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Cybersecurity Leader, Entrepreneur and Author Antonio Brandao of BCNET Headlines Portfolio.YVR Issue #14

VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA, July 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Portfolio.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine has released its Summer 2026 edition, Volume 4, Issue 14, anchored by a ten-page cover feature on Antonio Brandao, Director of Cybersecurity Services at BCNET, the not-for-profit shared services consortium serving forty-four post-secondary institutions across British Columbia. A former Brazilian Army Lieutenant Colonel and cybersecurity architect, Brandao brings a rare combination of military discipline, advanced SANS and GIAC certifications, and international sport security experience, including roles at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, to his work defending Canadian research and education networks. In July 2026, he received the ISACA Community Leadership Award and launched his book, Unlock the Secrets of the Dark Web, at BSides Vancouver.

“Antonio and his team at BCNET are doing something rare in Canadian higher education: building shared cybersecurity infrastructure that defends forty-four institutions at once, work that keeps classrooms open and research running across British Columbia,” said Helen Siwak, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Portfolio.YVR. “His story shows readers what entrepreneurship looks like inside an institutional mandate, where every threat stopped protects a community that could not defend itself alone.”

The Summer issue continues with Rebecca Bligh of Vote Vancouver, a two-term Vancouver City Councillor and former President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, whose candidacy for Mayor marks a first-of-profession milestone for the magazine. Andrea Jauck of Premier Group Real Estate Marketing details two decades building a boutique luxury real estate practice. Maggi Ho of Forward & Up Counselling and Meo Ho of Level Headed Salon & Wellness bring complementary stories of mental health and community-driven wellness in Vancouver. Wanting Qu of Wanting Music, the Chinese Canadian singer-songwriter behind the multi-platinum album Everything in the World, shares a personal account of resilience and reinvention. Jan van Vianen of van V Media continues the feature lineup with a story of queer-owned content creation built on more than a decade of editorial production. Kean Tan of NEXUSV Inc. closes out the issue with two decades of SMS marketing innovation through the MODISclub platform.

“We champion British Columbia founders internationally because as a founder, you should never limit where your next investor, partner, or opportunity should come from,” Siwak added. “Every story we publish becomes part of a permanent, searchable, shareable record, discoverable by search engines, surfaced by AI tools, and read by audiences we may never meet ourselves.”

The issue also includes two QuickTake updates: Vancouver author Jess Singh, first featured in December 2025, returns with news of her first Canadian book festival appearance at Toronto’s Word on the Street, and Drew Munro shares the launch of Demi, a food technology platform built to help prepared food operators manage costs and scale sustainably.

ABOUT PORTFOLIO.YVR BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURS MAGAZINE

Portfolio.YVR remains advertising free, built on a three-part Personal Bio, Business Bio, and interview format that allows each subject to tell a story in their own voice rather than through a traditional business profile. That editorial model is paired with a full-service, post-publishing distribution strategy, including curated newsletters, social media amplification, replica site placements, digital repurposing, and paid international press releases, extending every feature well beyond the digital newsstand. That combination is why founders and entrepreneurs across British Columbia continue to choose Portfolio.YVR for full-service marketing support alongside their business profile.

ABOUT ECOLUXLUV COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING INC.

EcoLuxLuv Communications & Marketing Inc. is a Vancouver-based independent media and publishing company founded by Helen Siwak. The firm specializes in editorial development, brand storytelling, media brokering, digital distribution strategy, and hybrid digital magazine production. Through its flagship titles, Folio.YVR Luxury Lifestyle Magazine and Portfolio.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine, ELL Comms delivers narrative-driven content to engaged audiences across Canada and international markets, surpassing five million combined reads in 2025.

ELL Comms operates a media brokering division connecting brands and publishers with strategic placement opportunities across print and digital platforms, including a national content partnership with Retail-Insider.com. Both flagship titles licence content to news agencies in Korea and Asia, extending their reach across international markets while maintaining a refined West Coast editorial voice.

The company is committed to elevating independent publishers and entrepreneurs, building long-term media partnerships, and democratizing access to professional publishing infrastructure across Canada and beyond.

Portfolio.YVR Vol. 4, Issue 14 is available now on portfolioyvr.com, with the Flip by Issue feature offering full digital access to every profile.

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ELL COMMS PRESS RELEASE: Vancouver Cybersecurity Leader Antonio Brandao Receives 2026 ISACA Community Leadership Award

[Originally published on EIN Presswire on July 22, 2026]

antonio brandao, isaca, cybersecurity, press release, helen siwak, vancouver, bc
Antonio Brandao | Kuna Photography

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, July 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Antonio Brandao, Director of Cybersecurity Services at BCNET, has been named a recipient of the 2026 ISACA Community Leadership Award. The award, presented through the ISACA Vancouver Chapter, of which Brandao is a member, recognizes sustained, high-impact contributions to the professional cybersecurity community.

The recognition reflects years of sustained engagement with the ISACA Vancouver Chapter, including volunteer education, mentorship, and knowledge sharing across British Columbia’s higher education and security communities. It arrives following his recent promotion into the role at BCNET, and alongside his advisory position with Operation: Defend the North Vancouver 2026, a national cybersecurity exercise scheduled for October 2026.

At BCNET, a not-for-profit shared services consortium serving 44 post-secondary member institutions across British Columbia, Brandao strengthens cybersecurity readiness across the province’s post-secondary and research sector, supporting institutions, professionals, students, and researchers who face increasing cyber risk with constrained resources.

Brandao’s leadership extends well beyond his official job title. He has spoken at events including BCNET CONNECT, BSides Vancouver, the TRU Privacy and Security Conference, VanTUG, siberX, and ISACA Vancouver, addressing practical topics such as the dark web, threat intelligence, attacker behaviour, and red-team activity in higher education. His dark web presentations, in particular, translate a complex and often sensationalized subject into a genuinely practical one, helping audiences understand how stolen credentials are traded.

As a mentor in the ISACA Vancouver Mentorship Program, Brandao supports professionals building careers in cybersecurity, governance, risk, and assurance, drawing on his own experience as an immigrant from Brazil to support newcomers entering the field. He has also advised start-ups, including Cyber Armour, and organized hands-on learning opportunities such as the BCNET CONNECT Capture-the-Flag competitions.

His credibility is grounded in a distinctive and hard-earned personal background. A former Brazilian Army Lieutenant Colonel who once coordinated operations for 1,500 personnel, Brandao spent seven years as a cybersecurity professor at Brazil’s Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras before progressing internally at BCNET from SIEM Systems Administrator to Cybersecurity Architect to his current role.

Antonio represents community leadership in the fullest sense, the nomination for the award noted, citing his work strengthening cybersecurity, mentoring professionals, supporting newcomers, helping start-ups, and making cybersecurity knowledge more accessible and actionable.

The award adds to a year of significant milestones for Brandao, who also advises the Operation: Defend the North Vancouver 2026 organizing committee ahead of its October exercise, further extending his community education efforts into a wider public audience.

About Antonio Brandao

Brandao is Director of Cybersecurity Services at BCNET, based in Vancouver. Brandao’s career spans System Network and Security Administrator at Emily Carr University of Art and Design and internal progression at BCNET from SIEM Systems Administrator to Cybersecurity Architect to his current role.

Brandao holds a Bachelor of Military Science and a Master of Military Science from institutions in Brazil, plus a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from Universidade Católica de Santos and honours diplomas from Seneca Polytechnic. Brandao’s certifications include CISSP, GCDA, and GWAPT, alongside SANS coursework in incident response and threat hunting.

Brandao served as Results and IT Manager for Modern Pentathlon at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and volunteered at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games. Brandao currently advises Operation: Defend the North Vancouver 2026 and recently published Unlock the Secrets of the Dark Web: Theoretical Instruction and Hands-On Labs, available in Kindle and paperback editions.

About ISACA

ISACA is a global community of information systems and information technology professionals working to advance digital trust for individuals, enterprises, and society. For more than 50 years, ISACA has served the professional IS/IT community, leading the industry in career-advancing credentials such as CISA and CISM, while bringing expertise to enterprises through its globally recognized COBIT framework.

ISACA serves more than 195,000 members across 230 chapters in 190 countries, connecting professionals to peers, mentorship, job opportunities, and volunteer roles within their own local communities, including the ISACA Vancouver Chapter. The organization is dedicated to guiding and educating the global IS/IT community and governments on the positive potential of technology while guarding against its risks, supported by the non-profit ISACA Foundation, which works to build equity and diversity within the technology field.

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ELL COMMS PRESS RELEASE: Vancouver Author Jess Singh Heads to Toronto as Guest Author at Word on the Street Festival

JULY 21, 2026 / VANCOUVER, BC — Jess Singh, Vancouver-based author and digital culture contributor, has been invited as a guest author from the West Coast to Toronto’s Word on the Street Festival this September, marking her first time at a national literary festival. Singh will host a book signing for her novel, There Is No You and I, on September 26 at 11 a.m.

Singh’s path to the national stage began in Vancouver, where the city’s diverse neighbourhoods and communities have shaped both her characters and her voice as a writer. Her rise reflects a broader trajectory for BC-based authors finding an audience well beyond the province, and her appearance in Toronto brings that voice to one of the country’s largest literary gatherings.

There Is No You and I is Singh’s third novel, following her debut, All That She Wanted, published in April 2022, and I Never Loved You, released by Notion Press in September 2023. The novel follows Kavya, a spirited young woman whose life shifts after an unexpected encounter, set against the contrasting backdrops of Mumbai and New York City. Singh has proven herself a prolific storyteller, releasing three books within a four-year window, and she is now well into writing her fourth novel.

Singh’s launches with Notion Press have reached audiences across India, beginning with the first launch at Gulshan Books in Kashmir, followed by an appearance at Traya Utsav in Bangalore in November 2025. In January 2026, additional launches took place in Kashmir, Delhi, and Ahmedabad, and in June 2026 the novel was featured at the Shimla Book Fair. These appearances have helped Singh build a strong following, with her Instagram community now approaching 50,000 followers and dozens of video reviews circulating on social media.

“Creating characters who take readers on a journey that is joyous, humorous, and, many times, deeply dramatic is what excites me most about writing in the South Asian rom-com space, with a modern twist,” said Jess Singh. “It matters to me to share pieces of my own lived experience, and the experiences of the people I have met along the way who inspire these characters. Voices like mine remain underrepresented in Canadian romance fiction, and their stories deserve to be told with humour, honesty, and heart.”

Helen Siwak of EcoLuxLuv Communications & Marketing has worked with Singh since the launch of the novel and spoke to the importance of supporting BC-based creatives.

“Working with BC-based creatives and giving them the tools they need to grow locally, across Canada, and to reach an appreciative audience around the world is key to Jess’s success,” said Siwak. “Her voice deserves a national and international platform, and this appearance at Word on the Street is an important step in that ongoing growth.”

Singh’s appearance in Toronto marks a significant milestone in bringing her storytelling to new audiences across the country and building a Canadian audience that includes over three million members of the South Asian diaspora. Details on the festival lineup and schedule are available at https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/.

A photo of Jess Singh is attached for editorial use.

For more information on Jess Singh and her work, visit https://portfolioyvr.com/2025/12/jess-singh-novelist-author-there-is-no-you-and-i-urbanasian/.

Media Contact:
Helen Siwak, ELL Comms

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ELL COMMS PRESS RELEASE: Ashdale Gallery Presents ‘Indelible Mark’ Group Exhibition Honouring Trans and Queer Artists

NORTH VANCOUVER, BC — July 13, 2026 / EcoLuxLuv Communications & Marketing Inc / Ashdale Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Indelible Mark, a group exhibition celebrating artists whose work honors queer and marginalized communities identity not as a passing moment, but a profound transformation and collective reclamation. The exhibition opens with a public reception on July 23 from 6 to 8 PM and remains on view through August 14.The exhibition brings together artists whose work stands as both a physical and metaphorical record of existence. Resilience, in this context, is treated as more than survival — it becomes a creative output in its own right, expressed through the marking of the canvas and the saturation of the medium. Individually, each artist’s perspective is distinct; together, their work forms a chorus of voices that transforms private experience into a lasting, collective record.

“Curating this show has been a true honour. Opening our walls to new voices allows us to push our boundaries and bring fresh, unexpected perspectives into the conversations we share with our community,” says Jessica Arbour, founder of Ashdale Gallery.

Meet the Artists

Nicholas Tay, a Chinese immigrant to Canada, whose artworks were recently featured in international luxury magazine Folio.YVR, renders the body in stark monochrome wrapped in saturated cultural pattern — a site where assimilation and cultural identity press against one another, where garment reads at times as armour, at times as skin.

Kirk Gower grounds his work in human experience, exploring identity, queerness, and the emotional terrain of love, loss, and anguish. Using traditional oil painting techniques, he builds dreamlike, highly rendered compositions constructed from decades of collected reference imagery, exploring the tension between realism and artifice.

Nicole Sleeth examines the difference between inner emotional worlds and outer public presence, and the charged, gendered history of the muse in Western art. Working in figurative and landscape, she draws on the natural terrain of her home in Newfoundland, using solitude in the land as a way to explore her own relationship to place and emotion rather than to record location itself.

Benjamin/Babe Siegl works across painting, drawing, and animation interwoven with digital image production. Their paintings address contemporary queer identity as it is complicated by historical influence, mass image culture, and digitality, finding optimism in the empowering potential of fantasy and creative play.

Marius Larose is a trans artist from the Mauricie region (Nitaskinan) in Quebec, whose practice is rooted in painting alongside two- and three-dimensional installation. Working in acrylic with techniques reminiscent of watercolour, Larose explores the symbolic relationships we hold with place, giving rise to layered, open-ended spaces that evoke both memory and imagination.

“Community isn’t just something we support — it’s something we need. Creativity and curiosity aren’t extras; they’re part of how we stay well, in mind and in body. That’s what a show like this makes room for,” adds Arbour.

Exhibition Details
Indelible Mark
Opening Artist Reception: July 23, 6–8 PM
On view: July 23 – August 14
Ashdale Gallery, #113 – 175 West 3rd Street, North Vancouver, BC

Media Contact:
Jessica Arbour
Ashdale Gallery
ashdalegallery.com
jessica@ashdalegallery.com

About Ashdale Gallery

Founded in 2023 by Jessica Arbour, Ashdale Gallery brings exceptional contemporary Canadian art to North Vancouver’s North Shore. Its name honours family — combining Ashton, the name of Jessica and Chris’s son, with Lonsdale, the North Shore community that inspires the gallery’s work. Run as a family partnership, Ashdale is guided by a philosophy of integrity, curiosity, and hospitality, where success is measured by the depth of connection between the work, the artist, and the collector rather than the price of a sale. Ashdale represents artists from across the country and is committed to nurturing their growth and amplifying their voices, ensuring their work reaches collectors who resonate with their vision. The gallery is also available for private rentals. Ashdale Gallery is located at #113 – 175 West 3rd Street, North Vancouver, BC.

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Pick Your Vibe, Pop the Bubbles — ‘Ladies Night In’ Is Back and Better Than Ever

Okay, ladies, clear your Saturday, July 11th — because this year’s Ladies Night In is not just an event, it is a full-blown choose your own adventure, and I am obsessed with the concept. 🥂

Here is the twist: this year, the party does not start in one place. It starts in three. You pick your vibe, you show up to an intimate pre-event in a private luxury residence, and then — plot twist — a limousine whisks you away to the real main event: LNI ~ A Garden Party, set on a mansion property in Maple Ridge from 3:00 to 7:00 PM. One destination, three completely different journeys to get there. I love a good build-up.

Pick Your Path – The Elevated Experiences

Authentic Empowerment in the Country | Langley is giving grounded, soulful, sun-through-the-trees energy. Hosted by Tamara Baltic at a 66.3 acre Legacy Equestrian Estate. (FYI: This event will be in a chic rustic glam setting – a big, beautiful barn!). This is where you will find keynote speaker Natasha Raey-Soo, a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and social impact leader who built her whole platform on one idea: the life you were taught to chase might not be the life you are meant to live. If you need a permission slip to pivot, she is handing them out.

Creating Inspiring Change in the City | Vancouver is your polished, plugged-in, get-things-done energy, hosted by Michelle Raymond at the stunning Geary House, 993 Broughton Street. Speaker Rebecca Bligh headlines this one, and if her name rings a bell, it should — she shows up in rooms where real change gets made.

Creating Miracles by the Ocean | Port Moody is dreamy, coastal, a little bit magic, hosted by Tobi Dobranski at a residence on 580 Ioco Road. Speaker Susan Turner, the heart behind Wild Heart Spirit Hearts, brings the kind of presence that makes a room lean in.

Each of the three Elevated Experiences runs 12:00 to 2:00 PM and includes the keynote, bubbles poured by the city’s finest sommelier’s, non-alcoholic refreshments courtesy of Aelo, light bites, meaningful connection and conversation, a tour of the residence, admission to the Garden Party, and — this is the part I keep replaying — limousine transportation there and back. You are not driving yourself to this one. You are being delivered.

Then, The Garden Party

By 3:00 PM, all three roads lead to the same golden hour: arrival and welcome at LNI ~ A Garden Party, 12055 265A St, Maple Ridge, running through 7:00 PM. Think flowing florals, a mansion backdrop, and a guest list of women who are done networking the boring way. Everyone who arrives via an Elevated Experience will receive a swag bag curated by Lux Skin Lab, sips something bubbly (hello, Revelry Imports and Hester Creek), and — for the ultimate glam-up — can pre-order a curated caviar experience because apparently the standard for garden parties has officially been raised.

And yes, there is a prize. Elevated Experience guests are automatically entered to win a helicopter adventure for two, complete with a scenic flight and a top-notch tasting on top of a mountain, generously donated by Michelle Raymond, the creator behind The Elevated Experience. I do not make the rules, I just report them, and the rules say this event might end with you in a helicopter.

A Little Love for the People Behind It

None of this comes together on its own, and this is the part where I hand the mic to the women who made it happen with a special acknowledgement to Andrea Jauck, the amazing founder of Ladies Night In and the organizing committee — Jessica Prasad, Danielle Jones, Janice Amoruso, and Michelle Raymond — for pulling off three simultaneous experiences and one flawless finale without missing a beat. A warm shout-out to key sponsors Egami Creative, Meme Brooks Design, and Q Living Furniture, Afsaneh Reihanifard & Reihani Design, for helping set the scenes so beautifully, and to the dozens of additional sponsors and partners behind the scenes whose generosity made this whole afternoon possible — there are simply too many incredible names to list, and every single one of you is felt in the details. Every gorgeous moment of the day will be captured onsite by Anita Alberto Photography and Brooke Redelle — so smile, ladies, you are on camera. 😊

ladies night in, dress for success, michelle raymond, andrea jauck, elevated experience, vancouver, bc, yvr, luxury lifestyle, ecoluxury lifestyle, helen siwak

Why It Matters

Underneath all the bubbles and the caviar and the limousines is a genuinely good cause: every Ladies Night In supports Dress for Success Vancouver, an organization helping women step into economic independence with confidence, one interview outfit and one support network at a time. So this is not just a beautiful afternoon — it is a beautiful afternoon with a purpose, and that combination is exactly why this event sells out the way it does.

Whether you are drawn to the Country, the City, or the Ocean, all three roads end in the same place: a garden, a glass of something sparkling, and a room full of women showing up for each other. That is the whole point (and to sip, shop, and celebrate!).

Tickets and Elevated Experience selections are here:

https://pp.events/theelevatedexperiece

Full Event Details here:

https://www.ladiesnightin.ca/event-details/the-fundraiser-event

See you in the garden. 💖