Meet the Speakers for Breakthrough 2026

Sophie Fengaras

High-Ticket Sales Mentor, Motivational Speaker, English-Qualified Lawyer — Hamilton, Ontario

Born and raised in the UK, Sophie qualified as an English solicitor by 24. With a plasterer for a father and a stay-at-home mum, she followed the path she believed success was supposed to look like: stability, prestige, and external approval. Her legal career continued when she moved to Dubai and lived a life most people would dream of. On the inside, she felt misaligned and lost behind the title she had worked so hard to earn.

In March 2025, an unexpected job loss became a turning point. With one client and no formal business plan, Sophie went all in on her coaching business. Building it without prior experience required uncomfortable levels of responsibility, visibility, and resilience. Through that process, she confronted her biggest challenge: sales. After investing five figures into high-level sales training and being coached by industry leaders, her relationship with sales fundamentally changed. That experience led to the creation of Booked for Growth Academy, where she supports female entrepreneurs in growing sustainable businesses through confident, aligned selling.

"This feels like a step towards finally choosing to be seen, not because you need to be the loudest, but because you have a story to share with the world."

@iamsophiedimitra

Jackie Mirkopoulos

Speaker, Leadership Mentor, Investor and Philanthropist — Etobicoke, Ontario

Jackie Mirkopoulos helps leaders unsubscribe from burnout and reframe their leadership toward sustainable growth through her Zones of Leadership methodology. She works with leaders who appear successful on the outside but feel depleted, disconnected, or misaligned beneath the surface. By uncovering blind spots and identifying each leader's next growth edge, Jackie supports a holistic way of being that starts with the body and nervous system and ripples outward into relationships, work environments, and a deeper sense of purpose.

"I am excited to share this chapter of my story, rooted in Nature's Badass Blueprint."

@jackie.mirkopoulos

Sofranie Trencia

Mindset & Success Coach, Award-Winning Speaker — Montreal, Quebec

A former Tae Kwon-Do World Champion and award-winning circus artist, Sofranie Trencia knows what it takes to perform at the highest level and what it costs when self-image, nervous system, and identity are not aligned with the pressure to succeed. After experiencing a life-stopping burnout that left her in bed for a year, she rebuilt from the inside out and transformed that hard-earned wisdom into a practical, results-driven method she now teaches others. Through her coaching, clients elevate their self-image, strengthen leadership, and create real career outcomes with clarity, confidence, and sustainable momentum.

"Coming back to Speaker Slam for a second time feels like coming home. The energy, the connection, and the pure adrenaline of competing lights me up."

@sofranie_trencia

Santo Chiappetta

Inspirational Speaker, Applied Physiology & Human Performance Coach — Toronto, Ontario

Santo Chiappetta helps people build confidence the hard way, by earning it. What started as a teenager trying to fix his body became a decade-long study in discipline, pressure, and identity. Along the way, success, loss, and burnout taught him a lesson most people learn too late: pushing harder stops working when you are disconnected from yourself. Today, Santo works with high-performing individuals who look capable on the outside but feel misaligned on the inside, using movement as a way to rebuild clarity, self-trust, and resilience.

@santo.chiappetta

Stacey Laviolette

Entrepreneur, Founder of My Friend Toothy®, Inspirational Speaker — Rockland, Ontario

Stacey Laviolette is the founder of My Friend Toothy®, a children's oral health brand recently featured on Dragon's Den. With a background in psychology and lived experience navigating life with a learning disability, Stacey speaks from a place of deep personal insight. Her message centers on how early labels can shape our stories and the defining moment when you choose whether to let those labels limit you or fuel you.

"Speaker Slam feels like a moment to stand in my story and finally use it for something bigger."

@myfriendtoothy

Gillian Nycum

Culture Architect, Human Capacity Expert — Montreal, Quebec

Gillian Nycum supports people and groups at inflection points: moments of change, complexity, and becoming. She brings a sharp, systems-informed perspective shaped by over 20 years of leadership experience and by her role as a parent of a brilliant neurodivergent child. Her work focuses on restoring attunement across selves, relationships, and the systems we inhabit so that momentum can be sustained with greater ease and less effort. She approaches belonging as a strategic condition because when people experience real belonging, their unique capacities can emerge and contribute fully.

@gilliannycum

Pierre Mousseau

Entrepreneur, Author, Resilience Speaker — Kleinburg, Ontario

Pierre Mousseau is an entrepreneur, author, and resilience expert, and the Founder, President, and CEO of a successful logistics and transportation company. He is the author of From the Ashes, a powerful nonfiction book that explores grief, leadership, faith, and rebuilding after the loss of his son. Pierre speaks from lived experience about the importance of presence in leadership, in family, and in life. His work focuses on how moments of profound loss can become catalysts for deeper connection, stronger leadership, and purposeful living.

"Speaker Slam gives me the opportunity to be fully present with an audience and to touch as many souls as possible."

@pierremousseau

Jacqui Farley

Psychotherapist, Nervous System Specialist, Capacity-Building Coach — Toronto, Ontario

Jacqui Farley is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), Capacity Building Coach, and retired paramedic devoted to helping people expand what is possible beyond survival mode. After navigating post-traumatic stress disorder firsthand, she redirected her life's work toward trauma-informed, soul-centred care rooted in nervous system regulation, embodied integration, and sustainable resilience. Jacqui supports heart-centred leaders and changemakers to expand their internal capacity for presence and impact, shaping a more connected world.

@iamjacquifarley

Karen Craggs

Certified Diversity & Sustainability Expert, Founder of Conscious Equality Inc. — Mississauga, Ontario

Karen Craggs is a leading global expert in equity, diversity, anti-racism, gender equality, and inclusion, with over 25 years of international experience advancing meaningful systemic change. A proud Kenyan Canadian, she is widely recognized for helping organizations get equality work right with intention, strategy, and measurable impact. Karen has received numerous honours, including recognition by the Obama White House as a Gender Equality Changemaker, Global Goodwill Ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals, LinkedIn Global Superhero, Top 100 Canadian Professional, and Top 25 HR Innovator. As Founder and CEO of Conscious Equality Inc., she has partnered with more than 150 NGOs, corporations, and governments worldwide.

@karen_craggs

Duncan Brown

Competitor — Toronto, Ontario

Duncan has lived in Toronto, New York, and Buenos Aires. He has heli-skiied in the Rockies and ridden horses in Uruguay. When he is not engaging in life-threatening activities, he is thinking about all things mental and physical health.

Giovanni Bartolomeo

Entrepreneur, Breathwork Coach, Life Coach — Bolton, Ontario

Giovanni Bartolomeo is an entrepreneur and life adventurer with a passion for teaching, experiential learning, and creating deep connections with others. He is the founder of Elemental Rhythm and Co-Founder of The Personal Development School. He is always looking for the next consciousness-expanding experience, whether it be climbing mountains with Wim Hof, participating in traditional Ayahuasca ceremonies, or challenging his mind and body to find new limits. Gio is a breathwork facilitator and Life/Executive Coach, and founder of Elemental Rhythm Breathwork Programs and Facilitator Training.

@elementalgio