The event went very well, and our audience was so appreciative of Michele’s presentation. Unsurprisingly, it really resonated with everyone and we are so grateful that she was able to join us as our keynote.
Courtney O'Brien AOE Operations Manager Vermont Agency of Education
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Michele's presentation was very well received. As you know, she closed the symposium and oftentimes people don't stay for the closer or leave early. We had 325 participants and I saw only a couple leave early. We were very pleased with the feedback received already.
Thank you for reaching out!
Deb Henton Executive Director Minnesota Association of School Administrators
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She was awesome! Such a powerful presentation and we already received positive feedback.
Jim McDavitt Planning Associate New Jersey Department of Education
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Michele was fabulous, as always. It was wonderful to reconnect with her and I have nothing but positive feelings about her presentation.
Margie Daniels Executive Director Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth
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Michele did an incredible job with her presentation. How she can keep her composure while telling her story tells a lot about her strength, compassion, and her desire to ensure that schools and communities are prepared if—God forbid—something tragic happens in that school or community. Unfortunately, incidents like Sandy Hook have occurred, and may occur in the future, so being able to share this story and to talk about what worked, what didn't work, things to change, things to think about can definitely help a school system and community to prepare as best they can. Especially in the society we are living in today. Although it is a very hard, heavy subject to talk about, I am so thankful I got the opportunity to hear her speak, to listen to her story, and to learn about what she is doing to help bring awareness to safety and prevention planning.
Sarah Tesch Case Manager Southeastern Behavioral Healthcare
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Needless to say, Michele nailed the assignment. 😉 Thank you for your assistance getting her here!! We are so appreciative of her session, and our community has also voiced this same appreciation of the powerful impact her message provided.
Amy Lowder Director of Student & Family Support Cabarrus County Schools
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Michelle was excellent! I’ve heard her speak multiple times, but last week was the best I’ve ever heard her.
Chase Lyday President Indiana School Resource Officers Association
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We had the honor of having Michele Gay speak at our School Safety Summit to an audience of our district and school leadership. Her presentation … was both inspirational and educational in providing our schools with great ideas that they could take back to their school and implement immediately. I cannot think of a more meaningful presentation that truly hits home with everyone in the audience.
Paul Hildreth Emergency Operations Safety & Security Fulton County Schools
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Bestselling Author of Permanent Midnight and I, Fatty
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It was beyond powerful. The strength and courage that it takes to provide insight and support is immeasurable by any standard. The administrators walked away with a new perspective on not only crisis preparedness and response planning, but also a new perspective of the human connection in our work as educators. Bureaucracy causes us to lose sight of our true mission.
Thank you for your support in planning the event, and we look forward to working with you again in the future!
Jeri Callaway Director ROE SchoolWorks
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Michele’s outstanding keynote address was well received by the 800+ school resource officers in attendance and it truly set the stage for a powerful close to our national school safety conference.
Mo Canady Executive Director National Association of School Resource Officers
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Thanks for speaking at Middlesex Partnerships for Youth’s 2014 School Safety Summit. Your compelling address about the need for upgrading school safety measures was well received. You are an eloquent speaker and the 250+ conference participants were hanging on your every word. Thanks for making this conference so special. Many of our participants told us that it was the best School Safety Summit they had ever attended and that having you as a speaker was the reason why!
Margie Daniels Executive Director Middlesex Partnerships for Youth
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Everything went really well. We had a complication with her electronic presentation, but it was all cleared up before she was on. I have to tell you, I’ve been doing this conference for 19 years and she was one of the best keynotes we’ve ever had. The feedback from the participants was amazing. Also, while she was speaking you could have heard a pin drop in a room with over 450 people, plus servers.
Leah Galkowski Coordinator Center for Safe Schools
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Oh my goodness. It was one of the best trainings. I am still hearing compliments even today, one week after the training. Melissa and Michele are clearly professionals and experts in their field. Michele took us through her journey at just the right speed and at just the right depth. This enabled us to learn while not be overwhelmed with emotion. It was a beautiful tribute to Josephine.
Julie Pendley Director of Special Education & School Psychologist Muhlenberg County Schools
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Michele was absolutely wonderful in every way! We loved her! Her presentation was riveting and our entire group was impacted greatly by her story. I know our superintendents will be adjusting or refining their safety protocols in their districts because of her first-hand experience of that horrible tragedy. I had people say how much they appreciated how she began her presentation, setting the tone of how deeply personal it was for her to tell her story. She gave permission for the audience to be free to react as they needed to and was so articulate as she communicated the event. You could hear a pin drop in the room. I watched many of the faces of those around me and they were like sponges taking in everything she said. You could tell they were absorbing the event as if it would happen to them ... and it very well could. I heard nothing but rave reviews and gratitude for the unique opportunity to hear her (and Frank DeAngelis last year). It was an incredible afternoon spent with her. She is delightful and made us feel like we had always known her. It was sad to see her go.
We have been so impressed with Safe & Sound Schools and working through you at Kirkland. Cannot thank you enough for the chance to have had Michele and Frank share their stories with us.
Carrie Zandi Administrative Assistant Large Unit District Association of Illinois
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Michele was exceptional and made a clear impact on the audience. It was an amazing presentation. The audience was invested and never lost focus. Michele is definitely one of the best speakers I have ever heard. Our audience and our staff really enjoyed her presentation. Thank you and we look forward to having her back sometime in the future.
Elias Moya School Safety Specialist Region 3 Education Service Center
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Michele did an outstanding job of presenting to Region 8 educators. It was a powerful and engaging presentation and you could hear a pin drop in the room. Many questions were asked by the participants and Michele did a great job in responding to their questions. We couldn’t have been more pleased.
Lee Gill School Health & Safety Consultant Region 8 Education Service Center
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Michele was absolutely fabulous! We had so much positive feedback from our administrators, the deputy superintendent and the superintendent. It’s been great working with you all and we appreciate you were able to make this happen on such short notice.
Beth Jones Senior Exec. Director, SEAD & Restorative Practices, Student & Academic Support Services San Antonio Independent School District
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Our time with Michele was well-spent. I know our attendees valued her story and the strategies she offered to engage the community in keeping our schools safe. I appreciate you reaching out!! Please extend my gratitude to Michele — I greatly enjoyed visiting with her in preparation for conference and wish I had had more time to connect with her during our event.
Dana Schon Professional Learning Director School Administrators of Iowa
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Everything went great. Our folks loved Michele. Her message resonated with both groups – San Antonio and Ft. Worth. Nothing but a positive experience. Overall rating was a 4.8 out of 5. Which is awesome.
Kathy Dundee Director, Conference and Event Planning Communications, Marketing & Events Texas Association of School Boards
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Michele Gay was a keynote for our annual safety summit. She was so inspiring and her expertise was invaluable. Some of the comments from our districts included “the lessons that were learned on that day resonated with me. I’m meeting with my committee this week,” and “we cannot ever prepare for every scenario but we need to plan, plan and plan some more. I see Sandy Hook as our district… This won’t happen here. I appreciated her testimony and work for safe schools.” I have met with many attendees since the summit, and they have said they are revisiting their EOPs to ensure they are prepared the best they can be for their students, teachers, parents, and communities. That was the goal of our summit and I am glad we had Michele to energize that effort.
Bilinda K. McCutcheon Education Specialist Region 17 Education Service Center
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Michele’s presentation, ‘A Mother’s Perspective to School Safety’ was eye-opening on many levels. We believe that hearing her story on how events truly unfolded really puts a different perspective on school safety. It shows how important it is for all levels of administration, from principals down to the teachers… [to] be ready to jump into any role that is needed at the time of an emergency.
Jamia McDonald Executive Director Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency
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Michele’s presentations to parents, educators, and policy makers provide the perfect balance of emotion and practical guidance. She promotes an approach to school safety that strikes the important balance between physical and psychological safety. Her efforts have helped to ensure schools have comprehensive safety and crisis plans, with special attention being given to reunification and recovery.
Stephen E. Brock, Ph.D., NCSP, LEP Past President National Association of School Psychologists
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The day was great and I am sure that Michele’s presence was a huge factor. We started out expecting 150-160 and had an attendance of 240. Michele’s presence and message was incredible. We are already talking about possibly having her back some time for a somewhat different audience. Thanks to you and Gina for helping everything to come together quite smoothly.
D. Michael Baxter, MD Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine Reading Hospital
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Michele Gay spoke at our conference this past week. She was amazing. Her message was inspirational as well as educational. As school business professionals, we all learned ideas and tips to be mindful of back at our schools. Michele gave us first-hand, useful knowledge to take back to our districts with us. If Michele presents at your event, you will not be disappointed!
Jeffrey LaPorta, Association of School Business Officials - Maryland/DC
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We loved Michele!! Our conference attendees were amazed at her and the quality of her presentation. I spoke to Michele about ARMEA partnering with Safe & Sound Schools on future projects. Thanks again!
Deb Swink Co-Chair Arkansas Mental Health in Education
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As usual, Michele was well-received and did an amazing presentation. We couldn’t find one negative thing to say if we tried. Thanks again for your assistance.
Chip Yeaton President Massachusetts Juvenile Police Officer's Association
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Michele and Lisa were the highlights of the day. The message that they delivered fit perfectly with the audience expectations. Their presentations couldn’t have been better. They were absolutely fantastic. Administrators are taking suggestions back to their school divisions. I can’t thank you enough for taking care of everything on your end.
Jeff Terry Director of Technology Roanoke County Public Schools
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Michele was outstanding! I received multiple verbal comments from attendees how it was one of the best, if not the best, presentation of the event. She was easy to work with, and we enjoyed our time with her.
Lynn Chernich Program Manager National Criminal Justice Training Center Fox Valley Technical College
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Michele's presentation was stellar! It got real dusty in the room at the end of the presentation. Very impactful! The comments received from attendees regarding the entire day were outstanding.
J. Brett Carruthers Director of Risk Management New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal
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Michele was fantastic, per usual. This is the fourth event that Michele and I have worked on in the last 10 months – and she was stronger than ever during her keynote and as a member of our panel. We think she is great – and so did our audience!
Cathy Longley Communications Manager National Fire Protection Association
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Michele was FANTASTIC! She was just what we needed. She did a wonderful job relating to our audience. Many, many staff have commented how moved they were by her. It takes incredible courage to not only share her story, but to turn tragedy into something positive through her advocacy work. She really helped the NICS staff, 900+ strong, to feel appreciated and she helped to drive home a very important message that we all need to hear and recognize – that the work we are doing, does indeed make a difference. Michele received TWO standing ovations during her 60 minutes with us.
Please pass along our absolute gratitude to the entire crew there at Kirkland Productions. You have all made the process very smooth and you were most patient and helpful to us.
Jill Montgomery Management and Program Analyst Federal Bureau of Investigation
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Michele Gay is an amazing speaker and an inspiration to every parent. I have heard Michele speak at several events and each time is more powerful than the last. Michele’s message for school safety is exactly what our school systems need. I would recommend everyone take the time to listen to Michele’s message.
Deputy Francis Foy Lake County Regional Office of Education
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Michele Gay presented at the Region 8 Education Service Center’s Stop the Violence Summit to a very large group of area educators consisting of school counselors, law enforcement, Communities in School coordinators, teachers, school nurses, administrators, social workers, and other mental health staff. Her presentation was impactful, meaningful, and extremely timely as the entire summit was focused on empowering educators to focus intently on preventative approach to school violence. During the 90 minutes as she spoke of the events surrounding the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy, every participant sat on the edge of their seats not to miss a word. She offered many practical ideas and suggestions for districts to improve their own Crisis Response Plans but also had valuable recommendations of preventative measures to take back to their campus and districts.
Cindy Stansell, M.Ed., LPC, PSC School Counselor Consultant Region 8 Education Service Center
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