Coffee With Convery

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. On today’s Careering Talk, my guest today is Sam Demma. Sam Demma is a 2-time TEDx Speaker, Author, Podcast Host and Youth Speaker. He is the youngest board director of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and co-founder of PickWaste, a volunteer organization that mobilizes youth to pick up litter in their communities. He has interviewed and showcased over 230 educators through his multi-media platform, The High Performing Educator, and his High Performing Student Program has made an impact on youth in six countries. Sam is routinely invited to share his work through news outlets like Breakfast Television, CBC, CTV, Global News, and CityNews. As a result of Sam’s keynote presentations, students and educators often commit to performing more acts of kindness, taking small, consistent actions toward their personal goals, and proactively looking for ways to serve others. I had the chance to sit down with Sam and I am happy to share our conversation with you, enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Podcast #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. On today’s podcast, I have invited Wahab Owolabi to join me. Wahab is a Washington & Jefferson College graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Wahab is the Founder of OneReq a community for talent acquisition professionals passionate about DEI. He has worked as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader at facebook in San Francisco, California and is the founder of the URx Conference which was created for and organized by recruiters and developers of early career talent. Wahab also is a lot of things — he is an entrepreneur, a product manager, a recruiter, and a marketer, to name a few. He has worked at Startups, universities, and in Venture Capital. He loves building diverse communities of talent and scaling programs to achieve a common goal to bring a sense of community and belonging. I had the chance to sit down with Wahab to discuss Black history always, tech and endless opportunities and I am happy to share our conversation with you, enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Podcast #BHM #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. On today’s podcast, I have invited David Ojeyinka to join me. David is a graduate of the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University with Master of Management Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He also holds a Associate Degree in International Business Management from Mohawk College and a Bachelor’s Degree, Psychology and Business from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria. He has worked held many positions at RBC and he is currently the Manager, Workplace Experience at Deloitte Canada. He also the founder of the Freshstart Hub, a career advancement platform for Internationally Trained Talents and International Students. The hub provides career support to internationally trained talents and assist companies with their diversity recruitment & marketing efforts. As a public speaker, David empowers his audiences with practical insights and tools they can immediately apply to solve challenging problems in their businesses or careers. He has spoken about navigating uncertainties for immigrants, effective networking, and strategies to close the underemployment gap for skilled new Canadians at numerous corporate and college events. As a community builder, David is board member of Horizons for Youth where he provides strategic advice to advance the mission of the organization. I had the chance to sit down with David to discuss Black History Month, patience and compassion and I am happy to share our conversation with you, enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Podcast #BHM #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. On today’s Black History Month Talk, I have invited Noel Abingwa to join me. Noel is a graduate from Sheridan College with an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration Finance and has held positions as a Student Union Board Chairperson and an Enactus Project Director while attending Sheridan College. Noel also holds a Bachelor of Technology, Environmental Engineering from the University of Bamenda in Cameroon located in west central Africa. He is currently employed at BMO as a Business Analyst in Wealth Management Operations, he serves as a volunteer Communications co-lead for the BMO Black Professionals Network and a BMO Wellness Champion. Noel will be starting an Investment Banking Secondment role in BMO Capital Markets in May of 2023, a role he always coveted. Noel also has his own YouTube channel, @NoelAbingwa where he shares tips and tricks on how to immigrate to Canada and live the Canadian Dream! #CoffeeWithConvery #Podcast #BHM #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. On today’s Black History Month Talk, I have invited Betsy Danso to join me. Betsy is a Honors Graduate of the University of Windsor with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Labor Relations & Communications, Media & Film. Betsy is a passionate leader in all things involving people, strategy & technology and she has a knack for problem solving. She is a champion for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and she has an outstanding track record across Banking, Program Management, and strategic initiatives at RBC and now at BMO. Betsy also is an entrepreneur and owns her company RICH For Him For Hur — a one stop shop for Organic Luxury Skincare. You can find her products at richskinfh.com. I had the chance to sit down with Betsy to discuss Black History Month, confidence and acceptance and I am happy to share our conversation with you, enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Podcast #BHM #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. On today’s Black History Month Talk, I have invited the one and only Hugh Lawson to join me. Hugh is a Wilfrid Laurier University (go hawks) graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. While school, Hugh was busy with his studies and with his athletics and community involvement. He was the Resident Don for the C.H. Little House Men’s Residence and while on the Varsity Football Team he was CIAU All Canadian, 3-Time OUAA Conference All Star, Captain Of National Championship Winning Team, JP Metras Award Nominee – Top Lineman, Ontario Conference, Team Defensive MVP Award, Draft Pick: Toronto Argonauts Football Club (CFL) and the WLU Athletics Hall Of Fame Inductee in 2016. Hugh has over 25 years of experience helping clients drive business results by designing, executing and managing effective B2B solutions for Enterprise size clients. He has worked for Staples for most of his career and supported other organizations along the way. Most recently, Hugh joined EHN Canada Home to the country's largest network of industry-leading mental health and addiction treatment centres as the Head of Business Development. Hugh and I met each other through the Black Talent Initiative in 2020 which focuses on equity in career access for Black Canadians and we have never looked back. I had the chance to sit down with Hugh to discuss Black History Month, social justice, and sports with Hugh Lawson and I am happy to share our conversation with you, enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Podcast #BHM #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. On today’s Black History Month Talk, I have invited Troy Elleston to join me. Troy has a Bachelor of Science, Honors Degree, in Biology/ Biological Sciences from Ontario Tech University and an Advanced Biotechnology Diploma from Centennial College. Full-time, Troy currently functions in a virtual Fintech Operations space, aiming to navigate 21st century technical IT/SaaS tools to drive real-time financial solutions processes, which will transform the ways several companies adopt B2B digital payments. Part-time, Troy has remained involved with young people aged 15–25 in both a teaching & mentoring capacity, in order to promote continuous learning and suggest logical ideas for effective learning habits. As a professional/private educator, he aims to successfully optimize today’s social tools to enhance the virtual (cognitive) learning experience(s) of BIPOC youth. I had the chance to sit down with Troy to discuss Black History Month, tech and emotional intelligence and I am happy to share our conversation with you, enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Podcast #BHM #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. This podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. On today’s podcast, my guest is Ariana Shamsuddin. Ariana is in high school attending the Terry Fox Secondary School and resides in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. Ariana and I got connected through a very special person in both our lives, the one and only Sarah Wells. If you do not know Sarah Wells you should. Sarah is an Olympic hurdler and Pan Am Silver Medalist, an Amazing Race Canada participant and founder of her Believe Initiative founded fittingly on a message of resilience. Through 6 degrees of Sarah Wells, both Arian and I have been deeply involved in Sarah’s Believe Initiative. If interested, you can find more information on the Believe Initiative at believeinitiative.com. Ariana is not just your average high school student, Ariana is a TEDx Speaker who recorded her first talk “Keys to Growth” as a Grade 11 student in June 2022 with the TEDxGleneagleSecondary. Ariana is the Believe Leadership Student Director and past Chapter Head of the Believe Leadership Course at Terry Fox Secondary. She was also Loran Scholar Semi Finalist this year. Founded in Toronto in 1988, the Loran Scholars Foundation is a national charitable organization awarding scholarships for students entering post-secondary in Canada. I had the chance to sit down with Ariana to discuss Affirmation, acceptance and adaptability and I am happy to share our conversation with you, enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Podcast #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. This podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. On today’s Careering Talk, my guest today is Angelo Suntres. Angelo is a graduate of Western University with a Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering. Angelo is a passionate leader in the construction industry with 17 years of experience in designing and building in the ICI sector. His competencies include project management, estimating and leadership. He has represented both contractors and owners and understands the struggles form both sides of the fence. Angelo believes that focusing on the human principles of connection including effective communication and fostering healthy relationships is a critical part to ensuring a successful future for the construction industry. In addition to having worked for Bering Mechanical, University Health Network, Black & McDonald Limited and Ellis Don, Angelo is the founder of his company AGS where he helps construction professionals be the best that they can be. He is also the author of his new book “The Human Side of Construction: How to Ensure a Successful, Sustainable and Profitable Career as a Contractor, Project Manager, Estimator or Superintendent” and a facilitator of online resources for construction education. You can learn more at his website suntres.ca and sign up for his Sunday newsletters and some professional 1:1 coaching as well if interested. I had the chance to sit down with Angelo to discuss Construction, humans and connections and I am happy to share our conversation with you, enjoy!

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. This podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. On today’s Careering Talk, my guest today is Anthony Morra. Anthony is an honors graduate from the University of Toronto Scarborough with a BBA in Business Management. He also holds a MBA in Business Administration and Management from the Hult International Business School based in San Francisco, California. During his schooling, Anthony was the soccer coach at UTSC and captain of the soccer and hockey clubs. At Hult, Anthony was the President of Hult Soccer Club (San Francisco Chapter), Head Coach Hult Undergraduate Soccer Team (West Coast Soccer League/Club). In addition, to his passion for sports and school, he holds a Certification in Cognitive Therapy. Anthony is a driven entrepreneur with Change Management and Project Management experience. He guides companies in a variety of industries with his in-depth knowledge of human motivation and teaches executives on how to create motivating environments and teams. Currently, Anthony is the CEO of Bladetech Hockey. They manufacture replacement hockey skate blades with patented flexible technology (Flex Force Advantage): which improves speed and reduces injuries. Anthony successfully led the company’s product launch in 2015 and positioned it as a premier brand for the NHL and competitive players. He directed the comprehensive market research project and oversaw the creation of the top-tier brand strategy. Anthony also developed and implemented a fully operational e-commerce website and the digital communications strategy. You can learn more about his company at bladetechhockey.com. I had the chance to sit down with Anthony to discuss Sports, entrepreneurship and networking and I am happy to share our conversation with you, enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Podcast #Listen #Learn #BeInspired