In this episode of CAMP Conversations, host speaks with Pamela Slim, CEO and Founder of the Pamela Slim Agency, about building a body of work rooted in purpose, relationships, and sustainability. Drawing from nearly 30 years as an entrepreneur, author, and coach, Pamela reflects on resilience through personal loss, community leadership, and navigating uncertainty in work and life.

• What it means to build a “body of work” across different seasons of life

• Why sacrificing yourself undermines meaningful work and long-term resilience

• Relationship-first business models versus transactional, extractive approaches

• Energy boundaries, burnout, and sustainability in caregiving and helping professions

• Representation, visibility, and leadership for Indigenous and marginalized communities

• How grief, loss, and major life transitions reshape priorities and purpose

• The role of joy, creativity, and embodiment (including dance) in resilience

• Why adaptability, problem-solving, and strong networks matter more than job security

• Paying attention to what people need now—and responding with integrity

• Trusting yourself to figure things out amid economic and personal uncertainty

Books & Resources

• Escape from Cubicle Nation — Pamela Slim
• Body of Work — Pamela Slim
• The Widest Net — Pamela Slim
• Buffalo Dreamer — Violet Duncan
• Memoir by Charlotte Stewart
• Community Action Project (CAP) – youth program
• Indigenous community creative learning lab

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About Pamela Slim:

Pamela Slim is an award-winning author, speaker and agency owner who has spent three decades helping business owners scale their businesses and IP. The Pamela Slim Agency (PSA) specializes in productizing service businesses and the design and development of certification and licensing programs. Pam is the author of Escape from Cubicle Nation (Penguin Portfolio, 2009), Body of Work (Penguin Portfolio, 2014) and The Widest Net (McGraw Hill, November, 2021, winner of Best Sales and Marketing Book of 2021 from Porchlight Books).

Connect with Pamela:

LinkedIn

Pamela Slim Agency

What happens when a successful entrepreneur’s life changes overnight — and everything you’ve built can no longer protect you?

In this episode of CAMP Conversations, Dayna Conway sits down with Tim Parkes, chief innovator, builder, breaker, and fixer at Maple Leaf Realco, to share his experience of being wrongly convicted in the U.S., sentenced to a maximum-security prison, and spending over two years incarcerated before receiving a full acquittal.

This conversation goes beyond the story itself and into what it truly takes to endure extreme uncertainty, loss of control, and isolation — and how resilience is built moment by moment when the future is unclear.

Tim Parkes is the Founder of Canmark Automotive , Remington Industries, Remington Manufacturing, Remington Global, and the Maple Leaf Realco Development companies

In this conversation, they discuss:

• Defining the problem when money and success can’t fix it

• Separating emotion from decision-making under extreme stress

• How focus and discipline became survival tools

• The role of relevance and belonging in resilience

• Faith, reflection, and rebuilding after incarceration

• Returning to a world filled with noise and overstimulation

• Why relationships matter more than status or achievement

What if relationship conflict isn’t about communication skills—but about misunderstood needs?

In this episode of Camp Conversations, Dayna sits down with Rebecca Mullen, Relationship Coach, Life Coach, author, and host of the podcast Habits for Your Happily Ever After, for a grounded and deeply relatable conversation about how relationships actually function under stress.

Rebecca introduces her practical framework of the three roles present in every relationship: Partner, Lover, and Friend—and explains how tension builds when couples are operating in different roles without realizing it. Through real-life examples drawn from marriage, parenting, friendship, and adventure-driven lifestyles, Rebecca and Dayna explore why resentment forms, how invisible labor impacts connection, and what it looks like to slow down before communication turns reactive.

In this conversation, they discuss:

• Why conflict is often about the needs behind the needs

• How Partner, Lover, and Friend roles can unintentionally compete

• What happens when adventure, caregiving, and responsibility collide

• Why naming how you’re communicating matters as much as what you’re saying

• Simple language shifts that reduce defensiveness and build understanding

• How caregivers can protect connection without over-functioning

Rebecca also shares the personal experiences that shaped her work—from growing up with divorced parents to navigating marriage and parenting with deeply different needs—and reflects on insights from her TEDx Talk The Vegetarian & The Hunter: Creating Peace at the Dinner Table and her book 6 Steps to Better Marriage Communication.

Listeners are invited to explore additional resources and podcast episodes from Rebecca related to each relationship role in the show notes, with more tools and step-by-step communication practices coming in a follow-up episode.

About Rebecca Mullen

rebeccamullencoaching.com

TEDxTalk

TikTok

⁠Instagram⁠

Facebook

LinkedIn

Dig Deeper into the 3 Roles on Rebecca's podcast:

Partner - Listen to Episode 5

Lover - Listen to Episode 7

Friend - Listen to Episode 6

Read More on her Blog

In this insightful conversation, elementary educator Rachel shares the lived experiences that drew her into teaching and the values that continue to guide her in an increasingly complex school landscape.

From struggling as a student herself to working at Boys and Girls Club and now navigating today’s post-COVID classrooms, Rachel’s story highlights the compassion, creativity, and resilience that shape truly meaningful teaching.

She reflects on:

• How her own learning challenges inspired her to help students who “don’t see the steps” the way others do.
• Why relationship-building—not pressure—is at the core of effective learning.
• The shift from traditional resource rooms to in-class supports, and why teachers feel stretched.
• The rise in learning needs, mental health challenges, and behavioural complexities.
• Why making mistakes is essential to learning—and how she builds safe, joyful classrooms.
• What burnout looked like for her, and why stepping out of the homeroom helped her rediscover her spark.
• How teachers and parents can better communicate to support children without overwhelming one another.

Rachel also shares the practices that keep her grounded—setting boundaries, embracing fresh perspectives, spending time on her family farm, and learning to leave work at work so she can show up fully for her students.

Her honesty offers a powerful reminder that great teaching comes from humanity, not perfection—and that supporting educators is essential to supporting kids.

Burnout isn’t just exhaustion — for many women, it’s physical pain, resentment, pressure, and feeling like there’s never enough time to take care of yourself while caring for everyone else. After a sold-out community event on women and burnout, we’re continuing the conversation here.

In this episode, physiotherapist Kate Powell returns to Camp Conversations to unpack what we learned from a room full of women navigating stress, caretaking, identity shifts, and physical breakdown. Kate works closely with women who come to her not knowing they’re burned out — only that their bodies are sending warning signs they can’t ignore.

• Why so many women experience physical symptoms before realizing they’re burned out
• The pressure for “60-minute workouts” — and why all-or-nothing thinking is hurting women
• How tiny, 10-second movements can build strength, resilience, and mobility during busy seasons
• The connection between posture, psychology, and shrinking yourself when life feels heavy
• How repetitive movement patterns (running, biking, gym routines) can weaken other muscles and worsen burnout signals
• Practical ways to integrate sneaky, supportive movement into caregiving, commuting, and everyday life
• How communities, gyms, and friends can support burned-out mothers and caregivers
  

Women aren’t burning out because they’re weak — they’re burning out because they’re carrying too much without the support, space, or sustainable practices they need. This episode brings compassion, clarity, and doable steps to help you reconnect with your body and your spark.

Resources

• CAMP Newsletter for event announcements: campmentalhealth.com/newsletter

In this special solo episode, CAMP Mental Health founder Dayna Haig-Conway shares the personal journey that shaped the CAMP framework and the deeper motivation behind her work.

From outdoor education and behavior intervention to school counselling and clinical practice, Dayna’s path has always centered around one goal: helping others feel full from within.

She reflects on:

• Why traditional behavior strategies often miss the mark.

• How unmet needs drive motivation and resilience.

• The moment she realized “fixing” specific behavior wasn’t enough.

• What it means to build both children and adults from the inside out.

• How the CAMP Certification Program now empowers coaches across Canada to teach this framework in their own communities.

Dayna also shares how motherhood, self-reflection, and her “give back” family roots continue to fuel her purpose—and why true resilience begins with understanding our needs before adding more strategies on top.

If you’re part of a school, nonprofit, or parent group, CAMP offers workshops that return 5% of proceeds back to your organization. Learn more at campmentalhealth.com.

In this heartfelt conversation, Dayna Haig-Conway sits down with Doug Wigood, CAMP Coach (Ontario) and lifelong caregiver, to explore how compassion, calm, and quiet leadership shape meaningful connection.

From early lessons in community care to years spent supporting children, youth, and elders, Doug shares how reflection, presence, and curiosity have guided his work across social services and mental health. Together, he and Dayna discuss how to stay grounded when your own flame flickers—and why leadership doesn’t always need to be loud to be powerful.

Highlights:

• Finding purpose through early caregiving and community support

• Lessons from outdoor education: reflection as a daily practice

• Why empathy begins with listening, not fixing

• How equine therapy reveals the power of calm energy

• The value of lifelong learning and collaborative care

  
  

Doug Wigood

Doug is a results-oriented and tenacious professional with a passion for lifelong learning and personal growth. His career has spanned diverse frontline roles supporting individuals and care teams across child and youth mental health, street-involved and homeless youth services, residential treatment for addictions and mental health, and elder care for those living with dementia. With extensive experience collaborating across multi-agency organizations, task committees, and community partners, Doug brings a thoughtful, person-centered approach to every role he takes on. As one of CAMP’s first certified coaches, he helps schools, organizations, and caregivers apply the CAMP framework to build connection, motivation, and resilience.

Learn more at: campmentalhealth.com

In this thoughtful conversation, Dayna Haig-Conway sits down with Gail McDonald, Executive Coach and Founder of Blind Spots Coaching, to explore what it really means to see ourselves clearly—before rushing to fix or help others.

Gail shares how her lifelong desire to care for people led her from customer service and banking to a two-decade career in coaching. Together, she and Dayna discuss how to build awareness, avoid burnout, and create space to “flow from within.”

Highlights:

• The power of reflection before intervention
  How to recognize your capacity and care for yourself as a caregiver

• The role of ego and the inner critic in professional fatigue
• Why doing what you do—and doing it well—creates meaningful impact
• Reframing setbacks and “small stuff” through self-compassion

Gail McDonald
Professional Certified Coach & Founder, Blind Spots Coaching
blindspotscoaching.com

With over 20 years of experience supporting individuals and organizations, she helps clients uncover what’s getting in their way—so they can lead, communicate, and live with greater clarity and purpose.

Specialties: Executive and personal coaching, emotional intelligence assessments, and leadership development for individuals and teams.

Certified EQ-i Practitioner | Over 20 years of coaching experience