Katie Mares knows first hand the challenges organizations and their encounter as they strive to design a customer service program that is sustainable and has an impact in the marketplace. She also knows that developing a program is just one small step to success, it is the tools and implementation plan that makes a program take flight.
Using her experiences as a Chief Inspiration Officer, building company infrastructure and designing customer experience programs, Katie Mares is now a leading voice inspiring positive, actionable change in the organizations she partners with. Mares has earned her Master’s in Adult Training and Development and is a Certified Training & Development Professional.
As a Certified Speaking Professional, Mares has inspired audiences around the world to think differently about customer service and leadership. She imparts skills to change behaviour, which has a positive effect on the experience offered to customers and team members.
Katie Mares has a unique approach; she focuses on developing the C.O.R.E. confidence and skills of team members when creating tailored standards for each organization and its customer. Katie has worked with globally recognized brands such as Honda, Celebrity Cruises, and Canada Post. Her delivery is concise, emotional, and impactful! Audiences who experience Katie, walk away inspired to make positive, actionable changes and are ready to use their new skills to change the experience your brand provides their customers and team members.
Katie Mares lives in Toronto with her family. When she is not travelling around the world consulting and speaking, Katie can be found on a yoga mat (in a shoe store!) or snuggled on the couch with her three little ones eating homemade popcorn and watching a movie!
Keld Jensen is a sought-after international keynote speaker, delivering his presentations across Asia, Europe and the USA and Canada. His highly engaging speaking style and his innovative content have made him a sought-after keynote and workshop presenter for senior corporate executives, legal and professional associations, trade organizations, and government agencies and diplomatic officials.
Jensen is an acclaimed speaker, author, advisor and professor, making him one of the most-published experts in his field. He has received several honors and awards for his publications, and his most recent book, Honest Negotiation, was recognized as Amazon’s #1 New Release in its category. He was voted one of the best public speakers in Scandinavia. A native of Denmark, Mr. Jensen currently lives in the US – but his work is global in nature.
Keld Jensen brings an entirely fresh perspective to the process of bargaining for something you want. Using his approach, both parties to a commercial transaction leave the table with much more than they originally thought possible. Jensen’s unique expertise lies at the intersection of three crucial areas – trust, behavioral economics and negotiations.
Jensen is a highly-experienced negotiator who brings insight and judgment to commercial transactions from his seasoned corporate perspective and more than 25 years of experience in international management, negotiation, and communication. He has acquired a global following as a result of his highly-rated speaking engagements at international conferences, his widely published media commentary, and through the publication of 24 books in 36 countries in 14 different languages. He has also served as Chairman of the Centre for Negotiation at the Copenhagen Business School.
Through his early experience at Xerox and Toshiba, he gained a solid foundation in problem solving from the corporate perspective. He has served as CEO of a publicly-traded Scandinavian company and participated in numerous start-ups. He has advised many of the leading companies in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America while serving as CEO of his own research development and consulting firm. Keld Jensen has documented his innovative ideas through original research, reported in internationally-recognized publications.
He is often used as a commentator in national and international media, and has written feature, articles for the Financial Times, Forbes, CNBC, The Christian Science Monitor, BusinessWeek.com, Berlingske Tidende, and Børsen. His articles have appeared in industry publications such as the Institute for Supply Management, Producers, eSource, Business Ethics, Industry Week, Portfolio.com, ChiefExecutive.net, CareerBuilder.com, and eSide Supply Management. He appears frequently in the broadcast media as a highly-regarded commentator and expert on international business issues. Keld Jensen is a contributor to Forbes magazine, on the subjects of negotiation, trust and behavioral economics, reaching more than 2.8 million readers globally.
Keld Jensen is a former CEO of a public IT company and today heads an advisory organization in the industry. Based in the US, he is now an Associate Professor at Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management, an Associate Professor at Aalborg University in Denmark, and a lecturer in the eMBA program at Lithuania’s Baltic Management Institute. He is also frequently featured as a guest lecturer at a number of international universities.
In 2016, he was awarded Top Thought Leader in Trust. In,2017, he received the award: “Best Negotiation Tender” by the Organization of Public Procurement Officers in Denmark and an Award for outstanding Service Provider/innovator by ACCM. The same year Jensen was named as one of the top 100 global thought leaders in the area of trust, by the organizations Trust Across America and Trust Across the World.
In 2017, his client, the Danish company BlueKolding received an award for the year’s Best Negotiation/Tender Strategy from Denmark’s Organization of Public Procurement Officers, for their application of Mr. Jensen’s unique business-strategy concept, SMARTnership.
This same SMARTnership concept also won the 2018 International Association of Contract & Commercial Management (IACCM) Innovation Award. Furthermore, Keld’s NegoEconomics financial concept has been recognized as a groundbreaking approach to financial development in negotiations, and endorsed by a number of international organizations. Among his list of distinguished clients, you will find the Government of Canada, the Danish Armed Forces, Novo Nordisk corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Danske Bank, LEGO, Rolls Royce, Microsoft, Carlsberg and EADS.
The World Economic Forum has identified competence in negotiations as the fifth-most-important skill regardless of what job you hold. Studies have found that, over the past twenty years, the level of trust in our societies has dropped by more than 55 percent. Two recent winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics were awarded for their studies in behavioral economics. Their research proved that we humans are fundamentally irrational in our behavior. In large measure, our actions and decisions are dictated by our emotions.
Jackie Rainforth is a record-breaking, award-winning sales expert, trainer, professional speaker and author of the upcoming book THE BAD ASS GUIDE TO SUPERSTAR SELLING. After a near death experience scuba diving in 2016, Jackie’s world changed. Rainforth realized her passion was training and mentoring others – helping others succeed and helping them get to the next level.
Jackie Rainforth’s passion is to help people grow, achieve new milestones and reach success levels they never thought possible. She is now sharing her passion, knowledge, real-life career experience, as well as the secrets to her success to help you, your employees and your company become more successful and profitable in business and in life!
As a top ranked sales performer and #1 succession leader, Jackie Rainforth has a wealth of knowledge in both Corporate and Entrepreneurial Sales. She rose from Corporate Sales to Sales Management, landing as an executive sales and marketing Leader in the Construction industry. She founded, operated and lead her sales team to record breaking, industry leading success in her own highly successful sales agency representing global plumbing brands. That success won her the coveted nomination as. Rainforth is a TEC Canada Certified Presenter and was also nominated for the ‘RBC Women Entrepreneur of Canada Award’.
Her peers gave her the title The Rainmaker. Highly certified, her passion is in helping people and organizations learn MODERN yet SIMPLE selling strategies. She helps you delve deeper, sell better and achieve faster results so you can achieve the income you desire. Jackie Rainforth is a dynamic and powerful speaker that is energetic and knowledgeable. She is passionate on taking salespeople and organizations to higher sales performance and results She used her knowledge, experience, success and failures to create a series of proven, cutting-edge 5-Step SALES EXCELLENCE Training Systems that have created significant results for her clients and the Companies they represent.
Jackie Rainforth not only helps organizations to increase sales but makes them stand out as out of the box thinkers, excelling as Industry Sales Leaders. Rainforth takes a modern approach to selling because selling has changed. World events, the explosion of technology, global competition, and existing stereotypes, have caused a shift in Society to one of distrust and scepticism, making a more resistant customer. Now add that to the emergence of the powerful millennials and the generation gap that exists in terms of polar opposite beliefs, values and priorities, we as salespeople and organizations need to completely change how we go to market.
Janice Makokis, the youngest of the Makokis family, is an acting lawyer and consultant that is fresh from participating in legal matters relating to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada. Janice has Co-Chaired the North American Indigenous Peoples Caucus (NAIPC) at the United Nations on the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
She started her education by achieving a Bachelor of Arts the University of Alberta, graduating with First Class Honors in Native Studies (2005). She later went on to the University of Victoria achieving a Masters in Arts in Indigenous Governance (2010). Janice Makokis also attended the University of Ottawa (Faculty of Law), achieving a Bachelor of Laws (2010).
Before becoming a lawyer, Janice Makokis traveled extensively across Canada, including in the far North, researching the issues affecting indigenous people in Canada today. She continues to represent First Nation Communities by dedicating her work to implement strategies and policies to rebuild, instill and grow First Nation Communities within Canada and North America.
Janice is often called upon to help Indigenous leaders and communities as a consultant on legal and social issues that many communities and individuals face within and outside of the aboriginal community. She has also overcome many obstacles to arrive where she is today. Her drive and passion for real change within Canada has taken Janice Makokis on a path to become a leader, peaceful activist, mediator, teacher, consultant, and role model within and outside of her career. She now focuses her career as an advocate for aboriginal rights, education of the white population, social justice and acknowledgment for the past and current treatment of aboriginals today.
Janice Makokis represents real change for aboriginals and Canadians, that so many individuals and communities are seeking for. She also has extensively worked with youth throughout her career and expresses the same passion and responsibility to aboriginal youth as her brother James.
Janice Makokis’ life work will leave your group with new understandings, perspectives and commitments towards the advancement of First Nation Peoples in Canada, today and for the future.
As the author of The Unconscious Coach, naturotherapist and hypnotist, Jason Cyrus has dominated and transformed the field of stage hypnosis over the last decade with his unmatchable stage presence, unique style, positive attitude and charisma. In his wildly entertaining keynote presentation shows audience members how to achieve the unthinkable – and how you can put the scientific principles to work in your business and personal life.
Born in the small coal mining village of Minto, NB and son of country music legend the late Joey Knight, Jason Cyrus has always been loved for his big heart, quick wit, great sense of humour, family values and charismatic personality. Like a true Canadian boy, Jason has always had a love for hockey and combined this with talent and skill. During his hockey career, Jason played on AAA hockey teams and received many awards including MOST VALUABLE PLAYER and HIGHEST POINTS. His success led to an invitation to try out for a Junior A hockey team in Ontario. His hard work and dedication earned him a position on the team which led to many other opportunities.
Cyrus fostered his love for magic and hypnosis at a very young age and is now called “Canada’s Stage Hypnosis KING” by the country’s entertainment capital, Niagara Falls. He began touring major theatres/casinos in Canada and very quickly became one of the hottest tickets in town. Audiences were blown away and people came from everywhere, packing the theatres each and every year.
In 2016, he developed a very powerful keynote speech titled “Achieve the Unthinkable” combining entertainment with a message that is leaving corporate companies, high schools, professional organizations, trade agencies, universities and non-profit groups completely blown away. He shows how you can put scientific principles to work in your business and personal life by using the power of hypnosis, imagination and visualization. You will quickly find out why he is called the ACDC of speakers (“No one wants to go on after this guy” says Devin Harris of Investors Group) with his life changing message.
In addition to his stage shows, Cyrus is a certified Naturotherapist (Academy of Naturopaths and Naturotherapists of Canada), unconscious coach and clinical hypnotherapist (National Guild of Hypnotist). He is able to help his clients reach their true potential while enhancing and improving their lives. The success and popularity of his shows have increased his clientele as people travel from far to see him privately. Jason Cyrus enjoys all aspects of his career. He enjoys performing and speaking in front of large audiences, he also finds working on-on-one with clients very rewarding.
Here are some of his credentials:
- Naturotherapist (N.D.) with Academy of Naturopaths and Naturotherapists of Canada
- Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS)
- Certified Hypnotist with the International Hypnosis Association
- Certified Hypnotist with the National Guild of Hypnotist
Jen Grant is an award nominated stand-up comedian as well as a dynamic key note speaker. Originally from Ottawa, Jen was honoured to be profiled in Ottawa Life Magazine as one of the top 25 People in the Capital. A story telling, observational style of comedian, Jen is both unique and relatable. She writes about life and she will have you laughing until you’re crying. Funny tears. Jen is a clean comic who is adaptable to any setting and is an excellent choice for any corporate function. Her ability to weave hilarious jokes with funny audience interaction is extraordinary.
As an accomplished comedian of 20 years, Jen has achieved virtually everything you can in the world of stand-up comedy in Canada. She has appeared on TV at every major comedy festival in the country including the Just for Laughs Festival, the Halifax and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival. She can also be heard on CBC‘s “The Debaters” and has her own TV special on The Comedy Network. One of her proudest achievements was when she performed for the Troops in the Middle East.
Jen was the first Canadian to reach the finals of the prestigious Boston Comedy Competition and was listed as one of the top five funniest people in Toronto by Toronto Life Magazine.
As a keynote speaker Jen is engaging, inspiring, entertaining and informative. The audience will leave with not only a message and tools to help inspire change in their lives but also with sore cheeks from laughing so hard. Now living just outside Ottawa, Jen has lived in New York City, Toronto and Vancouver. She is excited to have released her CD called “Nobody Likes Your Homemade Wine” It is available on iTunes. It’s really funny! You should buy it and listen to it. Or buy it for a friend who makes you homemade wine and you want them to get the hint. Other CDs – “Jokes That Kill” as well as “My Jokes are up here” Vol 1 and 2.
Jennifer Botterill is one of Canada’s most successful athletes, achieving Olympic glory on numerous occasions. A member of the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team for 14 years, Botterill attended four Olympic games, winning three gold medals and one silver medal. She was responsible for the assist that won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. Embracing the chance to connect with audiences, Botterill shares valuable lessons she’s learned on the way to becoming a champion.
Botterill is a graduate of Harvard University and the only two-time winner of the Patty Kazmaier award, which honours the top player in women’s college hockey. She is also a five-time world champion and was twice named the most valuable player of the World Championship tournament.
Today, Botterill is an analyst for the NHL’s New York Islanders. She has also worked as a studio analyst for TSN, a hockey specialist with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, and a guest on TSN’s Off the Record. In 2014, Botterill was a sports commentator for CBC at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
Botteril has taken several leadership and mentorship roles within the sports community and the greater community at large. She has worked on projects for the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federal, and is currently an ambassador for Right to Play. She has also worked with charities such as the Special Olympics, Kidsport, Children’s Wish Foundation, SickKids Hospital, CanFund, Hockey Canada Foundation, and Canadian Cancer Society.
Botteril’s career is inspired by her family. Her father is a renowned sports psychologist, her mother competed in two Olympic Games as a speedskater, and her brother is a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins and is currently the general manager for the Buffalo Sabres.
Jennifer Buchanan is an certified Music Therapist (MTA), Past-President of the Canadian Association for Music Therapy and author. She is instrumental in the implementation of hundreds of music therapy programs with her company currently serving over 1800 clients through the efforts of her specialized team of musical therapists. Her nationally industry leading company has been thrice nominated for the Community Impact Award by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Combining powerful personal stories, cutting-edge clinical research, and straightforward strategies Jennifer’s presentations provide a treasury of proven ways – including boosting morale and decreasing stress – to improve your organization’s well-being, even during the most difficult times
A trail blazer in the field of music therapy, Jennifer Buchanan is a popular keynote and workshop speaker who has spent over two decades inspiring audiences on how music fosters connections, focus, and feeling better. Bridging the gap between academic research in the area of music medicine and the public, Jennifer has spoken internationally to a wide variety of education, healthcare, government, small business and corporate audiences.
In addition to her extensive healthcare and education experience, Jennifer Buchanan has completed her MBA to continue growing her 25 year, award winning and social-purpose business that is based in partnerships, connections, and networks. She is a leading expert on using music to boost mood, increase productivity, and decrease stress. Jennifer brings in her experience, research and best practices for how to incorporate music and take advantage of its motivating and healing nature.
Jennifer Buchanan has been a sessional instructor and guest lecturer at universities and is frequently interviewed on radio or television or quoted in health care and popular magazines. She has appeared as a guest on numerous news and current affairs programs including Fox News Health, NBC, CBS, CBC Radio, CBC Television, CTV, Global TV, and has been featured in publications such as the Huffington Post, Chatelaine Magazine and Canadian Living. Jennifer Buchanan’s signature keynotes educate and inspire while enhancing a very memorable conference or event for all in attendance.
Jennifer Casa-Todd is a gifted speaker and workshop facilitator. She has been described as engaging, inspirational, knowledgeable, and passionate. She balances research, stories, and humour, with practical take-aways and hands-on opportunities for learning. She is currently a Teacher-Librarian in Aurora, Ontario Canada, and author of the book, Social LEADia, published by Dave Burgess Consulting. Before this, she spent six years at the District level as a Program Resource Teacher for Literacy and Literacy Consultant, respectively.
In my district-level role, Jennifer Casa-Todd has had the honor of working with teachers from Kindergarten to grade twelve in practically every subject area to integrate technology in the classroom, to support literacy, assessment, and differentiation, and to promote twenty-first century competencies. She has also had the privilege to write curriculum for the Ministry of Education of Ontario’s 21st Century Learning office as well as the Catholic Curriculum Corporation. She is a life-long learner currently studying at the University of Ontario, Institute of Technology with a focus on social media in education and Digital Citizenship.
Jennifer Casa-Todd is a wife and mom of two teens. Wearing her parent hat, she has been the co-chair as well as an active member of the Parent Council for over a decade, bringing parent and school communities together for a variety of issues. She has also worked closely with the Bully-Free Alliance of York Region with whom she initiated a panel discussion, “Fears, Cheers, and Unclears: Parenting in a Connected World.” Jennifer is also the lead organizer for the Digital Citizenship Summit, Canada happening in Fall of 2018.
Casa-Todd is the also the author of Social LEADia: Moving Students from Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership. It is full of examples of students who are leveraging social media for good, and the teachers who are empowering them to do so. Teachers and Schools have banned and blocked social media for over a decade, and the results are only limiting ongoing learning opportunities and disconnecting teachers from students. It’s time for a new approach.
Jennifer Casa-Todd loves learning and connecting with other educators from across the globe, and is passionate about connecting students to each other and to the world. Technology has the potential to transform learning in ways we can only have imagined when we were in school! With awesome power, comes awesome responsibility too! She believes we need to think critically about issues of equity, access, privacy, and safety.
Jennifer Casa-Todd brings her experience as a teacher, consultant, student, and a parent to equip a variety of audiences to think differently about the power of technology and social media to transform learning experiences. She was honored to be mentioned as one of the Top 10 Newsmakers of the Year in Tech in 2016. She is passionate about showing teachers and students how they can use technology and social media to make the world a better place.
Since 2015, Jessica Correa and her team have been inspiring individuals and organizations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through behavioural change. Her focus is to bring awareness to climeate change being everyone’s problem and responsibility, while being able to deliver practical insights on how to contribute to a greener planet. Originally from Oakville, Ontario, Jessica moved to Peterborough to begin her educational journey in Environmental Sciences/Studies and she then completed her Masters Degree in Sustainability Studies.
While attending university, Jessica Correa worked for Algonquin Provincial Park, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and the County of Peterborough Waste Management Department. These summer employment opportunities deepened her understanding of environmental issues and inspired her to search for and develop creative solutions.
Her app, Random Acts of Green® (RAOG) is a part of a Canadian social enterprise with a mission to educate and empower people to participate in sustainable behaviours that reduce greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change. They provide tools and incentives to help individuals and organizations perform and celebrate green actions for change.
Jessica Correa is a highly self-motivated individual with strong communication skills, powerful insights and on a mission to create awareness and actions to reduce climate change any way possible. Her mission is to disprove thinking that one person cannot make a difference for the planet and that small changes to add up. She considers herself an eternally optimistic, goal-oriented, and bubbly extroverted individual, proud half marathoner, talented public speaker, and ‘enviropreneur’.