Valerie Jerome

Valerie Jerome is an educator, political activist, author, and former Canadian Track and field sprinter. Now in her 80’s, few people have given more to their country than Valerie Jerome.  Her inspiring story is told with characteristic honesty in her new award winning book: RACES—THE TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF CANADA’S FASTEST FAMILY.  It is a story of courage and resilience, and of a career devoted to the dignity and respect of all.  The safety and joy she found on the track as an Olympian at age 16 has been followed by a lifetime of community service—Ballet BC, Vancouver Youth Theatre, BC Junior Black Achievement Awards, Kidd Pivot Dance Company, Goh Ballet, and the Vancouver Writers’ Festival are just some of the organizations to which Valerie has given thousands of volunteer hours.  The recipient of numerous awards in fields as diverse as heritage preservation and the environment, Valerie is best known as a beloved Vancouver elementary school teacher, where she had a distinguished 35 year career.  Valerie saw the goodness in every child, and her classroom was built on respect, equality, and self-worth—lessons that for so many have lasted a lifetime.
Wendy Grant, Chief of the Musqueam Nation, said it best:
“As chief, I travelled around the world, meeting royalty and prime ministers, and never was I nervous or anxious.  But my knees shook with fear at the schoolhouse door.  Valerie Jerome changed that for my son, and for many children in our nation.  We were made to feel welcome, safe, and cared for.”

Valerie Jerome Speaking Topics

Valerie is a sought-after speaker who has given keynotes at community organizations, public and private schools, historical societies, libraries and multicultural support groups. Her talks centre around anti-racism, drawing on her personal experience of growing up in Vancouver.
You can see Valerie in action below:


Karl Subban

KARL SUBBAN is the bestselling author of How We Did It: The Subban Plan for Success in Hockey, School and Life, speaker and award-winning educator. A school principal for many years, he is also a director of the Greater Toronto Hockey League and the Herbert H. Carnegie Future Aces Foundation. Subban was awarded an honorary doctorate of education by Lakehead University in 2022. He is a certified Maxwell speaker, coach and a trainer. His second book, The Hockey Skates was published in September 2023.  Karl’s upcoming title, Raise Your Roof: The Hidden Power of Potential, will be published in April 2025. He lives in Toronto.

Speaking Topics

Karl speaks to a range of audiences, and has keynotes tailored to students and educators, as well as the general public.

Raise Your Roof: The Power of Potential

For more than three decades, Karl Subban has been honing his proven approach to building resilience, increasing perseverance, mastering goal setting—and bringing out the best in everyone. Every year we get bigger, but not necessarily better. Older, but not necessarily wiser. We’re not always set up for success, and despite our best efforts, we can get stuck in a place where we don’t think it’s possible to dream, let alone dream big. As a coach, educator, author and father, Subban knows that understanding and believing in our own potential are key to making changes that matter and bringing purpose to our lives and those around us. Packed with proven strategies for leaders, parents and educators, this keynote will inspire audiences to create meaningful change, realize goals and find fulfillment. The power of potential is at your starting line, not your finish line.

Developing Potential 

For Educators

Teachers plant seeds in the mind, body, and soul of young people, and they don’t often see the fruits of their efforts.  An example for me was Mr. Kangas, my very first teacher in Canada. He was the primary reason why I wanted to go to school.  He pulled me up when I was feeling down, and he wasn’t aware of it until I wrote about him in my first book, How We Did It. He saw me, valued me and made me feel special. His impact on me made me realize that in order to be effective, a teacher must know their students, care about their students, and inspire their students.

Every student has potential and, as educators, we must help them to reach it. Remember, we can only reach our potential through growth. We will explore two primary ways to empower growth in our student leaders:

  1.  Creating a growth empowering environment
  2. Developing as a growth empowering leader

Potential is having the capacity to develop into something in the future. The potential of the school is directly related to the potential of the students and the staff.

It Always Seems Impossible Until It is Done

For Students

My student keynote will focus on my own journey; sharing stories and lessons learned working in my three worlds as an educator, hockey dad, and coach working with youth in several sports, including coaching the men’s basketball team at George Brown College and being a hockey coach in the Greater Toronto Hockey League for approximately ten years.

My aim is to provide students with tools and frameworks to inspire them reach their unlimited potential. This talk will encourage students to reflect upon the following:

  • Is your dream your dream?
  • The power in your beliefs
  • Facing and working through challenges and adversities
  • Focus more on possibility not performance
  • Using the 4T’s to take effective action (Time, Task, Training and Team)
  • Navigating distractions
  • Building confidence and overcoming fear and failure
  • Are you teachable, coachable, and likeable?
  • Do you want to be good, or do you want to excel?
  • You must FOCUS to make it.

To book Karl Subban, contact Rob Firing at speakers@transatlanticagency.com.


Elisabeth Burks

Elisabeth Burks (she/her) brings over 20 years of experience at the intersection of culture and commerce, driving revenue and relevance for cultural icons like John Legend, global brands like Samsung, and entertainment giants like Sony Music and TIFF. As a visionary strategist, she guides organizations and leaders through the challenges of boardrooms and the marketplace—delivering transformational insights and strategies for leadership, business growth and cultural relevance. As founder and CEO of Known Entity, Elisabeth specializes in creating cultural and commercial strategies that move markets and mindsets. Elisabeth holds an EMBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and the Schulich School of Business, and a B.A. in Media and Cultural Studies from The New School in New York City. A proud mother and wife, she is a sought-after public speaker and moderator and a passionate advocate for youth and social impact.

“Elisabeth’s extensive experience is distinguished as a unique and trusted advisor for top-tier businesses. Her specialized expertise provides a compelling strategic vision on how to harness cultural trends to drive commerce in today’s fragmented market. Her approach, equally strategic and sincere, is both refreshing and inspiring.” —Veronica Gaik, Executive Director, Brand Sales & Partnerships at TikTok Canada

Elisabeth Burks Speaking Topics

As a sought-after speaker and moderator, Elisabeth is equal parts advisor, strategist and motivator. Elisabeth delivers more than just inspiring keynotes—she develops workshops and seminars tailored to help organizations impact culture and the bottom line.

Leveraging Culture as a Competitive Advantage
Learn how to build and sustain cultural capital, transforming relevance into long-term commercial success.

Strategic Workshops on Aligning Purpose with Profit
Interactive sessions that equip teams with strategies for meeting consumer expectations while driving ROI.

Tailored Training on Navigating Emerging Trends
Seminars designed to decode and apply cultural shifts to leadership, branding, and marketing strategies.

Designing Commerce Around Culture
Learn the step-by-step process of connecting cultural movements to product innovation and market leadership.

Building Teams for a Culture-Driven Future
Unpacks how cultural movements and consumer trends are reshaping organizationz and how businesses can stay ahead by aligning their leadership strategies with cultural shifts.


Renee Hess

A Southern California native, R. Renee Hess works in community engagement for La Sierra University, is an adjunct professor of sports journalism with University of Memphis, and, in 2019, launched the Black Girl Hockey Club, a nonprofit organization that focuses on equity and inclusion for Black women in ice hockey. In October 2020, Renee’s work was profiled in the New York Times and in June, 2021, she was named one of three finalists for the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award, for individuals who have positively impacted the community, culture or society through the sport of hockey.

Renee received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in writing and literature at La Sierra University and has published nonfiction works and poetry in outlets such as Black Nerd Problems, Spectrum Magazine, and Racebaitr. Her combined passion for reading, writing, research and hockey has led Renee to archive stories from Black folks about race, community and sports that examine multiple aspects of hockey culture through the lenses of intersectional feminism and social justice.

Renee is a fan of being a fan and loves traveling to hockey games, listening to music that makes her cry, and hanging out in the sunshine with her dogs. Her most memorable moment as a writer includes interviewing Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura, “Star Trek: The Original Series”) at WonderCon and then telling her mother about it.

Building Equitable Spaces in Sports
In various speaking environments, R. Renee Hess discusses the topics of race, community, and sports; sustainable social efforts in sports; cooperative community building; fostering education and service in marginalized communities; creating authentic engagement with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities through hockey; storytelling within the Black community; archiving Black sports history; the power of radical self care for Black women; breaking stereotypes around Black women.

To book Renee Hess, contact Evan Brown, Brenna English-Loeb and Rob Firing at speakers@transatlanticagency.com.


Amy Stuart

Amy Stuart is a #1 bestselling author, an educator and a competitive hockey coach. She melds this wealth of experience to help companies improve their corporate culture. She worked for fifteen years as a public school educator before shifting her focus to writing, speaking and facilitation. Her first two novels, Still Mine and Still Water, were top bestsellers and she is currently at work on the third and final instalment in the linked series. As one of the rare female head coaches in youth competitive hockey, Amy has a particular insight into issues around inclusion and how that impacts companies and organizations and the individuals working within them. A lifetime fan of the Maple Leafs, Amy lives in Toronto with her husband and their three young sons.

KEYNOTE TALKS

“The Only Woman in the Room”

In this talk, Amy uses her experience of as “the only woman in the room” in the hockey world and addresses the sexism and obstacles she faces. She discusses how that has shifted her thinking about gender and inclusion in the other professional areas of her life and provides companies with the opportunity to reflect on their own workplace environments and steps they can take to improve it.

“Creativity and Performance”

As a creative person who has logged countless hours in traditional workplace environments, Amy uses stories and research to discuss the benefits of giving people space for creativity in their professional lives, regardless of their roles within an organization. She addresses how to nurture creativity among employees and the many ways this creative energy will benefit companies in terms of retention, efficiency and improvements to workplace culture.

GROUP FACILITATION

As an experienced and trained group facilitator, Amy uses her wealth of experience to lead smaller-group workshops on a variety of topics, including:

  • Improving listening skills
  • Recognizing and addressing unconscious thoughts and biases
  • Promoting an inclusive workplace culture
  • Fostering creative thinking in the workplace

To book Amy Stuart, contact Rob Firing at speakers@transatlanticagency.com.