Episode 63: Ageism Leadership: Paving the Way for the Aging Population in the Workforce

This episode was created from my heart for you. ♥ Helen Hirsh Spence has spent her career as an educator and in more recent years as an independent consultant, adviser and entrepreneur. As a principal, headmistress and President of the Ontario Principals’ Council (representative for over 5000 public school principals), she has devoted her career to assessing and evaluating the performance of children and adults in order to maximize potential and success. This has necessitated a good understanding of metrics, indicators of success and both qualitative and quantitative research. Helen has a proven record in designing state of the art, original programming for varied audiences which has contributed to her success as an advisor and consultant since 2007. Helen designs retreats and delivers seminars and workshops that are rooted in research and in practice. As a respected facilitator and motivational speaker, Helen is a strong performer in multicultural environments with the ability to gain trust and build rapport quickly among those with diverse backgrounds, interests and life circumstances. Helen conveys a natural enthusiasm for learning and a gift for motivating both colleagues and audiences. She is fluent in French, German and Spanish. Over 30 years of her experience was dedicated to public education with the largest school board in Eastern Ontario (87,000 students and over 4000 employees). She was enlisted to participate and conduct research, present it to superiors, trustees and at national professional associations (CSSE). She developed innovative programs for the induction of teachers, principals, and administrative staff and published them in refereed journals. Each project was always rigorously evaluated. In her role as the political representative for principals in the province of Ontario, she was in regular contact with Ministry officials in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of standards, projects, courses, performance appraisals and provincial tests. Helen’s formal studies extend beyond a Masters”‘degree, having taken numerous courses to qualify as both principal and superintendent and more recently training in a new psychometric evaluative tool, Emergenetics. Her understanding of how to design projects for implementation is extensive as she has continued this as a consultant and as Chair of several boards. Understanding how to effect change, demonstrate impact and results was a major focus of her voluntary work as Chair of the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada. All projects funded by CIDA, now GAC, had to undergo rigorous assessment and evaluation. Helen is committed to building a strong community and is active in several local organizations and boards. She also serves as a mentor and life coach to youth and new immigrants. Website: https://www.topsixtyoversixty.com/