The ending of one year the beginning of another provides us a great time to reflect and strategize for the coming year.

In 2024, I learned that it takes many people to ensure access to healthy food, that local action can lead to international partnership and that inspiring Canadians can be found in every sector.

As 2025 begins, I've recommitted to eating local seasonal food, to exploring new ways of communicating and to becoming a better business leader.

My word for 2025 is grow.

Let me know if you’ve had similar thoughts.

We are now in the second week of the Great Cycle Challenge in Canada. I thought this would be a good time to meet Ian Parker, who directs fundraising for the Sick Kids Foundation.

We spoke about inspiring Canadians who cycle to raise money every August, the community created through our efforts, the importance of diversity and gratitude for Canadians who give.

Christine Sauer is a neuroplasticist turned coach who helps women struggling with depression and other mental health issues thrive. 

I spoke to project head Reid Allaway about organic vegetable and seed farm cooperative Tourne-sol's operations, protecting farmland as a commons and how they went about getting a fully electric truck.

This is my interview with Irene Moore Davis, a woman who descends from Black pioneers settlers who lived in Southwestern Ontario in the nineteenth century. She speaks, teaches and writes about Black history, equity, diversity, and inclusion and will publish a book about the history of African-descended people in Windsor and Sandwich soon. 

Okay 2022, we're ready for you. I hope. With COVID still on and so many government restrictions underway, how can we creatively lead sustainable lives while thriving? My word of the year: courage. The word “courage” stems directly from a feeling that I’m at the edge of my capabilities as an entrepreneur. I will need to continue stretching beyond who I am now in the coming year. Last year’s challenges included course development, fundraising and application development. I also hired many people, which in turn necessitated learning team leadership, task delegation and automating payroll. In addition, I spent time improving the craft of writing and maintaining good governance within three separate business entities. All of those actions must continue and expand next year while leaving time for project distribution. As I get feedback on these projects, it will be important to maintain enthusiasm and continue growing. That takes courage. (For a description of the rest of my resolutions for the year, check out my article at: https://traceyarial.com/blog/en/2022-resolution/ .) To help you build your resilience and perhaps take on courage for yourself, I have two things to offer: a Canadian song playlist and the Doughnut Economics Lab. The Canadian playlist is here . You can find out more about the Doughnut Economics Lab at https://doughnuteconomics.org/ . There are already lots of Canadian members, including many from Montreal. I just joined!

It was a joy to speak with journalist and genealogist Janice Hamilton about her ancestors, her recent book "Reinventing Themselves," and surprises she's discovered while researching and writing her family history.

Stefan Sobkowiak spent twenty years turning a traditional commercial apple farm into an extraordinary oasis of permaculture diversity. He's deeply grateful for that abundance, which defines Canada for him. The episode is brought to you by the CAUS crowdfunding campaign at https://laruchequebec.com/. 

Lloyd Whitesell challenges norms just by being himself. His academic career began with co-creating the field of queer musicology. He's now among the leaders working to make space for diverse populations within music. Along the way, he's won awards for research excellence and teaching. He's also the world's expert on singer songwriter Joni Mitchell's talent as a composer. Listen to our conversation and consider which norms unintentionally influence you. 

When I interviewed Bineta Ba, she was the executive director of Toujours Ensemble, a Canadian non profit association that helps youth succeed at school. As of next month, she'll be leading an international development foundation.