2026 CONFERENCE - DAY 2
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
SESSIONS
Day 2 Keynote - The Safety Shift: Leading Without Ego | Kevin Rempel
In the world of live events, safety is rarely ignored, but it is often assumed. The fast pace, the pressure, and the culture can quietly reinforce a dangerous belief: “It won’t happen to me.” Kevin Rempel knows how quickly that belief can fall apart. During a live event, a dirt bike crash changed his life. That experience now shapes how he understands risk, responsibility, and decision making under pressure.
In The Safety Shift, Kevin does not point fingers. Instead, he challenges the mindset and culture that allow preventable incidents to happen in the first place. At the core of this conversation is a powerful idea. Safety is not just about systems. It is about the internal voice guiding our choices in real time. Using his “Check Your EGO” framework, which stands for Excuses, Gut, and Options, Kevin helps audiences recognize how ego subtly influences decisions. He explores how we justify shortcuts through excuses, how gut reactions are often shaped by past experience rather than present reality, and how failing to pause can limit the options we consider in critical moments. In live event environments, where unspoken pressure and unclear expectations are common, many workers see risks but stay silent.
This keynote brings that silent culture into the open and replaces it with practical tools for accountability, communication, and leadership at every level. Rather than treating safety as compliance, Kevin equips teams to make it a shared, lived value. One driven by awareness, ownership, and the confidence to speak up. Together.
National Canada Day - Planning Complexity for a Multi-Jurisdictional Large Scale Event | Kevin Kennedy
This session will examine the planning and operational activities involved in delivering the National Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa. The presentation will highlight the unique challenges and considerations associated with a large-scale, multi-jurisdictional event spanning two cities, two provinces, and involving federal, provincial, and municipal partners working collaboratively to provide a safe and secure experience for visitors.
Attendees will gain insight into the coordination required across agencies and jurisdictions, including event planning, operational integration, public safety considerations, communications, and stakeholder management. While many participants may not work on events of this magnitude, the lessons learned and approaches discussed may help inform planning considerations for events of any size or complexity.
This session is intended to encourage broader thinking around public safety, interagency coordination, operational readiness, and the practical realities of delivering major public events in complex environments.
Dealing with Drones at Events | W Thomas Leroux, Gabriel Rapacz
This talk is about the issues of unauthorized drones over events, the dangers, and the technologies that can be used to assist in reducing risks.
Updated Truss Loading Methodology | Bill Sapsis
A review of the changes in truss loading principles that have occurred over the last few years, along with a discussion about Indeterminate Structures and the use of load cells to mitigate the issues presented by Indeterminate Structures.
Safety by Design: Building Better Street Festivals | Lisa La Rocca
Drawing from firsthand experience on the operations team at Supercrawl, this session explores the realities of managing safety at a large-scale urban street festival. From crowd flow and emergency planning to weather response, road closures, accessibility, and stakeholder coordination, attendees will gain practical insight into the systems and strategies required to deliver safe, successful public events.
Designed for festival organizers, municipalities, and event professionals, this presentation shares real-world lessons and adaptable approaches to balancing public safety, operational efficiency, and audience experience at high-attendance outdoor festivals.
Case Study - Iceman in Toronto | Evan Sandham
3,500 blocks of ice, 300lbs each, stacked in a parking lot in downtown Toronto with a hidden treasure inside. What could go wrong? We'll take a look at what happened and what could have happened when Drake promoted an upcoming album back in April 2026.
Behind the Scenes Risk Management - Building and Operationalizing Rogers Stadium | Nathalie Burri, Claire Mocock, Wendy Scott
Building and operationalizing a 50K-person stadium from the ground up is a major undertaking. It requires strong collaboration across multiple teams to ensure effective risk management and a successful project. This panel brings together experts from engineering, operations, security, and health and safety to share how this large stadium project came together in 2025 and continued to evolve in 2026.
Panelists will offer practical insights from their respective fields, highlighting how each discipline contributes to managing risk throughout the process. The discussion will explore how early planning, clear communication, and coordinated decision-making support a safe and efficient project. It will also highlight how teams work together to prepare a stadium for construction and load-in, ready staff and contractors, and ultimately host thousands of guests for a summer season of world-class touring artists.
Global Insights: Enhancing Emergency Preparedness | Simon Hunt
The growing impacts of climate change, social unrest, and urbanization worldwide underscore the rising risks associated with crowds at live events. As a result, major incidents at mass-gathering events are becoming more frequent and severe. Responding effectively in these environments requires preparedness that enables emergency teams to operate as an interdependent network. However, recent analyses of MGE tragedies reveal that weak links often exist between private event safety staff and local emergency services.
This presentation discusses recent research on the principles, practices, and governance that improve collaboration between the public and private sectors, drawing on international perspectives and insights from 15 global practitioners. It synthesizes these findings into key insights to help practitioners and policymakers develop or refine guidance for emergency preparedness at live events.
Thinking Outside the (Witness) Box | KT Sonnen
Event safety practice is often shaped by inherited assumptions, entrenched operational habits, and a narrow reliance on traditional perspectives. This session challenges this status quo by inviting practitioners to critically examine the conceptual, methodological, and cultural boundaries that shape how safety and security are understood and delivered in live event environments. Drawing on emerging research and cross disciplinary insights, we will explore the diverse approaches currently used across the sector globally, highlighting where they converge, where they conflict, and crucially where innovation is both possible and necessary.
Rather than advocating for a single “correct” model, the session emphasises the strategic value of adopting the strongest elements from multiple frameworks whilst remaining grounded in organisational strengths, operational realities, and the lived experiences of both staff and attendees. This includes recognising the subjective and situational nature of perceived safety, and understanding how environmental, behavioural, and communicative cues shape those perceptions.
The session will also present new research findings demonstrating how enhancing feelings of safety and security can directly support commercial outcomes. Evidence indicates that when attendees feel safer - not simply are safer - dwell time, spend patterns, and return intention increase, enabling profitability gains through simply highlighting or camouflaging the ‘necessary evil’ of protective measures.
By reframing safety and security as dynamic, perception sensitive, and commercially consequential, this session encourages professionals to look and think outside the box for adaptable strategies to elevate both operational performance and audience experience.
Small Scenes, Big Challenges: Baseline & Safer Space Work in Rural Music Communities | Stacey Forrester, Kingsley Swim
Sponsored By: Canadian Live Music Association
While conversations about sexual violence prevention and safer spaces in live events have grown significantly over the last decade, rural and remote music communities are often excluded from these discussions. This session shares findings from Baseline, a Canadian research project exploring sexual violence prevention practices within rural and remote live music environments. Drawing from focus groups, surveys, interviews, and experiential site visits across Canada, this presentation examines both the challenges and strengths that shape safety work outside major urban centres.
Attendees to this session will explore how event organizers navigate challenges such as inconsistent access to prevention training, geographic isolation, and limited access to post-assault care, while also learning from community-led models that rely on adaptability, volunteerism, and deeply embedded networks of care. The presentation might challenge urban-centric assumptions about event safety and invite discussion about what city-based festivals and event sectors can learn from grassroots approaches developed in resource-limited environments. Practical takeaways will include strategies for community collaboration, safer space practices, and recommendations for funders and organizers.
Building Better Weather Support - How Events and Meteorologists Work Together | Kevin Stanfield
The discussion will centre around how outdoor events can benefit from meteorologists, and how meteorologists can in turn benefit from events experience, along with how we can integrate before, during, and after high-impact weather events.
SPEAKERS
Nathalie Burri
SVP, Operations, Live Nation Canada
| With a portfolio spanning international tours, professional sporting events, and special event operational planning in a global pandemic, her more than 20+ years in the events world began at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment where she was responsible for the planning and execution of all events taking place at MLSE properties. Her career has spanned many areas within Live Entertainment from Chief Operations Director for WE Day producing world class arena shows across the globe to the role of Vice President of Events at Canada Basketball where she was the Executive Producer of Globl Jam an international Basketball tournament, while leading a team driving business growth for the sport in Canada and planning multiple FIBA sanctioned events. In her most recent role as Senior Vice President Operations Nathalie acts as the is the executive producer / project lead on the new 50,000 capacity Rogers Stadium the largest music specific venue in Canada. In her day-to-day role with Live Nation, Nathalie oversees the operations of LN venues, festivals and leads the national production team. With a focus on consistency with LN global business, managing risk, while providing an amazing experience for our fans, artists and employees, and ensure excellence in event execution. |
Stacey Forrester
Education Director, Good Night Out Vancouver
| Stacey Forrester (she/her) is co-founder and Education Director of Good Night Out Vancouver, unceded ancestral territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm, Skxwú7mesh and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ people. Good Night Out is a non-profit addressing sexual violence in social spaces through workshops and outreach. Stacey recently served as Community Safety and Engagement Lead on Vancouver's Host Committee for the 2025 JUNOs and was one of 6 Canadian women selected to participate in the Keychange Leadership Programme, a 6 month talent building program to create a better, more inclusive music industry. She was recently awarded the Women in Music Change maker of the year award for her work fostering harm reduction in live events. |
Simon Hunt
Graduate Student, Royal Roads University
| Simon Hunt is an emergency management practitioner with more than 30 years of experience. His roles have included search-and-rescue leader, city emergency coordinator, and incident management as a forest fire specialist. He served in a senior emergency coordination role during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. In 2017, a serendipitous event prompted Simon to leave the public service and pursue opportunities in the private sector. He currently advises on public safety at the Shambhala Music Festival, focusing on weather preparedness and crowd safety. Simon recently earned a master’s degree in Disaster & Emergency Management from Royal Roads University. His thesis, supervised by Emma Parkinson of the UK, examined interoperability between the private and public sectors, drawing on insights from 15 international experts. Outside work, he enjoys many outdoor activities and fuels his passion for music as a DJ, drummer, and producer, aka #sifibeats. He is also a proud father of two daughters in Revelstoke, BC. |
Kevin Kennedy
Principal/Owner, Kennedy Crowd Safety Solutions
| Kevin Kennedy is the owner of Kennedy Crowd Safety Solutions and a recognized specialist in crowd safety, event security, and major event planning. Following a distinguished 39-year policing career with the Ottawa Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police, he retired as a Staff Sergeant after leading the Ottawa Police Service's Major Event Planning Section for more than 15 years. Kevin holds a Master of Science in Crowd Safety and Risk Identification from Manchester Metropolitan University and is completing a Master of Science in Security and Risk Management at the University of Leicester. He provides planning, training, and operational support for large-scale public events across North America and has worked with public agencies, professional sports organizations, and event organizers to enhance safety and security. Through his consulting, teaching, and research, Kevin is committed to advancing evidence-based practices that strengthen crowd management, event security, and public safety. |
Lisa La Rocca
Director of Operations, Sonic Unyon Records / Supercrawl Productions
| Lisa La Rocca is Director of Operations at independent record label and events company Sonic Unyon Records in Hamilton. She founded the Fresh Up R&B Fest in 2022 and leads logistics on other Sonic Unyon produced festivals Supercrawl, Because Beer, Why Not Wine, as well as many other events. Lisa is currently chair of Hamilton’s Music Advisory Team, serves as a board member of the Hamilton-Halton-Brant Regional Tourism Organization and the Downtown Hamilton BIA. She is a part-time PhD student in the Communication and Culture program at York University with a focus on Popular Music Studies, and holds an M.A. in Communication and New Media from McMaster University. |
W Thomas Leroux
Co-Founder, DroneBusters
| Having worked in IT, server administration, film & TV for a good portion of my career, mainly by solving other people's problems and protecting my clients. A bit over a decade ago, I stepped into becoming part of Ottawa's music festivals scene as part of the IT team; designing, building out, and maintaining critical IT infrastructure for the festivals, and additional responsibilities included drone interception by following them back to the operator. After years of chasing drones at outdoor events, along with co-Founder Gabriel Rapacz, we saw an opportunity to help reduce risks by providing event teams with drone intelligence and consulting to protect event attendees, performers, staff, and equipment. About me: Avid camper, usually found wandering the forests of Algonquin Park as often as possible, and walking, running, or cycling around Ottawa with his amazing wife. |
Claire Mocock, MBA, CRSP
Founder & Principal Consultant, Canary Safety and Risk Consulting Inc.
| Claire Mocock, MBA, CRSP, is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Canary Safety and Risk Consulting Inc. Claire is an accomplished health and safety professional with a solid foundation in safety, science, and business, combined with a proven track record across diverse industries, including research and education, property management, gaming and casinos, transportation, utilities, construction, and live events including professional sports, concerts, and festivals. Claire is recognized for her ability to build and implement effective safety management systems, policies and processes that align with both the organization and its people. Claire has a “progress over perfection” mindset and passion for health and safety which makes her effective at driving culture change to proactively manage and mitigate risks within the workplace. Claire works in many jurisdictions and provinces in Canada making her well-versed in OHS legislation with the ability to take a national approach to OHS that utilizes technology and builds efficiencies and scalability in H&S requirements, documentation and due diligence. Claire is the proud recipient of the 2024 Scott Johnson Memorial Award. |
Gabriel Rapacz
Co-Founder, DroneBusters
 | Gabriel Rapacz is a technology leader, entrepreneur, and event operations specialist with a background in criminology and hands-on experience supporting large-scale public events. He graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in Criminology in 2017 and went on to become part owner of an IT company in 2020, where he helps organizations strengthen their technology, cybersecurity, and operational resilience. Since 2016, Gabriel has also been part of the IT team supporting major Ottawa festivals, including Bluesfest and CityFolk, contributing to the reliable technology infrastructure behind high-volume live events. In 2025, he co-founded Drone Busters, a venture focused on addressing emerging drone-related risks and challenges. Gabriel brings a practical, cross-disciplinary perspective to ESAC, combining security awareness, technology leadership, and real-world event experience. |
Kevin Rempel
Keynote Speaker. Paralympian. Author, Kevin Rempel Associates Inc.
| Paralympic bronze medalist and creator of the Check Your EGO Framework, Kevin Rempel brings a unique and urgent perspective to the live event industry. A former freestyle motocross performer, Kevin became an incomplete paraplegic after pushing past his gut warning during a live show. This life-altering accident, occurring just four years after his father was also paralyzed in a preventable incident, serves as the foundation for his mission: helping high-risk crews recognize the real-world costs of ignoring the inner voice. Through his signature keynote The Safety Shift, Kevin equips attendees with a shared language to challenge complacency in the moments that matter most. His Check Your EGO Framework (Check your Excuses, Gut, and Options) strengthens risk-based decision-making before incidents happen. Kevin has brought this work into organizations including the Alberta Construction Safety Association, FortisBC, WorkSafeBC, Enbridge, and Hatch. Featured by the BBC, TSN, and AMI, he delivers his message with the credibility of someone who has lived the cost of one wrong decision. |
Evan Sandham
Owner / Primary Consultant, Production Health & Safety
 | Evan is the primary consultant with Production Health & Safety, based in Toronto. Specializing in both Live Events and Film & TV, his areas of focus include site safety, location risk assessments, venue inspections, legislative compliance, production management, technical direction, and festival accessibility programs. With a background in theatre and live event production, he has worked to integrate health & safety practices from mainstream industry to the entertainment world and patiently educate those who “have been doing this for 30 years and never had a problem”. Evan is a graduate of the Ryerson (now TMU) Theatre School and School of Occupational and Public Health. He is an active member of the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology and Health & Safety Professionals Canada (formerly the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering). When not hard at work, Evan enjoys conversations that aren't about work, outdoor adventures, and road trips to small towns with ‘world's largest’ monuments. |
Bill Sapsis
Ex-Officio, Sapsis Rigging, Inc.
| Bill Sapsis, President of Sapsis Rigging, Inc., began his career in 1972. His work on Broadway includes the original productions of A Chorus Line and The Runner Stumbles. Bill opened Sapsis Rigging in 1981 and has grown the company into a multi-faceted installation/production/service company with clients on six continents. Bill’s articles and lectures on rigging and safety can be found in numerous publications worldwide. He has authored two books; Heads and Tales and Entertainment Rigging for the 21 st Century. Bill is the chair of the ETCP Arena Subject Matter Experts and a member of the ETCP Council. He serves on ESTA's Technical Standards Committee and is co-Chair of the ANSI accredited Rigging Working Group. Bill sits on the Board of Directors for the Behind the Scenes Charity. He is also a member of the NECCA Board of Directors. Bill is a USITT Fellow and a member of ABTT. He is a founding member of the Long Reach Long Riders, an industry based charity motorcycle group. He is the Executive Producer of BackStage Pass, a video interview series on YouTube and an organizer of the ESTA/USITT New World Rigging Symposium. Bill is also the Executive Director Emeritus of the North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (NATEAC). |
Wendy Scott, CPP, ABCP
Director, Security Operations and Risk Management, Live Nation
| Wendy Scott is a security and emergency management leader with more than 25 years of experience across live events, corporate security, public sector operations, and enterprise resilience. She has led security operations for major venues and festivals, including the first 2 seasons of Rogers Stadium with Live Nation Canada, and previously oversaw event and corporate security at Scotiabank Arena and BMO Field with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Wendy has also built and led crisis management and business continuity programs at Shopify and IGM Financial, bringing a well rounded, strategic perspective to risk and preparedness. A Certified Protection Professional (CPP®) and Associate Business Continuity Professional (ABCP), she is recognized for her calm leadership, collaborative approach, and deep expertise in crowd safety, emergency response, and complex event operations. |
KT Sonnen
PhD Researcher, Coventry University
| KT Sonnen is a multidisciplinary safety and security specialist whose operational career spans crowd management, event medical provision, traffic operations, health and safety, and control rooms across the UK and internationally. Currently completing her doctorate, she coruns Invictus Pro Training Ltd with her husband Carl, delivering immersive exercising, consultancy, and high engagement training renowned for its realism and impact. Through Coventry University’s Centre for Peace and Security, KT’s PhD research uses innovative methods to examine crime, unwanted behaviour, and the psychological effects of security measures, aiming to strengthen operational decision making and help events maximise both safety and profitability. |
Kevin Stanfield
Founder & Chief Meteorologist, Stanfield Technologies
| Kevin Stanfield is an applied meteorologist and founder of Stanfield Technologies, a weather-intelligence consultancy supporting events, productions, venues, organizations, and anywhere else a sudden change in the weather becomes a liability. Drawing on more than a decade in meteorology, including broadcast and chief meteorologist roles in Calgary, Kevin helps teams move beyond generic forecast tools toward people-led, defensible decisions. Stanfield Technologies has supported major Western Canadian events and organizations including the Calgary Stampede, Big Valley Jamboree, Country Thunder, Calgary Folk Music Festival, and clients of the Alberta Directors Guild, including Paramount Pictures. Kevin works with operations and leadership teams to establish weather thresholds, improve plans and communication, and support live decision-making when conditions take a turn. Kevin is thrilled to be making second appearance at ESAC and meeting more of Canada’s amazing event operators. |
Kingsley Swim
Founder, The Framework
| Building on her ethos of power and funding redistribution, Kingsley Swim has secured seven figures in funding for artist-led initiatives and has advised organizations, funders, and governments on reconfiguring their arts and cultural programs. Her work has also expanded to include the co-development of WARP - a mentorship program that has redistributed $64,000+ to independent projects while empowering organizers to reimagine their events through the lenses of equity, disability justice, and harm reduction. In 2025, she teamed up with Good Night Out Vancouver to launch Baseline - a research initiative evaluating current sexual violence prevention strategies in rural Canada and exploring how they can be integrated into broader safety efforts within the music industry. In recognition of her contributions and growing impact across the sector, Kingsley was named a Rising Leader by Women in Music Canada (2025) and received the Foundation Award from the Cranium Arts Project (2026). |
Programming and speakers are subject to change.
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