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E-Newsletter > Speakers News: August 2008

Speaker news: August 2008

IN THIS ISSUE:
Jeremy Gutsche's Trendhunter landmark, Bruce Mau at DNC, Rick Hillier joins Lavin, Lavin at CSAE, Tod Maffin on mental health at work.

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For more information on our speakers, call us at 1-800-265-4870 or email us at info@thelavinagency.com.

WORKLIFE BALANCE

Taking Crazy Back: A New Roadmap for Mental Health at Work

As workplace depression rates soar, Tod Maffin offers radical new solutions for improving the mental health of employees

Tod Maffin was once the founder of a multi-million dollar tech firm, until the workload caught up with him. He was crippled by depression -- all the while struggling to appear productive to colleagues, and happy and healthy to friends and family. In this provocative talk, Maffin reveals how the always-connected landscape of the modern workplace has seduced all of us into endless multitasking and infinite email, and how this increasing workload is far from the best thing for "productivity." This hyper-connected economy, in fact, is eroding the mental health of your company's most valuable asset -- its people. Maffin outlines his own bold strategy for bringing mental health discussion out of the shadows in a way that will challenge your attendees and spark serious discussion.

Tod Maffin Speaker Bio

NEW SPEAKER

The Soldier's Soldier: General Rick Hillier

The greatest, most outspoken Canadian military leader in a generation joins the Lavin roster

The Lavin Agency is proud to announce that Gen. Rick Hillier has joined our prestigious roster of speakers. Hillier is the former Chief of Canada's Defence Staff, and the man many credit with revitalizing our military -- both internally and in the eyes of the world. This is Rick Mercer, writing on Hillier: "He is funny as hell and inspiring as anyone I have ever seen speak. He makes soldiers laugh and then he makes them cry. He thanks them all in a way that makes everyone grow inches." Hinting at Hillier's powerful on-stage appeal, he adds: "From a show business perspective he is a tough act to follow."

General Rick Hillier Speaker Bio

GREEN IDEAS

A Massive Change at the Democratic National Convention

Canada's most famous designers talks sustainability -- and solutions -- at the DNC in Denver

This week, Canadian designer Bruce Mau participated in The Green Constitutional Congress: A Symposium of the Future of Environmental Action, held during the Democratic National Convention. The preeminent expert on the use of design thinking to address global challenges, Mau moderated the public symposium which brought together national leaders who are working to ensure our environmental and energy future.

Bruce Mau Speaker Bio

WEB MILESTONE

Five Million Visitors Make Trendhunter.com the Largest Trend Site in the World

Jeremy Gutsche, the site's founder, ascends to the top rank of tastemakers and trendspotters

According to MTV, Trendhunter.com is the place to "find out what's cool before it's cool." This month, the popular site, founded by Jeremy Gutsche, passed a Web milestone. From Jeremy: "Trend Hunter just skyrocketed past 5 million monthly views, driven by the stellar content of our trend community. This makes Trend Hunter the world's largest trend site by a decent margin." A phenomenal speaker who, in a short time has become one of North America's most requested keynotes, Jeremy writes, "It doesn't seem that long ago that I was in the Lavin office delivering an early version of Unlocking Cool [his ace presentation]."

Jeremy Gutsche Speaker Bio

LAVIN IN VANCOUVER

A Worldchanging Speaker to Wrap Up the 2008 CSAE National Conference

This year, The Lavin Agency presents the closing night keynote: Alex Steffen

The Lavin Agency is pleased to announce our presence at the 2008 National Conference of the Canadian Society of Association Executives. With the theme of sustainable futures, Alex Steffen is a perfect choice for closing day keynote speaker. Every day, at worldchanging.com (the world's #1 website on sustainability), he offers solutions that are helping make the world a smarter, greener, healthier place. If you're in Vancouver October 2^nd to 4^th, stop by the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, take in Steffen's talk, check out Lavin-sponsored act The Time Benders, and say hello to Lavin Executive VP Cathy Hirst and VP Michael Downes, at Booth 500.

Alex Steffen Speaker Bio

GAYLE LEMMON at TEDxWOMEN

"If you're going to talk about jobs, then you have to talk about entrepreneurs," says Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. "And if you're talking about entrepreneurs in conflict and post-conflict settings, then you must talk about women." Lemmon is the author of the New York Times bestselling book The Dressmaker of Khair Khana and a Contributing Editor-at-Large for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. She has devoted her life to shedding light on the resiliency of female entrepreneurs, and their remarkable power to reshape local economies. By recognizing and investing in these female breadwinners, Lemmon says, we can help grow economies of all development levels around the world.