Spencer West

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

• Leveraging Talent with Disabilities

  The life of visionary and activist Spencer West has been marked by both obstacles and triumph. After losing both legs from the pelvis down at the age of five, he entered a world that might have easily defeated him. Instead, he tackled challenge after challenge, learning to navigate a world set against those with disabilities.

  From climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to climbing the workforce ladder, West shares his insights on how bringing in talent with disabilities can have a very positive impact on your employees and customers.

• Diversability: Leveraging Disabled and LGBTQ2+ Talent

  Join Spencer West in this thought-provoking and genuinely enlightening presentation where he will discuss the importance of leveraging talent with disabilities as well as the queer community and how both identities are necessary in the workforce.

  A visionary and activist, West’s life has been marked by both obstacles and triumph. After losing both legs from the pelvis down at the age of five and coming out as gay at the age of 21, he entered a world that might have easily defeated him. Instead, he tackled challenge after challenge, learning to navigate in a world set against the queer community and those with disabilities.

  From climbing the workforce ladder to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, West shares his insights on how bringing in talent with disabilities and the queer community can have a positive impact on your employees and clients.

• Redefine Possible: Lessons for Tackling Mountains in Your Personal and Professional World

  Spencer West invites audiences to experience the transformation that can occur when we “redefine possible”. With his trademark humour and humility, West spins a spellbinding story of the challenges he faced after losing his legs from the pelvis down at age five, and the journey of discovery that ultimately enabled him to summit Mount Kilimanjaro using his hands and wheelchair.

  West applies the insights gleaned from a lifetime of overcoming obstacles to help leaders and employees identify their own roadblocks and push past them. His inspiring message and tangible life lessons motivate business audiences to believe they can tackle any goal, whether personal or professional.

• No Can’t, No Won’t, Only How! Overcoming Obstacles to Make a Difference

  Spencer West lost his legs from the pelvis down when he was just five years old and faced overwhelming physical and emotional challenges. Rather than give up or turning inward, West learned that by connecting with others and working to make the world a better place he could transform his life.

  Alternating between walking on his hands and using his wheelchair, West has accomplished a list of feats, including building schools in poverty-stricken villages in Kenya and India, and walking 186 miles from Edmonton to Calgary in Alberta, Canada. One of West’s biggest achievements was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for a global clean water initiative while raising awareness of the devastating drought in Africa.