Community Talks Victoria BC

oin me and Michelle Francis as we talk about racism in real estate. Michelle is a Commercial Realtor in Ontario. A member of the Law Society of Ontario, Michelle is a Certified Adult Educator and a duo-designate HR Practitioner. She has held successive senior leadership roles within Education and the community. She is the current President/Chair Women of Durham Family Court Clinic championing governance and Diversity& Inclusion, former Vice-Chair in strategy and education for the Habitat for Humanity and Director of Cultural Intelligence for Progress Career Planning Institute. Michelle supports our industry as the first black female facilitator in the New Salesperson Program at Humber College in Toronto and sits on the City of Pickering Culture & Tourism and Scarborough Health Network Ontario Health Teams Patient & Family Advisory Committees.
Michelle has been featured in the Sales Performance Magazine, Huffington Post and the Financial Post. She has been a mentor to student practitioners and consultant on the educational restructure of the designation programs for the HRPA and consumer protection focused educational requirements for RECO/Humber/NIIT consortium.
Michelle plays a major role in her clients’ businesses by utilizing her knowledge of HR LAW to provide sustainable and strategic programs and solutions designed to unleash leadership potential, drive performance, and increase organizational effectiveness culture.
Michelle will offer professional advice and information regarding her personal experience of racism in real estate and business.

Check out this interview with our panel of experts. We touch on quite a few different topics including finances, the current real estate market, kids opinions during a divorce, how to make balanced choices and more.


Jane Johnston - Realtor www.briarhillgroup.com
Laurel Dietz - Lawyer www.legalcoach.ca
Bettina Plendl - Financial Divorce Strategist bpdivorcestrategies.ca
Lori Frank - Mediator www.lorifrankmediation.com

Listen to this interview with mortgage broker Jen Lowe from Dominion Lending in Victoria BC. She answers a variety of questions such as: What are the changes to CMHC that will take affect July 1st and how will that affect current buyers — what are the key dates with regards to this change?
What does it mean to refinance your mortgage? What is the process to refinance your mortgage? Is there a penalty to get out of my current mortgage? How to defer your taxes if you older than 55.

JenLowe.ca

Today we focused on spousal abuse. It was a very in-depth talk. Now that we are in phase 2 of COVID-19 how does that affect people co-parenting, separating or going through a divorce. Watch this interview to find out!

Jane Johnston - Realtor https://www.briarhillgroup.com/
Laurel Dietz - Lawyer http://www.legalcoach.ca/about/
Bettina Plendl - Financial Divorce Strategist https://bpdivorcestrategies.ca/
Lori Frank - Mediator https://www.lorifrankmediation.com/

I interviewed Avery Brohman from the Victoria Hospitals Foundation. She talks about how her and her team are coping during this pandemic as well as how they have modified their fundraising events to be virtual. The current fundraising campaign is to raise money to expand the critical care unit to 8 beds. Find out how you can donate or participate in supporting your community.

Avery Brohman, CFRE
Executive Director,
Victoria Hospitals Foundation
Cell: 250-818-9349
Office: 250-519-1750 Ext.13375
www.victoriahf.ca

Check out my interview with Daintry Van Cleave. Daintry is a service oriented human resource leader that is passionate about creating a dynamic, engaged and effective workplace culture. In this interview we cover different topics such as; how do we develop a crisis ready culture in time of pandemic? What workplace practices do we need post pandemic. How can Leaders show up for their teams during time of uncertainty and crisis?
What are some of the lessons we have learned during the pandemic that we can take and make us more resilient in the future?

Daintry Van Cleave Consulting ( Human Resources focused consulting)
Phone: 250-818-1169
Email: daintryvancleaveconsulting@shaw.ca

Check out our live interview with Karen Elgersma, owner of Karen Elgersma Media. She answers questions such as: How do I market a product or company during COVID-19 and going forward? As a business how do I tell, discover and share my story? This will be a good interview for business's looking to adapt to the new normal and discover what their story is.

www.karenelgersmamedia.com
karen@karenelgersmamedia.com
Karen Elgersma Media

Check out this interview with Ann Squires Ferguson, owner of Western Interior Design Group. We talked about some of the challenges and solutions Ann and her team have had to work with during the pandemic. We also discussed what is happening in the broader design industry and how things may be in the future.

www.westerninteriordesign.ca
250.475.3666
ann@westerninteriordesign.ca

Peter De Bruyn, Chairman of the Provincial & Victoria branches of: BCRFA (British Columbia Restaurant and Food Services Association). Also, Principle at De Bruyn Restaurant Consulting. This is a really interesting interview covering a variety of questions surrounding the restaurant industry and how things will be moving forward with COVID-19 in mind.

Peter De Bruyn, BCom, CPPA
De Bruyn Restaurant Consulting
250 514 3614
peter@debruynconsulting.com

Check out my interview with Jill Moran, owner of XL-Yoga. Jill talks about how she has adapted her business during COVID-19, what services she offers, what the benefits are and what makes XL-Yoga different from regular yoga classes.

Jill Moran
XL-Yoga
Yoga for larger bodies, taught by an large bodied woman
250 217 9866
www.xl-yoga.ca
www.facebook.com/xlyoga

Check out this interview with Suzanne Gatrell. Suzanne Gatrell Consulting is a Boutique Hotel consultancy working with owners and leadership teams of Independent hotels in both Canada and UK. Find out how her business has been affected by COVID-19 and what recovery will look like.

Tel: 250-886-7194
Email: suzanne@suzannegatrellconsulting.com
Web: https://kingsbridgemanagement.co.uk
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/suzannegatrellconsulting/

In this interview we cover a few important topics as well as the current real estate market. Important questions such as: When is it best to sell the family home? How do agree on a for sale price? Can you remain in the house during separation? What steps do you have to do to prove separation while living together? This is a great interview for anyone going through a separation or divorce.

Jane Johnston - Realtor https://www.briarhillgroup.com/
Laurel Dietz - Lawyer http://www.legalcoach.ca/about/
Bettina Plendl - Financial Divorce Strategist https://bpdivorcestrategies.ca/
Lori Frank - Mediator https://www.lorifrankmediation.com/

Wade Paterson began his RE/MAX career in 2014, leaving the world of journalism and joining RE/MAX of Western Canada as the Social Media/Communications Coordinator. In 2018, Wade moved over to the Member Services Department and is currently a Franchise Development Consultant with the regional office. With a passion for innovation and creativity, Wade launched “The RE/MAX Hustle Podcast” in February 2019. He has hosted and produced more than 50 episodes since then, which have been streamed by listeners in more than 50 different countries.

Check out his podcast, link below!
https://www.remax-western.ca/blog/the-re-max-hustle-podcast/

#RemaxHustle

Parenting sensitive kids has unique challenges under “normal” circumstances, but becomes even more difficult when families are suddenly isolated at home together without their regular routines, activities and social contacts. Tune in today to hear Colleen Adrian talk about how she helps with parents of sensitive kids deal with their unique challenges, especially now while at home. She’ll share a parenting tip at the end for helping regain your calm when you start to feel like you’re losing your cool. Colleen is a parent educator and writer who supports parents through 1:1 mentoring and online courses.

You can find her blog with free parenting tips at: https://colleenadrian.com/blog/
She offers free weekly parenting tips and insights on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/writercolleenparenting/
https://www.instagram.com/colleen.parentwriter/

Website: colleenadrian.com
Email: colleen@colleenadrian.com
Book: Freeing Your Child from Self-Criticism and Perfectionism, https://colleenadrian.com/free-your-child-book/

Check out our interview with Lisa Sigurgeirson Maxx. Lisa is a singer, songwriter, performer, writer, early childcare educator and an entrepreneur living on Salt Spring Island. During COVID-19 she has been performing children's sing alongs Tuesday and Thursday mornings on facebook as well as coaching/counselling parents via phone call. You can also find her parenting advice column on the 1st of every month in Fishbowl Magazine.

https://www.facebook.com/FishbowlMagazine/
https://www.thesingingamma.com
www.lisamaxx.com

Check out our interview with Lawyer Sarah Elwood from Sitka Law Group. She goes over different types of home ownership. This is great information for anyone planning to buy a home with a friend, family member, business partner or even a common law partner.

Sitka Law Group
202-3750 Shelbourne Street
Victoria, BC V8P 4H4
Tel: 778-265-2677
https://sitkalaw.ca

DIY Yes or No? Bettina Plendl, Jane Johnston and Laurel Dietz get together this week to talk about what you should do yourself during your divorce and separation and what you should get some advice and help with.

https://www.briarhillgroup.com/
http://www.legalcoach.ca/about/
https://bpdivorcestrategies.ca/

If you want to learn some amazing social media tips check out this interview with Belle White. She is a photographer, blogger, and social media strategist.

You can find her online at https://bellewhite.ca or on instagram @belle.sg.white

I interviewed Bruce Carter, President and CEO of WES-TECH Irrigation Systems Ltd. Find out answers to questions such as:

1. What are the benefits of irrigating?
2. If I don’t want to water my Lawn but keep my gardens green how do we do that?
3. If I want to grow vegetable how could I adapt my existing system?
4. How do I water the pots around my deck or on my porch?

Bruce Carter
President and CEO
WES-TECH Irrigation Systems Ltd.
#5-625 Alpha St. Victoria, BC V8Z 1B5
Ph: 250-361-1573
Bruce.carter@irrigation.ca
https://irrigation.ca

Watch our interview with Skincare Consultant and Stylist Carolyn Harries-Duncan. If you are looking to update your closest or refine your look then this is a great interview for you.

Carolyn Harries-Duncan
Style & Skincare Consultant
250-532-3642

https://www.facebook.com/Whattowearwithcarolyn
beautycounter.com/en-ca/carolynharries-duncan