Meet the Speakers

A member of Toastmasters since 1990, who served as the 2018-19 Toastmasters International President. In her professional life, Lark has owned a successful manufacturing business, worked as a Marketing Manager at Texas Instruments, and before her retirement in 2021, worked as a Training Manager for Maximus.  Lark lives in a lighthouse home outside of Austin, Texas, USA overlooking Lake Travis. The home was built by her late husband Roger in honor of her late father-in-law Arthur. Both men were born in England and both men loved the sea. At Toastmaster events Lark often wears golden outfits to symbolize the value of membership in Toastmasters. 

Originally from Dun Laoghaire in Dublin and now lives in Cardiff. She is a business school lecturer at the Open University and educates on leadership, strategy, change, creativity, and innovation.  This work builds on her international, multicultural, and multi-sector corporate change and leadership experience that includes company-wide strategy development, consulting, and implementation. She has master’s degrees in Economics and Human Resource Management and is currently pursuing a professional doctorate in organizational change.

Jean joined Toastmasters in 2006, and has been both a member and district leader in District 71. Today she is a member of her home club, Cardiff Toastmasters and is a past District Director and Parliamentarian of District 91. As a member of the Toastmasters International Board of Directors, Jean is a “working ambassador” for the organization. She works with the Board to develop, support, and modify the policies and procedures that guide Toastmasters International in fulfilling its mission.

 Joined Fingal toastmasters club in 1985 in Dublin. Having served at club and district level, he was elected District Governor of District 71 for 1994/1995 and led his district to Presidents Distinguished District status, finishing second in the world in achievements that year. 

This led to his election for a two-year term as an International Director in St Louis, Missouri, in 1996, representing all the toastmasters in the rest of the world outside North America.

In 2000, in Miami, he was elected 3rd Vice President and went on to serve as International President in 2003/2004, the first, and still the only, European, to do so in the 99-year history of the organisation.

Ted has been a member of the Rotary Club, Dublin, since 1991, serving as club president in 2001/02.

He is also the author of three books: “The Leadership Bus” published 2008 and “Hiring a Car and Walking After It”, published 2019.

His most recent book, “A Comprehensive History of Toastmasters in Great Britain and Ireland,” was launched in September 2022.

Dr. Kevin Snyder is the only Toastmaster in the world who earned the Accredited Speaker designation in 2022.  He also recently earned the Certified Speaking Professional® (CSP) credential, one of the highest honors in the speaking profession held by a very small percentage of professional speakers.  Kevin has presented for 1,000,000 people through 1,150+ organizations in all 50 U.S. states and several countries.  However, Kevin is not a natural speaker or motivated person.  He struggled with depression as a teenager which is why sharing his story through speaking inspired him to push through his own comfort zone to help others.  He credits Toastmasters and his professional speaking community empowering him to launch full-time into professional speaking.  Kevin is the author of several best-selling books, holds a Doctorate degree in Leadership and is a multi-TEDx speaker.  He also authored the #1 book and Online Course for aspiring professional speakers.      

www.KevinCSnyder.com       www.PAIDtoSPeak.biz 

An Executive Life Coach, Motivational Speaker & Mindfulness Teacher who is a member of the International Coaching Federation. Her biggest passion in life has always been to encourage, motivate and assist people to become the best they possibly can be on whatever path or situation they find themselves facing, hence my decision to become a Life Coach.

 After working in a University for 20 years, she went back to study which led her to change her career. This new path brought her to IBM for a further 15 years where she was an Education Facilitator/Trainer before moving on to manage Software & Finance teams. 

After taking early retirement,  she knew she still had another part of her journey to complete and recognised that life coaching was the area where she could use her skills, strengths and experience to help others reach their full potential.

Bob is an Aerospace Engineer and spent 20 years designing bits of spacecraft. His interest in public speaking came from years of watching dire engineering presentations and thinking there had to be a better way. There was, and he found it at Toastmasters in 1995. It took him 10 years to get to DTM and during that time he learned plenty from the manuals but found that he developed more from competition.

 In that first 10 years he won the District International and Evaluation contests, but it was in the post-DTM years that the competition sustained his development, and interest in Toastmasters, providing future goals and areas of speaking to explore. By 2009 he’d won the District Humorous Championship as well.

Bob has found the confidence that comes from speaking in public has produced some wonderful opportunities. Now a professional speaker coach and event speaker, Bob believes the foundation of his success was entering competitions.

Jessica is a Global Speaker and Team Trainer who is an AETG therapist in Gestalt Psychotherapy who specializes in women interrupting so that they get heard and they value themselves- popping that darn imposters syndrome! Voted top female speaker in Western Europe 2022 by Toastmasters International, State Champion 2023 in Evaluation and International Speech Contest. Awarded 2nd place at Professional Speakers Association London 2021. She uses Improvisation skills and Humor to get you to take yourself more seriously, to take yourself less seriously and do the things you want in life. No more victim of toxic people!