Speaking | Channel of Peace

"Kevin has an amazing story of compassion to tell, and he does it in an engaging and compelling way."

Lynne Reeder, Charter for Compassion Australia

Kevin is headed to speak at a town near you. See the latest schedule below. If your company, organization, school or house of worship would like to invite him to speak, send an email with details here.

With more than 25 years of public speaking experience, he's an expert at storytelling and motivating audiences. He conducts keynote speeches, group presentations and training, and traditional book readings. Each one usually includes book sales and signing. Watch Tuerff's sample talks and see his related experience at SpeakersHub.

Keynote: "The Ripple Effect of Compassion & Climate Change"

Our world today struggles to cope with helping 25 million refugees across the globe. Imagine if that number were 10 times higher, with more than 250 million refugees displaced due to extreme weather and climate change.

When Kevin Tuerff's 9/11 flight from Paris to New York City was diverted from the North Atlantic to Gander, Newfoundland, he experienced remarkable compassion from Canadians. Over seven days in two foreign countries, Tuerff got a taste of what a refugee experiences.

Tuerff was a five-time delegate to UN climate change conventions and offers adaptation insights for business and government.

UNICEF, World Affairs Council of Atlanta, Sept 2017

TEDx Talk: "Compassion is the New Life Hack" (culture)

Scientific research shows performing random acts of kindness is good for your health. Kevin Tuerff started the annual Pay it Forward 9/11 movement in 2002, and this year it expanded from the US and Canada, to the UK and Australia. Tuerff shares heart-warming stories from both recipients and participants from among the best of 19 years of the practice. The basis for this began when he became a stranded airline passenger in Gander, Newfoundland on September 11, 2001. He explains how kindness and compassion for strangers produces the same brain chemistry as a runner's high, without doing any exercise. With more citizens participating in the movement, cities will reduce human suffering. Tuerff wrote about kindness and refugees in his memoir, “Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11.”

In today's age of deep polarization, Tuerff shares how companies and local governments can lead with compassion.

Thiel College, Greenville, Penn.

Surreal redefined: When you have a doppelgänger in a Tony-Award winning musical (Arts & entertainment)

Imagine if your miserable flight diversion years later became the basis for an international smash-hit musical. Kevin Tuerff's 9/11 story is one of the major stories influencing the Canadian born musical Come From Away, now playing on Broadway in New York City, in Toronto, in London's West End, a North American touring company and another company in Australia. Hollywood producer Mark Gordon is developing a film adaptation.

There are now five doppelgänger actors portraying "Kevin T" in four countries. Tuerff shares how his story, just one of the 6,579 stranded airline passengers and crew, made its way into the script of the musical. He shares how the experience with other "Come From Aways" and Newfoundlanders portrayed in the musical has formed a bond similar to having a second family. Audiences will hear several behind-the-scenes stories from this uplifting Broadway musical.