Languishing, Guilt, Grief, and Hope: Mental Health During the Pandemic

Getting a Leg Up in the Real Estate Market

In this episode, we speak with Ms. Natalie Lewin about the hot real estate in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.  She has over 20 years of experience as an agent and understands the challenges of buying and selling homes. Natalie  shares her insights about how to enter the market and what real estate means for generational wealth.  She talks about trends that she has witnessed and sheds light on how  to enjoy the process as a buyer or seller,  no matter how complex it seems.

Financial Fitness: Tips on Improving and Sustaining Your Financial Wellbeing

In this episode, we speak with Lincoln DaCosta Jr.,  the Managing Principal of Riverside Advisory Group in New York City.  We discuss how to start investing money, how to introduce financial topics to children, generational wealth, and investing trends seen during the pandemic. Lincoln and his team work with clients to help fulfill their life goals and aspirations in a comprehensive way. They work in partnership with clients to offer solutions that help in most every phase of financial life. Lincoln believes in staying on top of data and economic trends to ensure he reduces as much risk exposure as possible for each client. Superior customer service and getting to know clients on a personal level is the backbone of the Riverside Advisory Group’s practice. Lincoln began his career in 1997 at Barington Capital in the heart of midtown Manhattan in New York City as an Account Executive, working on a team that managed over 250 million dollars in client assets. There, he honed his craft researching investment vehicles and strategies for implementation in client portfolios. Lincoln spent the bulk of his 23-year career at J.P. Morgan Chase, as a Private Client Advisor and Vice President of Investments before forming the Riverside Advisory Group practice at Wells Fargo Advisors Finet in 2017. Lincoln holds a Bachelor’s degree from Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ. He has two sons, is an avid sports fan, and loves to garden.

Dessert First, Please: Pandemic Pounds, The Concept of BMI, Picky Eaters, and How Covid Infection Affects Weight

In this episode, we speak with Kathryn Rochette, a Registered Dietitian, and  cover a wide range of topics pertaining to nutrition.  We delve into the reasons for pandemic weight gain, strategies for improving nutritional health, how to approach "picky eaters",  not saving dessert for last, and the impact of Covid Infection on nutritional status. Kathryn  holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Nutrition and Food with a minor in family support and community practice from Ryerson University as well as a Masters of Education in Health Professional Education from the University of Toronto. She completed her dietetic internship at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Kathryn has more than a decade of experience working as an inpatient dietitian in the areas of internal medicine; general surgery; complex continuing care; and previously as a certified nutrition support clinician in both the burn and trauma level 3 ICUs at Sunnybrook.  In addition to her clinical work Kathryn spent several years as a partial load professor at Centennial College. She has also published and presented in the areas of burn nutrition and nutrition care for the elderly. When not busy at work she can be found travelling or in the kitchen baking with her husband and two young children.

Languishing, Guilt, Grief, and Hope: Mental Health During the Pandemic

Dr. Tamina Eapen (she/her) is an acute care psychiatrist, interested in caring for people with profound mental illness, from all backgrounds.  Tamina is particularly interested in being a precise diagnostician, minimizing the burden of medications, and understanding the relationship between the brain/mind, body, and spirit of a person.  She has been practicing in the Toronto area for approximately seven years, and prior to that, for three years, in Ottawa.  Tamina completed her medical education and psychiatric residency in Ottawa, and is now happy to call Toronto her home. She has appeared twice on TVO's The Agenda, as a panelist speaking on topics related to mental health diagnoses and their treatment. She was named CAMH Physician of the Year in 2018, received the 2018-2019 Marie Mara Department of Psychiatry Education Award as well as a 2021 Aikins Award from the MD program at the University of Toronto.

Race Against Time: What You Need to Know About the Covid-19 Vaccines

In this episode, Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman (she/her), an Allergist and Clinical Immunologist, delves into the history of vaccines and how they work.   She also gives her insights about vaccine hesitancy in minority populations and the myths surrounding the vaccine based on the groundbreaking work she has been doing since the beginning of the pandemic. Dr.  Abdurrahman practices in Mississauga and at McMaster Children’s hospital in Hamilton. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto Medical School and completed both her Pediatrics training and her subspecialty training in Clinical Immunology and Allergy at McMaster University. She is also an adjunct assistant clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University. Dr. Abdurrahman is a member of the Black Scientists Taskforce on COVID-19 Vaccination Equity, the Black Health & Vaccine Initiative in association with BPAO (Black Physicians of Ontario) as well as a member of the OMA Civility, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. She was a collaborator with BPAO in drafting the position statement on Black Health & the COVID 19 vaccines.