Award-winning speaker, consultant, real estate professional by day and aerial acrobat by night, Anna is fiercely passionate about social impact and inspiring resilience. She consults for non-profit and government organizations, primarily child welfare and victim services, on fundraising and program development. By way of public speaking across Canada, Anna seeks to inspire leadership, resilience and meaningful change across industries. Drawing from her personal and professional experiences, Anna speaks on topics such as, cultivating leadership and opportunity in face of adversity, and vicarious trauma and resilience. Notably, she has been invited to speak to the United Nations, government, corporate, non-profit and educational organizations including the Ontario and New Brunswick Legislature, CIBC, HSBC, University of Toronto, University of Monction, Toronto and Ontario Police College, and Children’s Aid Societies. Anna is also regarded as a trusted-advisor on non-profit boards and committees including the Lynn Factor Stand Up for Kids National Award Committee.
“Drawing from her experiences as a trauma survivor, orphan and former crisis counsellor…”
Anna has facilitated powerful keynote presentations to audiences of 1200+ people at one time with the intent to inspire resilience, leadership, and meaningful change within her clients’ respective industries. Often in the media as an advocate and ambassador, in Fall 2019, Anna graduated with an Honours Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Toronto after receiving the prestigious Factor-Inwentash Entrance Scholarship awarded to the Top 20 Applicants of over 1000 applicants. She was subsequently featured as the prime subject of University of Toronto’s Annual and Leadership Giving Campaign.
“powerful keynote presentations to…inspire resilience, leadership, and meaningful change”
SELECTED SPEAKING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Facilitated keynote addresses at conferences, corporate, government, educational and social services environments
• Presented to over 1500 service providers in areas including, health care, social work, child welfare, education, and law enforcement including the Toronto and Ontario Police Colleges
• Conducted workshops for 1,000+ students cumulatively
• Presented to the United Nations on the Rapporteur of the Child
SELECT LECTURES
• Ryerson University: Contemporary Legal Issues in Canada – Guest Lecturer
• Ryerson University, Social Work Undergraduate Students – Panelist
• York University, Master of Social Work Students – Guest co-lecturer
• University of Toronto, Master of Social Work Students with Ontario’s Provincial Advocate – Guest co-lecturer
SELECT CLIENTS
Education
• University of Toronto
• Ryerson University
• York University
• Universite de Moncton
• Toronto, York, Durham and Peel District School Board
Corporate
• CIBC
• HSBC
• Toronto Police Services
• Ontario Police Services
• Chinese Business Association
• Sobeys
Government
• United Nations Rapporteur on the Rights of Children
• Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
• Durham Children’s Aid Society
Non-profit
• Sick Kids Hospital
• Canadian Foster Parent Association
• Malvern Family Resource Center
• Rotary Club (Toronto Eglinton, and East York)
• Children’s Aid Foundation
• Ontario Association of Social Workers
• CBC
• CTV
• Sportsnet
• TVO: The Agenda
• CBC Radio (Metro Morning; Ontario Today)
KEYNOTE TOPICS
1) Adversity = Opportunity (Cultivating Leadership)
Adversity is a catalyst for opportunity. This 20-30 minute talk is designed for professional groups or conferences seeking to inspire leadership, resilience and success in their personal and professional lives. This talk has previously been delivered at events and conferences for corporate clients, educators, students, and trauma workers including police officers and mental health professionals.
Anna Ho believes that hope exists in every circumstance regardless of how bad things appear. This motivational presentation draws on her journey to recovery and success after losing her family to a violent double-murder suicide. Despite this, Anna has cultivated resilience through faith, dance, and achieved exceptional success in her social work career leading her to receive the Attorney General’s Victim Services Award of Distinction. Most recently, she decided to change careers from social work to commercial real estate – a challenge that Anna turned into an advantageous opportunity.
2) Let’s Talk Graduation: Easing Anxiety in Face of Uncertainty
This 20-30 minute talk is designed for graduating students in high school, postsecondary or mature student cohorts.
Leaving the comfort of what’s known and the routine of studying can be daunting. “What’s going to happen to me in the “real world?” “My friend has already received multiple job offers, how long will it take me to secure a job?” “The job prospects don’t look optimistic, how do I stand out?” These are some questions many graduating students are asking themselves.
But you’ve made it this far! By harnessing experiences of overcoming past hardship and failures, the Graduation Talk aims to ease anxiety, affirm skills/talents, and expands the capacity and perspective of graduating students. The audience will leave feeling more confident and inspired to tackle the next chapter of their lives.
3) Vicarious Trauma and Resilience
Feeling burnout? Compassion fatigue? You are not alone. Drawing on her experiences as a trauma/crisis counsellor providing practical and emotional support to victims in the immediate aftermath of crime and sudden tragedies, Anna shares practical tools service providers can use to inspire vicarious resilience in the workplace while acknowledging the risks of our emotionally tasking work.
This 20-40 minute talk is designed for trauma workers and professionals such as police officers, social workers, and therapists working with survivors of trauma.
ABOUT ANNA
Prior to her venture in real estate, Anna’s background is in the social work and non-profit sectors. From leading an award-winning project, fundraising over $68 million, crisis counselling, advocating across Canada, consulting and often speaking in media, Anna is trusted advisor, experienced social worker and adept leader. She has worked with individuals and groups in a variety of settings including Toronto Police Services, hospitals, child protection agencies, provincial and federal government, dance studios, camps, and non-profit organizations. Click here to view biography.
NOTABLE AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
In recognition of her work in serving victims of crime and children/youth in care, Anna received the Attorney General’s Victim Services Award of Distinction. Click here for more about Anna.