TEDxWest Vancouver Women

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Amitis Nate

  Elite Fitness, Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach

  Amitis Nate is a professional bodybuilder, fitness coach, and founder of Iron Transform Factory and GuiltlessSweet, where she has helped hundreds of people develop a ‘Winner Mindset’ alongside their fitness goals. With over a decade of experience training women, she brings both professional expertise and hard-won personal insight to the intersection of body image, mental resilience, and lasting confidence.

• Diana Dinh

  Financial Strategist, Mom of 4, Community Builder

  Diana Dinh is a licensed financial strategist and founder of Mama Masterminds, a community bringing entrepreneurial mothers together across Greater Vancouver. She helps women protect, grow, and transfer wealth in ways that create stability for their families and future generations. A mother of four, she built her finance career while raising young children, proving that motherhood and professional growth aren't opposing forces.

• Dr. Melissa Barnett

  Doctor of Optometry, Global Educator, Certified Life Coach

  Dr. Melissa Barnett is a doctor of optometry and is globally recognized as a speaker and author on specialty contact lenses. Additionally, she earned her credentials through the International Coaching Federation as a professional certified life coach. She is energized by her passion for helping people improve their lives by optimizing their vision, health, and wellness with a customized approach. The synergy in her roles comes by translating evidence-based science and mindful leadership principles into practical, empowering strategies that help individuals and eyecare professionals thrive.

• Dr. Tahia Devisscher

  Social-Ecological Scientist & Nature Immersion Guide

  Tahia Devisscher is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, where she directs the RISE Lab and leads research on social-ecological resilience in urban and peri-urban landscapes. A PhD from Oxford and a decade of research with the Stockholm Environment Institute and three United Nations agencies have shaped a body of work that spans more than 20 countries, exploring how urban forests sustain human wellbeing and strengthen climate resilience. Tahia is also a certified forest therapy guide whose practice brings her academic research to life through embodied experience.

• Elaine Zhang

  Registered Dietitian, YouTuber

  Elaine Zhang is a Registered Dietitian, clinic founder, and media dietitian based in Vancouver, working at the intersection of nutrition science and mental health. With a decade of clinical experience, she integrates evidence-based dietetics with counselling psychology to support sustainable change in her clients’ eating habits. She is also the creator behind the YouTube channel @elainedietitian, where she shares practical recipes, evidence-based nutrition guidance, and insights into the psychology of eating.

• Espanda Ghorbannia

  Agency Founder, Luxury Brand Strategist

  Espanda Ghorbannia is the founder and CEO of Convoy Communications, a Vancouver-based luxury brand experience and partnerships agency with a global footprint. With a distinguished background in the luxury goods sector, she designs intentional brand experiences and partnerships that endure. Her work is grounded in longevity, relevance, and community.

• Fei Ma

  Relationship Coach, Content Creator

  Fei is a professional life coach who works with individuals navigating life's major transitions: mothers, teenagers, couples, and anyone rebuilding a sense of purpose after change. She is also a content creator whose videos have found a wide audience drawn to her message of continued growth, reinvention, and staying connected to oneself.

• Hazel Lord

  Operational Design & Culture Strategist

  Hazel Lord is the founder of Pearl Operational Design, a Toronto-based consultancy that helps mission-driven organizations convert strategy into operational reality. A chemical engineer by training with an MBA, she began her career designing manufacturing systems before bringing that systems thinking into organizations, workflows, and culture. She was awarded the 2023 Canadian Black Entrepreneur of the Year.

• Melanie Mark

  First Nations trailblazer & former B.C. cabinet minister.

  HLI HAYKWHL ẂII XSGAAK, Melanie Mark is a trailblazing Nisga'a, Gitxsan, Cree and Ojibway matriarch and the first First Nations woman to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 2016. She is also the inaugural First Nations woman to serve in BC’s Cabinet as the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training (2017- 2020) and later as the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport (2020-2022). Mark has been disrupting the status quo throughout the nonprofit sector, public service, as an elected official and entrepreneur for the past three decades. In 2024 she was the recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal. Mark is a passionate advocate for education, sport, culture and clean tech and has an unwavering belief that we can and must “Paddle Together” to implement the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

• Morgan Browne

  Real Estate Founder, Business Leader & Podcast Host

  Morgan is the CEO and Founder of Oakwyn Realty in Vancouver, host of Get On Top, and a speaker known for building high-performance businesses while empowering women and entrepreneurs.

• Shivani Agarwal

  Trauma Therapist and Professor

  Shivani Agarwal is a trauma therapist and educator helping people build emotionally safe relationships with others and themselves. As the founder of the Centre for Self-Discovery, she runs international mental health campaigns and trains the practitioners working alongside her in the emotional trenches of this work. Her advocacy in emotional intelligence, trauma recovery, and human connection spans cultures and continents.

• Stacie Laskin

  Entrepreneur, Poet, Transformation Coach

  Stacie spent years as an infrastructure executive building her career in male-dominated industries from real estate development to construction. As the "Queen of Steel," she operated solo, doing everything herself, driven by an "I can do it all" mentality. After a pivotal crisis, she made the courageous decision to step away from the corporate world entirely. Today, Stacie lives a completely reimagined life. She maintains a daily spiritual practice, leads a global online community through West Coast Sadhana, creates and shares poetry, and facilitates retreats. Her journey is characterized by openness, heart-centered living, and a shift from masculine-driven isolation to feminine collaboration and grace.

• Victoria Pippo

  Performance & Leadership Mentor

  Victoria Pippo is a leadership mentor and speaker who works with high-performing women navigating burnout, pressure, and emotional overload. Drawing from her background in performance and leadership coaching, she brings a practitioner's understanding of what it actually takes to build sustainable rhythms without sacrificing ambition or responsibility.