bLUTalks

Dr Gary Sprouse, better known as the Less Stress Doc is a primary care physician. While treating his patients physical symptoms, he realized he needed to address their psychological needs too. When he retired from his private practice, his goal of helping patients be healthier and happier was unchanged. He merely went from a stethoscope to a book. His book has won gold medal awards. Just this year, Dr Sprouse won the prestigious International Stevie Award for lifetime achievement for his work to help his community have more access to health care. Everyone has been touched by the difficult problem of addiction. And the problem is getting worse. Dr Gary Sprouse is a award winning primary care physician. In his private practice, he treated over 100 patients with heroin addiction. The general success of addiction treatment is only 20%. He wanted to do better. He had written an award winning book on stress management and that led to his revolutionary idea about the real cause for addiction. He developed a new model called the Stress Reducer Loop model. Using this model with his patients, he was able to get a 95% success rate and his patients loved it. He is now taking the Stress Reducer Loop model to a larger audience and hopes to improve addiction treatment outcomes and reduce the stigma that goes along with addiction.

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Dr. Ruby Mendenhall has a B.S. in Occupational Therapy, M.P.P. in Public Policy and Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy. She is currently the Kathryn Lee Baynes Dallenbach LAS Professor in Sociology and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is an Associate Dean for Diversity and Democratization of Health Innovation at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine and the Associate Director for Engagement at the Cancer Center at Illinois.

Her research examines how living in racially segregated neighborhoods with high levels of gun violence affects Black mothers’ mental and physical health using surveys, interviews, crime statistics, police records, data from 911 calls, art, wearable sensors and genomic analysis. Mendenhall was the 2024 City of Urbana’s Poet Laureate.

She has produced documentaries about mothers who lost adult children to gun violence, academic mentoring and Black women with cancer. She develops Wellness Stores/Spaces across the country.

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Mila Johansen is a writing, publishing, and public speaking coach She is the best-selling author of twelve books. She has developed “The Short Book” concept, giving people worldwide permission to write and publish their “short book” first. She helped 6 people publish their books in the past 8 weeks. She loves to help people realize their dreams of becoming published authors making the process easy and accessible. She also teaches writers and entrepreneurs where to get speaking gigs and helps them improve their public speaking techniques. Mila's grandmother taught Eleanor Roosevelt public speaking along with 1,000s of other women. Mila speaks 1-3 times a week about her books and coaching programs.

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Sandrine Gressard is a French-born pilot, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker whose journey reflects courage, passion, and perseverance. Raised across several countries, she built a 25-year business career before pursuing her childhood dream of flying. Starting with gliders in 2013, she became a private pilot in 2018 and, in 2025, earned her Commercial Pilot Licence and Instrument Rating in Canada, completing her training in just 50 hours with a 91% checkride score.

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Dr Gary Sprouse, better known as the Less Stress Doc is a primary care physician. While treating his patients physical symptoms, he realized he needed to address their psychological needs too. When he retired from his private practice, his goal of helping patients be healthier and happier was unchanged. He merely went from a stethoscope to a book. His book has won gold medal awards. Just this year, Dr Sprouse won the prestigious International Stevie Award for lifetime achievement for his work to help his community have more access to health care.

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As co-founder of Working Writers Co., Alex has guided aspiring authors from idea to polished manuscript—many of which have become published bestsellers.

His path to this work was forged through personal upheaval. After a major life event and reckoning, Alex walked away from a high-level executive career to rebuild his life through writing.

Now, he helps others do the same—writing with courage, clarity, and soul. His process blends structure with compassion, guiding writers to craft stories that truly matter.

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Dorothy O’Dell is an Impact Catalyst, and the founder of Unstoppable Overcomers Productions, a speaker, author, coach, and host of The Unstoppable Network, dedicated to empowering others to rise above adversity. Drawing from her own lived experience of overcoming life’s challenges, Dorothy helps individuals transform obstacles into opportunities for growth. Through her signature framework, R.E.N.E.W.E.D., she equips audiences with practical tools to move from surviving to thriving—building resilience, confidence, and purpose along the way. A passionate advocate for veterans, first responders, and those navigating major life transitions, Dorothy’s mission is to remind people that being unstoppable is not about perfection, but perseverance. Her authentic, uplifting approach inspires individuals to step forward boldly and create meaningful impact in their own lives and communities.

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Dr. Virginia McGowan is a dedicated caregiver and scholar whose journey of nearly 48 years with her husband has deeply informed her understanding of love, loss, and resilience. Together they began their life story as graduate students at the University of Toronto, sharing many vibrant years before dementia gradually altered their lives. Through her experiences, Ginny has learned to live with grief and hope in parallel, finding meaning in daily moments amid the challenges of caregiving. Her reflections blend personal narrative with research insights on emotional endurance and the power of presence. She is committed to sharing her story to empower others facing similar struggles and to foster empathy around progressive illness. Ginny’s talk at the University of Toronto’s bLU Talks highlights the transformative journey from fear and sadness to strength and living fully in the moment.

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Marcy Barbaro is a bold, heart-led speaker, writer, editor, and coach who believes your story could change — or even save — a life.

With humor, grounded wisdom, and lived experience, her signature talks are wake-up calls that ignite courage and remind audiences that their voices have power, urgency, and purpose.

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Donny Mangos is a wealth strategist, speaker, and author who teaches audiences how to stop following conventional financial wisdom that keeps them conventional. With 18+ years as a realtor turned wealth strategist, Donny has helped clients create millions in wealth through contrarian strategies that eliminate market risk and build certainty.

As author of Get Wealthed Up!, Donny delivers insights wrapped in pop culture references that audiences actually remember. He reveals wealth lessons hidden in Back to the Future, Groundhog Day, The Matrix, and other movies—showing professionals how to escape the earn-spend-repeat cycle and build wealth from certainty instead of hope.

Donny's core message challenges the financial industry's biggest lie: that you must accept risk to build wealth. He proves risk is optional when you understand contracts, helping audiences see the system they're trapped in and exactly how to opt out.

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