Melody Leclair
Melody Leclair is a counsellor, accomplished speaker and panelist. After raising a family, Melody returned to school to fulfill a life-long dream of pursuing a career in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy. She has experience working in private practice and within community-based settings. Her real-life education in mental health came in 2013 when her eldest daughter was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, followed by her youngest son’s diagnosis of the same—four years later. Melody’s writing began in response to the pain of her children’s diagnoses and after feeling inspired to share their story in hopes of helping other individuals and families who find themselves in similar situations. Her manuscript, When Lightning Strikes Twice, won the 2018 Women’s Journey of Faith Publishing Contest. As a mental health professional with personal lived experience of mental illness, she passionately shares her family’s journey from these dual perspectives. Melody resides with her family in Ontario, Canada where she enjoys connecting with her extraordinary community of church, friends and family. She enjoys her work as a therapist and is devoted to life-long learning and mental health advocacy for all. https://whenlightningstrikestwice.com/

Rhonda Reyes
Rhonda shares how she overcame a life of abuse. Today she is a minister, alongside her Dad at Fire In The Bush Ministries based in Edmonton, Alberta. FITBM reaches out to the broken and hurting, to Indigenous communities and to those needing discipleship. Last Christmas they did an outreach in Wabasaca First Nation (Northern Alberta), where 400 people showed up!