About Us

The British Columbia Association for Living Mindfully (BCalm) is a non-profit society dedicated to facilitating increased mindfulness and reduced stress in homes, schools, and workplaces throughout BC.

Based in beautiful Victoria, BC, we are grateful to live, work and play within the traditional territories of the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations.

Collaborating with physicians, mindfulness facilitators, educators, and researchers throughout the province, we offer classes, workshops and retreats in meditation and mindfulness-based stress reduction and management for children, youth, and adults.

Our programs and research focus upon the health benefits of mindful awareness, compassion, and acceptance. These skills allow participants to better navigate common challenges such as stress, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia, chronic disease and more.

Please contact us to find out more information.

If you would like to keep up to date regularly about our programs and events, please sign up for our e-newsletter.

Meet The BCalm Mindfulness Conference Team

We are pleased to be working with the following team for planning and implementation of this year’s conference.

Deborah Connors

BCalm Executive Director & Conference Emcee

Deborah joined BCALM as Executive Director in April 2022. She has run her own consulting business, Well-Advised Consulting Inc, for over 30 years, teaching leaders and teams to radically shift culture so that people can flourish. Deborah is the founder of The Better Workplace Conference which she led for 17 years. It was a powerful initiative that created a whole generation of workplace health professionals and a huge community of practice. She has worked in healthcare, as a Registered Dietitian early in her career, and then after getting her Master’s Degree in Health Promotion she moved into the organizational health field. Read Deborah’s full bio.

Sarah Lowis, Founder and Impact Officer & Vivian Trieschman, Project Coordinator

Sea to Sky Meeting and Association Management

To manage the myriad of finer details, support you and all aspects that come with conference and association management, meet Sarah Lowis (photo left), CMP, CMM, CAE, Founder and Impact Officer, and Vivian Trieschman (photo right), BBA, Project Coordinator of Sea to Sky Meeting and Association Management (Sea to Sky) who are part of the BCalm Team! Sea to Sky strive to make the world a better place by helping organizations thrive through managing conferences, events, and associations, in Canada and around the World.

Sea to Sky Meeting and Association Management

Lynne Henshaw

Marketing & Communications Consultant

Lynne brings over 20 years of senior-level experience in marketing, communications and public relations working in diverse business environments and sectors including non-profit organizations, tourism, technology, and consumer goods. She has a strong personal interest in promoting best practices in human resource management, leadership, and workplace wellness. In addition, Lynne is an active community volunteer and an advocate for causes that create positive change locally and abroad. Read Lynne’s full bio.

Program Committee

In addition to Deborah Connors, Darshi Klear, Board Member, and Trish Soznyk, BCalm Facilitator, participated in reviewing proposals and deciding on speakers and facilitators for this year’s event.

Darshi Klear

BCalm Board Member

Darshi is excited to work as part of a team to build on the successes of the BCALM program. She participated in a team effort to bring the FIRST THREE BC Mindfulness Summits to Victoria. Darshi is retired from her 30-year BC Public Service career extensively in the debt management area of the Ministry of Finance. As Executive Director of Debt Management, she and her team were responsible for overseeing a multi-faceted borrowing program and managing a multi billion-dollar debt and derivatives portfolio on behalf of the province and Crown agencies. She has completed the ALM program, is an avid golfer, practices yoga and trains regularly in a variety of fitness activities. Read Darshi’s full bio.

Trish Snozyk MD CCFP

BCalm Facilitator

Trish is a Family Physician, with an interest in the mind body connection as it relates to restoring health and revitalizing well-being. She believes that what makes people optimally healthy is not found in a pill or in a procedure (although these may be necessary!) but ultimately comes from their attitudes and their emotional resilience. She absolutely believes that wellness can be learned! Her practice is an eclectic one including technical surgical work as an assist on the Open Heart Surgical Team at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, as well as an office practice devoted to the exploration and treatment of metabolic issues such as obesity, diabetes and PCOS. In addition, she teaches people mindfulness skills and mental health tools that revitalize their emotional fitness and improve their lives. Read Trish’s full bio.

Become a member of the BCalm community!

BCalm is your go-to place for increased mindfulness and reduced stress in homes, schools and workplaces throughout BC. Today, we invite you to join the BCalm community by becoming a member. The BCalm membership offers valuable benefits including a discount on our conference, and much more:

Discounted registration to the annual BCalm Mindfulness Conference (over 20% off the regular rate and 25% off the early bird rate!). You will get your membership fee back (and more) if you register for the conference!
First to know about upcoming mindfulness programs.
Discounted member rates for all BCalm fee-for-service courses, workshops and events.

See the full list of membership benefits.

PO Box 39001
Station James Bay
Victoria BC, V8V4X8

About Us