Discover #HamOnt Podcast With Brian Hogg

In addition to volunteering for the Children's International Learning Centre, Chelsea is also Case Manager at Good Shepherd helping those in transition move forward. We chat about what CILC is and where they're going, and some thoughts on ways to move Hamilton forward for those in need.

Shilo is the founder and owner of SHINE, a beautiful shop on James Street North that opened their doors in September 2014!

Marcio Novelli is all the things: dad, husband, singer, songwriter, podcaster, and even accidental documentary filmmaker. Highlights - The challenges making it as an independent singer/songwriter - How to balance choosing to work on projects vs. family - Structuring the day to reduce stress and anxiety - What you may find in the sleeve of his next acoustic EP...

Stephanie is the current Executive Director of the Hamilton Arts Council, an organization and charitable not-for-profit whose mission is to communicate, advocate and mediate for the arts and the role of the arts in Hamilton.

Nick is behind Orbital, the digital-only agency based in Hamilton. He's had an interesting journey to where he is now, and we have a great chat about the creative process, comedy, Pokemon Go, tech... oh, and Hamilton.

Lena is the founder and executive director for Food4Kids, a local non-profit that provides quality, healthy meals to kids who wouldn't otherwise may not have anything to eat over the entire weekend away from school. They've also expanded into a summer program, providing hand-delivered baskets for the entire week. She shares the heartbreaking story that pushed her to start the program from the ground up and how they've been able to grow to feed over 1,300 kids every single week!

Randy is behind Social Impact Enterprises, a company that supports nonprofits and social enterprises in the Hamilton area with projects like the Impact Store. We chat about how he went from studying civil engineering to priesthood, and how running a church provided a lot of the tools and experience needed to run a non-profit!

Chris is the co-founder and creative director for Kitestring, but really he's known for his amazing positivity, personality and support of the community in Hamilton. We have a super fun chat, from chatting about some wine and parking anywhere for free...

Kristen is now territory manager for both Hamilton and Burlington with Canadian Blood Services. We chat about her view of Hamilton, the process of donating for those who have never done it before and why its so important.

Corey is heavily involved in Hamilton, whether it be keeping people informed with his e-publication The Gist or empowering young professionals through Hamilton HIVE and the HiveX conference. Hear how Corey made his way to the city and got so involved!

Jesslyn shifted from wine to coffee when she opened her beautiful café, Vintage Coffee Roasters. In an area of Hamilton not known for high end cafes and roasters, she has become a staple of the community since they've opened. Hear the story of how she got started and how she's making Hamilton her home. See show notes and other episodes on discoverhamont.ca

Joey is one of Canada's few crowd-funded journalists. After several national positions he decided to make the move back to covering local news in Hamilton, which can be found on thepublicrecord.ca and on The Public Record YouTube channel. The actions of city counsellors nearly forced him to leave the city for good, but I'm glad he's back and I was able to catch up with him for a great chat on all things Hamilton. Find show notes and more at discoverhamont.ca

Jay Higgins has seen first hand the ongoing transformation of Hamilton and its core. He's also seen the impression of Hamilton from those outside the city change, in no small part from events like the Hamilton Food & Drink Fest his company Beau Monde Productions puts out to shine a light on the local Hamilton restaurant scene. Hear how his events started and how his career has evolved and morphed over the years, from events, to working at the Hamilton Spectator (when the Internet became a thing), to tech startups like WikiDOMO - including the Obituaries Today startup story that was supposed to be on Dragon's Den but unfortunately never had a chance to share! Beau Monde ProductionsHamilton Food & Drink Fest Restaurant Harvest Moon (aka Tim's Restaurant)My ThaiBronziesThe Other Bird Café Democracy (with the kids)Brown Dog (meetings)St James (good food and a great chai)Cafe Oranje Shop Pure Home CoutureDiscount Emporium Event Concerts at Hamilton Place, First Ontario CentreFestival of Friends Natural Feature Cycling

As a formal candidate for city council (Ward 2),Martinus saw a lack of coverage for the downtown core that was just turning the corner from existing media.  So few years ago he unwittingly started a broadsheet publication with a distribution of 10,000 copies, and has been purposefully continuing it every month ever since. Hear how the publication that echo's the pulse of Hamilton's core got started, and how it has evolved over the years.

After seeing the negative effects of traditional products on her grand children, Mary Lou started Mrs. Greenway, a new shop in downtown Dundas.  They not only carry all natural products, but even their flooring was milled locally and harvested from Ash trees that the city took down and their lighting in store is very low-energy LED lighting.  Their mission statement "Let's protect our children and our children's children" says it all!

Something as simple as asking for help if lost can be difficult for a child with autism, as developing communication skills can be a challenge.  Using Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) techniques, Special Appucations has developed two mobile apps - ABA Find It! and Street Smarts - to help kids with autism, their families and educators teach practical skills and improve quality of life in an accessible way. Learn about some of the challenges involved with autism, the long waiting lists for in-person training, and how Sarah is working to get the help kids need as early as possible.

If you live in Hamilton and have not heard of Erin Dunham you may have been living under a rock with your fingers in your ears.  Erin has spearheaded the opening of four new restaurants in the city under the wing of The Other Bird, along with the upcoming crowdfunded project The Mule.  We chat about what it's like to open a restaurant, the process they're using to open new ones, and her dream of opening a boutique hotel the city deserves.

Funeral Alternatives is a project let by Rochelle Martin, providing advice and education on the options available to care for their loved ones before and after death.  Learn more about the alternatives that are available and some of the ways we used to fulfill our obligations only a couple generations ago, and what natural options areas like the UK are using in order to benefit generations to come.

Madeline has been a part of the music industry in one way or another all her life, and has seen the effects of not having adequate healthcare services for members of the music community.  We chat about her career and her passion project Revival Hamilton, putting the health of our music community on centre stage.

Ashley started the campaign Ditching Prom for Nepal, where she gave up all the money she saved for her prom to the Nepal relief efforts.  Hear her story!

Tricia LeClair is the Executive Director of the Hamilton Children's Choir, a local choir group for children aged 5-18 years of age and winner of numerous awards and competitions worldwide.  Hear about the history of the choir and why you should attend one of their upcoming events if you haven't already!

Kathleen (Maisonneuve Music) and Michael (moon:and:6) have both been in the music business for a long time, and have been a part of the growing Hamilton music scene for the last 8 years.  We talk about everything music related - from the parallels of the non-profit sector to the music industry, some of the challenges of launching and running a label, the creative ways to make a living doing what you're passionate about and where the revenue comes from, along with what brought them into Hamilton from Toronto. If you have any part of the music industry whether in Hamilton or elsewhere, or you're interested in what it's like to be a part of it, you need to listen to this chat!

Jason Cassis is a serial entrepreneur in Hamilton, behind restaurant Aberdeen Tavern, the Dundurn Market, the Knollwood Golf Club and more.  We chat about his current and upcoming projects, what it's like to invest in Hamilton, and some of his favourite parts of the city.

Kate Flynn is co-owner and operations manager at Honest Field Farms, an organic vegetable farm based in Millgrove, Ontario, just outside the city of Hamilton.  We chat about her journey from suburban New York to Hamilton, some of the challenges with running a sustainable farm, and some of her favourite things about the city.

Dale and Roz Mugford of BraveNewCode and Double Barrel Studios both run their companies out of the beautiful Studio@41 space.  We chat about how the space which 4 companies share came together, what it's like to both live and work in the downtown core, and some of their favourite parts of the city.  A surprise musical interlude wraps up the interview.

Daniel Haartman is a local psychotherapist in Hamilton, offering cultural mentoring and psychotherapy services for individuals and groups.  We chat about the benefits of therapy wherever we are in our lives, some realizations in his own life over the years, and what drew Daniel closer to the city centre from the outskirts of the region.

Justin Hall is co-founder of Start the Cycle, a non-profit ‘bike share’ program for school aged children between the ages of 5 and 15 similar to the for profit bike share models others use.  We chat about how the program works, why this and other programs encouraging physical activity are so important, winter biking and why it's totally doable (and fun!), and some Justin's favourite parts of the city.

Paddy is the Executive Director for Mission Services in Hamilton, a charity on a mission to end poverty and create safe places to learn, heal and grow.  We talk about her career that brought her to her current role, why she decided to make the move to Hamilton, and some of her favourite parts of the city.

Jeannie Crawford is a sales representative for Ambitious Realty and founder of MoveToHamOnt.com, an excellent resource for those looking to make the move to the city.  Jeannie talks about how the site was started, the journey that took her from a condo in Toronto to a home in the north end of Hamilton, and some of the favourite parts of the city she and her husband are still discovering.

Kristin Archer is all things for I Heart Hamilton, a popular local blog and radio show created in 2011 with the concept “Be a tourist in your own city.”  She also promotes live music shows under the “I Heart Hamilton presents” banner at iconic venues such as This Ain’t Hollywood and The Casbah.  We chat about how the blog started, some of the many other things she’s working on now including her upcoming annual fundraiser show The Playlist, and some of her favourite parts of the city.

Greg Lenko is founder of the Escarpment Project, an annual escarpment clean-up day that quickly grew to become the largest volunteer environmental clean up in Hamilton and one of the largest of its kind in Canada.  We chat about how the event started and some of the challenges involved, the impact the cleanup is having, and some of Greg's favourite parts of the city.

Linda Rourke started Hamilton Life six years ago at Cable 14, the local community cable station for Hamilton.  We chat about how the show started and some of the great stories she's been able to share, the story of her return to the city after her broadcasting career with CTV and the Weather Network took her to Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver, and some of her favourite parts about living and working in Hamilton.

Kevin Browne is the catalyst and founder behind Software Hamilton, the portal for software and technology events in the city.  Kevin talks about how the community started and grew, some of the great events and conferences available, and some of the many reasons why he loves Hamilton.

Meg Smith is the Senior Designer at factor[e], a local design and technology company, and also the Hamilton chapter lead for Ladies Learning Code, a nationwide not-for-profit organization that helps both women and men learn to code.  We chat about both of her roles, and some of her favourite things about the city she's lived in nearly every corner of.

Donna Reid is owner of The Hamilton Store, a beautiful shop on James Street North showcasing quality local products.  Donna shares how she came to Hamilton, how she realized her dream of opening the shop, and some of her favourite aspects of the city.  The interview was recorded live inside the store.

Curtis Ingleton and Halden Sproule of Genius I.E. talks about how their company and a handful of others are defining the growing 3D printing space, and how advanced manufacturing companies and techniques are a great fit to Hamilton.  We also chat about what brought them to Hamilton and why they love the city, and the Hamilton Tool Library that Halden started.

Susan Morris is the Manager of Fund Development at City Kidz, an organization making a difference in the lives of over 2,300 children in the city.  Susan talks about how City Kidz started, how they make a difference for kids of all ages, and why she's loves being a part of Hamilton.

Patti Encinas is Chair of the Sherman Hub, a group of dedicated residents and business owners making change in the community, and making the whole community a great place to live, work and raise a family.  Patti shares some of the history of how the hub started, what they've accomplished, what they're working on currently, and some great parts of the area.

David Carter is the Executive Director of the Innovation Factory, located in the McMaster Innovation Park.  Innovation Factory runs numerous events and helps entrepreneurs bring their ideas to commercialization.  David shares the history of the Innovation Factory and why Hamilton is a great place to build and grow a new venture.

Justin Policarpio is helping build Spectrum, an extra-curricular support program that encourages student entrepreneurship at McMaster University.  He also runs his own entrepreneurial venture, Roboteurs Inc, creating robots for education.  Justin tells the story of how Spectrum started and why he's quite happy to stay in Hamilton.

Keanin Loomis is the President and CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.  After leaving an elite law firm in Washington DC, Keanin shares his story of his move to Hamilton, and becoming an integral part of the community.

Dane Pedersen is Director of Art for Supercrawl, Hamilton's yearly arts and culture festival on James Street North.  Dane gives some behind the scenes of how Supercrawl comes together, his story of how he settled in Hamilton, and some of the reasons why he loves the city.

Sofia Stanidis is the Events and Business Development Coordinator and John Williams is the Dundas Valley 50 Year Vision and Strategy Project Manager for the Hamilton Conservation Authority. Sofia and John share their stories and challenges of how the beautiful parks and watershed of Hamilton are preserved and made available for us all to enjoy, and some of their favourite parts of it and the rest of the city.

A podcast dedicated to exploring the businesses and groups that make up Hamilton Ontario Canada, and why they love the city.  If you live or work in Hamilton, thinking about moving to Hamilton, or wondering why you should visit, this podcast is for you.   Each episode interviews one or more people who help make Hamilton great, asking them about what they do, their journey that led them to city, and why they love it.  Episodes are recorded in person in the city, for a more natural conversation.  At the end of each interview is a lightning round where you'll learn some local restaurants, cafes, shops, events and natural features and why the interviewee likes them so much.  Discover Hamilton! (or #HamOnt, the official social media hashtag of the city)