Happy World Engineering Day!

Have you ever wondered how strong communication and relationships—not just technical skills—are reshaping what great leadership looks like?

In this episode of Tune Up Your Warrior, I sit down with Daniel McCaulley, Founder and Principal of Ultimus Engineering, for a conversation that goes beyond blueprints and technical expertise.

Daniel shares his journey from oil and gas to entrepreneurship, the lessons he learned from burnout and growth, and why he believes the future of engineering—and leadership more broadly—depends on communication, trust, and culture. We explore how removing unnecessary layers can help organizations move with greater speed and integrity, why representation in engineering still matters, and how leaders can create environments where both people and performance thrive.

This episode also reflects on breaking stereotypes—about engineers, leadership styles, and who belongs in technical spaces—and invites listeners to rethink what strong leadership actually looks like in a rapidly evolving world.

If you’re a leader, builder, or someone interested in designing systems that work better for people and business, this conversation will resonate.

To find out more about Daniel and the work he does at Ultimus, visit https://ultimus.engineering/

⚠️ Content note: This post discusses bullying, loss, and suicide. Please read with care.

This is one of the most meaningful episodes of Tune Up Your Warrior I’ve ever recorded.

In this episode with Councillor Allan Hubley, who I've had the privilege of knowing for almost 20 years, we talk not only about the impact of bullying and the role of bystanders, but also what happens in the aftermath — when families and young people are left carrying the weight of that harm.

This conversation is rooted in the life and legacy of Jamie Hubley, Allan’s son, whose story continues to shape how our community talks about bullying, responsibility, and care.

Jamie’s legacy continues through the Jamie Hubley Memorial Scholarship, which supports Ottawa youth pursuing post-secondary education with a connection to mental health — through lived experience, advocacy, or future care work.

It’s about ensuring lived experience is recognized as strength, and that young people have pathways forward, not barriers.

To learn more about the Jamie Hubley Memorial Scholarship or to apply before March 31, visit ysb.ca.

We also talk about breaking cycles.

Just because someone was treated a certain way in the past doesn’t mean they’re destined to repeat that behaviour. In fact, it creates a powerful opportunity to choose differently — to decide that no one else should ever feel the way you once did.

This episode launches February 25, in recognition of Canada’s Day of Pink.

It’s not about blame. It’s about responsibility. And it’s about understanding that every one of us has more influence than we think.

🎧 Episode is out now: https://linktr.ee/catalais

If this conversation brings up anything difficult for you or someone you love, support is available:

📞 Talk Suicide Canada: Call or text 988 (24/7, Canada-wide)

📞 Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa: 613-260-2360 / ysb.ca

If you’re outside Canada, please reach out to local emergency services or a trusted mental health provider in your area. You are not alone.

This episode of Tune Up Your Warrior was recorded live inside Wok Theory, a vibrant, modern, and deeply authentic Chinese restaurant in the heart of Toronto’s Chinatown. It was set around a real table, in real community, during a moment that felt deeply full circle.

I sit down with Trevor Lui — culinary storyteller, author, Food Unity chef, and proud Chinatown kid for life — for a conversation about food, identity, belonging, and the stories that shape us. Trevor is known for using food as a tool for connection, inclusion, and cultural truth telling. He builds belonging one table at a time, and this conversation is no exception.

We recorded this episode in Trevor’s space, filmed by our friend Brian Tong, after Trevor quite literally made room for me at his table. That detail matters. Because food is never just food. It carries history, memory, power, and often pain.

In this conversation, we explore:
• How food racism shows up in both subtle and overt ways, and why naming it matters
• Our shared experience growing up in traditional Chinese households, and how our relationship with heritage has evolved over time
• What it means to be part of the generation now carrying the voices of forgotten Chinese communities in Canada and the United States — telling the full story, both the pride and the harm, so history is not repeated

As this episode airs during Lunar New Year, it feels especially meaningful. This is a time rooted in reflection, renewal, and honoring those who came before us. It’s about remembering where we come from, reclaiming stories that were never fully told, and shaping a future grounded in dignity, truth, and belonging.

This is a conversation about culture, courage, and what happens when we choose to remember — and speak up.

To learn more about Trevor Lui:
https://quellnow.com/profile/trevor_lui/

First impressions matter — but what if they could also empower you?

In this episode of Tune Up Your Warrior, Jenny Chen sits down with Lindsey Gibeau, Ottawa-based branding photographer, creative, adventurer, and life-long learner, whose work goes far beyond the lens.

This episode launches on World Headshot Day, a moment that invites us to reflect on visibility, representation, and why being seen authentically matters more than ever.

Jenny shares her own journey with headshots — from DIY kitchen photo shoots to rushed sessions that left her unseen — and how meeting Lindsey transformed not just her photos, but her confidence.

Together, they explore:
✨ Why headshots are about visibility, not vanity
✨ How authentic images can shift both perception and self-belief
✨ The role of presence and storytelling in personal branding
✨ Practical tips for taking better photos (even at home!)

Lindsey reminds us that a strong photo isn’t about looking perfect — it’s about being seen the way you want to be seen.

🎧 Tune in to discover how to show up more confidently, intentionally, and authentically — both online and in life.

Learn more about Lindsey and her work here.

More Canadians are living solo than ever before, yet the systems shaping our financial lives still assume everyone has a partner.

From taxes to housing to retirement, single earners navigate a reality that is more expensive, more complex, and far less visible than we like to admit.

My guest, Renée Sylvestre-Williams, is an award-winning Canadian financial journalist and the author of The Singles Tax, which launched January 6. In this timely conversation airing February 4, just ahead of her Toronto book launch, Renée breaks down the hidden costs of singledom and the practical, no-nonsense ways solo earners can build security, confidence, and freedom on their own terms.

This episode lands in the heart of Valentine’s season, but it takes a different approach. This is not about being anti-relationship. It is about agency, advocacy, and understanding that coupling does not make someone more worthy of stability, adulthood, or belonging.

I also share my own lived experience of spending most of my life in relationships, missing a “single chapter” because of timing, divorce, COVID, and later choosing to marry my best friend during his cancer journey. Together, we unpack why these conversations matter even if you have never been single yourself.

In this episode, we explore:

• What the “singles tax” really is and why it exists

• The policy and workplace blind spots that disadvantage solo earners

• Financial independence as self-trust, not selfishness

• Aging, care, and community without default assumptions

• How to advocate for fairer systems without waiting for permission

This is a conversation about money, yes. But more than that, it is about dignity, choice, and redefining what a full, secure life can look like.

To find out more about Renée, visit https://budgette.substack.com/

Roger Greenberg’s name has become synonymous with the story of Ottawa — from Minto’s foundational developments, to leading OSEG (home of the REDBLACKS and the 67’s), to championing the transformation of Lansdowne and helping shape the Campaign to Create Tomorrow for the new Ottawa Hospital campus.

As Executive Chairman of the Minto Group, Chairman of Minto Apartment REIT, and Executive Chairman & Managing Partner of OSEG, Roger’s influence stretches across governance, community-building, sports, and philanthropy. He is also a Member of the Order of Canada and a proud recipient of multiple civic and industry awards — all recognizing his decades of service and leadership.

But behind the titles is a leader defined by something far more enduring: humanity.

In this conversation, Roger opens up about:

• The true meaning of legacy — not buildings or balance sheets, but people

• What it takes to lead with humility, curiosity, and respect

• How honest management and governance shape thriving organizations

• The real story behind Lansdowne 2.0 and why context matters more than headlines

• Ottawa’s future as our population races toward 1.6 million by 2046

• Why saying “no” too quickly slows progress — and how we can build differently

Through decades of leadership, philanthropy, and community-building, Roger embodies a kind of quiet influence that shapes cities from the inside out.

This episode invites listeners to rethink what it means to build legacy — and what becomes possible when we replace knee-jerk criticism with curiosity, facts, and collaboration.

Housing is more than a roof — it’s the foundation for opportunity, belonging, and possibility.

In this episode, Jenny sits down with Traci Spour-Lafrance, Executive Director of the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation, to explore what it really means to build thriving communities from the inside out.

Traci’s journey — from educator and social worker to executive leader — has been guided by one belief:
Be the change you want to see in this world.

Under her leadership, the OCH Foundation has created programs that don’t just support tenants — they empower them. From emergency supports to youth leadership pathways, Traci’s work proves that when you invest in people, you transform communities.

One of the most powerful examples:
The Foundation’s Youth Futures Program, relaunching this January — a six-month leadership and skill-building journey that helps nearly 150 youth each year build confidence, community, and their future.

And the impact comes full circle: program graduates now sit on the board, shaping the very programs that shaped them. As Dan once said, “It’s like people who have never taken public transportation designing the public transportation system.”
OCHF is changing that narrative — ensuring lived experience leads.

We talk about:
✨ The stigma around community housing — and how to dismantle it
✨ Why programs must be designed with communities, not for them
✨ How representation becomes accountability
✨ The power of youth leadership and generational impact
✨ What it means to lead with compassion and creativity

This is a story about community, dignity, and possibility — and about building systems where people don’t just survive, but thrive.

Learn more or get involved with the Youth Futures Program at youth-futures.com.

What if failure isn’t the end, but the gateway to your true identity?

Entrepreneur and storyteller Hussein Hallak shares how rejection, imposter syndrome, and honest feedback shaped the leader and creator he is today. From being overlooked for a creative director role in Dubai to rebuilding his life in Canada, Hussein’s story is one of radical ownership and reinvention.

In this episode, Hussein and Jenny explore:

🎨 How rejection and imposter syndrome became catalysts for reinvention
🧠 The power of storytelling as proof of value — and why Hussein started his LinkedIn newsletter during a career transition
📰 How that same instinct inspired Jenny’s CEO Corner newsletter, using storytelling to make complex, human work visible
💬 The leadership feedback that changed everything — when serial entrepreneur Rob Craig helped Hussein see the gap between good intentions and real impact
🌍 Why authenticity and connection matter more than titles or credentials
❤️ The lesson that not everyone will like you — and why that’s a sign you’re showing up as your true self

Whether you’re navigating change, redefining success, or learning to own your story — this episode is a masterclass in growth, humility, and the art of becoming who you already are.

🎧 Listen, reflect, and share.

Learn more about Hussein’s work at https://www.husseinhallak.com/

✨ Courage isn’t always loud — it’s the whisper that sparks change. ✨

In this week’s Tune Up Your Warrior episode, I sat down with Lindiwe Davis — Global Organizational Effectiveness and People Engagement Leader at Google, founder of FutureState Collective, and an award-winning culture shifter whose work continues to redefine what leadership looks like when it’s grounded in humanity, courage, and truth.

From her storytelling projects like A Stranger Down the Hall to her upcoming podcast They Tried It, Lindiwe’s voice is powerful and unshakable — proof that courage can be both gentle and fierce at the same time.

What she said about not letting others paralyze you into a little box — into these stereotypes just to make them feel comfortable about you — hit me hard. Because I’ve been there. I’ve felt that pressure to make myself smaller so others could stay comfortable. But the truth is, real change doesn’t come from shrinking. It comes from standing fully in who you are, even when the world isn’t ready for it.

Like Lindiwe, I’ve learned that courage means putting yourself on the line — your comfort, your promotion, even your stability — when you see something that isn’t right. It’s not about being an ally who notices what’s wrong. It’s about being a warrior — someone who won’t stop until it’s made right.

💡 My Takeaways from this Episode:

✨ Leadership comes with a cost — but silence costs more.

✨ Representation creates ripples that redefine belonging.

✨ Culture work is human work — values have to live in action.

✨ Courage is contagious — one act can ignite many.

Because as Lindiwe says, “Our inner thug is stronger than you think.” And for those who treat others badly? Karma always finds its way back. 😉

And I couldn’t agree more.

Learn more about Lindiwe here: https://www.lindiwedavis.com/

#TuneUpYourWarrior #CourageWhisperer #LeadershipWithIntegrity #CourageInAction #WarriorMindset #SystemsChange #HumanLeadership #RepresentationMatters #FutureStateCollective

Season Three of Tune Up Your Warrior kicks off with a conversation that feels both timely and deeply personal.

My guest is Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, a lifelong Ottawan and the leader of Canada’s capital at a moment of real change and opportunity.

Before entering municipal politics, Mayor Sutcliffe spent more than three decades as an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, mentor, and community builder. He covered public life, built and led businesses, advised leaders across sectors, and served on boards that shape Ottawa’s social, cultural, and economic fabric.

Today, he brings that experience to city leadership with a focus on collaboration, clarity, and long-term impact. From accelerating housing supply and advancing the goal of ending youth homelessness by 2030, to working across levels of government to reduce barriers and modernize how cities operate, his approach centers on moving from arbitrary “no” to thoughtful “how.”

In this episode, we talk about:
• Leading through complexity when change takes time
• Why cross-sector collaboration matters more than ever
• Building trust in moments of uncertainty
• What it means to plan for the next generation, not just the next headline

This is a conversation about leadership that makes things make sense. About collaboration over criticism. And about building a future-ready city that reflects the people shaping it.

Whether you care about housing, community, leadership, or the future of cities, this episode invites you to listen, reflect, and stay curious about what’s possible when progress is grounded in people.

You can learn more about all the great work Mayor Sutcliffe is doing here: https://marksutcliffe.ca/