In the age of AI, what if the most powerful thing you could bring to leadership… was your humanity?

In this funny, heartfelt, and story-driven keynote, award-winning TV news manager, master storyteller, and former comedy writer Jason Reid flips the script on traditional management advice.

Drawing from a career that spans national newsrooms, award-winning mini-documentaries, and groundbreaking work in disability inclusion, Jason makes a compelling case: vulnerability isn’t a liability—it’s your leadership superpower.

With the timing of a comedian and the insight of a seasoned executive, Jason shares real moments of failure, humility, and surprising success.

Like the time he doubled his department’s productivity by being honest about his chronic illness. Or when he embraced a colleague’s “stupid idea” that ended up winning a national award that changed the fortunes of an entire TV network. Or how one conversation about a broken screw solved a problem HR couldn’t fix.

This keynote is packed with honest, often hilarious stories that cut through corporate jargon and get to the heart of what leadership really is: human connection.

In this keynote, Jason shares stories about:

…how vulnerability opened the door to trust—and sparked a cultural shift that led to international recognition.
…the power of listening with humility (and why the best ideas don’t always come from the corner office).
…why leading with awkward honesty beats wearing a mask of perfectionism every time.

Whether you’re an executive, HR leader, or people manager, this keynote will inspire you to lead with trust, embrace the unknown, and get comfortable with being a bit more human.

Jason’s casual and humourous style makes this perfect for a lunch, dinner or closing keynote.

Get ready to laugh, learn, and maybe even rethink that last all-staff memo.

Join workplace belonging experts Jason Reid and Kristin Light for a fast-paced, funny, and refreshingly honest keynote that dives into one of today’s most important questions: What does it really take to create a culture where everyone feels they belong?

Over the past five years, organizations have made real progress in embracing diversity. But there’s still one tricky area we tend to overlook—the stuff you can’t see. Things like chronic illness, mental health, and neurodivergence. That’s where Jason and Kristin come in.

With quick wit, sharp insight, and a background in both showbiz and corporate leadership, they bring invisible disabilities into the spotlight—through a series of clever, comical, and sometimes painfully relatable scenes.

Together, they explore:

Why the hiring process still leaves some of us out (even with the best intentions).
How leadership culture can make or break a sense of belonging
The subtle ways everyday communication either includes—or excludes—people.

Whether you’re a leader, HR professional, or someone just trying to survive the next Zoom call, Invisible Differences offers a fresh, funny, and ultimately human take on what it really means to belong at work.

Neurodiverse teams don’t just think differently—they perform differently. And when supported well, they outperform.
In this fast-paced and insightful session, Jason Reid and Kristin Light reveal how neurodivergent minds—those with ADHD, autism, learning differences, and more—bring extraordinary value to modern organizations. With real-world stories, strategic takeaways, and a touch of humor, they show how to identify, engage, and retain this often-overlooked talent pool.

The audience will learn how to:

• Harness the natural strengths of neurodivergent employees
• Remove common workplace obstacles that suppress performance
• Reduce turnover and increase engagement through low-cost, high-impact adjustments
• Build teams that are not just diverse—but measurably more innovative and effective

This session is for leaders ready to stop leaving potential on the table—and start getting the best from every brain in the room.

Harnessing diversity is much more than just hiring people of different backgrounds and abilities. It’s about everyone in the organization feeling empowered knowing they have the permission to learn and make mistakes, as well as speak up – even when it goes against the conventional wisdom of the organization.

Studies suggest that psychological safety is not yet the norm in most organizations. Despite best intentions, the pervasive nature of unconscious bias related to sex, ethnicity, disability, and more can sometimes make employees feel that organizations are hostile to them or their ideas. 

Fostering psychological safety isn’t a DEI fad, it’s simply the cornerstone of good leadership. In today’s diverse organizational environments, it’s even more vital that every employee feels encouraged to share their expertise and ideas.

In this relatable, engaging, and highly practical program, inclusive leadership speakers Jason Reid and Zoe Mitchell will show you strategies to help your organization foster belonging, reduce turnover, and create a highly engaged and innovative workforce. 

The audience will learn:

• The four stages of psychological safety.
• To identify various ways unconscious bias emerges and learn how to combat them.
• To implement simple but ongoing communication and leadership strategies to encourage full engagement and innovation.

With a successful 20-year background in corporate finance,  psychological safety and inclusion expert Zoe Mitchell knows firsthand the impact that inclusive work cultures can have on engagement, innovation and bottom-line results. As a Director, her own inclusive leadership style resulted in company-high engagement scores, no employee turnover and consecutive years of profitable growth.