Leah Costello is a writer, film-maker, event host, and media commentator on business, politics, economics, and current affairs.Leah is the founder of the Bon Mot Book Club, Vancouver's most exclusive and intellectually stimulating event series, which has hosted authors including Michael Lewis, Sarah Palin, and former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. In addition to this series, she regularly hosts other authors for lunch discussions and other conversations, posting their presentations and interviews on her iTunes channel Leah Costello Online.
Leah is the author of Preaching to the Unconverted: How Fans of the Free Market Can Win Friends & Influence People. This book, video, & training guide is a resource tool to help individuals who believe in freedom and markets understand the most effective techniques for communicating their ideas. Based on a series of interviews with high-profile and successful conservative leaders, and using their stories as case studies, this book will be published in the spring of 2012.
Leah is the former Director of Events for the Fraser Institute as well as producer & host of Fraser TV, a web-based channel featuring over 70 videos, podcasts, and multimedia slideshows focusing on communicating the concept of choice, markets, and freedom, in the areas of environment, healthcare, trade, government regulation, and taxation.
Prior to her work in public policy, Leah was an entrepreneur - the founder of Silver Spoon Catering as well as co-owner and managing partner of the Squeeze Juice & Smoothie Co., Vancouver's first retail chain of juice & smoothie bars.
Outside of her work, Leah is actively engaged in her community as a director of the Arts Club Theatre Company, member of the KCTS9 Community Advisory Board, and former director of the YWCA of Vancouver. She co-founded the Urban Garage Drive for Alzheimer's as well as the Young Entrepreneurs Association of BC, which supported over 200 members in growing their businesses through networking and educational opportunities. For this work, she was awarded the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 1998.
An active volunteer in politics, Leah ran for the Conservative nomination in North Vancouver in 2005, and continues to get engaged in issues both on the provincial and federal level.
