Tamara Taggart is a community leader, activist, veteran broadcaster, cancer survivor, mother, and nomination candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in Vancouver-Kingsway. With a broadcasting career spanning 28 years in television, radio, and digital media, Tamara has also focused two decades’ of volunteer efforts on health care and the well-being of children and people with disabilities. Since 2014, she has also chaired the BC Cancer Foundation’s Inspiration Gala, raising more than $15 million for cancer research and treatment in British Columbia.

In 2015 Tamara was awarded the Order of BC–the highest honour awarded by the Government of British Columbia–in recognition of her years of public service. In 2014, Tamara delivered a keynote lecture at TEDxSFU entitled Two Conversations that Changed My Life, which compared how doctors negatively told her about her baby’s Down syndrome yet were positive and encouraging when they delivered her cancer diagnosis. This talk struck a chord with medical professionals and universities around the world, and has been viewed more than 360,000 times. She and her husband Dave have three children— son Beckett and daughters Zoë and Poppy. They also share their home with George their Airedale Terrier, Penelope their rescue dog from Mexico, and rescue cats Broccoli and Brussel Sprout.

Jocelyn Macdougall is a queer femme settler living, loving and working on unceded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh territories. She delights in bringing together groups of interesting, committed and passionate people for meaningful, brave conversations. She values equity and inclusion as foundational, and believes that getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is a necessary skill in today’s world. Jocelyn believes the arts are a price-of-admission component of a sane, healthy society, and is lucky enough to sing with Vancouver’s hottest funk and Motown band, Queer As Funk.

Ruby Smith Díaz was born to Chilean and Jamaican parents in Edmonton- Amiskwacîwâskahikan and graduated from the University of Alberta with a degree in Education with distinction.  Since graduating, she has found her passion working as a youth facilitator, multi-disciplinary artist, community organizer, and body positive personal trainer, She is the owner and founder of Tierra Negra Arts, and Autonomy Fitness, and is currently facilitating her first pilot of “Still Here: Black Histories & Futures in BC” workshop series in schools.

Ruby has been featured Harsha Walia’s book, Undoing Border Imperialism, and Nora Samaran’s book Turn this World Inside Out.  Her writing and art has also been featured in Briarpatch Magazine,The Peak,  as well as numerous academic journals under the topic of global citizenship.

Ruby’s experiences of marginalization as a youth has inspired her to dedicated her work to exploring difficult topics around issues of inclusion. Her combination of empathy, creativity and receptivity has made her a meaningful source of support for youth across the country, and has inspired many of her artistic projects around topics of inclusion and identity , through the use of art and popular education. Most of all, she is invested in helping individuals develop the sense of self-worth and integrity that will make them agents and animators of change in the world, according to their most passionate, fiery and generationally-poignant imaginings.

Tree is a mover, shaker and groover who has been a teacher, leader and facilitator of dance for over 19 years. Her mission is to inspire people of all ages to live more joyfully by encouraging them to enthusiastically express their essence through movement

Kirsten Sharp is a storyteller, athlete and activist who is challenging biases and stereotypes about people with disabilities. At the age of 14, Kirsten broke her back while skiing, injuring her spinal cord and leaving her paralyzed from the chest down. This injury never stopped her from fully living her life – in fact, it did the opposite – it propelled her to make a difference. 

Kirsten has a degrees in business administration and psychology from Simon Fraser University and a diploma from BCIT in Broadcast Media Communications: television production. She has worked for CTV, Global TV, Roundhouse Radio as a host and is currently a project manager in the video game industry at Electronic Arts.

 In her free time, Kirsten travels the world competing on the wheelchair tennis circuit. She has hosted a YouTube Show called SCI BC TV dedicated to eliminating stereotypes surrounding the disabled community. She is a Rick Hansen Ambassador, and also devotes time to helping peers get their lives back after their own injuries as a mentor with Spinal Cord Injury BC .

Kirsten is fuelled by creating connections and helping people and is always willing to try what inspires her at least once! 

Tsitsayxemaat, Rebecca Duncan, is of Squamish and Musqueam descent of the Coast Salish Peoples. Rebecca has devoted her life to preserve the Squamish Language, Salish weaving and Cultural teachings that have been handed down to her from her late Papa and his Papa and so on and so on since the beginning of time.

Rebecca specializes in cultural activities including Language Games (TPR), Traditional Song & Dance, Traditional Cooking, Weaving, Traditional Health & Wellness, Indigenous History and Storytelling.

Rebecca has performed worldwide promoting Language and Culture, representing Coast Salish people and practicing protocols with Song and Dance sharing history with storytelling and weaving workshops to empower our people.

No matter where you are from, it is so important to know your history, your culture, and your ties to the land. U Siyam.

Since her daughter – Tru Wilson – came out as transgender at the age of 9, Michelle Wilson has become an avid advocate for trans rights. Michelle and her husband Garfield filed a human rights complaint against the semi-private catholic school their children were attending, when the school refused to support their daughter’s transition. Two years later the complaint resulted in the first-known policy in North America that supported gender identity and expression in a Catholic school. Since then, Michelle and her family continue to speak publicly about their story and the importance of supporting your children

Bonnie Soon has served as artistic director of Uzume Taiko since 1999. She incorporates choreography and theatrical elements with the festival drumming style of Japan to create new work for taiko drums often in collaborations with musicians and artists from diverse cultures and art forms. She builds taiko drum gear and leads taiko workshops and artist residencies in schools and communities. Bonnie began her performing career as a dancer touring with Paula Ross and Kokoro Dance companies and Snake in the Grass Moving Theatre. She has professional credits in stage management and has worked in media production.