Join us for Nova Scotia Education Day 2026—a day dedicated to inspiring conversations, practical learning, and meaningful connection for those who serve on the frontlines of our communities. This year’s theme, Transitioning to New Beginnings, reflects the strength, courage, and growth that first responders, frontline workers, and support networks demonstrate every day as they navigate change, both personally and professionally.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

📅 Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2026

🕢 Time: Registration opens 7:30 AM | Conference from 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM (AST)

📍 Location: Cedar Event Centre, 111 Clayton Park Drive, Halifax, NS

🎟️ Tickets: PURCHASE your tickets online now

🏨 Accommodations: Room rate is available at the Chateau Bedford Hotel & Suites | 133 Kearney Lake Road, Halifax. Conference attendees can reserve a room by clicking the button below. This rate is available until April 4th, 2026 and has limited capacity.

SECURE YOUR SEAT NOW

AGENDA-AT-A-GLANCE

MEET OUR SPEAKERS

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: DALLAS ALEXANDER

Transitioning to New Beginnings: From Special Forces to the Stage – A Veteran’s Journey of Purpose & Healing

This session explores the powerful transition from military service to civilian life through the lived experience of Dallas, a former member of Canada’s elite Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2). It examines the challenges of leaving a highly structured, high-intensity role and the search for identity, connection, and purpose beyond the uniform. Through honest reflection, Dallas shares how discipline, resilience, and focus developed in service were redirected into a creative path in music—becoming both a personal outlet and a way to inspire others.

Dallas will engage in a candid conversation around mental health, PTSD, and the often unseen battles faced by frontline workers in particular with veterans, emphasizing the importance of vulnerability among men and those in service-based professions. This session also highlights leadership lessons learned under pressure—resilience, loyalty, and decision-making—and how these skills translate to family life, business, and community. Through storytelling and music, this session demonstrates how creativity can be a powerful tool for healing, connection, and continued service, showing that while the uniform may come off, the commitment to serve others can take on new and meaningful forms. READ DALLAS’ BIO

SESSION SPEAKER: LOIS CAMPBELL, MN, NP-PHC

Invested Care. From Support to Strength

As individuals navigate periods of transition—whether from service, trauma, injury, or burnout—support alone is not always enough. True progress happens when care is invested, personalized, and grounded in real-world realities. In Invested Care. From Support to Strength., Lois Campbell, Nurse Practitioner – Integrative Care at Spartan Wellness, shares how trauma-informed, coordinated healthcare can help individuals move beyond feeling stuck and toward meaningful new beginnings. Drawing on more than a decade of frontline clinical experience, Lois explores how advocacy, practical care planning, and system navigation empower patients to rebuild strength, purpose, and momentum. READ LOIS’ BIO

SESSION SPEAKER: ANN-MARIE FLINN

CHAMP: Rebuilding Capacity, Connection and Psychological Safety

This session explores how trauma, stress, and high-pressure experiences can drain capacity and disconnect people from themselves and others. Using lived experience and the CHAMP mindset model, it offers practical ways to rebuild safety, connection, authenticity, meaning, and psychological safety so people feel supported and more able to thrive. READ ANN-MARIE’S BIO

My 2026 Word Of The Year

SESSION SPEAKER: DR. ROBERT SEALEY

Medical Cannabis and PTSD: What’s the Evidence?

As interest in medical cannabis continues to grow, this session will include the history of cannabis along with the discovery of the endocannabinoid system and how the various plant components interact within the body. Dr. Sealey will also review the scientific evidence with potential therapeutic indications including a focus on the management of PTSD with medical cannabis. This evidence based, interactive discussion will include choices of cannabinoids, dosing, administration methods and side effects/contraindications. READ DR. SEALEY’S BIO

SESSION SPEAKERS: JOHN& DANIELA TSENTOUROS

A PTSD JOURNEY: Our story of resilience, rediscovery & how a life-altering trauma strengthened our bond.

On September 14, 2018, Correctional Officer John Tsentouros was taken hostage while his wife Daniela waited in fear. Though both survived, their trauma unfolded differently. In this session, they share insights on recovery, relationships, and healing after operational trauma. READ JOHN & DANIELA’S BIO

SESSION SPEAKERS: SARAH LEFURGEY

Work, Recovery and the Human Behind the Injury

Drawing on lived experience as an RCMP veteran and her work at WCB Nova Scotia, Sarah explores how workplaces can support people through psychological injury. WCB’s shift to faster, more coordinated care is helping workers reconnect with work and rebuild their lives. READ SARAH’S BIO

SESSION SPEAKERS: COLLEEN KAMPS

Always On Call: Navigating Nervous System Strain in Service Roles

This workshop explores how working in high-demand, service-oriented roles, particularly for first responders and frontline staff, affects the nervous system over time. Participants will gain a practical understanding of how the body responds to stress through activation of the sympathetic (“fight, flight, freeze”) and parasympathetic (“rest and restore”) systems, and how repeated exposure can lead to cumulative strain. READ COLLEEN’S BIO