The Team
Presenters
wellness comes from within
Dr. Jared McCollum
Dr. Jared M. McCollum, Dr.Ac., is passionate about guiding people on their path to health and wellness and helping them discover the amazing healing ability they all hold within themselves. Having graduated from the Canadian College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in 2004, Dr. McCollum has extensive training in Acupuncture, Oriental Diet Therapy, Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine, Meditation and Taoist Psychology and Psychotherapy. Jared has spent countless hours serving the communities he has lived in over the last 20 years, offering classes in meditation, Qi Gong and programs he has developed which identify emotional blocks and help others let go of extreme emotions and stress. He is committed to improving the health of his patients as well as their community.
Keely Bays-Egri
Ashley Jones
Since she was young, Keely has been acutely aware of the suffering within the human experience. Drawn to inward-focused practices, she has dedicated herself to seeking greater understanding of the roots of inner suffering and methods for eradicating those roots and supporting positive transformation through meditative and inner growth practices.
A meditation coach offering workshops and one-one-one coaching, Keely previously taught meditation and mindfulness at the University of Victoria. With over 20 years of experience in meditation, mindfulness, and personal and spiritual growth, she is deeply passionate about helping individuals cultivate greater peace, happiness, inner freedom and personal authenticity through meditation and inner growth practices. Additionally, her sensitivity to and experience working with subtle energy fields adds an extra layer of support to what she offers through her meditation workshops and coaching sessions. Keely also creates art designed to nurture wellness, peace, inner healing, and personal and spiritual growth, at www.brightlifeart.net. You can learn more about Keely and her meditation coaching at www.brightlifemeditation.com
Derek Rowe
As a lover of physical activity Derek first started his personal journey of wellness by joining the Wing
Chun Kung Fu Association under the direction of Sifu Brain Lewadny. Practicing and eventually teaching Kung fu from 1999. Derek has participated in many festivals and demonstrations.
Yoga was introduced to Derek during his training at the Academy in the early 2000’s. Ashtanga yoga was the yoga that he first learned. The combination of both martial arts and yoga was a wonderful fit. It was not until years later when he started to pursue yoga as a teacher. Derek Started his yoga teacher training online with Your Yoga Flow and completed his 200 hour in 2021. Shortly after he continued his learning journey and completed the 300 hour teacher training online in 2022. Derek is experienced in teaching, Hatha, Ashtanga, Sivinanda, Yin, and restorative styles of yoga. His yoga classes are mostly built on a Flow style which can be modified on the fly to incorporate any level
practitioner.
Cassandra Daher
Cassandra Daher is a passionate practitioner and guide in the field of Emotional Release, specializing in helping others reconnect with their bodies, release stored emotions and return to a state of inner safety and wholeness. With a grounded yet intuitive approach, Cassandra offers Emotional Release Sessions, Psychosomatic Coaching and Trauma-Informed workshops designed to help individuals break free from survival patterns and reclaim their inner power. Having supported tons of clients through deep emotional and energetic work, Cassandra combines her certifications in somatics and NLP modalities with her lived experience as a mother of three, allowing her to meet others with compassion, realness, and presence. Her workshops and one-on-one sessions provide a powerful container for those seeking to process emotional blocks, reconnect with their inner child, and awaken a more vibrant, aligned version of themselves. Cassandra believes healing doesn’t have to be clinical — it can be gentle, wild, sacred, and even playful. Her mission is to help others feel again, soften again, and come home to their bodies, where safety, joy, and self-trust are waiting.
Samantha Baldwin
Samantha Baldwin is an eclectic witch who has displayed psychic gifts since childhood. Although she avoided these gifts until adulthood, she is now actively embracing them. Samantha is a Tarotist, Akashic reader, sound healer and writer who is passionate about guiding women into the underworld to integrate their shadows and activate their womb power. During her time as a yoga Teacher, she began playing Alchemy bowls for her students, she also started playing them on the bodies of her Reiki clients. Samantha discovered her yoga students were able to drop into their practice on a deeper level without the "monkey mind" and her Reiki clients were able to release unwanted energy at a rapid, yet gentle rate. She has gone on to study the science of sound and teach people how the power of their own voices is the most powerful sound healing tool! Samantha teaches how sound and our pelvic floors relate and that if we release trauma, we free our voices. Samantha's collection of crystal alchemy bowls has grown and she has gone "on tour" to play countless sound baths all over Alberta as well as co-facilitates sound healing retreats.
Ninu Lammens
Ninu Lammens is a former ER, GI, and chemotherapy nurse turned Integrative Health Practitioner, Certified Holistic Nutrition Consultant, and Ancestral Health Coach. After experiencing her own burnout and hitting dead ends in the conventional system, she pivoted to root-cause, functional medicine and now helps mainly women across Canada heal gut, hormone, and metabolic issues through her online practice.
Based in Foothills County, AB, Ninu is a mom of two active boys, an adventure-seeker and passionate advocate for empowering people to take control of their health with root cause solutions & sustainable wellness practices.
Todd Moroz
Todd is passionate about guiding people on their path to health and wellness through meditation and sound to help release physical and mental stress while embracing a holistically spiritual path. After spending several years practicing meditation as a means to balance his own life and manage personal traumas which plagued him throughout his life, he sought to learn more as a means to share this gift with others. This led him to completing his Meditation Instruction and Holistic Counselling course, and he is also a Sound Healing & Reiki Practitioner. Todd is currently embracing this gift and sharing with many others by initiating meditation clubs at work and being a leader in emotional intelligence. In addition, he is also a huge advocate of shedding the stigma on men’s mental and emotional health and is leading a Men’s Meditation and Wellness Club; The ShaMen Tribe.
Dr. Matthew Rider
Dr. Matthew Rider, Dr. Ac., is passionate about helping people awaken to their true potential—reminding them that even in the face of life’s greatest challenges, healing is not only possible, but always within reach. He practices both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, with advanced training in Distal Needling Acupuncture and Medical Pulse Diagnosis. Dr. Rider also brings over a decade of experience in meditation and mindfulness, along with direct study and initiation into the traditional medicines of the Matsés tribe in Peru, including Sapo and NüNü. Deeply committed to each patient’s journey toward wellness, Dr. Rider’s goal is to restore vibrant, pain-free living—for individuals and the communities they belong to.
Lisa Moroz
Lisa began her wellness journey seven years ago, courageously confronting traumas and limiting beliefs through self-work and dedication. By practicing stillness and immersing herself in healing modalities like trauma therapy, retreats, restorative yoga, Yoga Nidra, and meditation, she developed a growth mindset focused on holistic well-being.
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As the founder of Foothills Wellness Retreat, Lisa created a supportive community space promoting self-care, balance, and rejuvenation. Co-creating the business with her husband and daughter, she aims to inspire others through retreats and podcasts that foster personal growth and meaningful connections. With her warm spirit and dedication, Lisa continues to nurture a community dedicated to well-being and fulfillment.
Tabitha Kolodziej
Tabitha is a globally recognized, award-winning leader in excellence in health, known for her transformative work in trauma healing, subconscious reprogramming, and embodiment.
As a trauma and spiritual informed practitioner and NLP-certified coach, she has dedicated years to guiding individuals through deep inner healing, helping them break free from limiting beliefs and reclaim their true power.
With extensive training and firsthand experience overcoming childhood traumas, addictions, suicide, and self-destructive patterns, Tabitha has created a safe, nurturing space for those ready to release emotional burdens and step into a new way of being.
Vanessa Castro
Vanessa is a musician and astrologer who has studied astrology for the past 2 decades. She started offering astrology guidance to others in 2017. Vanessa combines creativity, inner child healing and astrological wisdom in her offerings to support people’s journey of self knowledge and authentic living. Her offerings include: astrology readings, moon circles, meditations, pop up readings, group readings, and lots of written and spoken content through her blog, social media and podcast. She is currently developing an offering that combines astrology and creative healing called “Cosmic Child”. When she is not working on astrology, Vanessa can be found performing her music through the city, improvising in music jams and rap circles, or tending to her plants at home.