09/25/2026
We are honoured to welcome Phyllis Webstad as a featured guest speaker at the 2026 Rowing Together Gala.
This year’s gala theme, The Matriarchs, celebrates the Indigenous women whose strength, wisdom, courage, and leadership continue to inspire generations and advance reconciliation. Few women embody that spirit more profoundly than Phyllis.
Phyllis Webstad is Northern Secwépemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band) and is the Founder & CEO of the Orange Shirt Society. Her personal story of having her new orange shirt taken away on her first day at residential school became the inspiration for Orange Shirt Day and the Every Child Matters movement, creating space for truth, healing, education, and reconciliation across Canada.
Through speaking engagements across the country and her books, The Orange Shirt Story and Phyllis’s Orange Shirt, Phyllis continues to educate Canadians about the lasting impacts of the Indian Residential School system while encouraging all of us to walk the path of truth and reconciliation together.
We are proud to welcome Phyllis to the Second Annual Rowing Together Gala on December 2, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, where her voice and leadership will help us honour this year’s theme, The Matriarchs.
🎟️ Early Bird tickets are available for a limited time.
Visit www.rowingtogether.ca
to reserve your seat.
As September 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation approaches, we encourage everyone to take time to listen, learn, and reflect. Orange Shirt Day reminds us of the children who were taken from their families and communities and forced to attend Indian Residential Schools. It is an opportunity for all Canadians to deepen their understanding, honour Survivors, and renew our shared commitment to truth, reconciliation, and ensuring that Every Child Matters.