Tue Mar 10, 7:00pm | Nine accomplished women from Salt Spring Island and beyond have six minutes and twenty seconds each (20 slides x 20 seconds each) to give a prepared presentation on something they’re passionate about. Celebrate International Women’s Day by celebrating the ideas, wisdom, and experience of a group of powerful local women!

Hosted by Kate Nash, Program Director at The Circle Education. Presented in partnership with The Ostara Project’s Immersive Experience. Entry by donation.

SPEAKER LINEUP

Deborah Osborne has worked in arts and media production for over thirty years. She began her career in theatre and opera stage management before moving into the production of theatrical films, television series, movies, and documentaries. Deborah has authored articles for industry publications and has taken on leadership roles in innovative training initiatives, curriculum development, teaching, and the production of seminars and workshops across Canada. A recognized champion and mentor, Deborah was nominated in 2014 for the Canadian Women in Communications Annual Leadership Excellence Award in the “Innovator” category, and in 2016 she was honoured with a Women in Film and Television Crystal Award for mentorship. Deborah has served on the board of the Salt Spring Arts Council for nearly five years, including the past two years as Chair.

Sherry Leigh Williams is a Métis artist, musician, and community leader on Salt Spring Island. For International Women’s Day, she will share her journey of overcoming brain injury and how creativity became both her therapy and her rebellion against loss.

Cherie Geauvreau arrived on Salt Spring Island on Canada Day in 1986 after a protracted journey across the prairies. She fell in love with the coast and the island immediately. Here was a place to write, finally, and a place where you could hear your footsteps in the dark. Cherie became involved in community work and lives a rich and rewarding life, volunteering and pioneering for a few organizations committed to serving our SSI community. Poetry, art, prose, story-telling, photography, and music intertwine in Cherie’s life. So does hope, anticipation, joy and laughter, pain and disaster. 

Jodi Proznick is a Canadian jazz bassist, composer, educator and producer. In 2019, she was named Jazz Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards and has been nominated for four Juno Awards. She was also a recipient of the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Arts and Music Awards in 2022. She is currently the Department Head of the Jazz Program, Artistic Director of the Summer Jazz Workshop and Sister Jazz Day at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music where she teaches jazz bass, combo, jazz history and jazz theory. She has been a guest adjudicator and clinician at many festivals, colleges, universities, and conferences across Canada including faculty at the prestigious Banff Center for the Arts. Her current project is Co-Artistic Director of  The Ostara Project with pianist/composer Amanda Tosoff.

Susanna Haas Lyons facilitates collaboration for impactful decisions and stronger organizations. Bridging online and face-to-face civic engagement methods, she has 20+ years international leadership experience in building alignment on challenging policy topics.

Kaen Valoise is the daughter of an Anishinaabe father (Ojibwe Nation, Red Rock Band) and an 11th-generation French-Canadian mother. She’s worked with numerous festivals, arts organizations and non-profit organizations throughout BC and Canada. When not working, Kaen loves dancing at concerts, watching movies, and sharing laughter and food with friends.

Premilla Pillay is an 82 year old East Indian writer, dancer, and performer born in South Africa. She’ll be speaking about the theme of identity, culture and a woman’s journey from the Indian Ocean to the Salish Sea.