Peter Gamwell
Award-Winning, Cutting-Edge Leader in Education
Peter Gamwell Motivational Speaker
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Dr. Peter Gamwell has been described as one of the most knowledgeable and thought-provoking presenters on organizational learning, leadership and creativity in Canada and beyond. He is a widely respected and sought after as a speaker, presenter and moderator, and has gained a reputation for his vibrant and humorous approach.
Currently a superintendent with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Peter Gamwell is an award-winning leader in education. His philosophy is simple: the health and prosperity of any organization is directly proportional to the value in, autonomy of and creative rein given to the people who make up that organization. Peter has spent a career inspiring people with this leadership philosophy and practice and, most recently, has led a ten-year transformational culture change through a 7,000-employee organization founded on this basic belief—an innovative change that is ongoing and dynamic. Drawing on his research in the field and his wealth of practical experience, Peter challenges his audiences to consider fundamental questions that will foster that positive growth, vibrancy and creativity in their organizations. He has advised multiple levels of government, private industry, municipalities and non-profits, as well as the education sector. He was recently appointed to the board of directors of the National Creativity Network, where he serves with his long-time colleague, mentor and friend, Sir Ken Robinson. Peter is often at his best engaging his audiences with his blues and rock piano. |
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Speech Topics
Peak Performance
Peter Gamwell delivers dynamic and relevant keynote presentations on a variety of topics pertaining to leadership, creativity and learning. Whether your organization is involved with education, business, government or not-for-profit, he can work with you to customize a half-day or full-day workshop tailored to your specific needs and organizational goals.
Audiences are delighted and energized by Peter’s unique style. He does not pretend to have all the answers. Instead, he embraces the uncertainty we all feel regarding the complexities of our times, and helps lead us to make sense of our world in positive, yet realistic, ways. He draws on the depth of his research and the range of his experiences to engage audiences into informed dialogue about possible pathways forward—and he uses storytelling and humor to wisely illustrate his messages.
Drawing on his research and his wealth of practical experience, Peter will challenge you to consider fundamental questions to foster positive growth, vibrancy and creativity in your organizations:
What do healthy organizations look like? What have you already done that has started to create this atmosphereWhat does a creative person look and act like? Why do we consider some people creative and not others?What are the conditions needed to draw out people’s unique creative capacitiesWhat practical and implementable strategies can we put in place today, next week and in the coming year to foster healthier organizational environments?By working together to find the answers to these questions and others like them, your organization will find the passion for lifelong and creative learning.
The Wonder Wall – Fostering Creative Organizations: Making the Extraordinary Happen in an Age of “Inbetweenity”
With so many experts saying that imagination and innovation are crucial to our future, you might think about emulating creative companies like Zappos, Google and IDEO. But do you notice what those organizations all have in common? They established their creative cultures as young start-ups. What happens if, like most of us, your organization has been around for decades, steeped in traditional processes and rigid roles that put a chokehold on creativity and beat it senseless every day?
In this lively and engaging presentation built around questions, ideas and stories, you’ll learn easily implemented and practical ways to catalyze and spark dialogue, learning and productive actions specific to your situation. In our complex, bureaucratic age, find out how you can transform your organization to embrace the new creative age.
How do you set the stage to foster imaginative, creative and innovative organizational cultures? What barriers can you expect to encounter?What strategies can you use to move forward successfully? Peter challenges some common assumptions pertaining to leadership and learning, and provides suggestions and practical ideas to foster truly innovative and vibrant organizational cultures.What are the conditions for optimal learning and creativity to flourish? Peter will show you how to think through this crucial question—and suggests ways to move forward when the inevitable pushback occurs to organizational change. Learn about organizations that have successfully fostered creative learning cultures and find out we can learn from them.
Preparing Our Children for an Unknown Future – Future Learning Curiosity
The yearning to explore and learn new things is an integral part of our human DNA. Yet at a time when learning and educational opportunities have never been more abundant, the idea of children disliking school is so common, it’s become downright iconic in our society. Likewise, after graduation, our TGIF mentality extends to the workforce. Why?
Drawing on extensive research, experiences and intriguing stories, Peter Gamwell discusses how we need to update and energize our ingrained beliefs of human intelligence, human motivation and human learning. During this thought-provoking presentation, you’ll learn how our schools—as well as other organizations—are structured on outmoded theories and practices that not only literally set students up to fail but rob them and our society of their true talents.
Peter discusses how we can structure new systems informed and built on emerging and fresh understandings of human intelligence, motivation and learning. In schools, businesses, governments and organizations, it is critical that we recognize, value and tap into the capacities of everyone, rather than valuing certain forms of intelligence over others.
This presentation:
Exposes and challenges underlying assumptions that maintain a status quo delivery of education Offers alternative approaches based on emerging and fresh understandings of human intelligence, motivation and learningDescribes how exciting new discoveries in neuroscience and learning theory can help guide us to reshape learning environments in exciting and dynamic waysExplores the connection between the experience of optimal learning, creativity and well-beingThis presentation is also easily adapted to learning and optimizing employees’ capacities in the workplace.
Peter Gamwell delivers dynamic and relevant keynote presentations on a variety of topics pertaining to leadership, creativity and learning. Whether your organization is involved with education, business, government or not-for-profit, he can work with you to customize a half-day or full-day workshop tailored to your specific needs and organizational goals.
Audiences are delighted and energized by Peter’s unique style. He does not pretend to have all the answers. Instead, he embraces the uncertainty we all feel regarding the complexities of our times, and helps lead us to make sense of our world in positive, yet realistic, ways. He draws on the depth of his research and the range of his experiences to engage audiences into informed dialogue about possible pathways forward—and he uses storytelling and humor to wisely illustrate his messages.
Drawing on his research and his wealth of practical experience, Peter will challenge you to consider fundamental questions to foster positive growth, vibrancy and creativity in your organizations:
What do healthy organizations look like? What have you already done that has started to create this atmosphereWhat does a creative person look and act like? Why do we consider some people creative and not others?What are the conditions needed to draw out people’s unique creative capacitiesWhat practical and implementable strategies can we put in place today, next week and in the coming year to foster healthier organizational environments?By working together to find the answers to these questions and others like them, your organization will find the passion for lifelong and creative learning.
The Wonder Wall – Fostering Creative Organizations: Making the Extraordinary Happen in an Age of “Inbetweenity”
With so many experts saying that imagination and innovation are crucial to our future, you might think about emulating creative companies like Zappos, Google and IDEO. But do you notice what those organizations all have in common? They established their creative cultures as young start-ups. What happens if, like most of us, your organization has been around for decades, steeped in traditional processes and rigid roles that put a chokehold on creativity and beat it senseless every day?
In this lively and engaging presentation built around questions, ideas and stories, you’ll learn easily implemented and practical ways to catalyze and spark dialogue, learning and productive actions specific to your situation. In our complex, bureaucratic age, find out how you can transform your organization to embrace the new creative age.
How do you set the stage to foster imaginative, creative and innovative organizational cultures? What barriers can you expect to encounter?What strategies can you use to move forward successfully? Peter challenges some common assumptions pertaining to leadership and learning, and provides suggestions and practical ideas to foster truly innovative and vibrant organizational cultures.What are the conditions for optimal learning and creativity to flourish? Peter will show you how to think through this crucial question—and suggests ways to move forward when the inevitable pushback occurs to organizational change. Learn about organizations that have successfully fostered creative learning cultures and find out we can learn from them.
Preparing Our Children for an Unknown Future – Future Learning Curiosity
The yearning to explore and learn new things is an integral part of our human DNA. Yet at a time when learning and educational opportunities have never been more abundant, the idea of children disliking school is so common, it’s become downright iconic in our society. Likewise, after graduation, our TGIF mentality extends to the workforce. Why?
Drawing on extensive research, experiences and intriguing stories, Peter Gamwell discusses how we need to update and energize our ingrained beliefs of human intelligence, human motivation and human learning. During this thought-provoking presentation, you’ll learn how our schools—as well as other organizations—are structured on outmoded theories and practices that not only literally set students up to fail but rob them and our society of their true talents.
Peter discusses how we can structure new systems informed and built on emerging and fresh understandings of human intelligence, motivation and learning. In schools, businesses, governments and organizations, it is critical that we recognize, value and tap into the capacities of everyone, rather than valuing certain forms of intelligence over others.
This presentation:
Exposes and challenges underlying assumptions that maintain a status quo delivery of education Offers alternative approaches based on emerging and fresh understandings of human intelligence, motivation and learningDescribes how exciting new discoveries in neuroscience and learning theory can help guide us to reshape learning environments in exciting and dynamic waysExplores the connection between the experience of optimal learning, creativity and well-beingThis presentation is also easily adapted to learning and optimizing employees’ capacities in the workplace.
