In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Amanda Burrows, Executive Director of First United Church Community Ministry Society and a leader working at the intersection of culture, care, and civic power. From her early work in arts and philanthropy to leading one of Vancouver’s oldest frontline institutions, Amanda offers a rare perspective on what happens when fundraising galas meet overdose response, and when culture is treated not as a luxury, but as infrastructure. We explore dignity as a non-negotiable, the difference between placemaking and placekeeping, and what it means to design systems that give communities real power—not just a seat at the table. A wide-ranging conversation on leadership, accountability, and why the future of cities depends on how we care for the people most impacted by our decisions.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Prabh Heer, COO of Mobio Brands, an operator who’s helped scale service businesses in some of the most unforgiving, low-margin environments. From his evolution as an individual contributor to a builder of systems, teams, and communities, Prabh shares how operational discipline, humility, and relentless curiosity became his competitive edge. A candid conversation on ego death, franchise thinking, and why real leadership isn’t about control, but about designing environments where people, and businesses, can compound.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Frank Palmer, the legendary Canadian ad man who reshaped the country’s creative landscape. From his humble beginnings in Vancouver to building Palmer Jarvis into Canada’s most creatively acclaimed agency, Frank’s 50-year career is a masterclass in vision, grit, and unapologetic originality. As the architect behind the merger that formed DDB Canada, he transformed a local shop into a national creative powerhouse known for the country’s most talked-about and award-winning campaigns.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Ngaio Davis, founder of KORU Cremation, whose Māori heritage and unconventional path from carpenter to funeral director are reshaping modern deathcare. Ngaio brings compassion, cultural wisdom, and environmental intention to an industry long dominated by sterile convention. We explore natural deathcare, green burial, and the transformative power of facing mortality with clarity, community, and courage.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Chris Neumann, a four-time founder, investor, and global startup mentor, to explore how venture capital is being reshaped from the inside out. After building and selling both venture-backed and bootstrapped companies, Chris transitioned into investing, bringing with him the perspective of someone who has coded into the night, battled runway anxiety, and carried the weight of payroll on his shoulders. That founder-first lens has given him a unique view on what’s broken in startup funding and what’s possible when investors have lived the founder reality. In this conversation, we dig into the shifting VC landscape post-2021, the myth of Silicon Valley gatekeeping, and why knowledge, not just capital, remains the most valuable currency in entrepreneurship.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Shawn Johnston, founder of Forge & Smith and Refoundry, to talk about how neurodivergence can become a superpower in leadership and entrepreneurship. After 13 years running Forge & Smith, Shawn learned the hard way that burning out developers and perpetuating broken processes wasn't sustainable. But the real breakthrough came when he understood why. Uncovering his ADHD and autism diagnoses revealed patterns that had shaped his entire career. In this episode we get into the messy reality of building a business while navigating sensory overload, alexithymia (the inability to identify emotions in real time), and what Shawn calls "high masking," which is the exhausting art of creating personas just to survive. This conversation challenges the corporate culture rooted in what Shawn calls "colonial patriarchal mindsets" and shows why psychological safety isn't just a nice-to-have; it's the foundation of effective teams. If you've ever felt like the world wasn't built for how your brain works, this episode will resonate deeply.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Harv Nagra, Head of Brand Comms at Scoro and host of The Handbook Operations podcast, to learn how the right systems can transform agency chaos into strategic advantage. From growing up in Vancouver's Maple Ridge to spending 13 years leading operations in London's agency world, Harv reveals why business maturity has nothing to do with years in business or revenue and everything to do with how you actually run. We get into the painful reality of agencies drowning in distractions, managing work across messy spreadsheets, and why creative teams often resist the very processes that could save them. Harv shares his lessons about implementing change when everyone's dug in and how the trillion-dollar advertising industry is still struggling to measure what actually matters. This conversation challenges the myth that process kills creativity and shows what it really takes to build agencies that don't just survive, but thrive.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with serial entrepreneur and inventor Jay Giraud to trace a journey that spans from dropping out of high school and chasing dreams as a pro snowboarder, to raising nearly $200 million and taking companies public. Jay is best known as the co-founder of Damon Motorcycles, but his story is about much more than building revolutionary electric bikes. It’s about how failure, injury, and near-bankruptcy shaped his resilience; why most startups collapse by solving the wrong problem; and what it takes to spot opportunity where others only see obstacles. Jay’s path defies convention and reveals what it really means to live with high agency.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Sarah Edmondson, actor, author, producer, podcaster of @alittebitculty, and the whistleblower who risked everything to expose the NXIVM cult. From her first steps into what seemed like an ordinary self-improvement course, to becoming a leader inside the organization, Sarah unpacks how blurred lines between growth and exploitation can entrap even the most ambitious and idealistic people. She shares how instinct, motherhood, and courage finally led her to break free, bring NXIVM down, and reclaim her voice. This is an honest and revealing conversation about power, language, and the resilience it takes to turn trauma into purpose.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Adrian Moise, CEO and Founder of Aequilibrium, for a conversation on resilience, vision, and the art of transformation. From building global teams at Ubisoft to pioneering VR+AI training, Adrian shares how martial arts, Formula 1 strategy, and a “human meets digital” philosophy fuel his approach to change. This isn’t just about scaling a business, it’s about crafting remarkable experiences, turning setbacks into momentum, and rallying people around a bold, shared future.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Cenk Uygur, founder of The Young Turks, for a raw, no-holds-barred conversation about how outsider identity became a strategic advantage. From Turkey to YouTube, Cenk unpacked why disrupting legacy media was never just about airtime, it was always about power and accountability.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Carol Anne Hilton, founder of the Indigenomics Institute, and the mind behind a movement that’s reshaping economic narratives through an Indigenous lens. Carol Anne takes us from a single tweet to a national economic agenda, unpacking how a hashtag sparked a framework for redefining value, ownership, and power in Indigenous economies. We dive into the concept of “Indian Act economics,” challenge Canada’s sanitized self-image, and explore how tech can either deepen bias or become a tool for Indigenous economic intelligence. We explore how Carol Anne is building data architecture for a $100 billion Indigenous economy, and why true reconciliation must be measurable, not metaphorical. This isn’t just about history, it’s about the financial future of a country still reckoning with its foundations.