘What are those pills you have in your emergency kit?’. And I said, ‘Well, that's ASA and Nitroglycerin’. And the fellow was studying nursing at Grant McEwen College, and he told me that, ‘Hey, those nitroglycerin pills, they will have expired. And I said, ‘Well, what do you mean?’ He said, ‘Well, nitroglycerin reacts with air and light and layers itself on plastic and metal. So those pills you're packing probably hold no potency’."

Stewart did some research and learned that this was all true. He needed to invent a packaging that would be stable so as to ensure that the medication remains stable for a long period of time.Stewart called up his friend, a renowned oncologist, Dr. John Mackey and the idea resonated with him too. Together, Stewart and Mackey came up with the idea of a heart attack card called SmHeartCard. It is a credit-card sized pill holder designed to save the lives of people who are having a heart attack. It holds 4ASA (81mg) and 3 Nitroglycerin (0.3 mg) pills, the standard medications given for the initial treatment of heart attack and angina.With the help of Dr. Neil Davies, a pharmacist who did the testing of the heart attack card, they proved that the pills can be stored safely for six months in the heart attack card.

Learn more about the SMHeartCard at the Festival of Health on May 25. Mackey will discuss his work on the project during the Rapid Fire Presentations from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

Register here for your free ticket

Edmonton Clinic Health Academy 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

North Campus, University of Alberta

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Trigger Warning: This episode talks in depth about suicide.

Kyle has lived in the Edmonton area his entire life and has been dedicated to working with youth for over 30 years. Kyle has been with YOUCAN Youth Services since 2002. In that time, YOUCAN Youth Services has grown from a one-person office, to being a leading organization in youth work and transitional youth employment programming. Kyle loves working for YOUCAN Youth Services because it is an organization that works very hard at assisting young people to get out and stay out of harm’s way. Kyle is proud that our agency helps youth build lifelong skills that enable them to maintain safe and healthy lifestyles leading them to economic independence. Kyle loves his family, his friends, hockey, U2, and of course every youth that walks through the doors of YOUCAN Youth Services.

In this week's episode, Kyle shares the heart-wrenching story of losing his son, Luke, to suicide two years ago. His is an incredibly vulnerable, honest, important perspective in which we can learn about grief literacy, the process of grieving, the community's rally of support, and how every aspect of Kyle's life will be forever changed. We please ask that you give space for this story as it's an incredibly important one that we can all learn from and at its core, it's one of the most emotional episodes of The Inner Circle to date.

Kyle is the host and creator of The Relentless Podcast, which can be streamed anywhere you listen to podcasts.

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After many calls to coaches across Western Canada to give Tyler a chance to play Junior A, he reached out to an old Bronco Trevor Posch and told him to put in a good word with Coach Darcy for him.

Fast forward a couple days and Tyler packed his vehicle and made the 6-hour trek to Humboldt from Leduc. Darcy was the only coach that gave him a chance.

Tyler instantly knew this team was special. A group of good hockey players and also good people thanks to Darcy and his team of coaches and staff. Being able to live with Paul and Nancy Jefferson made things that much better. A welcoming home that feels like a 2nd home to Tyler now. A few months later brought his new billet brother and ex-teammate Parker Tobin into the Jefferson home with him. A special bond in that home they had. This podcast shares the story of the spirit of the team, how the crash has affected all aspects of Tyler's life, and how it sparked a need in him to share his mental struggles and be an advocate for mental health.

Now, Tyler is in his 4th and final semester of school for Television Broadcasting. Tyler doesn’t know where his future will take him, but seems to have found a passion for mental health advocacy. He has recently moved to Calgary with his girlfriend Katrina and plans to continue to take things one day at a time.

He's also been hard at work at advocacy, public speaking, and clothing ventures; Not Alone Co., Tyler's collective, has one ultimate goal: to help initiate those tough, meaningful conversations around something that gets far too overlooked - your mental health. At Not Alone, they aim to create a space of acceptance, support and awareness and created comfy loungewear to represent that. 

The team at Not Alone is devoted to ensuring that a community and culture of individuals is created in order to facilitate a space of vulnerability, courage, bravery and ultimately acceptance. This is something we want to be about you. You matter. We care about you. And we are here to remind you that you are never alone in all that you are struggling through. 

Click here to visit the Not Alone website.

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Meg is the CEO of Unsilenced. She is a survivor of Chrysalis and Intermountain Children's Hospital, where she spent a combined total of 3 1/2 years of her life. After graduating from Carroll College with a Bachelors in psychology, and has spent the last 15 years dedicating her life to philanthropy, Board development and recruitment, and helping nonprofits develop and expand to further their impact. She brings an extensive background in nonprofit management, Board development, and fund development. She is currently the Vice President, Trustee and Managing Director at the Gochnauer Foundation. In addition, she is actively involved with and serves on the Board of Directors at the Lalich Center For Cults and Coercion, and The Shea Center in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

Previous Boards she has served on include: The Wooden Floor (Santa Ana, CA), Carroll College Anthrozoology Program (Helena, MT), Art With Impact (San Francisco, CA), and Equest (Wylie, TX). Meg now resides in San Juan Capistrano, CA with her husband and four children.

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"I spent much of my life tutoring and mentoring children in French. When I became a mother of two young boys, I began putting together plans on how I wanted them to learn French from birth onwards. This ignited a spark in me to offer it to other families who were seeking extra support within their children’s education.

I was brought up in Edmonton, Alberta learning both English and French in tandem, since birth. I attended french schooling my entire life. I took what I learned in grade school, and put it towards achieving my Bachelor of Arts degree from the Campus St.Jean/University of Alberta. Following, I earned my professional diploma in Public Relations. Any program that involved extensive writing, I signed up for it. Language Arts has always been a deep rooted passion of mine.

I am so humbled by the amazing community of teachers, instructors, parents, and students that have entrusted me with their educational experiences! I continue to learn from our community, to keep optimizing what we offer. I look forward to continuing to grow our amazing Tutor Teach community."

Lara Courtepatte offers genuine connection alongside helping students through these unprecedented times that have caused some academic and social setbacks through her company, TutorTeach. With over 100 instructors, they have an enormous range of classes to offer from grade 10 math to sewing skills to help students excel at whatever subject with which they're struggling. The company came to be very naturally, and it's all thanks (or no thanks) to the teacher Lara had in grade 6 that changed her forever. Listen to the full story in this week's episode of The Inner Circle! For more info on TutorTeach, visit tutorteach.ca.

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Marty Forbes is an incredibly accomplished media personality; a 52 year veteran of marketing, media, and digital consulting, Marty has countless stories from his career, his life, and memories that come along with the name Forbes. His accomplishments and wise words make for a memorable instalment of The Inner Circle. Join us in relishing the greatness that is Marty Forbes!

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Heather Chauvin is an author, speaker, life coach, mother, and all-around incredible human with a powerful message for this week's podcast. Heather goes into detail about her stage 4 cancer diagnosis, how it caused a powerful revelation in her, and how to unlock that potential within yourself without first having to receive devastating news. From Heather's own words:

"I tried desperately to make sure my kids were happy and kept telling myself, “It’s only a phase - this will get better with time,” all while continuing to pour from an empty cup at the expense of myself.

The internal pressure I felt spilled out into my whole life. I was a tense and exhausted mom, partner, businesswoman, and friend.

In the end, spinning my wheels almost killed me.

A year after my youngest son was born I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and the illusion of control I held so tightly to came crashing down.

In the blink of an eye I saw just how far away I was from living a life I actually wanted. I knew I couldn’t keep living the same way if I wanted to experience real joy and fulfillment.

As the chemo dripped into my body, I decided that I didn’t just want to survive. I wanted to FEEL ALIVE.

I consciously began to reparent myself and say no to my old excuses. What happened next blew me away.

I started noticing a shift in my children’s behavior. I saw greater success in my business. My health began to improve. My relationships grew more connected.

Don’t make the same mistake I did. Don’t wait for an unexpected diagnosis to wake you up to making the changes in your life you’ve put on the backburner.

You are WORTHY of feeling good, NOW."

For more info on Heather and where to find her book, courses, and much more, visit her website.

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Stylist Carla Buchberger, a longtime friend of the podcast, joins the Inner Circle once again to chat about all things fashion. From trends, to body types, to sizing and more, Carla deep-dives into how to make a great, sensible outfit, and what makes a closet truly functional.

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