Hosted by LMU Lions Toastmasters
District 1 invites you to learn from four accomplished Toastmasters who have achieved Toastmasters International highest honor of Accredited Speaker.
These panelists are prepared to talk to you about their journey in Toastmaster, becoming an Accredited Speaker and how both have lead to great successes throughout their professional career and personal lives.
Panelists
Dilip R. Abayasekara, Ph.D., M.Div., DTM, AS, PIP
Dilip Abayasekara, Ph.D., A.S. has trained and inspired thousands of people in almost every State in the USA and in nine other countries since he launched his training and speech coaching company in 1994. The mission of his company, Dr. Dilip, LLC is to enable individuals and organizations to unleash their communication and performance potential.
One of his favorite quotes is, “If you want to change the world, look at the world with new eyes.” Dr. Abayasekara (known affectionately as “Dr. Dilip” by many of his clients and colleagues) has helped people discover their “new eyes” through his private, customized speech coaching and training workshops in the areas of communication and presentation skills, creative thinking, teamwork, leadership, customer service, spirituality, and inspirational keynotes. Dr. Dilip is on the speaking circuit for the Institute of Management Studies, is an adjunct faculty member for Central Penn College in the areas of oral communication and Comparative Religion, and is associate pastor of Middlesex United Methodist Church.
A partial list of his clients include: Hershey Corporation, Northrop Grumman, PNC Bank, Mid-Atlantic Corporate Federal Credit Union, The US Army EEO Office, The Government of Sri Lanka, The Department of Housing and Urban Development, the United Nations Development Programme, Swarthmore College, Central Penn College, and Baltimore City Community College.
Dilip is the author of The Path of the Genie: Your Journey to Your Heart’s Desire and co-author of Public Speaking with Power, Passion, and Purpose (published in India). He was twice a finalist at Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking, placing second in 1992. He served as International President of Toastmasters in 2005-2006.
Dilip was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He attended college in the USA, earning a B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Florida, a Ph.D. in Organic and Polymer Chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University, and a M.Div. at Wesley Theological Seminary. After a 12-year career as an industrial scientist, he surrendered to his avocation – connecting, influencing, and enriching others through the power of the spoken word.
Dana LaMon, DTM, WCPS, AS
Dana LaMon, a 29-year veteran of Toastmasters, is a Distinguished Toastmaster, an Accredited Speaker, and the 1992 World Champion of Public Speaking. He is a member of two Toastmasters clubs in California (District 33).
Having had experience speaking in churches and at schools, Dana joined Toastmasters with the goal to improve his ability to use humor and gestures in his public speaking. His goals were soon revised when he witnessed District 33’s International Speech Contest in 1989. In 1991 he placed second in the World Championship.
Dana LaMon earned the distinction of World Champion of Public Speaking in 1992 with his speech titled “Take a Chance.” He offered ways to get past the barriers of fear, comfort, and indifference that keep us from winning the jackpot from within. In 1993 Toastmasters added to his honors the Accredited Speaker designation, an accolade given to a Toastmaster who demonstrates professionalism in speaking. Until 2016, Dana was the only Toastmaster who had become both World Champion of Public Speaking and Accredited Speaker.
Dana’s mission is to make each moment meaningful for every person with whom he interacts. He offers a four-pillared structure in which one can establish a permanent place for making decisions toward meaningful actions. He does so with the belief that at some point in our lives we all will ask the question, “Have I made a difference in this world?” His fourth book is Making the Moment Meaningful: Creating a Path to Purpose and Fulfillment. He also has written and published The Soul’s Mirror: Reflections on the Fulness of Life; The Excellence Book: 104 Principles for Living and Working; and Master the Ceremonies: The Emcee’s Handbook for Excellence.
Dana is a graduate of Yale University and the law school of the University of Southern California. He retired in 2010 from his position as Administrative Law Judge for the California Department of Social Services after twenty-nine years of service.
Eldonna Lewis Fernandez, MSgt USAF Retired, ACS, ALB, AS
Eldonna Lewis Fernandez is the CEO of Dynamic Vision International
based in Irvine, California. She specializes in showing people how to Think Like A Negotiator. Eldonna has negotiated hundreds of millions of dollars of complex contracts. She has been a featured expert on Fox Business… CNN… MSNBC ..
and been published in the Huffington Post, Forbes and Success Magazine.
She has authored 2 books including Think Like A Negotiator: 50 ways to create win-win results by understanding the pitfalls to avoid, has co-authored the award-winning Heart of a Military Woman book and is a contributing author in 4 books including the Heart of a Toastmaster.
Eldonna is a retired Air Force Master Sergeant and Contracts Negotiation Expert with 23 years of honorable military service and over 30 years of leadership, management and contracts negotiation experience.
Eldonna is the 68th Toastmaster and only the 15th woman to receive the coveted Accredited Speaker Designation and the first in District 1 in the 35-year history of the program.
Sheryl Roush, DTM, PDG, AS
Sheryl Roush, DTM, Past District 5 Governor, is CEO of Sparkle Presentations, Inc. She has given over 3,500 in 12 countries. In 1993 Toastmasters awarded Sheryl their elite designation of Accredited Speaker, judged in six categories. As of 2016, only 69 people in 142 countries had received the honor since 1981. In 2009, she was honored to receive the Presidential Citation from International President Jana Barnhill, also an Accredited Speaker.
A Professional Member of the National Speakers Association since 1990, both the San Diego and LA Chapters honored her with “Member of the Year,” as well as their Golden Microphone. As a conference keynoter, she has opened for Marie Osmond, closed for Geena Davis, and been on programs with Olivia Newton-John, Marcus Buckingham and Suze Orman.
A 17-time award-winning published author, Heart of a Toastmaster received “Best Anthology” from the International Book Awards. She also received the 2016 Author of Influence. Her clients include: Deepak Chopra’s lecturers; the Charger Girl cheerleaders (17 seasons); Intuit’s TurboTax® sales team; San Diego Zoo & Safari Park; Southwest Airlines; UCI and UCLA; and the US Olympic Training Center training our US Olympians.
Schedule
November 3, 2017
6:00 PM – Registration
9:00 PM – Adjourn
Location
Loyola Marymount University
1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, California 90045
Price
$25