The Pecha Kucha Night organisers have just announced the final line-up of speakers for Vol. 30 on November 20th, as well as the opening musical act. Sadly (typically), it’s already sold out, but we’re going to be giving away a double pass in the coming days, so watch our Twitter feed for your chance to win…

Hannah Epperson, Singer / Songwriter (opening act)| Armed with only her violin, loop pedal and voice, singer/songwriter Hannah Epperson is quietly rising in Western Canada’s music scene as a wild talent from Vancouver’s rising tide of indie artists. With just a 5 track home-recorded, self-released EP to her name, Hannah’s emergence as one of Canada’s Top Artists to Watch in 2013 (CBC Radio) has been driven by word-of-mouth praise for her unguarded and deeply intimate solo performances.

J. B. MacKinnon, Author | J.B. MacKinnon is the author or coauthor of four books of nonfiction. His latest, The Once and Future World, will be released in September 2013. Previous works are The 100-Mile Diet (with Alisa Smith), a bestseller widely recognized as a catalyst of the local foods movement; I Live Here (with Mia Kirshner and artists Michael Simons and Paul Shoebridge), a ‘paper documentary’ about displaced people that made top 10 lists from theBloomsbury Literary Review to Comic Book Resources; and Dead Man in Paradise, the story of a priest assassinated in the Dominican Republic, which won Canada’s highest prize for literary nonfiction.

Zoe Pawlak, Artist | Zoe Pawlak is a contemporary artist working with private clients, interior designers and select brands. Zoe’s work has been featured in Martha Stewart Living, Style at Home, Rue Magazine, House and Home, the Guardian, the Globe and Mail, CBC National News, the BLOCK magazine, Design*Sponge, the Jealous Curator, Oh Joy! and more.

Lyndon Cormack, Co-Founder Herschel Supply Co. | Lyndon is one of two founding brothers of the Herschel Supply Company, a key influencer in the importance of the backpack as an everyday fashion accessory. The company was founded in 2009, and was named after the small town in Saskatchewan where three generations of the family grew up. It hasn’t stood still since 2009. Herschel Supply products are sold in Canada, from the foothills of the Rockies, as well as Europe, Australia, throughout Asia, and everywhere in between.

Chris Jerome, Market Director Hawkers Market | Chris Jerome cooked his way across Canada in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal finally landing at The Fat Duck in Bray, UK with Heston Blumenthal followed by Noma in Copenhagen alongside Rene Redzepi. Chris moved to Vancouver in 2011 and now runs Hawkers Market which is a curated local underground food market which fosters the development of emerging vibrant food entrepreneurs in Vancouver, with a core belief that everyone deserves an opportunity to make a living doing what they love to do.

Alexandra T. Greenhill, Co-Founder / CEO My Best Helper  | Alexandra T. Greenhill is a still practicing Canadian physician leader who is now co-founder and CEO of award winning startup myBestHelper, the essential digital utility that gives families an easy way to access and use care options for kids and elderly – find a nanny, sitter who really fits your family. Dr. Greenhill also uses her decades of health and eHealth leadership experience to advise health IT projects and companies, including Medeo.ca (the ground-breaking Vancouver based telehealth from any device platform) and Curatio (the revolutionary personalized mobile support tool designed for people with conditions that can benefit from a virtual support group combined with direct interaction with healthcare professionals).

Alicia Medina Laddaga, Founder and Director LOHA Vancouver | After Alicia graduating from her Bachelors in Architecture in Mexico in 2008, Alicia packed her stuff (and husband) in a pick-up truck and drove 5000km north to Vancouver to pursue a Masters of Advanced Studies in Architecture at UBC. Being a big advocate for user-generated urbanism, Alicia focused her studies at UBC on exploring ways in which dynamic and spontaneous processes transform cities into vibrant urban environments. While working at a local architecture firm, Alicia realized the limitations of the practice in affecting change in our city. In November 2012, Alicia founded the Laboratory of Housing Alternatives (LOHA), a non-profit organization focused on providing housing for creative and emerging professionals in Vancouver. As a founder and director of the organization, Alicia seeks to be an active participant in housing (and increasing) the creative capital of our city. Her work at LOHA focuses on community engagement and education.

Jonathan Tippett, Artist and Engineer Prosthesis: The Anti-Robot | Jonathan Tippett is a Vancouver based artist and mechanical engineer with a degree in Applied Science from UBC. His engineering work has been in the fields of marine hydraulics, fuel cells and neurovascular implants. Tippett’s personal artwork explores the relationship between humans, machines, energy, power and physical skill at an extreme scale. His first large scale piece was the Mondo Spider, created in 2006. His current project is 2 story tall, human controlled mech suit called Prosthesis: The Anti-Robot. His work on human-machine interaction and large scale robotic art has brought him to deliver presentations at The University of Dallas, Texas and ETH Zurich, Switzerland, UBC TEDx, and GROW Conference.

Paul Dincer, Founder and Chocolatier Koko Monk Chocolates by Levni | Paul Dincer is the owner and founder of Kitsilano’s newest chocolate shop, Koko Monk Chocolates located at 1849 West 1st Avenue. Paul has quickly become one of Vancouver’s leading chocolatiers known for his one-of-a-kind chocolate creations. His inspiration comes from his comprehensive background and education in fine art, literature and philosophy. Paul is a published author and previous film critic and writer. His postmodern chocolates are made with sophisticated flavor combinations and unique techniques that reflect the 20th century avant-garde art movements.

Wes Regan, Executive Director Hastings Crossing BIA | Wes Regan has brought innovative communications, program development and strategy solutions to complex multi-stakeholder environments since 2008. His career has threaded social finance and social innovation, blogging and SEO, food security, urban sustainability and local economic development. He is currently the Executive Director for the Hastings Crossing BIA, a Business Improvement Association founded with social innovation and inclusion at its core and the Program Coordinator for Building Opportunities with Business, a Community Economic Development Agency in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. He is also a founding director of Urban Stream Innovation, a Food Systems Technology Startup.

Sarah Dickinson, THNK | Sarah is the Director of THNK Vancouver – a creative leadership school for personal and social impact. The school launched in Amsterdam in 2009, and will welcome students to their new Vancouver campus in 2014. Combining design, systems and critical thinking with real-world business design and leadership development, THNK delivers unique, hands-on learning experiences for executives, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits tackling 21st century global challenges.

David Gunawan, Head Chef and Owner of Farmer’s Apprentice | Arriving in Vancouver in 2006, Gunawan joined Chef Angus and team at Gastropod (now Maenam), and worked under David Hawksworth and Warren Geraghty at West and eventually took the helm as Executive Chef. After travelling through Europe Gunawan opened the successful and meat-centric Wildebeest in Vancouver. Now David and his partner, Dara Young, have opened their first restaurant together, Farmer’s Apprentice. In David’s words, “Good accessible food is more than just a convergence of technique and fertile soil—it derives from the passions of the people who are working toward it. Our approach is a modern interpretation of ecological gastronomy. Ingredients are sourced selectively and cultivated at the peak of their flavours and integrity. The menu traces seasonal variations and changes as frequently as nature permits. Our intention is to endorse young agrarians and food sovereignty through creativity.”

Leah Costello, Chief Ideas Curator Bon Mot Book Club  | Leah is an event host, writer, and media commentator based in West Vancouver, BC. She produces numerous events focused on bringing people together to discuss business, politics, and current affairs through her exclusive Bon Mot Book Club dinner serIes, a Books Sandwiched In lunch club, and the History Wars debates in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto.