Conference Education Session Presenters 2021
Conference Education Session Presenters
Toastmasters International
and COVID-19
protocols will be adhered to.
District 25 Annual Conference
May 14-15, 2021
Tri-fold with conference details – Updated 4/26/21
2021 Conference Education Session Presenters
Friday Education Session – 5:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
TK O’Geary, DTM Region 3 International Director
TK O’Geary, DTM
International Director
Sponsored by:
Afterburners
Saddle Up Your Dreams – Your SuperPower At Work
Whether you have an idea, a project, an objective, a dream, or a plan, there is a key ingredient necessary for success. In this talk, you’ll learn about this key ingredient, a key ingredient that we can all possess and make one of our superpowers. You’ll learn about what this key ingredient looks like, when to use this key ingredient, how to develop it further.
Bio:
Saturday Education Session #1 – 8:20 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.
Brandy Schade
Brandy Schade
Sponsored by:
First Command
Soar with ClifftonStrengths
Discover how to be your best everyday!
“Soar with ClifftonStrengths” provides a foundational understanding of the power of using Gallup’s ClifftonStrengths throughout one’s life. The Gallup ClifftonStrengths approach provides each individual with the opportunity to discover how to be at his or her best every single day. By understanding your uniqueness and individually, you will discover a purpose that is enjoyable to action, which empowers you to live a meaningful and rewarding life and to succeed just being you.
Bio:
Brandy Schade is a global Gallup-Certified Strength Coach with 20+ years of experience in global Fortune 500, mid-size and start-up companies within an emphasis in the technology and insurance industries. She has 7+ years of coaching experience and has consulted over 1800 professionals and facilitated 100+ workshops across a diverse set of industries, within more than 15 business units and in 15+ different countries. Brandy Schade currently serves as Intrusion Inc.’s VP of People Development and Culture where she motivates, coaches and inspires to drive an engaged employee culture. She focuses on recruiting amazing talent and setting them up to succeed. In addition, she brings financial, operational and innovation experience to achieve operational excellence by reducing costs while increasing human capital efficiency.
Valerie Bartley, MS, DTM
Valerie Bartley, MS, DTM
Sponsored by:
Fusion Toastmasters
(District 50)
How To Become A Shapeshifter In An Uncertain World
“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” – John C. Maxwell
This program will help Toastmasters and other attendees to recognize the power of adaptability. They will learn how being open and flexible in business, school or home situations can be an advantage. Not only will they experience professional growth, but they will experience personal growth. Learning to effectively communicate and adapt to a changing environment will result in stronger and long-lasting relationships. It will also result in a successful workplace and business.
Bio:
Valerie Bartley, MS, DTM is a business professional who works for JPMorgan Chase helping businesses achieve their financial objectives. She has over 20 years of experience with leading organizations in the banking, financial and healthcare industries. Valerie has been recognized for exceptional customer service and high sales production. In 2011, the American Business Women Association recognized her as their “Woman of the Year”. Valerie is an enthusiastic Toastmaster. She has server in various club and district roles. In 2019, she was honored for her work as the District 50 Awards Chair. Valerie has won many speech contests and has achieve multiple Distinguished Toastmasters designations. She believes that a compelling story mixed with humor can awaken the listener.
Valerie strives to live by the motto: “Make the right thing to do, the easy thing to do.” Valerie also believes that treating others well will result in reciprocal behavior. Within her community, she ahs served on the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Club and has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for Literacy Achieves (formerly VMLC). Valerie has also fundraised for Susan G. Komen and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She presently mentors young adults who are seeking professional careers in the business industry. During her leisure time, Valerie enjoys spending time with her family. She also like traveling, hiking, theater and taking pictures of people, places and things.
Dr. Yoram Solomon
Dr. Yoram Solomon
Sponsored by:
Mr. Cooper Speaks
The 10 Habits of the Most Trusted People
In The Book of Trust and his workshops and online courses, Dr. Solomon takes his followers through a 7-step process of developing new habits that make them more trusted. Over the years, he found that 10 of those habits have the biggest effect on trustworthiness, and that the most trusted people use all 10 of them. In this workshop, he explains those and provides a self-assessment worksheet to discover the strength of those habits in you.
Bio:
Dr. Yoram Solomon is the author of The Book of Trust and founder of the Trust Building Institute. He published 13 books, 22 patents, more than 300 articles, and was named one of the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers and one of the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders on Corporate Culture. Yoram is a professional member of the National Speakers Association and was a TEDx speaker. He is an adjunct professor at SMU, UTD, and Hadassah College in Israel. His trust-building model is based on years of original research and service at the IDF 35th Airborne Brigade.
Saturday Education Session #2 – 9:20 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.
Robi Ley, DTM, PDD
Robi Ley, DTM, PDD
Sponsored by:
Power Communicators
Accidental Leadership
Most superheroes gain their power by accident. It’s what why they choose to do with that power that makes them superheroes.
Most superheroes didn’t choose their fate. They gained their power through accident or mishap. It was the choices they made afterwards that made them heroes. Leadership can be the same. It doesn’t matter how you came to be in that leadership role, it matters what you do with it. This session will help you take your role from accidental to intentional and become your own superhero.
Bio:
Robi Ley is an author, editor, corporate trainer, and professional speaker. An 11-year veteran of Toastmasters, she has served at every level of District leadership, from club officer to District Director. She will tell you that journey was never planned; it truly did begin by accident. Never one to turn down a challenge, she took the opportunity to turn that initial reluctance into an intentional and quite educational experience. She will never claim to be a superhero, but she does claim one superpower; the use of language and word to communicate well. This session can help you take a different perspective on those leadership roles you may have turned down in the past, but they keep coming back to you. It may not be an accident after all.
Gisele Marcus
Gisele Marcus
Sponsored by:
Mineral Wells Something to Talk About
Networking Made Easy
Networking does not have to be hard work! Learn how to build and maintain relationships effortlessly. How is networking defined? How can I expand my network? How can I maintain my network? … All of this in easy to implement practical steps to get you started today.
Bio:
A native New Yorker who was raised in Harlem (the Old Harlem), Gisele is a TEDx speaker on the topic of networking and relationship building. Gisele takes the fear out of networking and offers practical, easy to implement ideas to network your way to your ‘next’. Professionally, she possesses an MBA from Harvard Business School and is an operations executive who makes organizations hum. Her audiences have consisted of national organizations, such as the Association of Chamber Executives, National Sales Network and Syracuse University. Globally she has been a keynote speaker for Autodesk and Amalgamated Banks of South Africa. She has been featured in the Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, the Milwaukee Business Journal and the St. Louis Journal. A lover of international travel, her favorite continent is Africa where she has explored 11 countries.
Cassie Bullock
Cassie Bullock
Sponsored by:
Arlington Nooners
Super Power Memory to the Rescue!
5 Steps to remember speeches, names and dates. Want to remember your speech with confidence? Remember names? Dates? You can! Join Toastmaster Cassie Bullock for an interactive and inspiring presentation guiding you through the proven 5-step Black Belt Memory system. You will leave with the tools to remember at least 10X more than when you arrive. Build your self-confidence and add a new superpower to your tool belt!
Bio:
A graduate of Texas Woman’s University, Cassie Bullock is an author, educator, speaker, and certified memory trainer. Cassie joined Toastmasters International in 2013 to hone and sharpen her interpersonal communication skills. She earned her CC in 2015, served as the President of Arlington Nooners Toastmasters club 2019-2020, and achieved DL5 in 2020. She uses humor and stories to engage and involve audiences.
Cassie lives in Arlington and is married with 3 grown sons. Personal development, gardening and chickens, are her passions. She is ready to share any experience or knowledge to inspire and motivate others. She credits her growth to fellow Toastmasters’ support and encouragement to get outside The Zone, comfort zone, that is. Cassie believes showing up, staying present is key to changing our communities and our world.
Saturday Education Session #3 – 1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
Emily Murray
Emily Murray
Sponsored by:
Highway to Excellence
Inventiveness and Creativity – Superpowers Important to our Speeches
Do you find yourself falling into the trap of being repetitious in your speeches? Have you just stopped speaking to avoid being repetitious? Let’s discover some innovative and inventive superpowers to remedy this situation. In this workshop, we are going to stretch our super-skills in several directions with some hands-on practice. Bring a buddy or two and see how you too can spice up your speaking skills.
Bio:
2020 Summit Chair and 2020-21 District Admin Manager, DTM Emily Murray is well known for her eccentric attitude and creativity. She likes to challenge the status quo while getting things done. You can often find her judging at contests and training at TLIs, and generally around (you’ll be able to find her- she’s loud) at District events. Emily has been in Toastmasters on and off for almost 20 years, and has visited over 100 clubs in person and belonged to clubs in 3 different countries.
Sara Meg Seese, DTM
Sara Meg Seese, DTM
Sponsored by:
Once Upon a Time
Step onto the Stage – Using Drama Techniques to Enhance Your Speeches
In this interactive session, members will engage in exercises used by professional actors that hone their public speaking and presentation skills. Want to spice up your speeches? Learn to taste your words. Feel like your arms hang off your shoulders or flail wildly? Getting your gestures into shape leaves your whole speech trim and fit. Lastly, let the pacing tiger out of its cage and find your true comfort zones.
Bio:
A member of Toastmasters since 2008, Sara channels almost two decades of experience touring with a professional Christian theater company whenever she prepares a speech or presentation. She works in IT for an Arlington agency that manages student loans, but her passion is communication. As a result, she is building a second career as a writer, having penned short stories and novellas for publication, written and occasionally directed plays and skits for churches throughout the country, and completed the drafts of two full-length novels she’s currently revising and hoping she’ll soon land a literary agent and publishing contract. She also provides freelance professional editing for jobseekers as well as both fiction and non-fiction authors . . . and in her spare time she serves as President of her Toastmasters club and Secretary of the local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers.
Dawn Shannon
Dawn Shannon
Sponsored by:
Microsoft 365
How the ‘V3 Strategy’ Can Help You Stop Overthinking and Start Doing
Have you ever wanted to accomplish something so badly but year after year you are still spinning your wheels and seeing little results? You know what you want but just can’t seem to find the right strategy to make it happen. Friend, you may be caught in the ‘Overthinkers Vortex’ – too much thinking and not enough doing. If you are ready to Stop Overthinking and Start Doing, you are in the right place!
Bio:
Certified Professional Coach, Dawn Shannon, works with visionaries, entrepreneurs and all-around go-getters who are tired of overthinking every decision and ready to start doing. As a former overthinker, Dawn spent years overthinking every decision which drove the people around her crazy! It was even the root cause of her walking away from her first business venture as an entrepreneur with her head hung low in shame. Dawn has finally found the formula that helps her take doable action every day without overthinking every decision and confidently share her strategy with others. Join Dawn as she shares her ‘V 3 Strategy’ to help you Stop Overthinking and Start Doing.