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I'm Leslie

​I am a Conversation Host...

 

I hold space for women navigating the threshold of midlife — where identity shifts, mortality becomes real, and the question of mattering rises to the surface. These are the conversations nobody prepared us for. And they are the most important ones we will ever have.

I challenge the status quo so that people live their ordinary life in an extraordinary way. 

My days begin with ritual. Warm water. Stillness. A walk with my dog as the morning settles in. I have learned, slowly and not without resistance, that how I begin shapes everything that follows — and that tending to myself is not indulgence. It is the work of becoming.

I spent many years as a workhorse. Holding up families, organizations, rooms full of people who needed someone to anchor the space. I was good at it. And somewhere along the way I set down the weight — not all at once, but gradually — and discovered that what I was actually built for was something quieter and more profound. Witnessing. Hosting. Creating the conditions for women to experience themselves differently.

I talk about three things: Midlife. Mortality. Mattering. Not as heavy subjects to endure, but as thresholds to cross with company. I have crossed them myself — through loss, through reinvention, through the particular kind of freedom that arrives when you stop performing and start inhabiting your own life.

The Mattering Circles I host were born from love letters I wrote for my children on their significant birthdays. Each child sitting at the centre. Each person who loves them offering back, in writing, what they see. What they cherish. Who this person is, through the eyes of someone paying attention. It is the simplest thing. It changes people.

No scripts. No frameworks. No fixing. I help people feel themselves in a different way — with more space, more perspective, more of themselves present in the room.

​I live in Calgary, Alberta, with my husband, dog, and cat. Combined, we have five young adult children who are all pursuing their next life adventures.

 

I’m obsessed with tennis! I picked it up at age 53, and while it’s a challenging sport to learn, it’s one of the most rewarding pursuits I've ever undertaken.

 

I also LOVE Pilates and am on a mission to complete 250 classes by the end of this year!​

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I am a daughter, sister, mother and friend. I am a mother of four, yet only 3 walk the earth. I was a stay-at-home mom, I am now a working mom. I have been married, divorced, remarried, then a widow. I have now found the love of my life. I have aging parents and children still at home.

 

I am a student, and I am a teacher. I have had many roles. I have had many transitions.​

 

I bring all of this and more to my work in serving others.​  Leslie

​​​I've got...​

 

Over 20 years of experience in human development and have worked across various industries, including personal growth, career coaching, conflict resolution, training and facilitation, divorce and separation, human rights, oil and gas, health care, the military, post-secondary education, and community development.

 

I am the creator of The Art of Choosing a program that emerged from my life journey and the lessons I’ve learned.

I hold a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) designation and have spent over 20 years in coaching, conflict resolution, and facilitation. I have a degree in Psychology and Women's Studies, and I am a certified mediator, coach, and circle keeper.

But the credential that matters most is this: I have lived what I teach. And I am still living it.

If you are standing at a threshold — if something in you is shifting and you don't yet have language for it — you are in the right place.

— Leslie

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Women's Studies, as well as several certifications: Co-Active Coach, Mediator and Conflict Resolution Specialist, Circle Facilitator, and Conversational Leadership and Participatory Dialogue.​​​​

2026 - Conversation Host 

Midlife. Mortality. Mattering

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