Lifelong Learning Symposium
October 24, 2025
Drew Dudley - Speaker
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Called one of the most inspirational TED speakers in the world, Drew Dudley is on a mission to redefine leadership. With more than five million views, his TED talk “Everyday Leadership (The Lollipop Moment)” proved that leadership is not a characteristic of an elite few, but one that lives within us all.
Through his high-energy talks, Dudley shares practical and actionable insights on creating cultures of leadership that lead to higher levels of pride, productivity, happiness, and retention. He empowers audiences and equips them with the tools needed to make a difference, at home and work.
Dudley is the founder and Chief Catalyst of Day One Leadership, where he has helped organizations around the world increase their leadership capacity. His clients have included such dynamic companies as Coca-Cola, American Express, JP Morgan Chase, the United Nations, and over 100 colleges and universities. Prior to founding Day One, Dudley spent eight years as the director of one of Canada’s largest leadership development programs at the University of Toronto, and served as a national chair of one of Canada’s largest youth charities, which mobilized 35,000 volunteers to raise $1 million dollars annually in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
Dudley’s passion for personal leadership has inspired millions of people worldwide to embrace the belief that leadership is something that we all can and should aspire to. He has been featured in The Huffington Post, Radio America, Forbes.com, and TED.com, where his talk was voted “one of the 15 most inspirational TED talks of all time”. TIME, Business Insider, and Inc. magazines have all named his talk one of their “10 speeches that will make you a better leader”. A bestselling author, Dudley’s first book This is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership That Matters debuted at #6 on The Wall Street Journal bestseller list and has gone on to become an international bestseller.
Through his high-energy talks, Dudley shares practical and actionable insights on creating cultures of leadership that lead to higher levels of pride, productivity, happiness, and retention. He empowers audiences and equips them with the tools needed to make a difference, at home and work.
Dudley is the founder and Chief Catalyst of Day One Leadership, where he has helped organizations around the world increase their leadership capacity. His clients have included such dynamic companies as Coca-Cola, American Express, JP Morgan Chase, the United Nations, and over 100 colleges and universities. Prior to founding Day One, Dudley spent eight years as the director of one of Canada’s largest leadership development programs at the University of Toronto, and served as a national chair of one of Canada’s largest youth charities, which mobilized 35,000 volunteers to raise $1 million dollars annually in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
Dudley’s passion for personal leadership has inspired millions of people worldwide to embrace the belief that leadership is something that we all can and should aspire to. He has been featured in The Huffington Post, Radio America, Forbes.com, and TED.com, where his talk was voted “one of the 15 most inspirational TED talks of all time”. TIME, Business Insider, and Inc. magazines have all named his talk one of their “10 speeches that will make you a better leader”. A bestselling author, Dudley’s first book This is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership That Matters debuted at #6 on The Wall Street Journal bestseller list and has gone on to become an international bestseller.
Drew Dudley's Sessions
Breakout Session
“How many of you are completely comfortable with calling yourself a leader?”
Leadership author and educator Drew Dudley has asked that question to thousands of audiences around the world, and in fewer than 1% of those audiences were the majority of people willing to call themselves leaders. That’s a problem, and this session will focus on how to solve it.
In this engaging and empowering keynote, Drew aims to demonstrate that there is a form of leadership to which we should all aspire: one that is driven by a daily commitment to acting on six key leadership values: impact, courage, growth, empowerment, class and self-respect.
Drew will provide six simple questions that comprise “The Leadership Test”, and while the questions may be simple, the behavioural changes they generate build better careers, stronger organizations, and more fulfilling lives. A commitment to passing “The Leadership Test” turns those six values into more than just words, and changes how you treat yourself and the people around you.
Sharing stories from small town Canada to the deserts of Qatar, and insights from leaders of all types--CEOs, elite athletes, cab drivers, custodians and everyone in between—this presentation will change the way you think about leadership in your life and workplace.
Date: October 24, 2025
Time: 11:00 am - 12:05 pm
Breakout Session
“How many of you are completely comfortable with calling yourself a leader?”
Leadership author and educator Drew Dudley has asked that question to thousands of audiences around the world, and in fewer than 1% of those audiences were the majority of people willing to call themselves leaders. That’s a problem, and this session will focus on how to solve it.
In this engaging and empowering keynote, Drew aims to demonstrate that there is a form of leadership to which we should all aspire: one that is driven by a daily commitment to acting on six key leadership values: impact, courage, growth, empowerment, class and self-respect.
Drew will provide six simple questions that comprise “The Leadership Test”, and while the questions may be simple, the behavioural changes they generate build better careers, stronger organizations, and more fulfilling lives. A commitment to passing “The Leadership Test” turns those six values into more than just words, and changes how you treat yourself and the people around you.
Sharing stories from small town Canada to the deserts of Qatar, and insights from leaders of all types--CEOs, elite athletes, cab drivers, custodians and everyone in between—this presentation will change the way you think about leadership in your life and workplace.
Date: October 24, 2025
Time: 1:50 pm - 3:00 pm