Meet Our Members

The range of interesting people who make up our group, including what they like most about the club!

One of the best aspects of Liberty Village Toastmasters is the unique mix of members who are a part of the club. Below, meet our most Advanced Speakers as well as our 2010 Executive Team. Learn a little bit about who we are, what we bring to the club, and what we like best about it! Then Be Our Guest at our next meeting to meet us for yourself!

Ted

Date joined: June 2003
Executive Roles Served: VP PR, President, Area Governor, Club Coach

As a creative professional and RGD Ontario, it’s not a surprise to learn that by night Ted is never short of speech topics or new ideas. By day through his creative shop tedblanchard.ca he gets to shape those ideas into engaging brand experiences. As one of the early members of the LVTM family his favourite aspect of the club is that it continues to thrive, surprise and it’s members always pay it forward.

Valerie
Date joined: July 2007
Executive Roles Served: VP of Membership, President, Area Governor

Born a Torontonian (but with strong roots in the Maritimes), Valerie has undertaken a dual career in both the financial and social sectors. “Independent Women’s Day or Is It – Musical Tunes of Humanity” is one of her favourite speeches because it gave her a glimpse of the international impact of injustice and abuse against and still faced by women. Despite the emotionally-heavy topic, she was able to keep the speech well-rounded and inclusive, concluding on a positive note with a reading of Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal women”. Her favourite aspect of the club is the friendly atmosphere, which she expresses with the acronym H.O.P.E: A Haven [for] Opportunities [to] Present [with other] Entrepreneurs.

Ram
Date joined: 2003
Executive Roles Served: Secretary, Treasurer, VP Membership, Area Governor

With extensive senior management experience at major multinational corporations behind him, Ram has focused the past 12 years on operating a successful small business engaged in software services and mapping solutions. His silver wedding anniversary speech is his favourite one so far, as it came, in his words, “from the bottom of my heart!” To him, LVTM offers a young, diverse, and vibrant membership, a place to mentor members and receive mentorship, and the opportunity to speak from the heart in a non-threatening environment.

Priya

Date joined: Sep. 2009
Executive Roles Served: VP of Membership

Priya is an actor/producer who is currently working on her first feature film, a romantic comedy called Kush Kush In The Bush. As a programmer, she has produced the Banff World Television Festival and the Worldwide Short Film Festival’s panel series. Priya was selected as Trailblazer at the 2006 Reelworld Film Festival and has been an elected Councilor at ACTRA Toronto, Chair of ACTRA’s National Diversity Committee, and a member of the Advisory Board for the Innoversity Creative Summit. Her favorite aspect of LVTM is the welcoming atmosphere and the number of Advanced Speakers, whose experience other members benefit from.

Jay

Date joined: Oct. 2008
Executive Roles Served: VP Education

Jay is an independent film producer and investor. He joined LVTM in October of 2008 and has since completed his CC10 and one Advanced Manual. His favourite speech so far is his first (Ice Breaker), because it was the beginning of his Toastmasters journey. Jay feels that LVTM is a great place to meet interesting people from different fields who all share the common goal of self-improvement.

Michelle

Date joined: May 2009
Executive Roles Served: Secretary

Michelle is a website coordinator. In her spare time she enjoys learning new things about her garden. She also likes discovering the delicious meals she can cook with whole foods and cool vegetables from her garden. She plunged into Toastmasters to get over her shyness and improve her public speaking. Her favourite speech so far is her tips about adopting a recycled companion because as a future dog owner she’s passionate that having a furry friend is a privilege that should be taken very seriously. Michelle enjoys going to LVTM because the encouragement, constructive criticism and camaraderie are great.

Maria

Date joined: August 2011
Executive Roles Served: VP of PR

Maria is a creative Toronto Professional Photographer. Some of her memorable work has taken her to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, capturing landscapes such as the California coastline and portraits of everyday people. Her passions include blogging, cycling, road trips and cooking gourmet meals. Toastmasters has been a great eye opening experience in understanding what is possible, when surrounded by a supportive team who are there through your growth as a speaker. Maria loves seeing toastmasters who are able to produce speeches that hold audiences attention and who support others improve through constructive evaluations.

Navita

Date joined: Mar. 2010
Executive Roles Served: Sergeant of Arms

One could say Navita is a ‘herder’ of sorts, as a New Business Coordinator within the world of advertising. Her job involves responding to RFP requests, managing pitch teams and answering the questions of potential clients. Because she works behind-the-scenes of various presentations, she joined Toastmasters to get a sense of what it is like to be front stage. Her favourite speech thus far spoke to the topic of chronic Onychophagia (better know as nail biting) a habit she has had since 5 years old. It concluded with a 21-day challenge to break this habit once and for all! She adds something new to her knowledge bank each Toastmaster session by watching different speaking techniques and listening in on new topics.

Sean

Date joined: April 2008
Executive Roles Served: VP Membership, VP Education, President

Sean, a Sales Account Manager, is a life-long learner and loves reading about Self-Help, Personal Empowerment, Technology, Business, and Investing. He’d like to start a successful business one day and maybe even write a book himself. His favourite speech is the one he delivered as the best man at his best friend’s wedding (he had the room in laughter and embarrassed his friend, in a good way). One aspect of LVTM that Sean really enjoys is the social drinks and food that occurs after the meetings every week: “It’s a fun way to learn, grow and spend an evening in the middle of the week. What else are you going to do?” 🙂

Esther

Date joined: Jan. 2009
Executive Roles Served: Treasurer

Since Esther joined LVTM in 2009, she has been enjoying the weekly meetings a lot – especially the Table Topics section. She has met many new friends at the club, and has received a lot of support and constructive evaluations from her mentor and other Advanced Speakers. This year, it is her great honour to serve the club as Treasurer. Currently, she is working on her fourth prepared speech for the Competent Communicator manual and various projects for the Competent Leader manual.

For more information, email us at libertyvillage.tm@gmail.com