Speakers

Wendy Mesley is one of Canada’s most recognized and respected broadcast journalists.. A provocative speaker, who addresses the  challenging issues of the day  with an entertaining and informative presentation style, Mesley is also an outstanding moderator, master of ceremonies and on-stage interviewer. Since becoming the CBC’s first female correspondent assigned to cover a Prime Minister,  Mesley has many years of first hand insight and anecdotes to share about  some of the most powerful and influential characters of our times.

Kelly Falardeau is a burn survivor. Since the age of two she has struggled with her self-worth and confidence after receiving burns to 75% of her body. Kelly found a way to go from near-death to success; from the ugly scar-faced girl to the Top 10 Most Powerful and Influential Speaker, Fierce Woman of the Year, Best-Selling Author (4 times), recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and most recently a YWCA Woman of Distinction 2013.
You have to ask yourself how? How did a burn survivor who constantly struggled with rejection, staring and teasing burst through all the negativity in her life to succeed? You have to hear her speak or read her books to learn the stories of how she did it.

Joe Roberts is an inspirational example of overcoming adversity and managing change. In 1989 he was living under a bridge as a homeless skid row street person. Today he is an author, CEO and internationally sought after professional speaker who motivates and inspires audiences worldwide.  Today, Joe delivers his keynote messages at conferences, conventions and special events, teaching people how to Profit from Adversity. How anyone can tap into the unconquerable power of the human spirit and rise above.  Joes powerful messages reach every attendee whether CEO’s managers or staff, your people will come away inspired.

Mark DeVolder, adaptability, innovation and resilience are essential to success in a world of exponential change. As such, he‘s dedicated his career to equipping and motivating leaders to harness the hurricane of change. Mark DeVolder distinguishes himself as a change management specialist and is one of today’s original thinkers and motivators on transitions. In demand as a keynote speaker, consultant and mediator, Mark prepares people for change. Often in the spotlight for high profile transitions, Mark offered guidance for the ending of the NASA Space Shuttle Program, helped Colombian business leaders adapt to the NAFTA Free Trade Agreement and has coached industry leaders in mergers and acquisitions, some as large as $50 billion dollars.

Tyler Hayden has been a full-time professional speaker and innovative educator for the past decade. His business is personal development and nontraditional team-building programs. Tyler’s clients include some of the world’s largest corporations and associations, such as the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). Tyler is a keynoter, team-builder and author. He has developed program solutions for groups in areas of leadership, team-building, staff motivation, personal development, and soft skill development. He is the author of 14 books, 2 audio CDs, an interactive CD-ROM, and a full-length DVD. His training materials have been sold worldwide, and he has delivered hundreds of high-energy keynotes and train-the-trainer programs. Tyler invites you to join him on a magnificent journey of Livin’ Life Large™!

When told at the young age of 29 of the tumour resting on the main artery to her brain testing positive for Hodgkin’s Disease (cancer of the lymph nodes), Roslyn was filled with fear, stress and devastation. However, with a mother who survived the holocaust and beat cancer, and a father who survived the atomic bomb, Roslyn quickly turned toward her parents’ remarkable “NEVER GIVE UP” attitude as inspiration to face the challenge, fight back and become a long-term survivor.

Inspirational and down-to-earth, Roslyn Franken is a captivating speaker and best-selling author who speaks passionately about her empowering journey from fear to fight, worrier to warrior and victim to victory in the face of the life-threatening cancer that changed her life. She provides an unforgettable experience for her audiences with her inspirational personal story, practical insights and proven strategies to live a happy, healthy and resilient life in the face of change, challenge and adversity.

An Olympic Gold Medalist and Entrepreneur, Adam has spent the past decade and a half both teaching and using strategies for human performance, achievement, and wellbeing. With his team at Kreek Speak Enterprises Inc, Adam has developed philosophies & psychological tools useful for the workplace, personal satisfaction and athletic achievement. He frames his unique expertise to make your business better and enhance corporate cultures worldwide.

Phil Callaway is an award-winning author and speaker, known worldwide for his humorous yet perceptive look at life. He is the best-selling author of twenty books including Laughing Matters, Who Put My Life On Fast Forward? I Used to Have Answers…Now I Have Kids, Making Life Rich Without Any Money, and Honey, I Dunked the Kids and the forthcoming Family Squeeze. Phil’s writings have been translated into languages like Polish, Chinese, Spanish, German, Dutch, Indonesian, and English (one of which he speaks fluently!)

Judy Croon is a comedian, author, MC and motivational humourist. She has been the opening act for Joan Rivers, Wynonna Judd, Dionne Warwick and Anne Murray. Her specials have appeared on NBC, CBS, CTV and The Comedy Network. Judy draws from her stand-up performance experience to entertain, inform and inspire in her dynamic keynotes, “Taming Hecklers: Dealing with Difficult People” and  ” Relieving Stress with Humour- Judy’s 7 Ingredients to Living Well That Don’t Include Tofu”.

My mission is to get people fired up and ready and I promise to create powerful shifts, increase accountability, workplace safety while building momentum for my participants.  Not to mention having the best laugh they have had in a long time.  I believe a laugh is worth more than a thousand words and it has the power to change the way people feel, think and take action!  “A Day without laughing is a day wasted!”

Janice Otremba, founder of Catalyst for Change, is leading corporate wellness through stress management strategies that fuel productivity and team development. An international team asset builder, Janice is a champion for defying life’s BS – Burnout and Stress. Janice gives your audiences the tools they need to look inside, listen to their gut, take their thoughts captive and change what isn’t working. Through humour and personal reflection, Janice drives you toward being honest with yourself and living your most authentic life. Everyone will learn how to manage stress and use it as a powerful catalyst for improved health, personal growth and positive change

Leah Goldstein is s stunning example of living a life without limits.

As a professional cyclist, former World Kickboxing Champion, and Israeli Military Elite Commando Instructor and Special Forces Unit member, Leah is the extreme example of discipline, determination and ultra-endurance. Leah retired from thirteen years on the pro road race circuit in the spring of 2010, following an accident in which she broke both of her arms, and is now concentrating on ultra endurance racing. She recently participated in the 30th anniversary of the 2011 Race Across America, known as “the World’s Toughest Bicycle Race,”winning Best Overall Female, Best in Age Group, Queen of the Mountains, Queen of the Prairies, and Rookie of the Year, despite suffering from Shermer’s Neck after the fourth day.

From crashes to podiums and fear to triumph, Leah’s story gives us a glimpse of what’s truly possible from a life without limits.

Glyn Jones brings over 25 years of industrial experience working in the field of health and safety. Glyn’s strength is to be able to tackle often complicated and technical issues and make them simple and understandable for all audiences.  He specializes in talking about communication challenges and his recent sessions have included: risk communication (understanding fear and complacency); communication in high hazard workplaces recognizing marginal literacy; and understanding the challenges of intergenerational and intercultural communication and its potential impacts at work.

Bob Gray, now a motivational keynote speaker and memory expert, discovered his first memory technique when he was seven. He was given a magic book that showed him how to remember a twenty-item list. Shortly thereafter he was called on to ‘do the memory trick’ at family parties and gatherings. Funny, unique and interactive in his entertaining keynotes and workshops, Bob reveals the untapped potential in each of us. His empowering systems and their many applications in the business world give participant’s immediate ‘walk away’ value.

Jeff began his career as a high school English teacher before following his father Rex Havens into the world of stand-up comedy, where he worked with some of the brightest lights in American comedy and honed the art of engaging audiences through laughter.  But his impulse to teach never faded, and soon he began looking for an avenue to combine both of his passions into entertaining and meaningful presentations.

Combining intuition, illusion, influence and sidesplitting comedy, Chris Funk has twenty years of experience performing Witty Magic That Wows! Chris has traveled across the Canada and parts of the United States, constantly developing new shows to keep his audiences enticed, enthralled and above all entertained.   He has also been selected as one of only 2 Canadians to compete on the television show Wizard Wars in LA with Penn & Teller.

Chris’s show consists of clean comedy, live music and a finale that will get your guests talking for a long time!  Borrowed objects vanish and appear in strange places, minds are read and Chris even plays a violin concerto during one routine while the magic happens!

Yvonne’s passion is helping organizations to build sustainability and capacity through New World Leadership strategies- a unique innovative approach to leadership and employee engagement, which Yvonne has developed through experience and research. An engaging and energetic speaker, Yvonne translates her knowledge and experience of HR and leadership strategies into meaningful presentations for audiences of all sizes. She brings her message alive by drawing on stories from her three decades of experience and links her stories to her philosophy of New World Leadership. This is Yvonne’s strength: linking theory to action- and leaving the audience with practical steps to implement tomorrow.

Valerie Cade has earned worldwide acclaim as a Professional Speaker and Business Consultant and she is the author of “Bully Free at Work”, which is currently distributed in over 100 countries world‐wide. She truly has a gift for inspiring those who work to support and lead others, whether it’s in healthcare, government, the corporate sector, education or not‐for‐profit settings. Valerie has been noted as: Enthusiastically…subtle, delightfully…engaging, creative, humorous and genuine.

Patricia Morgan helps you bounce back from life’s challenges. She provides practical how-to’s that decrease stress and increase resiliency. Her uplifting, insightful, and fun message leaves audiences inspired and enlivened. Patricia is a certified counsellor and holds a Masters degree in Psychology She provides can-do ideas based on the science of emotional well-being. She is the author of several publications including Frantic Free, The Upbeat Approach and Love Her As She Is which was featured in a CBC television documentary. Patricia was chosen as a Woman of Vision by Global TV and the YWCA.

Alvin Law Born with no arms as a result of the drug Thalidomide, Alvin was adopted by a family who taught him to use his feet for hands – and who by doing so gave him the gift of freedom. In addition to being a professional speaker, he is a trained broadcaster, fundraiser, award-winning musician and bestselling author. Alvin Law is a Hall-of-Fame keynote speaker who uses his story to challenge and inspire even the most resistant, heard-it-all-before audience. As a living, breathing example of the power of attitude, he busts through the self-imposed blockages we all have about who we are and what we can achieve, and provokes us to examine and rewrite the stories we tell ourselves about our role, our abilities and our lives. He has earned the designation of Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), an honour possessed by less than ten percent of professional speakers worldwide. In 2009, Alvin was inducted into the Canadian Association of Speakers (CAPS) Hall of Fame.

Meg is an expert on the subject of striking balance within our hectic lives. Over the past two decades Meg has worked as a health professional, become one of Canada’s foremost stand-up comediennes, and raised a family. She has taken the life lessons learned while traveling this unique path to become an incredible motivator and life balance coach. Meg blends her unique insights with unforgettable humour to help people develop practical strategies for work and life.

Sami Jo Small is a highly sought after teamwork and change expert. Through her keynote address, she focuses on helping you help the individuals in the crowd be motivated and inspired to help those around them. She’ll help your group become a better “team”, whether that’s in the workplace, at home or in relationships, and inspire the group to want to work harder for a common goal.

Carla Rieger  is an expert on creative people solutions. She is the director of The Artistry of Change a communications consulting firm since 1991. She has written four books and spoken internationally for the last 20 years on this topic. In addition, she has over 10 years experience in the performing arts, specifically comedy. As a frequent speaker and trainer before a wide variety of associations, companies and organizations, Carla helps them build bridges with the key people in their lives. Presentation titles include- The Art of Communication: How to Turn Differences into Collaborative Solutions, Change It Up: How to Avoid the Top 4 Mistakes Change Leaders Make, The Power of Laughter: Managing Change with a Sense of Humor, Taking Creative Risks: How to Present Innovative Ideas to Decision Makers, Speaking on the Funny Side of the Brain.

Do you want to create an event that will inspire people to achieve more, work more effectively as a team and generate a buzz that will stay long after your conference is over? The techniques Julie and Colin use to complete their world first expeditions including circling the world by human power and rowing across the Atlantic Ocean are the same strategies that propel corporations and organizations to become leaders in their fields.  Julie and Colin are engaging and entertaining speakers, and most importantly, they share their unique strategies for achieving seemingly impossible goals.