Trail Talk Live: Trails as a Catalyst for Human Connection


Trail Talk Live: Trails as a Catalyst for Human Connection

  March 7, 2024 | 1:00 PM EST

Virtual

Join us for a conversation about the myriad benefits of trail use during the coldest months of the year. During this installment of Trail Talk Live, Meghan Reddick, Trans Canada Trail’s Interim CEO, speaks with Joannie Rochette, Olympian and doctor and Pete Bombaci, Executive Director of the GenWell Project. They will discuss the social benefits of face-to-face connection, and how the Trans Canada Trail is a perfect setting for activity all winter long.

Trail Talk Live is generously supported by TD Bank Group.

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Une édition en français de Parlons Sentier en direct, avec la participation de Joannie Rochette, est disponible ici.

Meghan Reddick

Interim CEO and Vice President, Chief Communications & Marketing Officer, Trans Canada Trail

Meghan brings a wide-ranging career in non-profit management and brand strategy to her role as Interim CEO and Vice-President, and Chief Communications & Marketing Officer at Trans Canada Trail.

Before joining Trans Canada Trail in 2020, Meghan helped to transform some of Canada’s most respected national non-profits, including Habitat for Humanity Canada, YMCA Canada, and Kids Help Phone, into cause-driven charities with global brand awareness. She has been recognized for her work with several marketing awards. Meghan is a public speaker, and has been interviewed as a thought leader in numerous contexts, including an international best-selling book focused on strategic, mission-centred collaborative brand management for non-profits.

Meghan can often be found on the Waterfront Trail, her favourite section of the Trans Canada Trail, in the Beaches, Toronto. While on the Trail, she relishes the sound of the waves crashing along the shore of Lake Ontario, and time spent recharging outdoors with her family and her golden retriever, Louie.

Joannie Rochette

Olympian, Doctor

Bronze medalist at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, runner-up at the 2009 World Championships and six-time Canadian champion, Joannie Rochette is undoubtedly one of Canada’s most successful figure skaters.

Hailing from Île Dupas in Québec’s Lanaudière region, her combination of power, perfectionism, passion and grace captures everyone’s attention when she is performing on the ice. Lacing up her skates for the first time when she was just shy of two, Rochette showed her tremendous potential in the early 2000s when she won the Canadian novice title, followed by the junior title.

She achieved her biggest dream when she competed at her first Olympics in 2006, in Torino. She finished 5th, exceeding her goal of ranking among the top ten. Four years later, at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the skater inspired an entire nation with her exceptional display of strength and courage. Despite personal tragedy striking a few days before she competed, she climbed the third step of the podium.

She graduated from Medicine at McGill University in 2020 and is now pursuing her residency in Anesthesiology at Université de Montréal.

Pete Bombaci

Founder and Executive Director, The GenWell Project

Pete Bombaci is the founder of The GenWell Project and is proud to be leading a movement that he truly believes can make the world a happier and healthier place. The idea, in the making for over a decade before it’s launch in 2016, was inspired by the events witnessed during the summer blackout back in 2003. Kindness, generosity, empathy and most importantly, human connection.

Formerly the Canadian Country Director for Movember Canada, Pete led an amazing team of people responsible for raising $142 million dollars over five years, and putting a much needed lens back on men’s health. Having spent time in the for profit and not for profit worlds, Pete believes that there is a great opportunity to combine the interests of business, schools, government, foundations and individuals in the solution to the disconnected world that we find ourselves in today.