Youth & Innovation Project's managing director Ilona Dougherty is a popular keynote speaker, who speaks to audiences internationally about the value that young people have to offer to society and the economy. Ilona can be booked to speak at your event through Speaker's Spotlight @ requests@speakers.ca.
Upcoming speaking events:
- October 28th 2025: Valentina will be speaking at the Counsellor Networking Day in Mississauga, Ontario.
- November 26th 2025: Ilona will be speaking at the Real Property Institute of Canada National Summit in Ottawa, Ontario.
- January 21st or 22nd 2026: Ilona will be speaking at the Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association Operations, Health & Safety Seminar in Mississauga, Ontario.
Recent speaking events:
- April 16th 2025: Valentina led a workshop on Impact Measurement and Evaluation at the Abundance Fellowship: Group Convergence event.
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November 15th 2024: Valentina participated in a panel on 'Amplifying Youth Impact and Building Intergenerational Teams' at the Beyond 2025 Conference hosted by Scouts Canada.
Past Clients
We are grateful to have supported with the following organisations through keynotes and presentations:
Testimonials
"Ilona Dougherty made the day worthwhile. She was engaging and provided practical advice and strategy."
- Participant, Department of National Defense Minister's Student Event
"The feedback we received was tremendous, Ilona’s presentation opened people’s eyes.”
- Sharad Kerur, Executive Director, Ontario Non Profit Housing Association
“We are not only happy that Ilona Dougherty came to speak on this important topic, but she is also an excellent example of an intelligent, energetic, young leader working hard to make a difference in our country.”
- The Right Honourable Kim Campbell, Founding Principal – Peter Lougheed Leadership College, University of Alberta
"Both our current (and future) students were inspired by your talk, and I’ve had several students approach me directly after the event and indicate that they were first timid, but are now inspired to take action on what they care about (yeah!).”
- Tania Del Matto, Director of GreenHouse - St. Paul’s University College
“With practical examples, research and humour, Ilona’s combination of insight and analysis brought our understanding of young adult engagement to a whole new level. So many people know that engaging young people is a critical issue, but Ilona allowed us to understand the Why and How of young adult engagement.”
- Organizer, Canadian Race Relations Foundation Conference
“We are grateful to have had someone of your expertise and credentials to address our group about engaging youth. It was a terrific presentation.”
- Coordinator, Canadian Ski Patrol Conference