Our Emcees

You have bodies in the room, but do you have their full attention? Your event attendees are stressed, exhausted, and excited to attend your event.  Holly Duckworth, CMP, CWMF is the only emcee that is also a credentialed mindfulness expert. Are your attendees truly present? Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present. She uses neuroscience and secular mindfulness techniques to bring the full attention – heads, hearts, ears, eyes, and minds of your attendees into the room.  Holly reduces any attendee stress and anxiety to put them in a mental space to fully participate in your meeting or conference. As a speaker, trainer, and former meeting planner Holly’s ability to read the room, manage the energy and create connections assures you deliver on your in-person or virtual meeting objectives.  Holly’s work helps them leave the busyness behind to truly focus on the speakers, learnings, and experiences you have curated for them.  When you hire Holly, your audiences are engaged, productive, and focused delivering you better meeting outcomes. 

Shakala Alvaranga is an award-winning host, emcee, and master moderator for panel discussions. Her public speaking career began when she was 12 years old as a pageant contestant. She was crowned Miss New England Teen a few years later. Shakala received her Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast journalism at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She served as a television news anchor in Massachusetts and, most recently, worked as a television news reporter at CBS in Las Vegas, Nevada. At KLAS-TV, she covered a wide array of issues including crime, education, business development, arts, and entertainment. Shakala has more than 15 years of experience as a writer, video editor, producer, and speaker.
As Director of Public Programs, Shakala Alvaranga is responsible for the development and coordination of a dynamic public programming schedule at The Mob Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has moderated and hosted more than a hundred public programs in this capacity. In 2021, she received the Leadership in History Awards from the American Association for State and Local History. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in History at the University of Massachusetts Boston. 
Shakala specializes in business conferences and conventions, charity events, award shows and celebrations, multi-day events, and cultural events and experiences. 

Sahar is a Saudi based broadcast journalist, producer, news anchor & TV/Radio programs presenter for over ten years, after graduating in Journalism. Sahar has hosted numerous Live talk shows, interviewed Ambassadors & many high ranking officials. She is actively working as an Emcee for different events taking place in Riyadh.

Mounia is a multilingual moderator specialised in moderating dynamic, interactive, and engaging conversations with C-level executives and subject-matter experts across the globe in English, German and Spanish.
 
Her strength and experience lie in leading group conversations such as executive roundtables, panel discussions, and interviews on a broad range of business, technology, and innovation-related topics. Bringing people together to learn from each other and exchange ideas in open and honest dialogue is what she does best.
 
If you are looking for a skilled moderator who has both the intellectual acumen and the ability to build genuine connections with people, Mounia is the right choice.
 
Previous clients include SAP, Google, Oracle, IBM, Ford, Philips, and Abbott amongst many others.

With more than 20 years of hosting events of all sizes in international corporate environments, Peter has a knack of lifting the energy of even the most serious business meetings and conferences. With a 25-year career in the life science industry, he is an experienced communicator and trainer, event moderator, facilitator as well as keynote speaker. His notorious TEDx talk proposed a cure for corporate jargon, the banning of which by TED organisers prompted publication of his book on public speaking: “How to Get Your TED Talk Banned”.
Prior to becoming freelance in 2017, Peter was Head of Global Communication Training at the healthcare company, Roche. There he was responsible for training senior executives on presenting, storytelling and talking with the media, as well as moderator/MC at more than 30 internal events.
Peter began his communications career in 1995 at the pioneering scientific PR agency that introduced Dolly the cloned sheep to the world. His love of public speaking dates to the late 80’s, winning speaking competitions and making several appearances as a BBC presenter.

Claus Raasted is a specialist in productivity and innovation and has been pushing the limits of the possible for twenty years. He serves as the Director for The College of Extraordinary Experiences and is a Coach at McKinsey & Company. He is a prolific author, with 34 books to his name, and recently did 100 Innovation Keynotes in 100 Days. Raasted also has a past in reality TV, but these days, who hasn’t?

As an award-winning “Master of Ceremonies”, Adam has hosted 100+ events performing in sports arenas, in front of the world’s media, national sales meetings as well as highly respected award galas.
Fluently bilingual (English and French), versatile and incredibly resourceful, Adam’s unmatched work ethic and expertise in the event world offers his clients a turnkey solution in both languages.
Known for his hands on approach, copywriting and content creation, Adam has redefined the role of what it means to be a successful “Master Of Ceremonies” and has cemented his place as the most skilled bilingual live host in the country.
Notable companies Adam Reid has hosted for : Winter Paralympic Games, Bombardier, NAPA Auto Parts, Desjardins, Aston Martin, Air Canada, AbbVie, Consumer Choice Awards, Colgate, Hyundai, Sunwing and Toyota.

Professional emcee and presenter Amy McWhirter brings soul and a deeply human connection to events. With warm, energetic authenticity, Amy connects audiences to the heart of messaging and inspiration at virtual, hybrid, and live in-person events.
Amy understands communication from the inside out, with years of experience as a video producer, scriptwriter, live MC, virtual emcee, corporate presenter, on-camera & TV host. She invites audiences and speakers alike to engage and be seen, heard and appreciated, facilitating with passion and compassion, listening and reacting in real- time to every detail of their collaborative experience.
Her energetic, joyful presence, natural style, laser in-the-moment focus, quick thinking, interview skills, and cohesive summaries create continuity, drive deeper engagement and amplify messaging so that audiences come away with rich value and are inspired, energized and ready to connect and act.
She’s a super quick study with a Bachelor of Science pre-med with Honors from University of Michigan.
Industry specialties include technology, healthcare, manufacturing, finance and defense. Amy makes complex or technical material relatable and conversational, and improvises with humor and grace.

Debi loves nothing more than being the catalyst for a memorable conversation. She believes in steering interviewees and panellists towards lifting business examples, personal stories and facts off the page – in a way that connects directly with their audience.
This comes after years of interviewing delegates and speakers at events around Europe- from fintech payments executives, innovators and motivational speakers to world leaders and showbiz celebrities.
Debi’s early work began as a young documentary maker in the townships of South Africa. Filmmaking then led her to become a producer & editor in the London Reuters TV Newsroom and onto the world stage of showbiz in Cannes and politics in Davos – leading news teams, catching great soundbites and delivering competitive coverage of events.
Now as a presenter, moderator and corporate film producer, home for Debi is with her family in the English countryside – and when Debi’s not either in front of an audience or behind a camera lens, you may find her swimming or paddle boarding in the nearest ocean or river, whatever the temperature!