The Sweeney Agency

About Dr. Roberta Bondar - Motivational Speaker and Canada's First Female Astronaut:

Named one of North America's Best Explorers by Time magazine, Dr. Roberta Bondar is the world's first neurologist in space, and Canada's first female astronaut. As a noted NASA astronaut, Dr. Bondar has experience in working very closely with cross functional teams to overcome disaster management, disorientation and adaptive decisions. In her talks, she examines the leadership decisions that need to be considered and implemented in order to rapidly emerge from major disruptions in your business. As a space scientist and neurologist, Dr. Bondar motivates and inspires as she makes exciting connections between how our brains adapt in space and how we can adapt to constantly changing corporate environments, here on Earth.

Dr. Bondar has been recognized with the NASA space Medal, the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and is a Laureate of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and of the International Women's Forum Hall of Fame. She has received 24 honorary degrees from North American universities and is featured on the 2003 Canada Post Roberta Bondar Astronaut stamp. In 2009, Concordia University awarded her the Loyola Medal in recognition of her leadership and commitment to the environment and education. There are five schools in Canada named after Dr. Bondar in recognition of her pioneering leadership in space, medicine and the environment, with the most recent officially opened in 2009.

Aboard the Discovery mission STS-42 in 1992 Dr. Bondar conducted experiments for 14 countries in the space shuttle's First International Microgravity Laboratory. For more than a decade at NASA and at the University of New Mexico, she headed an international research team studying why astronauts in space become deconditioned to Earth's gravity. and how best for them to re-adapt. This led Dr. Bondar and her team to examine patients with neurological diseases such as Parkinson's Disease that have signs and symptoms similar to those of astronauts when they first return from space. These techniques have been used in clinical studies at the B. I. Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and at the University of New Mexico.

A true Renaissance woman, Dr. Bondar is also an acclaimed photographer of the natural wonders of our planet. Roberta Bondar's photographic essay books include: Touching the Earth about her astronaut experiences, The Arid Edge of Earth, Passionate Vision ~ Discovering Canada's National Parks and Canada ~ Landscapes of Dreams, both bestsellers in their third printings. Currently, Dr. Bondar is in her second term as Chancellor of Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario and she continues photographing the extremes of our planet.

What Dr. Roberta Bondar Talks About:

Diverse in careers from scientist, physician, astronaut, photographer and author to entrepreneur, Dr. Roberta Bondar is a much sought-after speaker who embodies the spirit that captures change, life-long learning, transferable skills and adaptability.

With innovative ideas about how to navigate in uncharted territory, she offers her abilities as a leader and visionary to corporations and organizations globally. Dr. Bondar demonstrates the adaptive thinking necessary for changing perspectives in our contemporary world and knowledge economy with an emphasis on change and adaptation. She engages her audiences with her informal, light and humorous speaking style, outstanding visuals and wide ranging answers to questions as she seamlessly crosses disciplines.

Topics Include:

When to Lead, When to Follow and When to Stay Put
A leader is one who can instill a sense of purpose in others. A good leader encourages leadership in others. A great leader knows when to let others lead. This is all about having a sense of where you are, respecting and trusting other minds.

Team Machine - Exploring what Lies Inside
Typically, one machine is the product of many minds, all tied together for a common purpose. An individual also can be a team in oneself if there is diversity of knowledge and experience. If we can read, write and communicate, we have the basic tools. To move forward to innovate, we look to the largely untapped resource of our brain to create new problems so we can develop new solutions.

Never a Distance too Great: Bridges for Life
It is not enough just to advocate a vision - you must realize it. The gap between a dream and reality is bridged with interest and insight, skill and determination, focus and discipline. Because of their timeless value, these bridges also give us the flexibility that we will need in the future to cope with inevitable change. Dynamic bridges of the human mind can be virtual or real, but they must be agile. They form the link between other worlds, ideas and relationships.

Vision and Leadership
In a world of extremes, a leader's vision must be bold yet within reach of fellow team members. Sharing a vision is more than setting out objectives and goals for other to follow. If there is no overlap of interest or passion by everyone, a vision will be blind to fulfilling its potential. By definition, a leader knows about leadership but a successful leader understands followership. Experience offers each of us an opportunity to learn from another person's life lessons which combine the richness of education, with the insight of critical thinking. By linking this resource to respect for a shared vision, a strong team will be focused on success.