2021 Forward Thinking Speaker Series Recap

Our 2021 Forward Thinking Speaker Series Recap brings together voices of courage, resilience, and transformation. Irshad Manji, the founder of Moral Courage College, emphasizes listening over labelling to foster understanding. Award-winning author Tanya Talaga sheds light on Indigenous histories, calling for inclusivity and hope for Canada’s future. Marketing expert Terry O’Reilly shares the impact of exceptional customer service on loyalty and success, while Michael Landsberg, mental health advocate, opens up about his own struggles to break the stigma surrounding depression. Dive into these conversations for insights that inspire empathy, courage, and change.

Irshad Manji

Moral Courage for Messy Times

Moral Courage means listening instead of labelling those with whom we disagree. Irshad Manji believes listening to opposing views is important to better understand who we are as individuals.

Recipient of Oprah Winfrey’s first Chutzpah Award for boldness, Irshad Manji is the author of Don't Label Me and is the founder of Moral Courage College, which teaches people how to do the right thing in the face of fear. She is also the Director for Courage, Curiosity, and Character at Let Grow,, a New York-based nonprofit that builds intellectual independence and emotional resilience in kids. A prize-winning professor, Manji currently lectures with Oxford University’s Initiative for Global Ethics and Human Rights.

You can listen to our interview with Irshad Manji on our podcast, Overdue Finds.

Tanya Talaga

All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward

Stemming from her award-winning book Seven Fallen Feathers, the story of seven Indigenous high school students who mysteriously died in Thunder Bay, Tanya Talaga creates an intimate experience for her audiences. She imparts audiences with in-depth knowledge of Indigenous culture and history while leaving them empowered through a hopeful message that we can learn from our past and set forward on a new path for our nation based on inclusivity and equity.

An award-winning journalist and author, and the First Ojibway woman to deliver the CBC Massey Lectures, Tanya Talaga is an acclaimed storyteller. Her book Seven Fallen Feathers, a national bestseller that introduced us to seven Indigenous high school students who mysteriously died in Thunder Bay, won the 2018 RBC Taylor Prize. In her powerful keynotes, Talaga shares Indigenous stories from across Canada and the world, humanizing the legacy of residential schools and colonization and sharing her hope for a more inclusive and equitable future.

Terry O'Reilly

Customer Service IS Marketing

Customer Service = Profit. So many companies either don’t understand this rule or need help implementing it. Great companies know it’s not enough to have customers leave satisfied – the key is to have them leave happy. That is a step beyond service. Superb customer service creates intense customer loyalty and fuels referrals. This presentation included inspiring stories from around the world and examples of incredible and unexpected customer service ideas that your audience can implement immediately.

Terry O'Reilly has written three books including, The Age of Persuasion, This I Know, and his latest is My Best Mistake about people who made catastrophic career decisions - but it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to them. The book launches in October. He has been given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Advertising & Design Club of Canada and has been granted Honorary Degrees from three Canadian universities.

Michael Landsberg

Darkness and Hope: Depression, Sports, and Me

Michael Landsberg was the charismatic and outspoken host of TSN's Off the Record—and from watching his show, you'd never guess that he has been battling mental illness and depression for most of his life. Lifting the stigma from this topic, Landsberg delivers a powerful and personal keynote on the dangerously misunderstood issues of depression and mental health. Depression can affect even the most successful of athletes—from Clara Hughes, one of the great amateur athletes in Canada, to four-time World Series winner Darryl Strawberry. Landsberg shares the story of his own battle with mental illness, as well as the unexplored stories of some of the world's most recognizable sports figures, to show us that recovery, strength and hope are possible in some of our darkest times.