A new school year brings fresh energy — and fresh demands. Between growing classroom complexity, evolving technology, and the everyday pressure of showing up for students, educators need more than a pep talk to start the year strong. They need real support.
This back-to-school planning guide brings together just some of the incredible speakers we represent who understand exactly what educators are navigating, from building community and student connection to AI, well-being, and classroom-specific expertise. Whether you’re looking to celebrate your staff, help them better understand their students, or equip them with practical tools for the year ahead, these keynotes are built to meet educators where they are.
Top Speakers for Teachers and Educators
Set your team up for a great year! Meet some of our top education keynote speakers below, organized by theme, to find the right fit for your school or district. Contact us to learn more.
Educator Appreciation
Every school year runs on the quiet dedication of educators. These speakers pause to honour that impact — celebrating the people who teach, care, and show up wholeheartedly, every single day.
Peter Katz
Celebrating Your Impact: Wholehearted Service
A Juno Award- and Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter, Peter Katz delivers highly customized Keynote Concerts that blend live music, powerful storytelling, and research-backed strategies to create a one-of-a-kind experience for his audiences.
In this keynote, Peter helps educators reconnect to the meaning behind their work, honour the profound impact they make, and leave them resourced and re-energized to keep showing up wholeheartedly.
Andrew Phung
To All the Teachers I’ve Ever Had
Andrew Phung will tell you his entire career has been shaped by his teachers. Best known for CBC’s Kim’s Convenience and Run the Burbs, he is an award-winning actor, writer, and comedian with five consecutive Canadian Screen Awards to his name.
With his signature off-the-cuff charm and boundless enthusiasm, Andrew shares his journey and honours the educators who changed his life along the way in this hilarious, heartfelt keynote.
Anthony McLean
In Celebration of Educators
A “master storyteller” who’s helped leading organizations strengthen their wokrplace culture and mental health, Anthony McLean turns his expertise toward the classroom in this laugh-out-loud, morale-boosting keynote.
For educators feeling overwhelmed or overlooked, Anthony is the reminder they didn’t know they needed. He shares personal stories of the teachers who never gave up on him to show educators the difference they make, one student at a time.
Student Experience and Connection
Understanding students starts with seeing their world clearly. These keynotes unpack the experiences shaping students today — giving educators real insight into what they’re carrying into their classrooms or what challenges they’re facing outside of the classroom, and the tools needed to best support them.
Tyrone Edwards
What I Wish My Teachers Had Known
In this deeply moving keynote experience, Etalk’s Tyrone Edwards takes audiences through the education system from the eyes of a little Black boy — sharing stories of discovery and support, discrimination and prejudice, and everything he wished his teachers had known.
Leading with vulnerability, kindness, and humour, Tyrone gives educators greater clarity and insight into the students they teach and how to foster a sense of belonging in their classroom and beyond.
Mark Henick
Before the Bell Rings: Supporting Mental Health Across the School Community
Drawing on his experience as a patient, practitioner, and public figure, Mark Henick brings a rare depth of perspective to conversations about mental health.
In this keynote for educators and administrators, Mark offers a frank, compassionate look at what staff and students need, and how the two are more connected than we realize. This isn’t about lesson plans but the humans who make schools what they are and what it takes to keep them whole.
Dr. Shimi Kang
The Tech Solution: Creating Health Habits for Kids Growing Up
An award-winning medical doctor, Dr. Shimi Kang helps educators understand the neuroscience behind how tech use is re-shaping their students’ focus, mental health, and ability to connect.
Drawing on her book The Tech Solution, she shares proven strategies to guide students toward a healthier, more balanced relationship with tech and AI, as well as brain-based tools to reclaim cognitive capital, reduce digital fatigue, and rebuild attention.
AI and Tech: Educating in the Digital World
From social media’s grip on young minds to AI’s growing role in the classroom, technology is evolving faster than ever. These keynotes help educators keep pace — understanding the shifts and gaining the tools to navigate them.
Taylor Owen
The Social Media Generation: What Every Educator Should Know About Digital Natives
A generation of children — of people — is being transformed by social media, with significant implications for how they think, connect, and grow.
Taylor Owen, an advisor on Canada’s National AI Task Force and a world-leading expert on AI and digital platforms, unpacks the bigger picture of what’s actually happening, equipping educators with evidence-based strategies to harness technology’s benefits while protecting their students.
Dwayne Matthews
Unlocking Stranded Brilliance and the Future of Education in an AI-Enabled World
A certified educator, Dwayne Matthews is an education strategist who explores the impact of disruptive innovation on the future of education.
In this keynote, he highlights how education has long been crucial to unlocking “stranded brilliance”, and outlines its potential to unlock even more through AI. Dwayne leaves educators with strategic, actionable steps to harness AI tools and continue maximizing human potential.
Dr. Bailey Parnell
#SafeSocial: Social Media’s Impact on Mental Health
A pioneer in digital well-being, Dr. Bailey Parnell has spent over a decade studying the intersection of technology, learning, and mental health.
In this interactive keynote — adapted from her TEDx Talk with over 5 million views — Bailey breaks down exactly how social media is affecting students’ well-being and equips educators with five practical, research-backed steps to help students build healthier digital habits.
Educator Well-Being
The demands on educators rarely let up. These keynotes give teachers real tools to protect their well-being and optimize their health — mentally, emotionally, and physically — all year long.
Jessica Holmes
Bring on the Joy for Teachers! Building Resilience, Connection, and Well-Being in Education
Teachers are trained to pour into everyone else — but who’s pouring into them? Between rising classroom complexity, growing student mental health needs, and blurred work-life boundaries, comedian and positive psychology expert Jessica Holmes knows how quickly that imbalance adds up.
Drawing on her mental health journey and research into resilience in teaching, she helps educators rebuild self-compassion, connection, and healthy boundaries through simple, evidence-based shifts.
Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng
Prevention Over Prescription: Take Control Over Your Health
Educators give so much to their students that their own health can fall to the bottom of the list. As a leading ICU doctor, Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng has spent his career seeing where that neglect can lead — and his mission is to help people avoid it altogether.
In this engaging talk, Kwadwo breaks down the key pillars of health, giving educators practical, science-backed tools to shift from reactive to proactive wellness.
Jessica Janzen
The Blueprint for Resiliency: How Joy Fuels Resiliency for Forward Momentum
When teams face burnout, change fatigue, and diminishing engagement, Jessica Janzen delivers the spark they need.
Through her “Blueprint for Resiliency,” she gives educators a practical, science-backed roadmap for unlocking more joy, energy, and success — helping them shift from a problem mindset to a possibility mindset, build healthy habits for consistency, and rewire their thinking for lasting focus and belief.
Classroom Support
Enhance your teaching this year with support from speakers who can speak on today’s important topics, including environmental literacy, Indigenous knowledge, and classroom management
Kendal Netmaker
Moving Forward Together Through Indigenous Awareness and Education
A member of Sweetgrass First Nation, Kendal Netmaker has spent his life bridging two worlds — and using that journey to move reconciliation forward.
In his keynote, this master storyteller brings educators into Indigenous Peoples’ worldview: their way of life, beliefs, and spirituality. The result is a richer, more accurate understanding that educators can carry directly into how they teach.
Simon Jackson
Nature Labs: Environmental Literacy
At just 13, Simon Jackson founded a youth movement that grew to six million people across 85 countries — and helped secure one of the largest land protection measures in North American history.
Now co-founder of Nature Labs, a storytelling-driven high school textbook, Simon helps educators build environmental literacy in their students, giving them the critical thinking skills to create a better balance between people and nature.
Alyson Schafer
Classroom Cooperation: Understanding Students, Engaging Parents
An internationally acclaimed parenting expert and mental health practitioner with hands-on classroom experience, Alyson Schafer gives educators the tools to build real classroom cooperation.
From understanding the misbehaving student to using encouragement over reward charts and running effective class meetings, Alyson helps teachers foster cooperation in the classroom, and stronger alignment with parents at home.
Book Your Educator Keynote Speaker Today
Teachers give so much to their students, schools, and communities. This year, give them the same support back. Whether you’ve found the perfect fit or want help narrowing down your options, our team is here to help — contact us today to check availability and bring one of these speakers to your school or district.
