Celebrating Women in Leadership

As the Toastmasters 2021 World Champion of Public Speaking, Verity captured the imagination of so many with her winning speech ‘A Great Read,’ an inspiring invitation to improve our lives by “writing a different story”. She was the sixth woman to be crowned the title, as well as the first World Champion from Africa.

Her talent for ‘acting out the box,’ rather than merely thinking out of it, has brought international success for Verity, speaking globally on innovation and thinking differently, including her two TEDx Talks.

Verity is also an accredited De Bono Six Thinking Hats facilitator and an advocate for Positive Psychology. Crafting speeches and workshops over the last decade, she passionately believes that change happens when teams have the confidence to create new ideas.

Raised in urban Pakistan, Farzana Chohan is a highly accomplished, thought leader, recognized and respected for her non-profit leadership, advocacy for human-centered inclusion initiatives, women in STEM, and philanthropic accomplishments.

She is also an executive, experienced in diverse and forward-leading concepts for organizations, systems, and processes of leadership inclusion, equity, and belonging. She has held leadership positions in architecture, international non-profit, and organizational management. Farzana is known as an inspirational leader and a globally recognized expert committed to developing high-performing teams, investing in leadership development, mentoring, and nurturing organizational culture.

She has been a guiding light through her research and writings on mentoring, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Farzana authored two thought-provoking books, “Subtle,” around unconscious bias, and “Leadership in Women: Thrive.”

Lark Doley served as the 2018-19 Toastmasters International President, the sixth female in this role since 1973, when women were accepted as members of Toastmasters. Lark has also worked as a marketing manager for Texas Instruments, owned a successful manufacturing business called Second Wave, Inc., and served as the Texas Project Enrollment Broker Training Manager for Maximus Inc., until her retirement in March 2021.

Lark often wears gold at Toastmasters events to signify the “golden benefits” she feels she developed through membership in Toastmasters. “Toastmasters is an organization that empowers its members to develop self-confidence through improved communication and leadership skills,” she says. “During the pandemic, the mission of our organization became even more valuable, as we supported our global membership with online meetings that promoted enrichment and encouragement.”

Patricia Dzifa Mensah-Larkai is an experienced leadership and communication coach, as well as a conference speaker, corporate trainer, and a two-time author. Her first book, “Fearless, Fabulous and Flamboyant” seeks to shape the mindsets of leaders and help them identify their purpose in life and the values they need to reach their desired end. The second, “Untangling That Tongue – No More Fear of Public Speaking,” seeks to empower individuals with the skillsets, toolsets, and mindsets for a great public speaking life. Her passion lies in social entrepreneurship, helping members of society make an impact and scale higher heights.

Patricia is the event coordinator for World Speech Day Accra and currently works as an administrator with the Ghana Boundary Commission.