Radhi Spear, DTM

ILC Nominated Candidate for
International President-Elect

Learn More

Vision

“Before you’re a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

Jack Welch

Radhi Spear for International President Elect

My Story

We all have stories to tell about how Toastmasters impacted our lives for the better, here is mine:

I grew up in Africa, in Lagos, Nigeria, my family moved there when I was three years old and I had a wonderful childhood. I was a very shy, quiet soft spoken child. At school my first grade teacher was quite intimidating, he was this tall big man, like a heavy set Denzel Washington and he would tell me to SPEAK UP! And I would tremble and whisper even more. Many years later we moved back to India, there the local kids made fun of my clothes and my accent. My parents tried to help me with the transition and enrolled me in a catholic high school. Although I looked like the other kids in my school uniform, when I read or spoke in class I sounded very different. Often the kids would laugh at my pronunciation so I tried very hard to acquire an Indian accent overnight.

I came to the United States to study for my masters in Electrical Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology. It was a bit of a shock to be the only girl in all my Engineering classes, I tried hard to blend in but was picked on by every teacher once they noticed me. I had a research assistantship, but when the funding fell through my professor offered me a teaching job and I became an Adjunct Instructor of Electrical Engineering teaching Electro-mechanical energy conversion EE 331 to juniors. That was quite an experience and I now have great respect for teachers.  I graduated and started working in New York at NYNEX Computer Services.

A few years went by, and my family had come over to visit. It happened to be my dad’s milestone birthday and we decided to celebrate with the entire family present. As I was making the arrangements one of my sisters suggested we toast dad after lunch, I agreed but did not pay any attention to that. The day of the birthday celebration arrived, it was a beautiful September day, and everything ran like clockwork, until it was time for the toast. Each one of my sisters gave a toast, and when it was my turn my hand was shaking while holding the glass, I managed to squeak out “To the best dad!” It was awful! How could I have taught a 3 hour class in front of 25 students and not be able to speak in front of friends and family? My two sisters who belonged to Toastmasters clubs in India urged me to join and fortunately for me a club soon chartered at my office and I joined. And like many of you I wish I had joined Toastmasters sooner.

Now I am more effective in my communication. My current team at work has 17 men and Toastmasters has helped me have a voice and to be heard. I have learned to SPEAK UP!

Toastmasters works, it worked for me, a member of a demographic that perhaps needs Toastmasters the most — a minority, a woman and an engineer. I am passionate about Toastmasters and it is my mission to help even more people find Toastmasters and discover their potential!

Radhi Spear in her back yard

About Radhi

Radhi Spear for International President Elect

Experience

Radhi Spear joined Toastmasters as a charter member of the AT&T Middletown Toastmasters club in 2000. Since then, she has served as Lt. Governor of Marketing, District Governor, Region Advisor, International Director, Second Vice President, and First Vice President. In this time, she has been awarded the Excellence in Marketing Award and has earned the status of Distinguished Toastmaster and Distinguished District Governor. She has also received a Presidential Citation and was honored to serve on the first International Leadership Committee. Additionally, Radhi has shared her knowledge on a Leadership Panel titled “Achieving Success in the Distinguished District” during the 2009 Toastmasters International Convention.

        Year        Toastmaster activity
2022-presentFirst Vice President
2021-2022Second Vice President
2017-2019International Director
2017-2019Board committees
  • Recognition Committee
  • Corporate Relations
  • Committee District Fiscal Effectiveness Committee
2015-2016Region 9 Advisor
2015-2016RA committees
  • District visits committee
  • Facilitating Successful Conference Calls
2009-2011International Leadership Committee (ILC) (about the ILC)
2009Presidential Citation (about this award)
2009Leadership panel on Achieving Success in the Distinguished District Program at the Toastmasters International Convention
2007-2008 Distinguished District Governor of D46 – successfully led a team of five to transition to two flourishing districts, D46 and D83
2006-2007Lieutenant Governor of Marketing (Excellence in Marketing award)
2000Charter member of AT&T Middletown Toastmasters. Has held a club officer position since the year she joined! Yes, this means she has attended or provided training over 40 times!
  • 1st place in Division Humorous Speech Contest
  • Select Distinguished Area Governor
  • Has helped D83 and D46 as chief judge, contest chair, registration chair, credentials chair, and other positions for the past ten years.

More about Radhi on her International Officer Candidacy page

Radhi Spear Presidential Citation

Testimonials

Impeccable, knowledgeable, and bold are just a few of the adjectives that describe Radhi. I was fortunate to serve with Radhi as an International Director. What I observed, “member first.” Radhi’s passion for each member is genuine. Her work ethic is impeccable, knowledge second to none, and she is bold, bold for the right thing. She will voice the concerns of the concerned. I fully support Radhi Spear.

Driven—Savvy—Empowering—Humble

These words easily come to mind when I think of Radhi Spear. We met shortly after I joined Toastmasters in 2010. The moment she took the initiative to introduce herself, I sensed her strong character surrounded by an air of warmth and sincerity. Since then, she’s consistently, without prompting, blessed my personal journey with resourceful, rallying support.

Through the years, I’ve remained impressed with Radhi’s ability to balance priorities in the demanding world she leads. At work, home, and in the community, she approaches life with boundless energy, ingenuity and integrity.

And her résumé speaks for itself: distinguished Toastmaster with a record of driving district growth; well-respected, advanced-educated engineer with history of devising policies that impact millions of global customers; and passionate volunteer committed to helping everyone in her path. Uniquely, she leads with a soft stick; quietly observing and processing before taking action; accountable for results and mistakes, open to learning, and encouraging of other’s ideas.

She’s a business-minded professional with clear vision, a natural talent for solving critical problems and the vigor to motivate teams to greatness. In my opinion, Radhi is a clear choice for International President-Elect. I look forward to seeing the wake of her positive change.

If you ask me why I think she would make an excellent officer of Toastmasters International, I would say the following:

  • Her personal and professional experiences have given her a truly global perspective and make her uniquely qualified
  • She is an analytical thinker, harnessing the laws of cause and effect to surface winning solutions, making her a natural fit on our strategic planning team
  • Through years of servant leadership at every level, she brings sensitivity to the needs of member, club, and district alike
  • She is a collaborative team player who listens carefully, asks good questions, and offers value-added ideas

Having served with her as a fellow Region Advisor, I have every confidence that Radhi Spear will make a splendid International President-Elect.

If there is one leader, I would be happy to speak about- that would be Radhi Spear. Radhi and I were Region Advisors in the year 2015-2016. We trained and worked together. She was passionate about the development of each leader under her Region and worked hard to do so. She would discuss issues in an honest and open way so Toastmasters would understand the direction she and her team are heading to. Radhi had a way of leading without making a “publicity” about it because she believed that members should be in the forefront. They should get credit for it by all means. She had no pretensions, a very straight forward person with transparency. It was my pleasure to have worked with Radhi, someone who has remained humble, honest and a role model. As International President-Elect, she will be the best candidate to represent our leaders and members.

I highly recommend Radhi Spear, DTM for the position of International President-Elect. I first met Radhi when we served together as Region Advisor. She was always very conscientious, knowledgeable, and committed to the members she served. I also had the opportunity to work with Radhi on the Board of Directors. I found it a pleasure to work with her as she offered very valuable ideas on policies and ways to better serve the members of our organization. Radhi chaired one of the subcommittees on the Board that I had opportunity to serve on, where she showed her superior leadership skills in working with a diverse group of people. We accomplished our goals under her direction which was no small feat. Radhi Spear’s character, experience and expertise will serve her well as an officer of this organization.

I met Radhi Spear, when I first entered the District Trio, as the Club Growth Director, in District 65 in 2015. Since that time, I have had the opportunity to get to know Radhi as a Regional Advisor for Region 9, the International Director, Region 9, and as a friend. While I’ve been in Toastmasters since 1992, I have found few people who have supported and guided me more. Not only did Radhi meet with our District Teams as the Region Advisor but Radhi also met with us to discuss our own District Challenges, working with us to help us find solutions while supporting the team leadership building. As the International Director, Radhi continued to be there as a support system for our District. I coordinated Radhi’s ID visit and I was able to spend time with her, during the visit, where we were able to share stories, both Toastmasters and personal. As I’ve gotten to know Radhi, she’s the leader I envision when I think of a Toastmasters International President. Born in India, raised in Africa, and working in America, I think Radhi embodies a sensitivity and leadership style that is seldom seen. I look forward to seeing Radhi continue her journey as International President-Elect of Toastmasters International.

It was a great experience to serve together with Radhi Spear on the Board for two years. I was very lucky to work with Radhi in two committees, her all-rounded communication skills and highly effective problem-solving skills were impressive. Radhi is humble, caring, and helpful. Even though we had a 12-hour time difference, Radhi was always available when I was in need, no matter how early in the morning or late in the evening. Radhi was also the chair of the roast of the immediate past international president. From that project, Radhi revealed her excellent leadership skills in leading leaders from all over the world with different cultures and personalities. I have no hesitation in recommending Radhi Spear to be the International President-Elect.

I am the Past District 31 Director. As District Director it was my job to support the District, Divisions, Areas, Clubs, and members within my District. My year started with many challenges, and I asked International for as much support as possible. During my term, I was fortunate to have Radhi Spear as my Regional Advisor.  She visited our District to attend and present at our DEC training, was always available by phone (and supportive) and at times attended our Trio conference calls. Her wisdom and support helped make my year a little easier. Radhi always gave me the impression that I as well as my District were cared for and that our health was her main concern.

I strongly endorse Radhi for the office of International President-Elect because she has integrity, respect for the members, she is dedicated to excellence and has been of service to all of us.

I first met Radhi in 2000 when she was a contestant at the District Humorous Speech Contest. When I became the 2006-2007 District 46 Governor, Radhi served as Lieutenant Governor of Marketing.  Radhi chartered 27 clubs that year and won the excellence award for Marketing. Radhi was the perfect partner with whom to embark on our journey of discovery to reach our goal of taking our district to distinguished status and from #73 in the world to #16 in the world in terms of distinguished districts. That was a phenomenal achievement attained with the mentorship of past district leaders and the cooperation our district members.

As District Governor in 2007-2008, Radhi successfully oversaw two sets of district leaders as during that year, our district split into two districts and Radhi and her team, again, achieved Distinguished District status, a role for which she received a Presidential Citation.

Among other virtues, Radhi is diligent, sincere, reliable, strategic, flexible, excellent at building and maintaining relationships, influential, persuasive, and trustworthy. Radhi works exceedingly well with others and is committed to reaching goals through collaboration for the benefit of all concerned. These qualities helped Radhi to excel in her more recent roles as Regional Advisor and as International Director. Radhi embraces the personal, professional, academic, intercultural diversity and core values to benefit and advance the quality and strength of our organization and positively impact the lives of our global Toastmaster family. I am honored to endorse Radhi Spear as International President-Elect of Toastmasters International.

Vote for Radhi Spear for International President-Elect.

Radhi has incredible energy, warmth and enthusiasm, and she can effortlessly connect with everyone around her. I found her to be an inspiring and caring leader whose enthusiasm is second to none. She is passionate, dedicated and committed to the well being of clubs that report to her. During the Spring 2008 Conference preparations, I have observed Radhi’s demonstration of tremendous knowledge of responsibilities and exercising sound judgment on behalf of others.

Radhi has been a voice of wisdom for our long term thinking and a motivator for helping us meet our short term goals. She was District Governor of District 46 at the time of District 83 split. We still use some of her incentive programs because they work to motivate the clubs to achieve success. She supported us in our creative transit marketing strategies and encouraged us to see the long term vision even if we don’t have immediate results. Her council helped us keep focus on what was right for the clubs and members of our district.

Appointments

To schedule a conversation with Radhi via Zoom, please click this link.

Contact

Let’s Talk.

I’d love to have a conversation with you about the future of Toastmasters and my candidacy for First Vice President. Please let me know the best method and times to speak with you.

Radhi Spear with microphone