The most memorable part of any keynote speech isn’t necessarily the strategies shared or the data used to underline key points, it’s the stories shared along the way. Facts may inform us, but it’s stories that move us.
Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways we learn, and our roster of professional keynote speakers is well practiced in the art. Some use stories to bring ideas and insights to life, others draw on their personal experiences to inspire, and some help audiences find and share their own.
Meet some of our most in-demand storytellers below across a wide range of topics and themes — from leadership, resilience, and mental health to business growth, innovation, and connection — and how they use storytelling to leave a lasting impact on audiences.
Master Storytellers
Filmmakers, journalists, songwriters, and more, these storytellers have spent years honing their craft to deliver powerful learning experiences and one-of-a-kind events.
Mike Downie
Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker
For more than three decades, Mike Downie has been exploring the power of story. He is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, most recently directing and producing The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, an intimate look at the band’s legacy and its deep connection to Canada’s cultural identity.
With personal stories and lessons from the field, Downie explores what makes a story resonate and challenges audiences to think bigger about the narratives they shape and the legacy they leave behind.
Connie Walker
Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-Winning Indigenous Journalist
An award-winning investigative journalist, Connie Walker has spent over two decades shedding light on often overlooked Indigenous stories. In 2023, her podcast Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s won a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody Award, becoming the first podcast to win both awards in the same year.
A powerful storyteller, Connie helps audiences better understand the truth of our colonial history and their role in meaningful reconciliation.
Anthony McLean
Mental Health and Workplace Culture | Author and Storyteller
Called a “master storyteller” by clients including Coca-Cola, AT&T, Intel, TD Bank, and more, Anthony McLean has a particular knack for turning workplace challenges into opportunities for connection, using humour and research-backed strategies to help teams build trust and perform at a higher level.
With a background in theatre, Anthony brings a performer’s instincts to every event, delivering lively keynotes that leave audiences motivated, uplifted, and ready to take action.
Peter Katz
Juno-Nominated Singer-Songwriter, Keynote Speaker, and Facilitator
Juno Award- and Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter Peter Katz has spent nearly two decades touring the world, honing his skills to create space for deep connection and communal joy.
In his interactive keynote concerts, Peter brings that experience to the workplace, blending live music, powerful storytelling, and research-backed strategies to help teams feel seen, valued, and inspired to do their best work. His approach sets an industry standard for care and customization.
Jill Heinerth
High Risk Leadership | Change Expert | Underwater Explorer
More people have walked on the moon than have visited the places Jill Heinerth has seen on Earth.
An underwater cave diver and filmmaker, Jill’s visually stunning presentations take audiences behind the scenes of some the most dangerous technical dives, from deep inside underwater caves to giant Antarctic icebergs. She encourages audiences to reach beyond their limitations, challenge the unknown, and overcome their fears, while sharing practical lessons on risk management, failure, and collaboration.
Dan Riskin
Biologist | Science Journalist | Author | TV Host
A renowned evolutionary biologist and award-winning television presenter, Dan Riskin has been making science accessible, engaging, and fun for more than a decade. He co-hosted Discovery Canada’s Daily Planet and is currently CTV’s Science and Technology Specialist
A natural storyteller, he can take any subject, from AI, teamwork, and organizational change to innovation and growth, and explore it in depth through fascinating, science-backed stories from the natural world. His keynotes spark curiosity and leave audiences seeing their own world in a new light.
Remarkable Stories
From the far side of the Moon to the Sahara Desert, these speakers have lived extraordinary lives, and they share them to help audiences take on challenges of their own.
Colonel Jeremy Hansen
Artemis II Astronaut
From a kid staring up at the stars to the far side of the Moon, Colonel Jeremy Hansen knows firsthand what it takes to turn an impossible dream into a reality.
Through breathtaking video and imagery, Jeremy takes audiences behind the scenes of his journey, translating one of humanity’s greatest achievements into a powerful framework for leaders and teams ready to pursue their own moonshots. The result is equal parts awe-inspiring and actionable.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
Four-time Olympic Gold Medalist | Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser is one of the best female hockey players of all time. She has won seven world championships, made six Olympic appearances, and won five Olympic medals — four of them Gold.
Today, Hayley is a medical doctor, community leader, and businesswoman. She draws on her remarkable journey to share lessons on leadership, high performance, and resilience that inspire audiences to give their best in everything they do.
Jordin Tootoo
The First Inuk Player in the NHL
Jordin Tootoo made history as the first Inuk player to be drafted by the NHL. Over his 13-year career, he played for the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, and Chicago Blackhawks, banking 161 points, including 65 goals, in 723 career games.
Jordin has since become a vocal mental health advocate dedicated to giving back to his communities. He delivers a powerful message about resilience and overcoming adversity to reach our dreams.
Ray Zahab
Inspirational Ultra-Marathon Runner and Adventurer
A former sedentary “pack a day smoker”, Ray Zahab turned his life around when he decided to get in shape and enter the world of ultra-marathons. Since then, he’s set a Guinness World Record and travelled close to 20,000km on foot through some of the largest deserts and coldest regions on Earth.
Ray takes audiences through his tremendous personal story, demonstrating how individuals and organizations can undergo profound change to break through limits and achieve incredible success.
Kellylee Evans
Juno Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter | Motivational Speaker | Host and Emcee
Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Kellylee Evans was at the height of her career when, in 2013, she was struck by lightning. It was the first in a long line of life-altering events. What those years of health setbacks taught her wasn’t how to endure, but how to stop waiting and start living now.
Combining story and song, Kellylee’s powerful keynote concerts equip audiences with practical tools for living fully through change, no matter what uncertainty they’re facing.
Graham Sherman
Multi-Award-Winning Entrepreneur and Leader | Innovator
Self-professed “high-level geek” Graham Sherman took homebrewing “too far” when he launched Tool Shed Brewing Company in his backyard tool shed. Today, it’s a 22,000-square-foot brewery.
Through sharing his extraordinary entrepreneurial journey, from nearly losing his business in a hostile takeover to becoming WestJet’s exclusive craft beer provider, Graham shows audiences how the right mindset, culture, and leadership can rally a team and take an organization to the next level.
The Craft of Storytelling
Every person and every organization has a story worth telling. These speakers help audiences find theirs and share it in a way that builds trust, sparks connection, and drives results.
Ron Tite
Purpose-Driven Leadership and Marketing Expert
An award-winning advertising writer and creative director, and the bestselling author of The Purpose of Purpose, Ron Tite helps audiences align purpose with action to create growth that makes customers loyal, employees engaged, and competitors nervous.
In his humorous and insightful keynote, Ron shows how purpose, done right, can become the engine that drives innovation, builds culture, and turns messaging into movements.
Kindra Hall
Strategic Storytelling Advisor and Expert
Considered a go-to expert for storytelling in business, Kindra Hall is the bestselling author of Stories that Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business.
She is trusted by global brands to help them deliver messages that inspire teams and individuals to better communicate the value of their company, products, and individuality through strategic storytelling.
Molly Burke
Speaker | Digital Creator | Author | Advocate
As the first blind content creator to reach 1 million YouTube subscribers, Molly Burke built a community of millions not through algorithms, but through radical honesty and storytelling.
Molly is proof that vulnerability is a competitive advantage. In her keynotes, she breaks down the art of creating community, fostering empathy, and powerful storytelling, giving audiences the tools to create real connection in a disconnected world.
Steve Pratt
Marketing and Creativity Expert | Author of Earn It: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers
Attention is today’s most valuable — and elusive — commodity. But in a world overflowing with content and noise, earning real attention has never been harder.
Steve Pratt has spent his career in marketing and media learning how to earn the attention of others. In his fun and practical keynotes, he shares strategies on how we can all become better communicators that cut through the noise, make a bigger impact, and deliver memorable messages.
Farah Nasser
Authentic Intelligence Expert | Trust Builder | Award-Winning Journalist
For 25 years, Farah Nasser had one job: to earn trust, nightly, live, and under pressure. As a national news anchor who conducted over 10,000 interviews with world leaders, CEOs, and changemakers, she learned that trust isn’t built by broadcasting. It’s built by being human.
Today, Farah shows leaders and teams how to communicate with authenticity, tell stories that connect, and build the kind of trust that makes anything possible.
Afdhel Aziz
Leadership Expert on Innovation, Engagement, and Growth
Afdhel Aziz is the founder of Conspiracy of Love, a strategic consultancy that helps build cultures where people believe, belong, and perform.
Through working with Fortune 500 leaders, he’s gained insight into how leadership narratives can galvanize teams and drive growth. In his keynotes, he shares his “Strategy to Story” playbook, used by Disney, Gap Inc., and Sephora, to help leaders tell values-driven stories that build lasting trust.
Great stories can change the way people think, connect, and lead. To bring one of these exceptional storytellers to your next event, or to explore more speakers on our roster, contact our team. We’ll help you find the speaker your audience needs to hear.
