Calgary Agenda
Thursday October 23 2025
Calgary TELUS Convention Centre, 136 8 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2P 0K6, Canada
08:00 – 08:55
Registration, Networking, Meeting and Connections
08:55 – 09:00

Welcome and Setting the Scene


Mark Rix
Group Managing Director, Sonas Group, (Wellbeing at Work)

09:00 – 09:25
Investing in Your State of Performance
The purpose of the keynote address is to introduce the concept of how individuals can sustain their personal wellbeing and performance in their day-to-day work and leave. Each attendee will leave with something to think about in regard to how they achieve their own state of performance at work. This will be an engaging session that is focused entirely on personal development and growth.
Speaker to be announced shortly
09:25 – 09:50
The Truth About Mental Health at Work
How can organizations implement cutting-edge, data-driven methodologies and evidence-based approaches to elevate the mental health and wellbeing of employees?What can employers do to ensure the use of mental health of employees is not silenced? How do leaders in high stress sectors such as the legal and medical professions model behaviors in managers that promote good mental health? How should organisations set the tone from the top to support colleagues who are struggling?
Speaker to be announced shortly
0950 – 10:25
Panel: The Role of Wellbeing as the Power Behind Organisational Performance
What is the association between workplace wellbeing and company performance. Beyond ROI – what are the true measures of wellbeing on performance? Where does emotional insight fit when building positive workplace cultures for business impact? What is the value of designing wellbeing programs as integrated experiences that are embedded throughout the employee journey? How can employers truly help people thrive and grow?



Susanne Beaton
VP People & Culture, TC Energy




Kirstan Jewell
Chief People & Communications Officer, Calgary Airport Authority




Greg Juliano
Chief Human Resources Officer, City of Calgary




Tiffany Fassnidge
ED – Wellness and Resiliency Division, Calgary Police Service

10:25 – 10:45
Morning Networking Break
10:45 – 11:15
Panel: Building Resilience in the Construction Workforce
The panel will discuss promoting initiatives that foster well-being, adaptability, and strength within the workforce, ensuring that the construction industries remain resilient in the face of evolving demands. What can be done to really that help people feel seen, heard, and valued in industries traditionally rooted in toughness and resilience? Going beyond physical safety – how can industry work together to create workplace cultures that foster all aspects of worker well-being? What are the practical tools available to tackle the stigma associated with mental health, pain avoidance, addiction and depression?
Speakers to be announced shortly
11:15 – 12:15
Leadership Workshops
12:15 – 12:15
Lunch, Meetings and Connections
13:15 – 13:30
Energiser
13:30 – 14:00
Building the Neuroinclusive Workplace
How can organizations recognize the opportunity that integrating neurodivergent professionals can bring to an entire organization? Creating a neuroinclusive organization that includes individuals who are and who are not diagnosed with developmental conditions that fall within the neurodiversity spectrum. What are the drivers supporting advancement of neurodiverse professionals in the current marketplace and why they matter to their organization and industry. What are the leadership and teaming styles that can help enable neuroinclusion?
Speaker to be announced shortly
14:00 – 14:45
Panel: Wellbeing for Different Employee Groups
How do employers ensure their wellbeing efforts are meeting the needs of differing employee groups and identities? What means are available to better accommodate those of us who are not neurotypical? What are some examples that show why wellbeing needs to be addressed from an equity standpoint? What should be done about culture from the perspective of inter-generational workers?



Sara L Austin
CEO and Founder, Children First Canada




Jennifer Russell
Director of Indigenous Engagement, SAIT




David Rost
Manager, Health Services, TC Energy

14:45 – 15:15
Networking Break
15:15 – 15:50

Unpacking the Complexity of Evaluating Workplace Wellbeing Initiatives
What is the value of measuring not just if but how, when and why they can be successful?The session will aim to provide evidence-based insights on identifying and measuring relevant outcomes highlighting impact of workplace wellbeing initiatives, but also: How they produce results (mechanisms or strategies). When is most effective (timing, conditions, context). Why they work (underlying principles, motivations or factors). Also discussed is an overview of evaluation frameworks and tools to measure success meaningfully and a case study highlighting the evaluation of a mental health app at a large healthcare organization using an evidence-based framework for a structured understanding and analysis of facilitators and barriers driving its success.


Sheila Addanki
Workplace Well-being Data Evaluation Analyst, UBC

15:40 – 16:00
Fireside Chat: The Role of Leaders in Creating Amazing Workplaces
How do leaders demonstrate the value of wellbeing on company culture that ultimately drives employee inspiration and team performance?
Speakers to be announced shortly
16:00 - 16:15

Closing Remarks


Mark Rix
Group Managing Director, Sonas Group, Wellbeing at Work

16:15 – 17:30