Speaker Slam® Announces Speaker Lineup for the 1st Competition of the 2025 Season on the theme "Resilience"
Dec 08, 2024Resilience is about rising above life's challenges, pushing through adversity, and finding strength in the struggle. At Speaker Slam, you'll hear from speakers who have faced life’s toughest moments, only to emerge stronger and more determined.
“Life doesn’t get easier, we just get stronger.” – Unknown
Join us on January 28th, 2025, live in Toronto at Lula Lounge, for Speaker Slam®, an unforgettable evening of courage, inspiration, and transformation, as 10 extraordinary speakers take the stage to share their powerful stories of Resilience.
What is Speaker Slam?
Speaker Slam® is North America's largest inspirational speaking competition, dedicated to cultivating influential speakers, changemakers, and thought leaders. We provide a platform for individuals to share their life stories and inspire their communities to take action. Each year, we hold 5 competitions, each featuring 10 speakers delivering 5-minute inspirational speeches around a specific theme. Winners receive prizes valued up to $10,000, including $2000 cash, and move on to the prestigious Grand Slam - The Inspirational Speaking Finals in November, where they compete for the title of Inspirational Speaker of the Year against the best speakers of the year.
Meet Your Resilience Speakers:
Chris Atwell
Peak Performance Leadership Coach
Stouffville, Ontario, Canada
As a Peak Performance Leadership Coach and founder of Mindset-Conquest, I specialize in helping manufacturers' rep agency owners achieve peak performance, empowering them to lead with confidence, inspire high-performing teams, and create more free time in their lives. With 18+ years in sales and leadership across distribution and manufacturing, I bring a unique blend of industry-specific experience, strategic insight, and a relentless focus on personal and professional growth.
Richie Keirouz
Self Development Coach, Fitness Advocate, Greenhouse Industry Expert
Leamington, Ontario, Canada
I am a self-development coach, greenhouse industry expert, and sales leader with over 25 years of experience driving growth and innovation in the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) space. As Vice President of Business Development for Topline Farms, I combine my deep industry knowledge with a passion for sustainable agriculture to deliver exceptional results.
Outside of my corporate role, I’m dedicated to helping people unlock their full potential through fitness, health, and personal development. From students to CEOs, and even professional athletes, I have coached individuals to transform their lives by strengthening both their bodies and their minds.
My philosophy is simple: when you are in peak physical condition, you unlock a sharper, more focused mind. This belief is the cornerstone of my work as a life coach and fitness advocate, as well as the inspiration for my upcoming book. At 47, having recently won the Canadian National Bodybuilding Championship, I’m living proof that resilience, discipline, and self-care can help you excel physically, mentally, and professionally.
Whether in the gym or the boardroom, my mission is to inspire others to lead extraordinary lives. One of my favorite sayings is, "Mens Sana In Corpore Sano"—A Sound Mind in a Healthy Body. This timeless truth drives everything I do.
"Speaker Slam is more than a competition—it's an opportunity to transform stories into impact. Sharing my journey on this stage is a chance to inspire others to rise above challenges, embrace resilience, and unlock their limitless potential."
Regula Fischer
Founder of Many Firsts, Transformation & Leadership Expert, Actress, Author, Artist
Zürich, Switzerland
Regula Fischer is a transformation and leadership expert with 20 years of experience in global organizations. As a coach, actress, author, and artist, she empowers teams and individuals to align their work and personal lives with their most ambitious goals and dreams.
Building on her extensive expertise, Regula has developed her own unique approach to Organizational Change Management (OCM), combining practical strategies with creativity and personal growth principles to guide teams through change with resilience and purpose. Through her engaging workshops, keynotes, and global speaking engagements, she inspires individuals to embrace change and unlock their potential with confidence and playfulness.
Regula is the founder of Many Firsts, a transformative lifestyle brand that inspires courage, curiosity, and creativity to help people worldwide realize their deepest aspirations. She hosts the Many Firsts Conversations podcast, delving into meaningful firsts and transformative experiences from her guests’ personal and professional lives.
"KEEP SOME ROOM IN YOUR HEART FOR THE UNIMAGINABLE" - Mary Oliver
Lauren Daniels
Psychotherapist, Trauma Therapist, Entrepreneur, EMDRIA Approved Consultant
Coopersburg, Philadelphia, United States
Lauren Daniels is a Licensed Professional Therapist with a deep passion for helping others heal from trauma and adversity. With a personal history of overcoming mental health challenges, including a struggle for survival in her teens and early twenties, Lauren has dedicated her life to helping others navigate their own healing journeys.
Her story is one of resilience. After being told by several clinicians that she wouldn’t survive and struggling to find support, Lauren ultimately found hope through clinicians and four-legged beings who helped her believe in recovery. She understands firsthand how isolating it can feel when you’re not supported, and this drives her to provide the kind of care and guidance that saved her life.
As a therapist since 2010, Lauren’s mission is to offer the same hope, resilience, and support to others who are suffering from trauma and difficult life experiences. She is committed to showing her clients that healing is possible, even when the road ahead seems uncertain.
Lauren is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and has created a thriving practice with a focus on helping individuals overcome their past wounds and move forward with empowerment. Her compassionate approach combines her professional expertise with her personal experience to make lasting impacts on her clients’ lives.
Her work as a trauma therapist is deeply meaningful, and Lauren continues to inspire hope and change in those who may feel lost or broken, reminding them that recovery is always possible.
"I am excited to participate so that by sharing my personal story I can help people understand that healing is possible."
Jessica Swift
Mental Health Nurse, Mental Health Advocate
Selwyn, Ontario, Canada
Jessica Swift is a passionate and dedicated Mental Health Nurse, with a heart committed to raising awareness and providing compassionate care to those navigating mental health challenges. With a Bachelor of Science degree and a practical nursing diploma under her belt, Jessica transitioned from a caregiver for her mother living with a chronic illness to a professional advocate for mental health, bringing both education and lived experience to her work.
Starting her nursing career in addictions treatment, Jessica moved on to work in an Alzheimer’s and Dementia unit before finding her true calling in the mental health field. Now, she works with one of Canada's largest mental health agencies, providing psychiatric nursing support and working alongside doctors and healthcare professionals to ensure the best care for her community.
Having personally overcome mental health disorders as a youth and currently navigating complex grief and PTSD, Jessica is deeply connected to her mission to advocate for mental health awareness. She believes that lived experience is a powerful tool for driving positive change, particularly in areas like policy, legislation, and the improvement of accessible mental health services.
Jessica’s vision is to amplify her voice and advocacy to create a larger community of support and empowerment for those living with mental health conditions, ensuring no one feels alone in their recovery. Her work aims to end the stigmatization of mental health, build awareness, and foster education, compassion, and empathy.
Jessica’s unwavering dedication to improving mental health care and bringing her message to a larger platform makes her a beacon of hope for many. She’s ready to share her story and empower others to embrace their own journey of healing and recovery.
"You are enough and you are worthy of love and belonging."
Chantal McDougall
The Fairygodmother of Storytelling, Coach and Business Consultant
Nepean, Ontario, Canada
Chantal is The Fairygodmother of Storytelling. She helps women be themselves in their brand, life, and make their dreams come true. She does things differently in business, not following what others are doing, paving her own path and leading with her heart.
Chantal has a unique, ecliptic approach in her work (with a playful, magical and fairy tale twist): She incorporates stories from folk and fairy tales in her own brand storytelling and connects it to entrepreneurship, relating it back to being human in business (and life).
Passionately believing business doesn’t have to be so serious – she helps her clients have fun, be playful in their content/marketing while still being credible. She often shares how you won’t be for everyone but you will be exactly what your people are searching for. You become more memorable in your industry when you show your uniqueness. She has the ability to uncover what makes her clients stand out and helps them embrace it in their online presence and life.
Chantal has been a natural helper since a young age. From helping the other children climb play structures from the age of 6 years old, to welcoming the new kids in school so they don’t feel alone and helping the kids who were getting bullied. It has evolved into her deep passion to help women with big hearts to be who they are, share their message in a memorable way, tell their story courageously, and live their life to the beat of their own drum. Letting their light from within, shine so the world can see it…while also seeing their own light so they get to shine even brighter.
She is devoted to helping women overcome the challenges holding them back from being who they are, so they can release themselves from the chains of people's perceptions, let go of the fears or worries of other people judging them, and feel free to be themselves. Her favourite part of her work is having the ability to change the way her clients speak to themselves, so they can go from their worst critic to their own ally, and finally start rooting for themselves.
Chantal holds a bachelor degree in Psychology with honours from the University of Ottawa, has worked with over 80 women all over the world, has spoken at a mental health panel at Trent University, and completed several coaching certifications. She carries a vast amount of wisdom, resilience and has gained the courage to share her story with you on the Speaker Slam stage.
It's a dream come true to courageously tell my own story for the first time ever. I am ready to share my resilience and shine my light on the Speaker Slam stage!
Deborah Fletcher
Author, Speaker, Coach
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Deborah Fletcher is an experienced Learning & Development Specialist, who has consulted with corporate clients to assess and assist organizations in developing their performance management systems, employee attraction and retention program strategies, and training and development programs.
As a facilitator, Deborah brings her passion for learning and development toleaders in the areas of organizational change, effective communication, teambuilding and leadership development. For over 20 years Deborah has facilitated leadership skills training programs through both a classroom format and e-learning platforms and provided ongoing coaching for front-line, middle and senior management teams, covering topics ranging from empowering teams, building a customer-centric organization to performing under pressure. As a sought-after presenter in national conferences and symposiums, Deborah brings her humour and energy to the podium and delivers dynamic,
engaging sessions and programs.
Excited. Excited. Excited.
This is the way my non-verbal daughter expresses an emotion through her communication system. Her "voice" comes through a mini-computer and "speaks" the word over and over. Our family now imitates it - it's an expression of JOY and EXCITEMENT and HAPPINESS.
Merav Richter
3-Time Best-Selling Author, 2-Time TEDx Speaker, AVID Reader
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
Merav Richter is the author of four award-winning books, a two-time TEDx Speaker, a coach with the Tony Robbins team, and the CEO of Maverick Productions Inc. Merav was fortunate to travel the world in her 27-year career in the airline industry. Merav combines her corporate experience with her commitment to helping speakers, coaches, consultants, and other rebels to use their voice and transform their lives.
Lyne Frank
Educator, Wellness Expert, and Professional Speaker
Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
Lyne Frank is a passionate educator, wellness expert, and professional speaker, bringing over two decades of experience to her work. Holding a Master of Education and being an active member of the Ontario College of Teachers, she blends her love for teaching with a commitment to supporting women’s growth and wellness. As a certified life coach and women’s circle facilitator, Lyne empowers women to overcome obstacles, embrace their inner strength, and create a life they love.
Lyne is the founder of Ignite in Community, a private group where over 1300 women gather to share, learn, and grow together. She also created Ignite in Circle, a 7-week group coaching program that guides women through personal transformation. Through her impactful workplace wellness workshops and keynotes, including Get Unstuck, Lost & Found, and Balancing Act, Lyne helps organizations and individuals navigate change, boost resilience, and build lasting success.
Her work has been featured on YourTV Niagara, CHCH, The Agenda on TVO, and CTV News, and she has been published in Canadian Teacher Magazine, Canvas Revel, and Medium. As someone who is deeply passionate about connecting women with their purpose and potential, Lyne’s mission is to create supportive, empowering spaces where women can find their voice and live with joy and confidence.
“The beginning of something special and feeling supported.” – Lyne Frank
Their stories will inspire you to reflect on your own journey, find your inner strength, and discover what it means to overcome life’s obstacles. You’ll see firsthand how resilience can transform challenges into victories and struggles into triumphs.
Join us on January 28th and experience the power of resilience – the strength to rise again, no matter the odds.
Who will be the next to spark transformation and create a ripple effect of resilience?
