Kate Ledgley is the Director of Operations at Second Harvest and a very quirky and passionate person. She is in charge of managing our entire direct food delivery program with a small but dedicated staff, and I cannot undersell what a momentous job that is. Kate also has a pretty cool family, so she must…
Guestpost #30: Lillian Jones – Ten things I've learned while working at a First Nations substance abuse – residential school trauma treatment centre
To call my friend Lillian inspirational feels trite. Lillian is a mentor, a person who I strive to be like. She radiates wisdom, positivity, humour, and intelligence. She has managed to raise two wonderful, independent daughters, and I am honoured to know her. She is a teacher, a mother, a friend, and somebody who strips…
Dix choses j’ai appris – Un Petit Update
So, March Guestpost Madness has gone incredibly well with some amazing posts so far, and some more amazing posts to come. In fact, I’ve received so many entries that even posting an entry a day, I will have posts well into April. So please keep them coming! Also, I’ve gussied up the blog a bit.…
Guestpost #29: Naomi Achus – Ten things I’ve learned from living alone in a 6 bedroom house
Naomi is one of my closest friends, a brilliant political genius, and somebody I have insanely hilarious conversations with. She lives in Edmonton, but she should live in Toronto with her equally incredible sister Ruth. Her and her sister are bombshells who make men fall in love with them wherever they go. I know I…
Guestpost #28: Ted Hallett – Ten things I’ve learned from working in restaurants for 15 years of my life
Ted Hallett is a very gifted actor, improviser, teacher, and all around terrific person. I credit his 101 class for reinvigorating my love of improv, and his emphatic teaching style for causing me to take it seriously. Here is his ITC bio: http://www.impatient.ca/people/ted-hallett/ For most actors, the restaurant industry is a common job to…
Guestpost #26: Gareth Manning – Ten things I’ve learned while living in Japan that give me post-disaster optimism
Gareth (or Gary, as I know him), is a friend who I have recently reconnected with. We were close friends in elementary school, but lost touch. Thanks to the miracle of Facebook, we are friends again, and a recent meeting over beers taught me a lot about myself. Gary is a teacher, a traveler, an…
Guestpost #25: Tonia Krauser and (her dog) Oliver – Ten things I’ve learned from my 90 year-old Irish grandmother/Ten things I’ve learned from being a working dog
Tonia Krauser is my friend and colleague and I’m her ride ho (she drives me to work most mornings) and Oliver is her dog. Tonia is a marketing whiz who holds it all together at Second Harvest, and a real party animal. Oliver likes to whiz, and is also a real party animal. Tonia’s grandmother still…
Guestpost #24: Jen Chow – Ten things I've learned from being an Asian Sensation
Jen Chow is my friend, colleague, event-organizing super-star, and all-around hilarious person (or, in her Scarberian parlance, “so jokes”). Jen is also really Chinese, which makes this list all the more funny and curious. It’s true, I can’t lie, most Asians are bad drivers. 97% of the time you encounter a bad driver, they’re Asian!…
Guestpost #23: Josh McNorton – Ten things I’ve learned from playing music
Josh McNorton is one of those guys who is always fun to hang out with in any social situation…a connector. And then he has this deep, poetic side that seems almost jarringly different from his gregarious personality. He’s a character, is what I’m saying…and it all works somehow. He’s worked up and down the music…
Guestpost #22: Farrah Khan – Ten things I’ve learned from being raised a Muslim
Farrah Khan is my roommate, my good friend, and someone I deeply admire. She lives what she believes…not many people can say that. Also, she is dating my other good friend Chris and forces him to follow his dreams. Farrah works for http://www.cape.ca/, and is a critical force in the Canadian environmental movement. A lot…
Guestpost #21: Cameron Algie – Ten things I’ve learned from writing ads
Cameron was one of my improv teachers, and he is without a doubt one of the best and funniest improvisers I know. Cameron Algie is a member of Standards & Practices, and if you don’t know about S&P, you’d better aks (sic) somebody. Here is his ridiculous bio on the ITC website: Cameron has studied…
Guestpost #20: Meghan Telpner – Ten Things I’ve Learned From Healing An Incurable Disease
Official Bio: Meghan Telpner, Certified Nutritionist and Chief Love Maker of her blog Making Love In The Kitchen, delivers a refreshingly realistic approach to nutrition and healthy living. Based in Toronto, Meghan is the director of The Love In The Kitchen Academy cooking school as well as Nourish Your Soul Holidays, leading healthy living retreats…
Guestpost #19: Jen Littlewood – Ten things I learned from “suffering” from English repression
Jen is a terrific performer and an extremely funny person in an understated (read: British) way. Here is her bio: Jen has lived in Wakefield, Nottingham, London, Chicago, and Toronto. She has worked in a theatre, a bar, a strip club (not in that way), another theatre, another bar, a bedroom/office space, an improv theatre,…
Guestpost #18: Rosie Driscoll – Ten things I've learned from travelling with my parents
Rosie Driscoll is a long-time friend from high-school, and she also happens to be a rising star in Toronto’s arts scene, having worked with The Banff Arts Centre, Canadian Stage, Luminato, and (currently) with the CBC. She’s a musician, a stage manager, and a “connector”. She has no blog to speak of…but probably should. Memories…
Guestpost #17: Eran Norton – Ten things I’ve learned from seeing a shrink
Eran is my friend from UBC. She is relentlessly positive, which is a good counterpoint to all the relentless negativity out there, and she’s a great writer. Here’s her bio: About Eran: Eran Norton is a 31-year old gal from Vancouver, Canada, who blogs about learning to live her life out loud at Ms. New…
Guestpost #16: John Lepp and Jen Love, Agents of Good – Ten things we’ve learned from being Agents of Good
John and Jen are two incredible fundraising and marketing professionals who I have the honour of working with at Second Harvest. They have kicked our direct mail program and website development into hyperdrive, and I really can’t recommend them enough. Plus, they are awesome and opinionated people. Here is their website: http://www.agentsofgood.org/ and here is…