Kevin Freedman has made a career out of challenging expectations and has lived a very unlikely life. He’s a high school dropout who has taught at three universities. He has lived in 10 cities on three continents, been homeless in a couple of them, and has held elected office. He once hitchhiked more than 6,000 kilometres across Canada, and has been recognized with leadership and service awards from the Mayor of Winnipeg, the YMCA, Golden Key International, and the Governor General of Canada.
He once survived a major earthquake and volcanic eruption at the same time, and responded by launching an aid group that provided essential supplies to thousands. He also once (unintentionally and famously) stole a car, was featured on Saturday Night Live, officiated at world championships, and has ridden his bike in temperatures that felt colder than -50°C as well as hotter than 50°C. Kevin became bilingual at 25, bought his first house at 21, worked more than 20 very different jobs, and lived for more than 10 months in three different cars in two countries.
Kevin has started and run businesses, nonprofits, and other initiatives and has spoken on topics such as blood donation, environmental issues, critical thought, and leadership to several hundred groups including non-profits, businesses, and schools. He can tell both the best and worst first-date stories and every romantic relationship he’s ever had involved some significant long-distance component, including one of the longest ever with the love of his life (in both time and distance). He spent a year and a half working for a human rights organization in Indonesia, has been an accidental first responder to numerous emergencies, started an annual global water conservation event, sat of both sides of different collective bargaining negotiations at the same time, and once ran/walked over 102,000 steps in a single day.
He runs The Governance Guru, a consultancy helping boards of non-profits, cooperatives, and school divisions through expert training, facilitation, consulting, and support, and wrote the (unpublished) book on non-profit governance in Canada. Kevin has a passionate and energetic stage presence and loves making people think, question, focus, and laugh. He will leave your group wanting more!