The Calgary Sessions

Tiffany Petite is a Calgary therapist, Registered Clinical Social Worker, and co-founder of Virtuous Circle Counseling.

She grew up without much confidence in what she might become, but the people and experiences around her kept expanding that picture. Social work gave her a place to belong, frontline mental health work gave her a sense of purpose, and job loss eventually pushed her toward building a counseling company with her wife.

Tiffany talks about self-doubt, ambition in a helping profession, the emotional weight of caring for others, and the relationships that helped her grow into leadership.

Connect with Tiffany Petite:

Website: ⁠⁠https://vccounselling.com/⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://ca.linkedin.com/in/tnpetite

Connect with Jeff Humphreys:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Location & Production:

Off Set Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.offsetstudios.ca

Mandy Balak has spent more than a decade building businesses, communities, and experiences across Calgary. Behind that work was a much less visible story about pressure, grief, survival mode, and the belief that more work might eventually feel like enough.

In this episode, Mandy talks about building Date Night YYC, launching Branded, creating spaces for people to belong, and what was happening underneath all that momentum. She also shares how 2020 forced everything to stop, why that pause changed the way she understood ambition, and how those experiences became the foundation for her book, Chasing Enough.

We get into success, identity, community, and what can happen when the drive that helped build everything becomes hard to turn off.

Connect with Mandy Balak:

Website: ⁠https://mandybalak.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandybalak⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://ca.linkedin.com/in/mandybalak⁠⁠⁠

Connect with Jeff Humphreys:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Location & Production:

Off Set Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.offsetstudios.ca

Evan Birch spent nearly 20 years in emergency dispatch, including roles with STARS and Calgary 911. He became the person who could stay calm, carry pressure, and help people through some of the worst moments of their lives. Over time, that ability came with a cost: panic attacks, sleeplessness, PTSD, and the realization that he had taught himself not to feel just to keep doing the job.

In this conversation, Evan talks about hiding what was happening, trying to win at therapy, and the complicated role running played in his recovery. It gave him peace, but it also gave him somewhere to keep moving. We also get into KidSport, ultrarunning, identity, and what it looks like to build a life that is no longer defined by one job.

Connect with Evan Birch:

Website: https://ultrabirch.com/

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/ultrabirch⁠⁠

LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/birchevan⁠⁠

Connect with Jeff Humphreys:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc⁠⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Location & Production:

Off Set Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.offsetstudios.ca

Louis-Julien Roy moved west from Quebec in 1996 to climb and guide. What started with construction work, long days in the mountains, and a small sales territory eventually became Mountain Exposure, a Calgary-based business he has been building for more than 20 years.

We talk about starting without a financial backup, learning how to grow through relationships, and why the business did not take off all at once. Louis also shares how his approach to goals, risk, mentorship, and responsibility changed as the company grew.

This is a conversation about the steady work behind a business that lasts, and what it takes to build something that can eventually continue without you.

Connect with Louis-Julien Roy:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.mountainx.ca/⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://ca.linkedin.com/in/louis-julien-roy-575b9538⁠

Connect with Jeff Humphreys:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Location & Production:

Off Set Studios: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.offsetstudios.ca

Matt Gillespie is the President, CEO, and Executive Producer behind Joe Media Group, but his path into production started long before the company did.

In this episode, Matt talks about growing up in Wetaskiwin, finding video through community television, getting into SAIT, building a network, and learning the business side of creative work through a lot of real-world trial and error.

The conversation gets into business dips, partnerships, borrowing money to get started, buying out partners, acquiring V Strategies, and why Calgary has been the right size of city for the kind of work and life he has built.

Episode 211 of The Calgary Sessions with Jeff Humphreys.

Connect with Matt Gillespie:

Website: ⁠⁠https://joemedia.tv

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://ca.linkedin.com/in/matt-gillespie-9920b013

Connect with Jeff Humphreys:

Website: ⁠⁠https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc⁠⁠

Podcast Location & Production:

Off Set Studios: ⁠⁠https://www.offsetstudios.ca

Colby Delorme is a Métis entrepreneur, President of Imagination Group of Companies, and co-founder of Influence Mentoring Society.

In this episode, Colby talks about growing up in Winnipeg, moving to Calgary, and figuring out where he fit as a kid from different backgrounds in a city that felt very different from where he started.

We talk about getting kicked out of high school, starting his first business at 18, working in construction, learning some hard lessons, and eventually building a career around Indigenous business, consulting, ceremonial tobacco, mentorship, and community.

A big part of this conversation is also about his relationship with his mom, Dr. Marie Delorme, and how their work together shaped both the business and the way he thinks about responsibility, trust, and opportunity.

Hosted by Jeff Humphreys.

Connect with Colby Delorme:

Website: ⁠https://imaginationgroup.ca

LinkedIn: ⁠https://ca.linkedin.com/in/colby-delorme-cist%C3%AAm%C3%A2w-napio-icd-d-71212315

Connect with Jeff Humphreys:

Website: ⁠https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys⁠

TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc⁠

Podcast Location & Production:

Off Set Studios: ⁠https://www.offsetstudios.ca

Danijel Slisko has been self-employed for almost 30 years, starting in commercial painting before building a wider path through Calgary construction, marketing, technology, and publishing.

In this episode, Danijel talks about learning business from his parents, earning trust with demanding clients, using systems before they were common in the trades, selling the company, and moving into a new chapter built around people, magazines, and community.

Connect with Danijel Slisko:

Website: https://www.danijelslisko.com/

LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/danijel-sli%C5%A1ko-1639a61b

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danijel_slisko/

Connect with Jeff Humphreys:

Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc

Podcast Location & Production:

Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca

Andrew Ferguson is the owner of Kensington Wine Market, but his story started long before he owned the shop.

He began as the delivery driver. It was supposed to be a short-term job over Christmas, but he liked the people, the place, and the work enough to stay. Over time, he became known as the Scotch Guy, helped build Kensington Wine Market’s whisky reputation, and eventually took over the business.

In this episode, Andrew and Jeff talk about growing up in Calgary, not having a clean path after school, becoming a young parent, finding his way inside a small independent shop, and learning how trust gets built over time.

They also get into whisky, sales, supplier relationships, taking over an existing business, and why Andrew still wants the shop to feel personal, even as more of the world moves online.

This is a conversation about Kensington Wine Market, but it is also about finding the right place, becoming useful, and building something slowly.

Connect with Andrew Ferguson:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Connect with Jeff Humphreys

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Podcast Location & Production:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Off Set Studios⁠⁠

Chris Cederstrand is a former hockey player, firefighter, Team Canada sledge hockey player, public speaker, and founder of AMP Hockey in Calgary.

In this episode, Chris shares the story of growing up in Saskatchewan hockey, leaving home young to chase the game, and having that part of his life taken away after a series of concussions. He also talks about becoming a firefighter, surviving a workplace accident that led to the amputation of his right leg, and the long process of rebuilding his life after everything changed.

This conversation is not just about getting through hard things. It is about identity, recovery, family, chronic pain, PTSD, adaptive sport, and learning that the mindset that once helped you survive may also need to change.

Chris speaks openly about the small wins that helped him move forward, the people who supported him, finding his way back to hockey through sledge hockey, and why pushing harder is not always the answer.

At its core, this is a conversation about starting over when the old version of your life no longer fits.

Connect with Chris Cederstrand:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Connect with Jeff Humphreys

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• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Podcast Location & Production:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Off Set Studios⁠⁠

Ann Zee is the founder and director of the Holistic Institute of Health and Fertility in Calgary, a clinic focused on fertility, acupuncture, women’s health, pregnancy, postnatal care, and perimenopause.

In this episode, Ann shares the story behind the work, from growing up between countries and losing both parents young to finding music, struggling with gambling, discovering Traditional Chinese Medicine, and building a clinic shaped by kindness, trust, and patient care.

We talk about what it means to feel seen, heard, and understood in healthcare, and how lived experience can shape the way someone builds, leads, and cares forpeople.

Connect with Ann Zee:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn

Connect with Jeff Humphreys

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Podcast Location & Production:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Off Set Studios⁠⁠