District 45 Conference 2026
All Hands on Deck! Sailing to Success
Keynote Speaker: Jean Gamester
Second Vice President, Toastmasters International Board 2025-2026:
As a member of the Toastmasters International Board of Directors from 2022-24, Jean serves as a “working ambassador” for the organization. She works with the Board to develop and support the policies and procedures that guide Toastmasters International in fulfilling its mission.
Business School Lecturer and Academic Manager:
In The Open University in the United Kingdom Jean educates on leadership, strategy, change, creativity, and innovation. She supervises MBA students in the conduct of their practitioner based research change orientated dissertations and leads the delivery of Accounting and Finance modules.
Change and Consulting:
International, multi-cultural, and multi-sector corporate change and leadership experience that includes company-wide strategy development, consulting, we well as leading change technology, organizational development and culture. She has worked in the public, private and not for profit sectors.
Education:
Professional Doctorate in Organizational Change. Master’s degrees in Human Resource Management and in Economics.
For more information see Toastmasters International Board of Directors and LinkedIn.
Plenary Session #1: Angela Chute, DTM & Joe Grondin, DTM
Sink or Swim – This is a high energy interactive Leadership presentation by Angela and Joe, designed for D45 Leaders facing change. Change is inevitable. How we lead through the storms of change is crucial. Wanted or unwanted, easy or hard, change is here to stay. Identifying opportunities in the unwanted and hard, differentiates whether we sink or swim. Let’s learn to SWIM!
Angela Chute, DTM, PDD served as District 45, District Director 2023/2024.
Angela has earned the Distinguished Toastmaster designation three times. She
is enjoying being President of The Maine Thing Advanced Toastmasters Club, a club she helped Charter, 6 years ago.
Outside of Toastmasters, Angela is a Leadership Coach and Speaker based out
of Midcoast Maine. She founded Authentic Compass Inc, in 2013, where she works as a Keynote speaker, workshop presenter and coach.
Angela’s focus is on leadership development, emphasizing self-mastery,
intentional choices and innovative solutions to help aspiring leaders succeed
by becoming effective communicators, confident negotiators, and smart decision
makers. She has a rich background in Human Resources and Risk Management.
She earned the nationally recognized, Certified Insurance Counselor CIC,
designation in 2005.
Angela is on a Mission to help her Toastmasters audiences change the game of leadership by bringing their A game.This is a Paragraph Font
Joe Grondin, DTM, AS, is a ten-time District Champion having qualified seven
times for the world championships and successfully placed in the top 10 on two
occasions.
Joe is a three-time TEDx speaker and earned the prestigious Accredited Speaker designation from Toastmasters International in 2017 becoming one of 92 people in the world who hold this distinction.
Joe does admit that his biggest accomplishment is getting hugs from his grandchildren.
Joe is a proud Toastmaster and he truly believes that Toastmaster audiences are
the best audiences in the world. It is truly an honour for Joe to present in front of his
toastmaster family because it matters not where you are in your journey, you are
dedicated to self-improvement so that you can make a difference in this world. Joe is
hoping that in some small way he can help you on that journey.
Plenary Session #2: Sharon Joseph, DTM
Face The Fire Within - Transformation is for those done with excuses and ready to evolve. No more excuses. Burn the pattern. Step Into the fire of experience.
Sharon Joseph, DTM, PDD served as District 45, District Director 2024/2025.
As the bold founder of the BREATH Revolution, Sharon is on a mission to disrupt the corporate grind and empower professionals to navigate chaos with confidence.
With over 30 years of corporate & entrepreneurial experience, Sharon ignites individuals to breathe, recognize their emotions, evaluate the noise, and act decisively. Transformation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a power play.
As someone who has lived the experience of self-doubt and self-sabotage, personal experience lit the fire. Passion compels me to share and teach. I’m looking forward to transform those done with excuses and ready to evolve.
As someone who has lived the experience of self-doubt and self-sabotage, personal experience lit the fire. Passion compels me to share and teach and I hope to transform those done with excuses and are ready to evolve.
The information on this website is for the sole use of Toastmasters’ members, for Toastmasters business only. It is not to be used for solicitation and distribution of non-Toastmasters material or information. All Toastmasters International logos, brands, and trademarks, etc., are the property of Toastmasters International
District 45 Toastmasters International
The information on this website is for the sole use of Toastmasters’ members, for Toastmasters business only. It is not to be used for solicitation and distribution of non-Toastmasters material or information. All Toastmasters International logos, brands, and trademarks, etc., are the property of Toastmasters International
District 45 Toastmasters International