Ijenna was born in Abia State Nigeria and obtained her Pharmacy degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She began her practice in Ontario, however, she relocated to Calgary in 2000 with her family and continued her practice.
Due to her desire to help people, Ijenna obtained specialized certifications as a Diabetes Educator, Travel Health Specialist, and Tobacco Reduction Educator.
Since moving to Calgary, Ijenna has worked at the Peter Lougheed Hospital inpatient pharmacy, Foothills drug information department, Calgary Coop pharmacies and Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy.
She is currently the Pharmacy Manager at a Calgary Coop in the Northwest of Calgary.
In her spare time, ‘IJenna enjoy adventures. She holds a brown belt in Karate, has competed in several mini triathlons, traveled to Australia, Italy, Morocco, Mexico, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and various states in the USA.
Just as importantly, Ijenna believes in volunteerism. Over the years, she has volunteered with the Dalhousie Community Association, St. Luke’s Catholic Church Parish, the Nigerian Canadian Association of Calgary, and as a preceptor to pharmacy students from the University of Alberta.

Thank you so much for sponsoring our mental health for youth event. We appreciate you for making this event possible.

Event Venue was sponsored by Calgary African Community Collective CACC. Thank you for make you location available for us to host this event.

Sarah was only 12 years old when she decided she wanted her life to be dedicated to helping others.  The development of this passion led Sarah to an exciting career, travelling to Kenya to support community development, working with youth in corrections, teaching sexual health in High Schools, and facilitating empowerment workshops with Indigenous youth in Treaty 7.  A common message in her work has been the teenage years are not just “a stage to survive” but a stage to thrive.

Wherever she goes, Sarah brings a passion that urges youth to explore their world, discover who they are, how they fit into the world around them, and how they want to live. Sarah has supported many youth, witnessing first-hand, how helpful it is when a young person has the tools and supports they need to be on the lookout for their own mental health and that of their peers. 

Sarah holds a Masters’ degree in Clinical Social Work from University of Calgary, currently employed with Alberta Health Services and operates a private counselling practice in Calgary.     

Kalyani Pardeshi is a CPA based in Canada who is an anti-bullying specialist. She grew up in apartheid South Africa and was sent away to a boarding school out of the country. It was the only way to ensure she received an education that wasn’t determined by her race. One consistent theme in her life was that wherever she went, bullying seemed to follow her, but she refused to be broken down by her tormentors. Being in boarding school meant that she not only went to school with her bullies, but she also lived with them too. She self-developed tools to help her nip bullying in the bud because the anti-bullying techniques taught in school were ineffective. Using her own tools, she took her power back. Kalyani authored and self-published “Unbullied: 14 Techniques to silence the critics, externally and internally” in which she shares the very techniques that helped her combat bullying. Her book has won three international awards including The Book Excellence Finalist Award. She uses her experiences and what she has learnt from them to equip teenagers with customized tools of their own to combat bullying and heal the scars thereof because she firmly believes that it is easier to mould a child than it is to mend an adult. Furthermore, Kalyani grew up in a home where she was led to believe that she had to earn her worth and value because she was born a girl. She developed a deep lack of self-worth because of these experiences. This led to her bullying herself to prove her worth and value just to be loved and accepted until she finally burnt herself out doing so. Recognising the many ways in which she was bullying herself, she embarked on a mission to put an end to her inner bullying behaviours through simple, actionable techniques because self-love affirmations didn’t solve her problem. She now specializes in identifying ways in which we bully ourselves in the name of motivating ourselves and combatting this inner critic/bully. These presentations/keynotes are available for teens and adults. LinkedIn