Denise Withers

Storyteller-in-residence: Future of Hockey Lab (project overview)

In 2020, two sports leaders in Nova Scotia dreamed of a day when everyone would be able to play ice hockey and feel welcome. So they launched a scrappy start-up, called the Future of Hockey Lab. Their timing couldn't have been better. Major sponsors…

No More Leftovers

When she was 11 years old, Christina Lamey got kicked out of minor hockey in Cape Breton. Not because she was violent, or lacked talent. Because she was a girl. And the league didn't know what to do with her. "I lost everything that day. My identity.…

Ending the culture of silence​

The silence stung, former NHL defenceman Mark Fraser admits. He'd just retired from a 14-year career as a professional hockey player when the Black Lives Matter movement swept the world after George Floyd's murder in 2020. Like many other athletes,…

Synthetic Ice

"This isn't going to work," they both muttered, then laughed at the jinx. It was a tough insight for Leonard Roberts and Matt English to accept. But in their gut, they knew it was right. It had only been a couple of months since they'd joined the…

Building community with hockey​

At first, he couldn't figure it out, because racism hadn't been a big issue in his life until then. But after watching the white kids at practice and seeing how much better he was, the truth hit him hard."I was sitting on the bench. And I was not…

Digital info for hockey newcomers

It all started with a text message asking university student Omar Hamdan what he was doing for the weekend. The next thing he knew, he and his two friends, Naser Ibrahem and Muhammed Bsoul, were jammed in a car with family friend Ahmad Hussein,…

Getting Ready for Hockey

WhenDr. Ahmad Hussein opened online registration for a new Intro to Hockey program at the Ummah Mosque and Community Center, he couldn't believe what happened next. In less than ten minutes, the program went viral, with community members snapping up…

Climate Action Plan Change Story: District of Sooke

When they were ready to start developing their climate action plan, leaders at the District of Sooke knew they'd need more than technical data and analyses; they'd need to be able to engage citizens, staff, businesses, community leaders and partners…

Improving DEI through education

As the Coaching Lead for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Mentorship at the Canadian Sport Center Atlantic in Halifax, Andrew has strong connections in sports and curling in particular. So he started there, by founding a not-for-profit called the…

Selling your big ideas: JIBC (project overview)

We can come up with the best services, designs and strategies in the world. But we're never going to create change if no one knows about or adopts them. After spending over a year collecting stories and engaging collaborators across their ecosystem,…

How to tell your research story: UBC Ocean Leaders (project overview)

Learning to tell your story in "plain language" can be really tough for researchers who've spent the last 4-10 years having to write academically. Yet, it's a critical skill if they hope to be able to find funding, jobs or support for their work. So…

How Stories Can Make You Smarter | Denise Withers | TEDxSurrey

Making change is hard. The truth is that we fail 70% of the time. But it doesn't have to be that way. In this groundbreaking talk, award-winning storyteller and coach Denise Withers shows us how we can get unstuck and create the future we want with…

Book Title: Adaptation Learning Network Final Report

Inspiring Climate Action This is the story of the development of the Adaptation Learning Network, a 3-year professional learning program led by Dr. Robin Cox at Royal Roads University to accelerate climate adaptation capacity-building in British…

Climate Action Innovation: Adaptation Learning Network (project overview)

We’re losing more to climate change than ever before. And one of the reasons is a lack of leadership on climate action – in particular, adaptation. So when I was offered the chance to help the leadership team of the new Adaptation Learning Network…

Denise Withers: Storytelling For Problem Solving

“I firmly believe that culture is essentially just a collection of stories that define how we think and how we behave. In a very simple organizational example, if you're sitting in a meeting and somebody speaks up to question what their boss says and…

Story Telling & Transformation with Denise Withers

With all the facts around us in this age of information, have you ever wondered why we're still not any better at changing the world in terms of climate change, social equity, and the likes? Maybe facts are just not enough to nudge us to do the right…

Climate Workforce Readiness: The Climate Adaptation Competency Framework

There are many unknown implications of climate change on labour markets. However, climate change will undoubtedly have broad consequences for employment, including workforce regulations, the growth of new green jobs, and identifying skills…

Denise Withers, Author of Story Design: The Creative Way to Innovate

If you want a better future, you need a better story. “Leading change has never been tougher,” Denise Withers says. “Fear, apathy, and uncertainty have paralyzed most of the world, making it almost impossible to engage people in even the most…

eco-Options customer pitch story. Three versions

Three versions of a customer pitch story for an alternative energy start-up, including 1 sentence, 1 minute and 5 minutes / 11 slides.

SeaLegacy's Story of the Future

Envisioning report featuring stories of the future to share SeaLegacy's strategy and inspire support.