The margin of error of drug abuse is narrowing, according to Chantal Vallerand. And that is how she remains passionate about her role as leader of Drug Free Kids Canada. It drives her forward every day, allowing her to seek out potential funders and supporters, explaining to them the importance of the mission to keep dangerous drugs away from youth.

Cathy Peters is an advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. But she would describe her role as being in prevention education, cultivating her passion for the vulnerable. Her work in preventing child trafficking taps into that passion. This is a path that is almost custom-made for her, as an avid storyteller and absorbing others’ stories by learning and listening. “If I sound a little bit passionate,” she says, “I am.”

Being an expert on China is a difficult job in today’s political climate – Paul Evans has to constantly explain that he is “not defending China, [but rather] how to live with China.” As a primary expert on Canada-China relations at the University of British Columbia, there is a demand for his insights nowadays, from the media and beyond. This is a career that he has aimed for right from the start. What makes his journey unique from other professors is that his entire education was in Canada, during a time when this was a difficult path to an academic career.

No matter how much Mike Rowlands checks off his to-do list, the list keeps growing. That’s just the nature of being the founder and CEO of Junxion Strategy, an international social impact consultancy. This is a long way from his younger days, when he didn’t know what he wanted to do. He studied business in university and surprisingly didn’t like it. Over time, he experimented in various other businesses, including a bike shop, which gave him a first career where he learned about customer service, business, logistics, and everything in between – a valuable insight on what makes people tick

Tony Pantages is a self-described “serial impact entrepreneur” who loves finding sustainable and renewable solutions. His solutions focus mainly on how to handle waste and energy in a way that protects the environment.

Curing hate is a tall order, one with little or no precedent. The job involves interactions with people who openly wear their hatred for someone else on their sleeve, who voice their hatred for others and call for the destruction of other people’s lives and communities.

Dialogue is a tricky thing. It’s not just the exchanging of words: it is the sharing of ideas. On the surface, that sounds straightforward – until you realize it is a complex interplay of thoughts, agendas, emotions and competing interests, to name but a few.