Reinvention: A New Year Kicks Off at Lula Lounge

The first Speaker Slam® event of 2024 took over Lula Lounge in Toronto on January 30, and ten speakers brought stories of starting over, letting go and rebuilding. Co-founder Rina Rovinelli said the first event of the year always hits differently, crediting the new year energy and a theme made for January.

The room was full of familiar faces too, from Momentum members and past competitors to past Grand Slam winners Martin Lesperance and Joze Piranian.

1st Place: Aseel Elbaba

Financial Therapist Speech: "Born to Speak"

Aseel is an award-winning financial planner turned therapist who specializes in financial therapy, with over a decade in financial wellness education. Her speech told the story behind her name: during the Lebanese Civil War, her mother and her mother's best friend made a pact to name their first daughters after each other. Rina said Aseel proved the title of her talk true that night.

2nd Place: Calissa Ngozi

Calissa has over 20 years of service in mental health and social services and is a Professor at Mohawk College. Her speech traced her adoption story and a childhood of constant moves, with eight different schools behind her by the fifth grade.

3rd Place: Robb Gilbear

Entrepreneur, coach, and author Speech: "The Hardest Change"

Robb started his first business as a teenager, toured coast to coast as a DJ and later launched Growth Habit, helping over 250 entrepreneurs in 13 countries since 2019. His speech described walking away from an 18-year music career while facing a divorce, and the decision that started him rewriting who he believed he could be. Rina thanked both Calissa and Robb for being so vulnerable and honest.

4th Place: Kay Layne rounded out the top four with what Rina called a phenomenal brand building talk.

Meet the Judges Who Made It All Happen

• Bobby Umar, President of Raeallan: Transformation Speaking and Training
• Petar Josic, Award-Winning Business Strategist, Managing Director at Spoken Artists
• Priya Sam, Story Architect, Keynote Speaker & Consultant
• Rania Walker, Brand Strategist, Publicist and Media Trainer

Rina thanked the panel for their support and generous prizes, including Bobby Umar's Personal Branding discovery course, speaker mentorship packages from Petar Josic and three storytelling consulting sessions from Priya Sam.

Words of Wisdom Speaker: Martin Lesperance

Past Grand Slam winner Martin Lesperance, the 2023 Inspirational Speaker of the Year, shared words of wisdom with the room.

Meet the full lineup in Meet the Speakers for Reinvention 2024 and the panel in Meet Your Judges for Reinvention.