We’re leaders supporting leaders at work

We’re on a mission to build the next generation of confident, diverse emerging women leaders.

Become a member

We’re leaders supporting leaders at work

We’re on a mission to build the next generation of confident, diverse emerging female leaders.

Become a member

What we do

Speak for Success is an annual membership program that gives emerging women leaders a fun, safe and supportive space to learn technical communications skills and then practice them in a low-stakes environment. 

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Who we serve

We serve novice to early intermediate public speakers who want to build their confidence, learn new techniques and polish their speaking skills. Cis-women, trans women, as well as gender-fluid and folks identifying on the femme-spectrum are all welcome!

What we care about most

Learning &
Development

We help our members grow both professionally and personally by providing an effective, supportive, and high-quality learning experience that they love—and that actually works.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We care about creating equitable opportunities for leadership skill development as well as promoting individual agency. No matter how ‘junior’ you are, affordable and accessible communication skills training is made available to you.

Mental
Health

We care about how our members feel at work. We’re here to equip them with the tools, techniques and mindset they need to feel more confident and manage feelings of nervousness, anxiety and self-doubt.

Our mission

We’re on a mission to make communication skills training more accessible for emerging women leaders who struggle with feelings of anxiety, nervousness and self-doubt in the workplace so they can become the confident, assertive leaders they were meant to be.

We work really hard to make our training fun, accessible, and convenient, so that no matter where you live or where you are on the corporate ladder, professional growth is available to you.

We believe communications and public speaking training shouldn’t be boring, stuffy, woo-woo or cheesy. Because what you need are learnable, corporate skills—communications skills—and plenty of real opportunities to practice. (Ones where your career isn’t on the line!)

And, we take an expert-led, psychologically safe approach to training. Because we know public speaking-induced anxiety and nerves are real and can’t always be muscled through.

SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE

Here’s what we know for sure

  • ​Communication skills significantly impact professional success
  • Feelings of nervousness, anxiety and self-doubt are common challenges young professionals face in the workplace. (Especially women and non-binary) [1] [2]
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques can help speakers build confidence and actually manage their anxiety and nervousness
  • Communication is a skill that can be learned and honed over time
  • Practice is crucial when it comes to confidence-building and skill development
  • The best speaking practice is convenient, fun, safe, and supportive
  • Expert-led training is essential because it makes everything more effective and enjoyable

Ideally, communications training should start before an employee begins managing others. But that doesn’t happen often. According to a study by HBR, the average age managers first receive any training is 42, even though most first-time managers have an average age of 30. 

Program development

Our proprietary program was developed in collaboration with expert speaking coaches, Learning & Development PhD Maya Saggar and Registered Psychologist & Scientific Director of Anxiety Canada, Dr. Melanie Badali, to provide members with a highly effective and impactful training experience.

Here's what makes us different

Speak for Success teaches the everyday communication skills you need to succeed in the workplace, helping you to build confidence, reduce anxiety, and say “yes” to every opportunity that comes your way. Here’s what makes us different…

Practical

We teach the day-to-day skills that matter most at work—because most of us never deliver TEDx talks, but we all present, answer questions and need to deliver feedback.

On-going Practice

Practice builds confidence. So instead of delivering one-off lectures like other programs, we include tons of opportunities to practice all year round.

Fun, Safe & Supportive

Speaking programs have a reputation of being stuffy, boring, and intimidating. We’re changing that by delivering a learning experience that’s fun, safe and supportive.

Grounded in CBT

Our program methodology is grounded in the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which has been proven to build confidence and address feelings of nervousness, anxiety, and self-doubt.

Our members really like us

Emma Green

HR Assistant, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

“It was a perfect opportunity to further develop my public speaking skills, in a fun, safe, and motivating environment! I would highly recommend Speak for Success to anyone who is wishing to overcome their fear of presenting.”

Diana Luong

Co-founder of Craftedvan

“As someone who has struggled with public speaking my entire life, taking this program was very eye-opening in many ways. To learn public speaking is a skill that can be learned and improved rather than something we are born with gives me the hope, momentum, and courage to try and get better! Speak for Success was great because it created a very safe judgement-free environment to improve while also teaching many tips, tricks and learnings to help build that confidence!”

Sarah Rushton

Director of Community at Mountain Equipment Co-Op

“It was a perfect opportunity to further develop my public speaking skills, in a fun, safe, and motivating environment! I would highly recommI discovered more about my speaking and presentation style in these sessions than I have in my entire career!"

Our facilitators

Monica M. Vucko, MSc.

Facilitator & Communications Coach

Learn About Monica
After spending years searching for a communication skills program that was both accessible and affordable for young professionals, Monica decided to create her own. She founded Speak for Success in 2019, putting her nine years of experience working in operations, entrepreneurship and innovation—and her passion for communications skills training—to work. Monica holds an MSc. in Social Innovation & Sustainability with a specialization in Impact Entrepreneurship from HEC Paris, a BA(H) from Queen's University, and she completed a Fellowship at Yale.

Charito Kaay, MEng.

Facilitator & Communications Coach

Learn About Charito
Charito has 20 years of teaching experience; a former instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnique University in the Environmental Protection Technology program and serves as Vice President of Education in two thriving Toastmasters Clubs (Money Matters Advanced and Declarations for Success Toastmasters). She is also an alumnus of the University of British Columbia obtaining her Bachelors in Bio-Resource Engineering and Masters in Civil Engineering. She was an Environmental Project Manager overseeing environmental remediation projects relating to contaminated sites within the Lower Mainland and acted as BC Operations Manager for a large national oil and gas company. With a dedication to manager excellence development in both technical and communication skills (in and out of the boardroom) she quickly advanced to Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) during her 10 year career. It is at that time she acted as a mentor and supervisor to numerous junior female technical staff, whom she continues to help to flourish in their careers. Charito’s passion is empowering emerging female leaders through learned adaptive communications skills. As a member of Toastmaster International, she is the recipient of the 2022 Leader Empowering Others (LEO) Award and currently the District Public Relations Manager 2022-2023.
Dorothea Hendriks

Dorothea Hendriks

Facilitator & Communications Coach

Learn About Dorothea
Dorothea has 25 years of coaching experience. She’s a Toastmaster, a former provincial champion speaker, and the recipient of the prestigious Toastmasters Presidential Citation presented to only a select few people worldwide. Her passion lies in working with professionals and entrepreneurs, helping them master their public speaking and presentation skills. A former instructor at Vancouver Community College and alumni of the University of British Columbia, Dorothea is an educator, speaking coach, and consultant with an approach to training that’s light-hearted, fun, supportive, and intense. She has traveled across Canada delivering communication and presentation skills workshops, helping over 5000 people become more confident and engaging communicators along the way.
Libby McCready

Libby McCready, MA CCC

Facilitator & Executive Communications 

Learn About Libby
Libby is an Entrepreneur, Adventurer and Training & Development Executive. Most recently, she was head of sales training for three of Canada’s largest asset managers and most recently Vice President of Training & Development at Mackenzie Investments. Libby has a Master of Arts in Organizational Learning & Leadership, Royal Roads University and has snowshoed 100km across the Arctic Circle. At 58, Libby was oldest of the all-women’s expedition that raised over $1million for the True Patriot Love Foundation that supports Canada's service members, veterans and their families, promoting re-integration into communities following service and rehabilitation and recovery from injury.

Our team

Monica M. Vucko, MSc.

Founder, Program Director & Facilitator

Learn About Monica
After spending years searching for a communication skills program that was both accessible and affordable for young professionals, Monica decided to create her own. She founded Speak for Success in 2019, putting her nine years of experience working in operations, entrepreneurship and innovation—and her passion for communications skills training—to work. Monica holds an MSc. in Social Innovation & Sustainability with a specialization in Impact Entrepreneurship from HEC Paris, a BA(H) from Queen's University, and she completed a Fellowship at Yale.

Maya Saggar, PhD.

Learning &
Development Specialist

Learn About Maya
Maya Saggar is a passionate creator, educator and entrepreneur. Maya is a doctoral student at the University of Calgary, pursuing her Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Learning.

Laurel Brown

Website Development

Learn About Laurel
Laurel is a passionate and dedicated website designer & developer. She has been developing websites since 2018 and to date has worked on over 300 projects serving clients all over Canada, the United States and Australia.
Melanie Badali

Dr. Melanie Badali, PhD., RPsych.

Advisor, Workplace Stress & Anxiety

Learn About Melanie
Dr. Melanie Badali is a Registered Psychologist with over 20 years of experience helping clients achieve personal change. She consults with executives and professionals who want to proactively increase resilience, maximize productivity, and improve well-being. She is certified in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy by the Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies and is the Scientific Advisor at Anxiety Canada. Dr. Badali obtained her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Clinical Psychology from the University of British Columbia and she holds a B.A. (Honours Psychology) degree from McGill University. Dr. Badali is also a mental health advocate and shares her expertise through public speaking, media communication, and writing. She has been interviewed or quoted in various print, radio, television, and online media outlets, including CBC, Global News, the Globe & Mail and CTV.

Current Opportunities

We’re not hiring at the moment, but we’re always open to connecting with people who are interested in supporting our mission. If you’d like to learn more about Speak for Success, let’s chat!

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