Stephanie Harrington (project co-director, researcher) has worked as a journalist and communications professional for over 20 years in Canada, Hong Kong and Australia. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Victoria. She is working on a memoir about her brother Ian who died from toxic drug poisoning in 2020. In May, she completed a two-week residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts for its Literary Journalism program. She and Amanda co-facilitate a grief group for people who have lost siblings to substance use-related harms.

Amanda has worked as a journalist and communications professional in Victoria for over 20 years for outlets like CBC Radio, Monday Magazine, the Times Colonist and more. Her current day job is doing communications for the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria. She is also dedicated to creating placemaking projects that build community and embrace collective grief, such as the Wind Phone at the Royal Oak Burial Park, which is in memory of her younger brother, Liam, who died of an overdose in 2012.
Website: https://linktr.ee/robpwindphone

Marie Metaphor is a multi-disciplinary artist, poet, performer, teacher and spoken word coach living and working in gratitude on the unceded and traditional territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples. She is the 6th Poet Laureate Emeritus of Victoria, BC. Whether encountered in print or performance, Marie’s poetry leads with compassion. She aims to create moments of intimacy and connection with her work, tapping into that particular collaborative magic that happens between an artist and an attentive audience. Marie performs at a wide variety of venues ranging from literary festivals and interdisciplinary arts events to poetry slams. She has published poetry with Oratorealis, Untethered Magazine, The Chestnut Review, The Hellebore, and Room Magazine, among others. Her debut full-length book of poetry, Soft Shelters, is available at Write Bloody North. Marie’s visual art takes many forms. From film, painting and mixed-media collage to collaborative, sound-reactive lighting installations, the unifying element is a celebration of beauty and connection. She has exhibited work in galleries, art festivals and outdoor venues across Western Canada. As an educator, Marie has witnessed firsthand the empowering and transformative nature of these art forms. She knows art not only has the ability to change lives, it can also save them. Marie firmly believes in everyday acts of intrepid beauty. She believes in the power of stories shared. Visit Marie’s website

Chrystal Phan is an oil painter from Victoria BC whose work focuses on large-scale genre paintings that merge childhood memories, family histories, and everyday experiences of contemporary Canadian life. Since starting her professional practice in 2019 she has received the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, four Canada Council for the Arts grants and was a runner-up in The Kingston Prize competition with honorable mention. Her work can be found in the collections of the Royal British Columbia Museum and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Chrystal will manage logistics and serve in a project management role for Naming a Crisis.