every WOMAN Events

About Us

The 1st Annual every WOMAN in the World Conference was held in Whistler from July 29 to August 1, 2004. The 70 participants of every WOMAN 2004 fostered the 'Every Woman' movement. We are all 'every WOMAN' and we can be anything that we want to be.

Where did the idea come from?

The every WOMAN in the World Conference evolved from founder Kerri Carlson's,

1. Incredible network of talented women associates and friends
2. Experience as a competitive athlete readjusting to healthy living after retiring from sport

Co-founded by an Olympic Runner and a World Championship Gymnast: Lynn Kanuka and Kerri Carlson
Sisters, Mothers, and Active-Living Enthusiasts

"It's about trying new things, to expand and challenge, and to remind us that we all feel much better after any type of exercise, whether it be a walk or run, or a yoga or dance class," says Kerri Carlson, a former World Championships Gymnast and co-founder of every WOMAN Events. Sister and co-founder, Lynn Kanuka, Olympic Bronze Medalist for Athletics in LA '84 agrees. "We both know that physical activity inspires passion and brings balance to our busy lives."

Proud Mother of 4, Lynn Kanuka, is best known for her Bronze medal performance at the LA Olympic Games in 1984. But anyone who knows Lynn, knows that it is her exuberant love for her children, her contagious enthusiasm for living, her natural positive nature to inspire and her generous approach to connecting and giving of her time to support others that makes Lynn such an incredible role model for active and healthy living. When Lynn is not spending time with her kids, you can find her in the woods running or biking in White Rock or on the road travelling through the Rockies to further connect with nature. Her other recognizable athletics accomplishments include a 1996 Gold at the Commonwealth Games, 5th place in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, and arguably best of all, a Bronze Medal at the World Cross Country Championships in Norway in 1989.Ê A former World Recordholder over 5K on the roads, Lynn has held every Canadian Record from 800m - 10K, and still holds both the 1500m and 5000m on the track to this day! Lynn is super-passionate about helping people become active, and believes that walking and running are springboards to finding passion in any form of exercise. She has enjoyed life as a business owner, TV analyst, motivational speaker and athletics coach. Proudest Accomplishment: No contest! 4 beautiful children.

Kerri Carlson has always been a big believer in healthy and active living. Sharing the passion and adventure of life with two toddlers, Kerri and her husband enjoy walking along a beach path, exploring trails on a mountain bike or venturing out to sea off the coast of Powell River. She began her own gymnastics career at age 6, and ten years later competed with Canada's highest-ranking 6th place World Gymnastics Championship Team in Stuttgart, Germany in 1989. She accepted a scholarship to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California and continued competing until she was 21 years old. She understands the readjustment period that every athlete has to face when retiring from a sport, as well as the challenges associated with weight gain for any woman, and she wanted to try to create a healthy atmosphere to celebrate the spirit of sport and life, focusing on all that is positive, and to share this attitude with not only the gymnastics community but with other fabulous women as well. After hiking most of the mountain peaks in the Lower Mainland, attending a yoga retreat in Costa Rica, completing the Honolulu Marathon and training as an aspiring boxer in the basement of a liquor store on Hastings Street, Kerri connected with Lynn to plan a weekend getaway on Vancouver Island with their mother and sister.

The first every WOMAN was actually three sisters and their mother, playing together and supporting each other during their ideal weekend: running, kayaking, playing tennis, doing yoga, lunching, hiking and spa-ing at the Kingfisher Lodge. Returning rejuvenated and invigorated, Kerri and Lynn devised a plan to expand this recipe for inspiration, and thereby created every WOMAN, a forum for a community of yoga instructors, wellness professionals, dancers and athletes to share their expertise with others and to use physical activity to inspire women of all ages, shapes and sizes.