What Education Professionals are saying about Canadian Motivational Speaker, Nina Spencer…
“The customer is the only critic whose opinion matters at all.” — Mark Twain
A Sample List of Audience Reactions
“I finally read your [Kilimanjaro] book. I simply could not put it down! It’s really good! You write extremely well! Your ability to express your ideas is impressive. Your descriptions are not only rich, they are lyrical, and I love your sense of humor. Your story is informative, entertaining and, yes, at times even suspenseful!! The story you tell so exquisitely well will always be timely and never passe. Good for you! Congratulations Nina!” Anne Marie Miraglia, Professor, French Studies, University of Waterloo
“Words cannot truly express how much we appreciated your dedication and commitment to the professional development of our Resource Consultants (city-wide). You made our day a wonderful experience and your insights will impact all of us for many years to come. Thank-you so much!” Kristine Fenning, Training Coordinator, Humber College ITAL/Toronto Children’s Services
“We received lots of positive feedback related to your keynote, and I, personally, really enjoyed your presentation and learned a lot! A few of us stayed behind after the retreat was over, and there was a lot of discussion around your messages, specifically about the way we verbally communicate and choose our words. Your messages sparked a great deal of discussion, and more than a few laughs, as we caught ourselves! You were a delight to work with, Nina. I hope there will be occasions in the future when we can book your services again.” Joanne Nickel. Sr. Executive Assistant, Office of the Vice-President, External Relations & Advancement, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
“Nina, you were the perfect choice for our keynote speaker at our annual Leadership in Sport forum. You both inspired and appreciated the female educators in the audience, for the work they do. I admired how you planned your keynote address with our audience in mind. You related so well to the theme of the forum and you made your comments relevant and fun. It was a real joy working with you!” Donna Howard Executive Director OFSSA ( Ontario Federation School Athletic Association)
“Re our annual conference survey – lots of positive feedback! Comments included: ‘The keynote and plenary speakers were amazing!’ ‘I came back from this conference feeling very inspired and motivated.’ ‘It was just what I needed!’ ‘I very much enjoyed this year’s conference–particularly, the keynote speakers, were fantastic!’ Keynotes/plenary speakers were amazing!’ ‘Really interesting and engaging speakers.'” Alina Toda, Executive Assistant, Ontario Association of School Business Officials/OASBO
“I finally read your [Kilimanjaro] book. I simply could not put it down! It’s really good! You write extremely well! Your ability to express your ideas is impressive. Your descriptions are not only rich, they are lyrical, and I love your sense of humor. Your story is informative, entertaining and, yes, at times even suspenseful!! The story you tell so exquisitely well will always be timely and never passe. Good for you! Congratulations Nina!” Professor, French Studies, University of Waterloo
“Feedback from our group included: she was wonderful; great presentation; Nina delivered a very interesting workshop and kept everyone interested; wonderful presentation, YAHOO!, marvelous morning!; dynamic presentation and very useful information; very positive, very helpful for our workplace, and humor was great; very helpful and inspirational in both my job and personal life; reminded me how satisfying my profession is; uplifting! So as you can see Nina, we all had a wonderful day. I personally would like to thank you for such a great presentation and your professionalism. You did not miss a beat which made my job easy. You made us laugh and helped us realize how important our profession is. I will certainly refer your name to my colleagues”. Shelley Shaw, Conference Chair, Limestone District School Board
“I have just reviewed the evaluations from staff who participated in our Academic Excellence and Innovation Day and wanted to share with you the resounding positive feedback about your closing keynote. People found you to be insightful, informative and of course…fun. Your commitment to applying your presentation to our culture was evidenced by the many examples and opportunities you used information from our printed material, or previous presentations that day. Thanks again for your part in inspiring this great Durham Team!” MaryLynn West-Moynes Vice-President, Academic Excellence and Innovation Durham College
“Thank-you once again for the outstanding keynote address you gave last week at our CPMEA Symposium and AGM. People are still sharing accolades and compliments about you!” Margaret Miceli, Manager, Human Resources & Employee Relations, York University
“Wow! Nina, I can’t imagine how we could have finished on a better note than what you provided in your closing keynote address.” Phil O’Hara, Assistant Director, Dalhousie University
“Your keynote was fantastic! It was great to finally meet you in person, Nina, after all our teleconference calls preparing for the event. Everyone had a wonderful time and your presentation was superbly delivered, and even better received. I hope we get to book your services and work together again one day!” Francine Rowsell, Administrative Assistant to the Manager of Finance, Ottawa Catholic School Board
“Many thanks for your wonderful keynote at our annual Georgian Day all-staff appreciation event. Participants loved your visuals and shared lots of positive feedback, such as: ‘Nina was very uplifting and motivating; loved her message about resistance to change; very savvy and professional speaker’. Nina, you are a true friend of Georgian’s! Thanks again.” Kelly Duggan , Director of Organizational Planning & Development, Georgian College
“Nina models what she has written in her book “‘Getting Passion Out of Your Profession”. She is an extremely committed and creative individual who brings the best out in others. She is a gifted speaker with an ability to reach out to her entire audience. She is adaptable and can work with a variety of clients. Her humor is fabulous and her storytelling ability is compelling. She leaves her audiences with nuggets of wisdom that challenge, provoke and inspire. I highly recommend Nina Spencer.” Program Co-ordinator of Human Resources Studies and Professor at Georgian College
“Nina, thank-you very much for your engaging opening keynote at our annual Adult Education PD Conference. Feedback about your presentation was stellar! Here is a sample of the comments: ‘excellent choice in keynote speaker; very uplifting; awesome plenary; very relevant tips; fantastic, remarkable and inspirational; lively, interesting and dynamic presentation’. Bask in the well-deserved glory, Nina!!! Thanks again for being so easy to work with beforehand and on the day, and know I’d easily and enthusiastically recommend your keynote services to any district school board, or other education institution or association, looking for a thought-provoking and inspiring plenary speaker!” Eileen Paulsen, Program Consultant, Adult Education, Toronto Catholic District School Board
“Nina, it was certainly a pleasure meeting you and hearing your keynote. Delightful talk! Thank you, indeed.” Tom Chan MD, CCFP(EM) Chief of Staff, The Scarborough Hospital Asst. Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, DFCM, University of Toronto
“Thank-you so much for your passionate presentation to our staff. We have received a great deal of positive feedback and much interest in your book. It was a sincere pleasure working with you and hearing your insights on keeping our passion for work and life!” Robin Dafoe, Director, Corporate and Public Affairs, Education Quality and Accountability Office
“Nina: Just had to tell you that I was asked to lead a very important part of our introductory meeting last night with our teaching staff and I used your “Kili” book. I really want our staff to work as a team and so I used your elevator example of a group and a team, followed by a team activity. I summed up my portion with your quote by Alexander the Great, from Lesson 23 (page 147). Subsequent speakers, including my boss, came back to what I had said and reiterated it, so it became the theme of the meeting. Our teachers’ book club has embraced A Time to Creep, A Time to Soar: Lessons learned for work and life from climbing Kilimanjaro as our first read of the new season; so I told them that they might just come across that example again! Thanks so much for being such a great resource and if you want to incorporate this info into plenary sometime, please feel free.” Eileen Paulsen Program Consultant, Adult Education Program, Toronto Catholic District School Board
“It was a sincere privilege to have you share your inspirational and empowering message (keynote address) to HNMCS mothers and daughters at our annual Mother-Daughter Tea. No doubt your suggested strategies, tips and techniques helped generate optimism and propel rethinking. Today’s girls face increasing pressures in a constantly changing and uncertain world, and your message of embracing change with balance and resiliency helped inform a new perspective. Your message was refreshing. Thank-you for giving up a sunny Sunday afternoon to inspire our school community. May the Spirit continue to guide you and may all your good return back to you in abundance!” Marilena Tesoro, Head of School, Holy Name of Mary College School
“Once again, on behalf of the Board, thank you for your great keynote presentation at our annual October conference. As you see from the feedback, your were amazing! Here is a sample of what our members/conference attendees had to say: ‘fabulous speaker; she really held our interest; was very informative and entertaining; her topic was relevant; excellent choice of speaker; it’s always good to bring in motivational speakers; we can all use a “shot of energy” from time to time; a great speaker, a very pleasant and interesting lady; inspirational… always good to be reminded of the small things… and small changes in our lives can amount to big changes towards our goals; she was entertaining and kept us alert; very entertaining speaker.’ Lets stay in touch, Nina. I have already recommended you to TCET (The Centre for Education and Training) as well as TESL Ontario.” Alexander Harchenko, CSP, TESL, RCIC, TESL Ontario Chapter President
“I thoroughly enjoyed your keynote. You bring so much energy and enthusiasm to the platform–it’s contagious! I am definitely reminded of why we all work so hard thanks to your messages, and will make it through the home stretch of this school year armed with your inspirational words to cheer me on! I look forward to sitting down and reading your Getting Passion Out of Your Profession book this summer to get myself prepared and fresh for September!” Sara Pakosta, Health and Physical Education Teacher, Anderson CVI, Durham District School Board, Ontario
“Alberta loves Nina! She is an extremely passionate and dynamic speaker that captivates her audience. She is warm and inviting both on stage and in person, demonstrates the ability to motivate and coach others in the career development and human resources fields, and displays discretion and diplomacy with her colleagues and clients. If you want attention to detail, promptness and expertise in the field of career development–Nina Spencer is the lady for you. She was an absolute pleasure and a treat to have at our 15th Annual Alberta Career Development Consultation.” Tracey Campbell, Chair, 2009 BTT/Building Tomorrow Today Planning Committee, Career Development Association of Alberta (Career & Employment Consultant, Alberta Ministry of Employment and Immigration)
“Thank you, Nina, for your thoughtful and enlightening opening keynote at our Annual GTA Colleges Support Staff Day. Over 180 employees attended from surrounding GTA colleges and the feedback was very positive; staff felt engaged, energized and positively focused! Your additional small group session delivered on lessons learned for work and life from climbing Kilimanjaro was also inspirational. Thank you Nina for sharing your life’s work!” Susanne Wodar, Director, Centre for People & Organizational Development, Sheridan College
“Thanks so much for adapting your very engaging, inspiring and relatable (virtual) keynote presentation, Five Ways to Feel More Confident, Positive, Calmer, Stronger and Happier, to fit our community. In your upbeat way, you gave us wonderful takes-aways that we all can use to respond to change, especially through these challenging and unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic times—including tangible steps to successfully shift perspectives and adapt. We gleaned great value out of your messages. You are an inspiration and we are most grateful to you!” — Sherryann Ambrose, Principal St. Elizabeth Catholic School, Toronto Catholic District School Board
“Thank you for your energetic and educational virtual keynote to our St. Elizabeth student and parent community! Your Five Ways to Feel More Confident, Positive, Calmer, Stronger and Happier (although originally intended as an in-person event), was engaging and relatable, offering tips and strategies that were both concrete and inspirational—including the symbolic tales your shared of your experience climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. This was a most successful parent-engagement and community-building event—ever more important in these unprecedented times in which we find ourselves. Thank you Nina, for making a difference in our community!” — St. Elizabeth Catholic School Student-Parent Community
“You were amazing today! On point, a truly wonderful keynote!! We were delighted to have you be part of our very first virtual EarlyON staff event.” — Denise Plinton, Specialist, Early Years & Child Care Services, Region of Peel
“WOW you rocked it, Nina! That was a fantastic (virtual) keynote presentation! Your engagement was truly on point, and the very attainable and useful strategies were so well received—the comments in the CHAT were so positive and participants really liked you and your energy! On behalf of CDRCP thank you for such a great end-of-the-year presentation, for such a meaningful 2020 EarlyON staff appreciation event. We would love to continue our work with you in the future.” Andrea Thomas, BA, Professional Learning Specialist, Child Development Resource Connection Peel
