On July 21st, 2026, ten speakers will take the stage at Lula Lounge in Toronto for Identity, a powerful night exploring who we are beneath the labels, expectations, and roles we’ve been given.
These are the voices that chose to define themselves on their own terms. The ones who questioned the narratives they were handed and stepped into something more honest, more aligned, and fully their own.
Each story captures a turning point: reclaiming identity, shedding old versions, and owning the truth of who they are becoming.
The winner will receive a prize package valued at up to $10,000, including $2,000 cash, along with a coveted spot at the 2026 Grand Slam: Inspirational Speaking Finals.
Nisha Batra
Early Childhood Educator, Disability Studies Student, Inclusive Education Advocate | Toronto, Canada
Nisha Batra is an Early Childhood Educator, neurodiversity advocate, and an undergraduate student in the Disability Studies program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her dedicated work in advocacy, Nisha is passionate about breaking down systemic barriers and promoting truly inclusive educational infrastructure. As an advocate navigating a Nonverbal Learning Disability herself, she brings a powerful blend of frontline professional expertise and profound lived experience to the stage. Nisha is dedicated to empowering students, challenging fixed mindsets, and ensuring that authentic, diverse voices guide the future of inclusive education.
Sandra Rinto-Flavien
Professional Coach & Speaker | Quebec, Canada
Sandra Rinto-Flavien is a leadership coach, speaker, and founder of SRF Coaching & Consulting Inc., with 23 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. She specializes in helping professionals navigate the gap between the role they were handed and the leader they actually are. A certified coach (ACC/ICF) and 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Award recipient, Sandra is currently building her first book and speaking platform - both rooted in the same question that changed her life: why is this important to you? She lives in Montreal, Quebec.
Michelle Coghlin
Entrepreneur, Certified Hypnotherapist, Creator of The Visible You™ Experience | Ontario, Canada
Michelle Coghlin is an entrepreneur, certified hypnotherapist, and creator of The Visible You™ Experience. As the founder of PrimpHaus, she has spent years helping women build confidence from the outside in, while her work in hypnotherapy focuses on helping them transform from the inside out. Drawing from her experiences as a business owner, mother, and advocate for children with special needs, Michelle is passionate about identity, resilience, and personal transformation. Through her work, she helps women stop living by expectation and start living as their authentic selves.
Lilly White
Speaker, Author, Recovery & Resilience Advocate | Almonte, Canada
Lilly White is a transformational speaker, author, and storyteller who has spent more than three decades helping people navigate life’s greatest challenges and discover the wisdom hidden within their darkest moments. Her own journey has been one of extraordinary resilience. A woman in long-term recovery since 1991, Lilly has faced profound loss, including the deaths of her daughter, brother, and parents, while learning that healing does not come from avoiding our wounds but from finding meaning through them. A former entrepreneur and founder of The White Lilly, Lilly has authored multiple books including 365 Ways to Power Up Your Life, Madness, Addiction & Love, and her Bali trilogy exploring healing, culture, and the human spirit. Her work has led her from television and radio to international retreats and stages where she shares powerful stories of transformation, forgiveness, identity, and the courage to begin again. With warmth, humor, and radical honesty, Lilly invites audiences to ask the most important question: “What if the very thing that broke you became the doorway to who you were always meant to become?” At 70 years old, Lilly continues to prove that reinvention has no expiration date and that every chapter of our life , even the painful ones , can become a story that gives hope to others
Tina Calleri
Inspirational Keynote Speaker | Markham, Canada
Tina Calleri is a survivor, Speaker, singer, and an advocate whose life and bodies the spirit of resilience and renewal. Born in Italy and raised in Canada, her early years were marked by culture, challenges, domestic responsibilities, and the weight of generational expectations. Yet through adversity and resilience, Tina found her strength first music, then ultimately in her own voice. For over three decades, Tina has nurtured the minds and hearts of young children to flourishing daycare, where she integrates music, play, and storytelling to cultivate emotional intelligence and confidence. Her professional success as an early childhood specialist is matched by her personal mission: to break cycles of silence and shame, and to empower others, especially women and children,, to reclaim their worth.
Lyrique Richards
Bestselling Author, Confidence Expert, Speaker | Ottawa, Canada
Lyrique Richards is a bestselling and award-winning author, Confidence Expert, and speaker known for her powerful storytelling and ability to inspire authentic self-expression. Through her work, she creates space for honest conversations about identity, self-worth, and what it truly means to show up as yourself. Drawing from her lived experiences as a second-generation Caribbean Canadian, Lyrique uses her voice to challenge societal narratives and empower others to honour every part of who they are. "Being part of Speaker Slam means showing up as my full self and trusting that my story will connect with someone who needs it."