It is very rare to find someone with the right combination of knowledge and experience and that something extra that makes people want to listen, learn and participate. We feel very lucky to have found Stephen, who makes Harassment Awareness training informative, useful, and yes...fun!
Stephen consistently gets rave reviews from all of the participants and is a pleasure to work with. We wouldn’t think of using anyone else.

Anna Grolle BA, CGA
Director of Corporate Operations & HR
Cactus Club Cafe

Thank you for doing a great job!
Your presentation style and skills ensured the audience was engaged and your message was powerful, relevant and contemporary. Using current and provocative examples, you were able to address issues of stereotyping and discrimination that left people realizing there is so much to do. You also succeeded in taking the complexities of human rights and making them understandable. What was especially enjoyable was your humour. Using humour and irony, you were able to make points that are sometimes hard to make; yet when it came to the tough issues, you didn’t sugar coat your message. Conference participants truly appreciated your message.

David Reid
Chairman
Saskatoon Chapter,
Interprovincial Association on Native Employment

You were able to bring our management group up to speed on important issues that they otherwise might not have considered and you did so in a way that caught people’s attention. Our managers went back to their respective workplaces better informed and better prepared.
I also appreciate the method of your presentations. Your examples were very current and you were able to utilize the electronic response system we were using to get their direct feedback. It was very informative and worked well with our group. I also appreciate that you are able to use humour and also able to get your message across without “preaching”. Your style and manner in addressing the issues within the room were very effective and we felt much more prepared to understand and be mindful of the risks in these extremely important areas of our business after your presentation.

Peter Blake, C.A.
Chief Executive Officer
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated

We liked the approach you took in your book, Managing Human Rights at Work: 101 practical tips to prevent human rights disasters and wanted that same common sense approach for our employees and supervisors. Stephen, you were able to cover a wide variety of issues related to respect, human rights and reasonable accommodations. In the process, our people came away with a better understanding and some important ideas on how to resolve problems as they arise.
Participants overwhelmingly said: “Stephen was dynamic, informative and well prepared.” He was “very knowledgeable about topics presented in a non-threatening environment.” Stephen was “very good. He kept our attention with relevant examples and some humour during his presentation. He was very entertaining, engaging and informative,”
In each session you used examples relevant to the particular audience. Stephen, your personal drive and passion to educate your audience on Human Rights issues is exceptional. We have recommended you as a professional speaker and would welcome you back to speak to our staff again.

Giles Dorval & Kathy Dahl
Employment Services Consultant & Manager
City of Saskatoon

Your sessions have greatly assisted our Fire Officer candidates as they gain a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in dealing with workplace issues such as Harassment and other forms of discrimination. Their learning of your knowledge of the law and the practical side of workplace issues is a benefit to our department as we require our Fire Officers to effectively deal with workplace issues before they get out of hand.

Robert Chapman,
Division Chief, Training a Development
Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services

Your session was pivotal in allowing our employees to think about creating an inclusive workplace and environment for our academic community. It is a subject matter that can be emotional and even provocative and yet you were able to get people thinking about new and better ways to treat people. You challenged our staff to think more inclusively by the case examples you used. It was obvious from your presentation the in-depth knowledge and passion you have for human rights topics. At the end of your session, our employees went back to work with tools to either treat all people in the work environment and those they provide serve to appropriately, or to ask for advice if they encounter problems.

I appreciate your approach to the issues of workplace human rights. You are able to integrate current events, understandable laws and common sense. You also created an atmosphere of fun which increases the level of audience engagement and participation.

Shailoo Bedi, Director
University of Victoria
University Libraries
Access & Branch Services

It is often difficult to discuss the issues of bullying and respect in an academic environment when there is a need to have free speech. However, your approach was great because it allowed for freedoms, yet talked about the desire and need to be respectful and within the law. Our department heads and administrators left your session with a better understanding of each person’s roles and responsibilities. Not an easy task.

We also liked your style. You were informal, friendly and fun. For this subject matter, that’s often hard to do. At the same time, you were direct and that is something we wanted and needed.

Susan Todd-Morris,
Executive Officer
Faculty of Social Science
McMaster University

Many of our managers tell us that this training is the best they have taken. Your approach and delivery of the content allows people to speak openly about a difficult subject. Our managers go back to their stores with more skills and ability to tackle issues as they arise.

Due to your understanding of the law and your fun approach, you are able to engage our managers to pay attention and to learn more. Thank you for continuing to update your materials, stories and current examples.

Cathy Lavery
Coordinator - Community Development
City of Burnaby, Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services

Your discussion of bullying was timely, presented in a way that allowed you to meet the needs of the broad audience (who included administrators, faculty, and staff), and your eloquent and engaging speaking style coupled with effective use of visuals made the presentation valuable to all those in attendance. In particular, the technology you used including the remote control key pads enhanced your presentation, allowing the audience to actively participate in the discussion, but anonymously, thereby facilitating active participation on sensitive issues without identifying individuals. Your ability to provide instant tabulation of results and incorporate those results into your talk contributed to the impact of your arguments and was positively reviewed by the audience.

We greatly appreciated your ability to cover difficult subject matter in an informal style, incorporating humour when appropriate, that put members of the audience at ease, while also providing an in-depth, critical perspective on issues of diversity and bullying in the workplace.

Patrick Wilson
Assistant Professor
University of Lethbridge

When I read your book, Managing Human Rights at Work: 101 practical tips to prevent human rights disasters, I knew I had to purchase the book and use it as a resource for everyone in our program.  The language and insights provided some excellent tips for many of our managers to use with their respective operations.

Kelly Howey
Training and Development Department
Cameco Corporation

While I was the Manager of Human Resources for the British Columbia Lottery Corporation from 1995 until 2003, you delivered training sessions for us.

You are an engaging speaker who provided insightful, useful and relevant information on the topic presented. The feedback received from our staff ranked you among the best of speakers who presented at BCLC. Employees left your session with a better understanding of their rights and responsibilities regarding Harassment and other workplace human rights issues. Your presentations are easy to understand, you are a very approachable speaker always current with the information you present, you challenge people to go beyond their limits but are not threatening in any way and you encourage the participants to have some fun.

Carmen Grant
Director, Human Resources
Purdy’s Chocolates

“Brilliant.  Superb.  It was amazing.”

Catherine Peltier Mavin
Aboriginal Policy and Promotion Advisor
Government of Canada

Our senior managers were very pleased and impressed with your presentation. You took a group of participants who came in with a skeptical outlook and in a short space of time got them engaged. People left the room with a positive message about changing their workplace for the better, some skills to handle problems as they arise and a definite feeling that the session they had attended was worthwhile and enjoyable.

Your style was open, interactive and fun and that led to a great atmosphere for learning. It is also clear that you understand the “fire culture” in a way which made people stand up and take notice.

Sharon Seabourne
Manager Human Resources
Winnipeg, Fire Paramedic Services

From the moment you took off your shirt to reveal a fun t-shirt underneath, all participants got a clue that the session would be fun. It was, and your variety of teaching techniques (including getting people to sing TV theme songs) allowed staff to learn, and have fun in different ways and walk away remembering. One staff wrote “I always learn something that sticks with me when I attend a presentation by Stephen”. What we appreciate most is the effort you put into customizing your talk to our organization by meeting with us ahead of time, understanding our objectives, and then taking that into the classroom into your delivery of the program.

You are clear and to the point, you speak with conviction, you take both current events and work examples and use those to reinforce your learning objective, which helps staff to walk away with specific realistic day to day examples to remember. You are engaging and take full advantage of audience participation with the use of hands on examples and the added touch of using humour to teach a point. I would describe you as a natural speaker, presenter and educator for all audience types based on your approach, style, and your natural ability to engage, entertain and motivate others while learning critical life long skills.

Harold V J Clark, CHRP
Director, Strategic Planning, Policy and Human Resources
Legal Services Society

Who would have thought we could have a session about human rights related issues and still have a good time? Your session was very well received by our employees in our desire to know more about our obligations and responsibilities.

Your presentation was very creative and that helped people to take in your message and apply it back at work. Thank you for helping us get a better understanding of this issue.

Francine DiMambro
Senior Advisor, Human Resources
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

I was fascinated to watch as you took a very complex and otherwise potentially dry subject matter and made it “live” for our managers. With your assistance, participants were able to understand how certain behaviours are simply not okay in today’s work environment. The examples you used were very relevant and resonated with the group. You also helped our managers understand that it is indeed their responsibility to model appropriate behaviour and to monitor their work environments for inappropriateness. And all of this in a fun, non-threatening and non-preachy style!

I also wanted to express appreciation to you for taking the time to write your book. I know that the copy we purchased for each participant has been a handy reference for them and a good reminder of many of the points you spoke of at our session.

Susan Ney
Director of Human Resources and Payroll Services
District of West Vancouver

I have always appreciated Stephen’s professionalism and style. He is excellent at getting people engaged to talk about subject matters that are difficult and complex. When people leave his sessions they either have good ideas, or good questions to answer. In each case people have a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the workplace.

Stephen is gifted at being able to add humour to a subject that very few people think of as funny. He is able to not only keep up with current issues, but also current technology, to support the learning process.

Steve Traviss
Senior Human Resources Officer
District of Maple Ridge, B.C.

This session, just like the others, was very informative to our students. It helped to open their minds about an area of diversity they may have had little experience with, and better understand the needs of a group of people, and a culture they may know little about. I know it helped them to be inclusive when they got out to the working world of recreation, and better serve their communities as a result.

On each occasion you speak, I have found you to be professional — reliable, on time, and smartly dressed, knowledgeable, funny, informative, and thought-provoking. You really know your stuff.

Caroline Kimoto
Langara College

I worked with you when a number of municipalities were creating a training program template that would be used for years to come. Your knowledge and skills in delivering complex issues in interesting ways, encouraged me to have you come and talk to some of our staff. There were a number of items I wanted you to cover and I appreciated that you were able to come up with a variety of ways to deliver them.

When challenging questions arose, you handled the situation with diplomacy yet let the participant and the rest of the group understand that their job is providing respectful customer service, and not allowing personal beliefs to affect their customer service, particularly when working at a city facility. I respected your facilitation methods and observed how you were able to create a positive learning environment where the participants learned but were also entertained and I believe that leads to better learning.

Your style is informal and non-judgemental and that is very important when we are talking about being inclusive to a multicultural community.

Cathy Lavery
Coordinator - Community Development
City of Burnaby, Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services