Who are you?

I am Kelly Anne Elizabeth White and I’m full of surprises. Allow me to explain. One could assume, given my exceptionally British name, that I am in fact English. Although I love tea, Coronation Street and custard I am in fact a proper Canadian mosaic of ancestries. Indeed my grandparents immigrated to Canada from none other than Holland, and the Caribbean and decided to settle in the beautiful city of Montreal where I was born thirty years ago. Surprise number two, I’m actually almost 30! I know, I know…my youthful features are deceiving.

As for my career, I’m a health educator who promotes student wellness at a university. I did my M.Ed. in health education because I believe good education leads to good health, and both lead to a happier life. I’m one of a handful of people with a Canadian degree in this area and my specialty is health literacy which I tweet about here: http://twitter.com/healthliterate

What do you do for fun?

I enjoy trying out new recreational activities. Recently I’ve discovered a hidden talent for sailing. Yes, these scrawny limbs can tack like you wouldn’t believe. You may have seen me last summer, cruising Jericho while singing “Ais the boys that builds the boat, Ais the boys that sails er!”. If it weren’t for my crippling sea sickness I’d probably be racing yachts in the Mediterranean full time. I also enjoy commenting on CBC news stories and then counting how many readers give me a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. I won’t tell you my on-screen alias though, it’ll mess with my stats. I also enjoy cooking meals, listening to music and keepin it real.

What is your favourite community and why?

If you’ve seen my video about the North Shore, you’ll understand why North Vancouver is my favorite community. Walking by the ocean, or hiking in the mountains or doing both on the same day is pretty remarkable. So is the annual Caribbean Days festival that I attend every summer at Waterfront park. I get to connect with my Caribbean roots while indulging in the food, music, bevvies and people that are at the festival each year. It may not be the classiest event on the North Shore (bring your camera for the after 6 pm crowd in the beer garden…) but everyone is welcome and good times are guaranteed.

What is your superpower?

My superpower is name-that-tune. I can identify a song within milli-seconds or a few beats on low volume. I store so much musical information in my brain that people call me k-pod.

How do you use it to build community?

I use this superpower to help me start conversations with people I don’t know. Like if I’m at an event or function and I hear a song come on I can say to my neighbor, “hey, i love this song, don’t you? whatever happened to Chumbawamba anyway?” and just like that, you’ve got yourself a conversation. I’m not sure if this necessarily builds community…but as one of music’s greatest living icons once said, “music…. makes the people….come together. yaaaa”. (Madonna), and I definitely agree with that!

My Three Favourite Things About Kelly Anne White are…

1. Her sparkling smile. If eyes are the window to the soul, then Kelly’s smile is the door to her enchanting personality. You can’t have a bad conversation with her because she is just so quirky, positive and delightful.

2. Hand-talking. Kelly could’ve been the best flight attendant in the history of the profession, but she embraced the world of health promotion and now uses her directive gestures to influence the health and wellness of tens of thousands of university students.

3. Storytelling. Sparkling smile + Hand-talking + Quirkiness = amazing storyteller and on-air personality; the Potentiality staff can only hope to harness her style and skills again in the not too distant future.