Belonging: And the Men Are on the Board
Ten speakers took the Speaker Slam® stage at Lula Lounge in Toronto on July 25, 2023, each with a personal take on what it means to belong. The room was packed with Speaker Slam® alumni, members, past and future competitors, and the family and friends of the speakers.
"Our audience... oh wow," co-founder Rina Rovinelli wrote the next day. "We had a packed house last night and your energy makes the night a success!"
1st Place: Roberto Paez
Husband. Father. Relationship Coach. Speech: "The Key to Belonging"
Roberto argued that the key to belonging is integrity, and that our need to belong can lead us to act outside of it. He backed it up with a brutally honest account of the years he spent pretending to be a loyal husband. Rina called it a "dynamic, charismatic (and brutally honest) speech."
2nd Place: Adrian Leckie
Speaker & Imani Program Team Lead, University of Toronto Scarborough
Adrian shared the night two police officers stopped him at 16 on the walk home from a homecoming game and told him to empty his backpack. Today he leads the Imani Black Academic Mentorship Program, which supports Black youth on the path to post-secondary education. Adrian and Roberto both earned a place at the Grand Slam that November.
3rd Place: Stacey Lynnes
Stacey told the story of leaving home with a garbage bag of clothes and a promise to her father that she would become a lawyer. She kept it, becoming a lawyer at the age of 40. Rina summed up her inspirational comeback story in three words: "baby she's back!"
4th Place: Wilf Dinnick rounded out the top four with a speech on the power of belonging through the lens of a professional journalist.
Meet the Judges Who Made It All Happen
- Gillian Mandich, PhD, Happiness Researcher, Keynote Speaker, Media Personality, Founder, The International Happiness Institute of Health Science Research
- Jason Reid
- Katie Zeppieri, Founder & Lead Publicist of The MicDrop Agency
Prizes donated:
- Katie Zeppieri: a Personal Branding + PR Foundations Package for 1st place (valued at $2,000 USD) and a LinkedIn Profile Audit for 2nd and 3rd (valued at $500 USD each)
Meet the full lineup in Meet Your Speakers for the Belonging Competition and the panel in Meet Your Judges for the Belonging Competition.