Guest Speakers

At Brain Power we believe in using our resources to give students (and sometimes parents) the chance to speak with interesting, influential, and inspiring individuals. Some of our amazing guest speakers include Abraham Mendlowitz, a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor; Dave Silverberg, founder and artistic director of the Toronto Poetry Project; Dr. Ruslan Dorfman, the co-founder and CEO of GeneYouIn, a genetic testing company; Steve Tulman, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Providr Inc. (and Brain Power Alumni!); Jay Heinrichs, New York Times bestselling author of Thank You for Arguing; and Terry O’ Reilly, host of CBC’s immensely popular “Under the Influence.”

Dave Silverberg Visits!

MARCH 23RD, 2019

Brain Power recently welcomed David Silverberg as a guest speaker to our Public Speaking classes!  David is a very successful journalist who writes for the BBC, Washington Post, Vice Magazine, and Toronto’s NOW, and who is also the theatre director and founder of Canada’s largest spoken word organizations! While at Brain Power, David shared tips and knowledge, taking our students through various fun exercises to improve their communication skills! Thank you, David! 
It was a pleasure to have you!

Joze Piranian Visits!

NOVEMBER 22ND, 2018

We were excited to welcome Joze Piranian to our Public Speaking class on November 12th! Joze is a lifelong stutterer on the quest to confront his fears one stage a time. After spending most of his life avoiding speaking out of the fear of being judged for being “different,” he is now a TEDx speaker, Inspirational Speaker of the Year at Speaker Slam in 2017, and a stand-up comedian who has performed at the laugh Factory (Chicago), the Broadway Comedy Club (NY), Comedy Nest (Montreal), and Absolute Comedy...

Patrick de Belen

JUNE 14TH, 2017

On June 21st, Brain Power’s Public Speaking students were visited by award-winning poet, youth educator, and workshop facilitator, Patrick de Belen! For the past seven years, Patrick has visited about 100 schools, holding spoken word poetry workshops for the students. In 2012 he became the youngest spoken-word poet to hold the National Championship title at the Canadian Festival of the Spoken Word. In 2016 Patrick was selected as the Youth Poet of Honour of Canada.

Jay Heinrichs

JANUARY 20TH, 2017

On February 8th, Jay Heinrichs, New York Times bestselling author of “Thank You for Arguing” joined our Public Speaking class by teleconference to share his vast knowledge on the art of persuasion! Having spent 25 years in journalism and publishing, Jay Heinrichs is now a highly sought-after speaker on the subject of rhetoric and persuasion. He has spoken before major corporations, prestigious universities, and this is his second time speaking to us at Brain Power!



Dave Silverberg

JANUARY 19TH, 2017

On January 18th, our Public Speaking class had the pleasure of hosting Dave Silverberg! Dave Silverberg is the founder and artistic director of Toronto Poetry Project. He has performed poetry across Canada, including at a TEDx Talk event in Toronto, Vancouver Poetry Slam, and Saskatoon’s top poetry slam, “Tonight It’s Poetry.” He writes for BBC, Washington Post, Vice Magazine, NOW Magazine and other publications. Dave also leads workshops across Ontario on how to perform spoken-word pieces. His Toronto Poetry Slam events have been running...

Joanne Foster

NOVEMBER 7TH, 2016

Gifted education specialist, Joanne Foster enlightened our Brain Power parents on “The Secrets to Raising Happily Productive Children.” Joanne Foster is the author of “Not Now, Maybe Later: Helping Children Overcome Procrastination” and the co-author of “Beyond Intelligence: Secrets for Raising Happily Productive Children.” Many people came out to hear Joanne Foster talk about how to raise happy, productive children!