Speaking

Keynotes, Presentations & Trainings

Homa is a sought-after speaker for keynotes, presentations and professional development days. Combining 20 years of innovation and education experience with cutting-edge research, Homa’s presentations inform as they inspire — calling participants to re-imagine the promise of our classrooms, companies and communities. 

 

Homa starts with empathy and insight but leads audiences to the practical application of skills — communication, collaboration and the ability to reflect deeply on the value of diversity, inclusivity and innovation. Together with her audiences, Homa explores the qualities, attitudes and skills people and teams need to create equitable, inclusive, learning communities.

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  • Homa Avenues audience_CROP
  • Homa presents to big group in Chicago
  • Homa speaking at 4Seasons

KEY THEMES

Key themes Homa often addresses include:

  • Global citizenship
  • Beyond Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Cultural competence
  • Unlocking the power of purpose, innovation and belonging
  • Creating cultures of equity and belonging
  • New skills for Transformative leadership
  • Beyond empathy to equity, access and inclusion
  • The quest for racial justice and relationships
  • Futures thinking and strategic foresight
  • Creative problem-solving for multicultural schools and workplaces
  • How to Reset, Reinvent, Reflect for post-pandemic learning

SAMPLE PRESENTATION TOPICS

Global Leadership & Global Citizenship

Amidst a culture shift toward preparing students for career success with rigorous “hard” skills, how can we make sure student interests and potential are cultivated around what matters — living a life of meaning and change-making as global citizens in a rapidly changing world? 

 

This presentation helps connect the dots between big-picture, mindset-building skills and detail-oriented strategies to build global competence, empathy and relevance in learning.

Homa shares hard lessons learned through creating the widely-acclaimed workbook Global Kids and working with educators striving to bring the world into their classrooms. Explore what it takes to recognize implicit bias and cultural appropriation, and discuss strategies to decolonize learning, respect diverse parenting styles and face sensitive topics, such as history, politics, religion, gender and culture in age-appropriate ways. Translate these insights into deeper engagement for global and cultural competence. Learn about tools, techniques and talking points for leaning into these challenging issues, and how to foster belonging and inclusion, whatever the demographics of your school or workplace.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

What would it take to build a school, company or community culture centered around unifying principles that value each member of the community? Explore practices, approaches and skills that unlock the power of diversity to release creativity, empathy and innovation and nurture genuine relationships.

Speaking up with courage and confidence, takes confidence born of practice, deep empathy, and a commitment to racial literacy and impact over good intent. Learn some key principles, techniques and talking points for embracing, not avoiding, the difficult conversations around differences, starting with small, doable action steps that anyone, from any background can take.

Education Leadership

Amidst pandemic exhaustion, the pull to going “back to normal” is strong. But let’s remember that “normal” is what caused many of the dysfunctions we face today: social and racial injustice, rising income inequality, climate change, information illiteracy, and high anxiety and isolation among youth. The challenge for educators is to consider how not to go back, but to go forward to create schools that are more relevant, more equitable, and more just for all children. To do so requires a deep interrogation of the fundamentals that drive school. We need to reset, reflect, reinvent. This keynote will challenge you to grapple with nine crucial questions on a personal level, and to confront a new narrative for educators in this moment of huge disruption and change.

Creating a new future of schooling calls for educators and leaders to see the world as it is, not as it was. It requires understanding new contexts, and building new lenses around vital questions of world, purpose, change, power and our stories. This session will push your thinking to embrace the new realities, or lenses, of the post-pandemic world. Each of the lenses will help you frame new questions and conversations that are fundamental to creating an experience of school for kids that will help them move beyond surviving, to thriving in whatever future they inherit.

SPEAKING AND CONSULTING CLIENTS (partial list)

Conferences and Associations

South by Southwest Interactive

South by Southwest EDU 

Learning and the Brain Conference

TEDxNYED

Independent Schools Association of the Central States

New Jersey Association of International Schools

Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools

California Association of Independent Schools

Connecticut Association of Independent Schools

Florida Council for Independent Schools

Enrollment Management Association

Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools 

Association for the Advancement of International Education

Mediterranean Association of International Schools

Association of American Schools in South America

Tri-Association

East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS)

Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA)

Global Education Forum, Asia Society, 

National Education Association Foundation

Partnership for 21st Century Skills now known as Battelle for Kids

7 Mindsets

The Pulitzer Center

Quiet Education

Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms – U.S. State Department 

Office of Overseas Schools – U.S. State Department

National Association of Independent Schools, People of Color Conference 

National Association of Independent Schools (various events)

University of Pennsylvania (various departments)

Building Learning Communities

N2 Learning

International Schools Services

 

U.S. Schools + Orgs

Bexley City School District – OH

Wake County Public Schools – NC

Chicago Public Schools

High Tech High, San Diego – CA

Traverse City Area Public Schools – MI

Frisco Independent School District – TX

Interboro School District – PA

Green Vale School – NY

Baldwin School – PA

Moorestown Friends School – NJ

Harvey School – NY

Friends Academy – NY

Packer Collegiate – NY

Town School for Boys – CA

Shore Country Day School – MA

Fay School – MA

Andrews Osborne Academy – OH

Wellington School – OH

Linden Hall School – PA

Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Iranian American Women Foundation

Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church

King School, Connecticut

McCallie School, Tennessee

D39 (San Diego) – CA

Haverford School – PA

Germantown Academy – PA

Academy of Notre Dame de Namur – PA

Virginia Chance School – KY

Meredith Dunn School – KY

University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Worldview Program

Blackbaud K-12 annual conference

International Schools + Orgs

Zurich International School

Vientiane (Laos) International School

The International Community School of Addis Ababa

International School of Dakar

Al-Rayan International School (Ghana)

American International School of Johannesburg

Marymount School, Barranquilla, Colombia

The Columbus School, Medellin

American Embassy School, New Delhi

International School of Paris

Lincoln School (Buenos Aires)

Lincoln School (Kathmandu)

American International School Vienna

American School of Madrid

American International School of Chennai

Canadian International School of Singapore

The Overseas School of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Avenues the World School – NY and Brazil

School of the Nations – Brazil

American International School – Dubai

Daystar and Ivy Schools – Beijing

Leadership Committee for English Education in Quebec

Global Education Benchmarking Group

Live Curious, Go Beyond Conference, Mexico

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

“Thank you for Friday’s in-service with Homa. It was an incredible, thought-provoking day — the best professional development day I have ever experienced! Homa is an amazing person who created a profound experience that will stay with me for a long time.”

 

– Teacher, The Wellington School, Columbus Ohio

“…the Ambassadors LOVED you and your presentation. It received 5 out of 5 from every single post-conference survey respondent.”

 

– Nancy Traversy, CEO Barefoot Books

“When Homa Tavangar visited our school and met with students, faculty, and parents to discuss the critical importance of raising our children to be individuals who are respectful of differences, she impacted our entire school community. Her words continue to resonate in our curricular programs and in our school culture. Homa has been our guiding light as we strive to support an increased global awareness for our students.”

 

– Kathy Beam, Head of School, Meredith-Dunn School, Louisville, Kentucky

“Homa Tavangar inspired our World View audience at our global education symposium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Participants left her presentation wanting more professional development in global education for themselves and more globally centered classrooms for their students. Thanks to Homa’s content, skill building techniques and strategies, great change will happen in North Carolina classrooms.”

 

– Charlé LaMonica, Director, World View at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“Homa was truly an inspiration. Her presentation was accessible, honest, thoughtful and non-judgmental. I came away with a real feeling of hopefulness for the future and some concrete things I could immediately do. She’s an incredible speaker and could make a real difference for our community.”

 

– Teacher, Wellesley Massachusetts Public  Schools

“When I think of Homa Tavangar the words that come to mind are warmth, caring and purpose. These traits comfort and inspire as Homa guides us to take brave steps to reinvent education. As author, consultant and presenter, Homa’s body of work is impressive. Educators who listen to Homa and learn with Homa leave feeling empowered. As one of our NESA delegates, following Homa’s keynote, shared: ‘Transformation is not impossible; it is within our reach.The transformation is real and we will emerge changed; As we reinvent education, there is great hope for the future.’ Always with a focus on student learning and well being, Homa Tavangar helps educators see possibilities and make transformation real.”

 

– Maddy Hewitt, Executive Director, Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA)