Summit 2025 Education Sessions

Kim Story Hagen

Sponsored by:
Arlington Nooners Toastmasters Club

Elevate All:  The collective Power of Creating and Communicating Value

Objectives:

• Define Collective Values – “The Fellowship Forms”
• Create Value in an Organization – “Forging the Ring — But for Good”
• Communicate Value Within and Beyond – “The Beacon Is Lit”
• Toastmasters members who want to more clearly define the value of the club membership, clubs that want to create more value for their members, officers and members who want to better communicate those values to promote Toastmasters and their club, and any members who want to duplicate this process and these principles in the workplace.
• Join the Fellowship of Value! In this epic session, we’ll define what unites us, forge powerful organizational value, and learn to light the beacons—communicating impact far and wide. Inspired by The Lord of the Rings, this journey blends strategy and storytelling to show how teams can rise together. Whether you’re a leader, member, or quiet wizard behind the scenes, all are welcome on this quest. Elevate all— defining, creating, and communicating value to unite us all!

Bio:

Public speaking has always been a passion for Kim. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a BA in Speech Communication. She later taught public speaking at Wake Forest University and has been a member of Toastmasters for over a decade. She is a two-time DTM recipient, speech contest winner, keynote speaker, member of the Speakers Bureau, TLI trainer, and former district leader.

Professionally, she has been an educator, saleswoman, author, and marketer, learning to use words to forge relationships and build brands that generate enthusiasm and entice customers. She lives the value that “you can have anything you want in life if you just help other people get what they want”.

Kim lives in Arlington with her husband, stepson, and four cats. She loves pickleball, gardening, and sipping fruity cocktails by the pool during the summer. She recently swam with sharks and aspires to go scuba diving in all the best reefs around the world.

Bindu Chintha

Sponsored by:
Motor Mouths
 

Rise Above:  Turning Life’s Pressures into Your Greatest Strength

Objectives:

• Inspire participants to see life’s pressures not as obstacles but as opportunities for growth and resilience.
• Equip attendees with practical tools to transform personal and professional stress into clarity, confidence, and forward momentum.
• Foster a sense of shared strength and community by encouraging participants to rise together, supporting one another in leadership and personal growth.
• This session is designed for anyone ready to rise above life’s challenges and create meaningful change. Whether you are pursuing personal growth, seeking renewed motivation, or looking for practical ways to thrive in work and life, this presentation will provide the inspiration and tools to unlock your inner strength.
• Stress and challenges are unavoidable – but they don’t have to hold you back. In this transformational talk, TEDx speaker and yoga researcher Bindu Chintha shares actionable strategies to turn life’s pressures into growth opportunities. Through compelling stories, practical insights, and powerful mindset shifts, you’ll learn to harness stress as energy, transform obstacles into strengths, and rise above challenges with clarity and resilience – turning daily pressures into unstoppable forward momentum.

Bio:

Bindu Chintha is a TEDx speaker, technologist, and yoga researcher who inspires audiences to transform insight into their greatest strengths. With over two decades of leadership experience in the tech industry and currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Yoga and Spiritual Science, she bridges ancient wisdom with modern science to create actionable strategies for growth.

As the founder of Succeed International, Bindu empowers professionals and communities to rise above challenges with clarity, resilience, and purpose. Her sessions seamlessly blend storytelling, practical strategies, and science-backed wisdom – leaving audiences inspired and equipped to create meaningful transformation in both their personal and professional lives.

Jessica Chang

Sponsored by:
D25 Member Experience Team

Beyond Words: Rising As One Across Cultures & Communication Styles

Objectives:

• Help participants recognize common cross-cultural communication traps, then practice small, repeatable techniques to transform misunderstanding into mutual respect.
• Demonstrate practical Toastmasters tools—feedback methods, storytelling frames, and meeting roles—that align with the Summit vision of uniting, uplifting, and empowering members.
• Guide attendees to co-design a “Rise As One” action card they can bring back to their clubs, ensuring the learning scales beyond the room.
• Toastmasters of all experience levels—club officers, members, and guests—who work or volunteer in multicultural teams and want concrete strategies to communicate inclusively and inspire collective growth.
• In this highly interactive workshop, participants will decode how culture and personal style shape what we hear—and what we think we’ve said. Through fast-paced simulations, reflective discussions, and a mini-speech lab, you’ll learn three bridging techniques that turn differences into catalysts for collaboration. Leave with a customized “Rise As One” action card and ready-to-use club activities that unite voices, uplift confidence, and empower every member to lead from any seat.

Bio:

Born and raised in Taiwan, Jessica moved to the United States when she was 15. She now serves Texas Woman’s University as Academic Advisor & Recruiter for the Doswell School of Aeronautical Sciences while pursuing an MBA in Business Analytics. A year after being a member of Toast with Confidence, the Toastmasters student chapter at TWU, Jessica decided to take on the role of VPPR. She is passionate about helping students build confidence in their communication abilities, the same way that Toastmasters has helped her. She is excited to grow the Toastmasters presence on campus and online, and encourage students to embrace the beauty of diverse culture.

Jamie Pickering

Sponsored by:
Highway to Excellence

The Language of Leadership: Mindset, Words, and Impact

Objectives:

• This session will provide transformative education on the language of leadership, showing members how to foster a culture of trust, psychological safety, and open communication.
• To empower attendees with a new mindset and specific vocabulary to uplift others, demonstrating how vulnerability and empathy strengthen our bonds.
• To provide a roadmap for continuous growth, showing how the consistent application of these leadership skills strengthens our community bonds and propels everyone upward.
• The audience who would most benefit from this presentation are Toastmasters members who are in or aspiring to leadership roles—both inside and outside of Toastmasters. This includes club officers, project leaders, district leaders, and anyone who wants to enhance their communication skills to influence and inspire others in their professional and personal lives.
• This interactive session will equip you with the language of leadership—the mindset and specific words to build high-trust, high-safety environments. You will learn how to shift from a fixed to a growth mindset, use vulnerability to build trust, and cultivate a culture of psychological safety where every team member feels empowered to contribute and innovate. Leave with practical communication tools to inspire your teams and lead by example.

Bio:

Jamie believes in the transformative power of the “ah-ha” moment, a feeling she discovered when she found her own potential to lead and speak publicly. As a Past Region Advisor, she has a proven record of leadership and continues to serve in various capacities. Jamie is an IT Manager with a unique background that blends Sound Design and Computer Science, giving her a creative yet structured approach to problem-solving. She is passionate about empowering others to set and achieve their goals and is thrilled to share her expertise on leadership development and motivational strategies to help you find your own path to success.

Lawrencina Mason Oramalu

Sponsored by:
Electric Toasters

Using EQ to Soar through Life’s Transitions

Objectives:

• Participants will be able to identify their current emotional responses to personal or professional transitions by applying self-awareness tools from Emotional Intelligence (EQ).
• Participants will be able to apply strategies for maintaining optimism, reframing obstacles as opportunities, adapting to change, and building resilience during challenging seasons.
• Participants will develop a personalized flight plan or SOAR action plan that will help them integrate Self-awareness, Optimism, Adaptability, and Resilience—for navigating future transitions with confidence and purpose.
• All attendees could benefit from this session but especially those who have recently gone through a personal or professional transition and would like to learn tools and hear stories about how to navigate life’s transitions and rise above the storms.
• Change is inevitable—whether it’s a new role, a personal challenge, or a shift in life direction. How we respond determines whether we stall or soar. In this uplifting and interactive workshop, participants will explore powerful frameworks for navigating life’s transitions. The first SOAR framework is based on Who we need to become —Self-aware, Optimistic, Adaptable, and Resilient, and the second SOAR framework is based on what actions we need to take – Step, Overcome, Achieve, and Renew. Through practical Emotional Intelligence strategies, personal reflection, and group activities, attendees will gain tools to understand their emotions, reframe challenges, and bounce forward with renewed energy. Drawing inspiration from real stories and reflections—including excerpts from her book —this session will empower participants to transform uncertainty into opportunity and rise stronger in all areas of their lives.

Bio:

In a world often filled with hopelessness, fear, anxiety, and negativity, Lawrencina Mason Oramalu seeks to be a vessel for hope, love, faith, and optimism. Her prayer is that God will use her written and spoken words to shine His light into the lives of others.

Throughout her life, Lawrencina has been on a mission to encourage, empower, educate, and equip people to reach their potential. She is a self-described hope dealer and seed planter and is committed to helping others shine, bloom, and grow.

Lawrencina strongly believes in the potential of every person to learn, lead, and serve. She has over 15 years of experience as a leader in education – building partnerships, developing leadership programs, and implementing transformational resources. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated the ability to align organizational goals with successful programs and purposeful partnerships designed to improve student confidence, leadership capacity, and academic success. In her most recent role, she launched Toast with Confidence, the student chapter of Toastmasters at Texas Woman’s University, and under her leadership, the club achieved Distinguished Club status in its first two years and Select Distinguished this past year.

Lawrencina is a published author, certified Gallups Strengths’ coach and EQ administrator, and a proud Toastmaster. She has been married for over 25 years, and she and her husband have three wonderful children.

Jen Romaszewski

Sponsored by:
Lakeside TAC Leaders

Charting the Course to Joy:  Leadership That Inspires and Engages

Objectives:

• Identify sources of joy and barriers to well-being.
• Apply evidence-based strategies to improve engagement and resilience.
• Amplify a culture of recognition, connection, and purpose.
• Individuals who have an interest in addressing the level of joy in their environment – be that a toastmaster club, a workplace, another volunteer organization, or home. Individuals who are action-oriented with a desire to combine communication and leadership skills to dig deeper to uplift themselves and others. Individuals desiring to become supervisors/managers or who may be new to a leadership role may also benefit from my session.
• Discover strategies to create thriving and engaged teams. This session will explore how to identify what matters most to individuals, apply systems-based approaches to improve engagement, and foster a culture of purpose, connection, and recognition. Learn how you can spark meaningful change and create spaces where people feel valued and inspired, so together, we rise as one toward a more joyful future.

Bio:

Jen Romaszewski integrates clinical, academic, and public health expertise (D-ABDPH) to support systems-level changes and organizational excellence in her professional life. Her skill set includes project coordination, quality improvement (LSSGB), data analysis, strategic thinking, cross-functional collaboration, public speaking (DTM), and policy development. She has enjoyed being an active member of Toastmasters International since 2011, has served as an Area Director and Division Director, and is motivated by the opportunity to make a difference by responding to needs and empowering others. In her free time, Jen enjoys traveling the world, listening to live music, completing triathlons, and reading.

Jamie English
Sponsored by:
Southlake Club

Mark English

Sponsored by:
Southlake Club

Just Keep Dancing:  Leading, Following, and Rising Together

Objectives:

• Invite participants to reflect on leadership, communication, and personal growth through the metaphor of ballroom dance.
• Provide interactive experiences and shared stories that highlight the power of trust, timing, and connection in both dancing, life, and leadership.
• Empower attendees to embrace imperfection, support one another, and “just keep dancing” through challenges as we rise together in community.
• This presentation is ideal for Toastmasters of all experience levels who are seeking inspiration, encouragement, and practical tools for leadership and personal growth. It’s especially meaningful for those navigating change, struggling with perfectionism, or looking to reconnect with joy and community in their Toastmasters journey.
• What can ballroom dance teach us about leadership, partnership, and personal growth? In this lively and heartfelt session, Jamie and Mark English share real-life lessons from the dance floor—exploring timing, trust, communication, and letting go. Through stories, reflection, and interactive moments, participants will leave inspired to embrace mistakes, lead with clarity, follow with confidence, and “just keep dancing” through life’s challenges—together.

Bio:

Dr. Jamie English, LCSW-S, is a therapist and college professor who brings heart, humor, and insight to every stage she steps on. She owns a private practice in Grapevine, TX, where she specializes in body image, trauma, and self-trust. As a Toastmaster, Jamie believes in the power of story, presence, and letting go of perfection.

Mark English is a former Secondary Social Studies Teacher of 16 1/2 years and a former 1Lt in the U.S. Army Reserves, where he served as a Platoon Leader and a Detachment Commander. He loves to read, write, dance with Jamie, and make people laugh. He has been a member of Toastmasters for five years.

Jamie and Mark bring real-life partnership, playfulness, and perspective to their presentations, weaving lessons from ballroom dance into personal growth and leadership development.

Keith E Boepple

Sponsored by:
Power Communicators
 

From Blank Page to Presentation

Objectives:

• The participants will learn a methodology for defeating Writer’s Block when creating a presentation.
• To give the participants a step-by-step method to create a presentation to meet any purpose and any audience while strengthening the evidence (proofs) they use within their presentation.
• To give the participants the chance to try this method in a fully active seminar. They will do each step and create the outline of a presentation by the end of the seminar.
• Anyone who needs to create a presentation for any purpose, ages 15 and over will benefit from this seminar.
• We all experience the time when we hit the dreaded “Writer’s Block” while creating a speech, story, or article. What do we do then?  In this session, you will discover a method created by the teacher developed for his students of all ages.  Utilizing the Japanese Poetry form of Haiku, you will actively participate in developing ideas that lead from looking at a blank page/screen to creating a piece of writing that will touch the minds and hearts of others.

Bio:

Keith Boepple, DTM, has lived an interesting life.  He travelled throughout Canada, the USA, the Bahamas, China, and parts of Europe as a missionary.  He has been a Middle School Teacher of Speech, Communication, and Writing the last 14 years (currently teaching in Carrolton-Farmers Branch ISD).  He celebrates his 20th year in Toastmasters in June 2026 (hopefully gaining his second DTM).  Member of Power Communicators and Lakeside TACmasters, he lives in Coppell with his wonderful wife Laura.  He is the proud stepdad of 5 older children, and step granddad to 3 kids.

Shuhdi Hashim

Sponsored by:
IT Leaders and Speakers of Tomorrow Toastmasters Club

Grow Your Club:  Inside Out

Objectives:

• A workshop on membership development that solicits the audience for club membership issues and then addresses ways to resolve them through audience participation.
• Ideas on how to successfully engage the community to recruit guests (active audience participation, experience and challenges sharing).
• How to fire up the club by converting guests to members, members to officers, officers to district officers (active audience participation, experience and challenges sharing).
• Any Toastmaster member can benefit from an interactive workshop on membership development that explores real club challenges and solutions.
• An engaging workshop on challenges most clubs face with membership, hands on ideas on how to fire up your club converting guests to members, members to officers, and officers to district officers.

Bio:

A founding member of Smiling Stars Toastmasters, he caught the Toastmasters spark, progressing from a member to a club officer and ultimately to Club President. Under his leadership, the club sustained its distinguished status throughout the pandemic. He then advanced to Area Director and Division Director. A Distinguished Toastmaster, he is passionate about spreading the Toastmasters magic to the public and humbly reignited a Prison unit Toastmasters Club as part of his DTM project.

Jesse Ford
Leadership Committee Chair

Sponsored by:
Mr. Cooper Speaks
&
Strategic Communicators

Leadership Panel – Speed Dating Style

Have you ever thought about getting involved in leadership? Whether you are interested in club level or think you want to be the District Director one day it is our pleasure to invite you to an amazing and inspiring Leadership Panel to be held live at the Summit on Saturday Nov 1. We are excited to bring together a diverse panel of visionary leaders who are driving positive change across clubs and the district. This dynamic conversation will give you the chance to hear from a variety of experiences and roles and get all the information you can handle.

Whether you’re a brand-new member of been in the program for 50 years leadership is something we all can learn more about, so you don’t want to miss this. The panel will share about their experiences and so much more.  This event promises to be all about collective growth and will be a valuable opportunity to gain fresh perspectives, ask meaningful questions, and engage with changemakers who believe in the strength of rising together.

Let’s come together to learn, grow, and be empowered—because leadership isn’t just about one person at the top; it’s about how we lift each other up and say it with me… RISE!

Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

Tracy Speyer
District Chief Judge

Sponsored by:
First Command Club

Toastmasters Judges Training: Elevate Your Impact