naomiriches.com
Speaker
“Engaging, friendly and authentic, Naomi’s decade of experience and her outstanding communication skills combine with her open and honest style, her natural authenticity, and her genuine passion, to support and inspire others.”
Experience
You Can Trust
I have been speaking to audiences of all sizes in a great variety of organisations, businesses, schools and charities for over a decade now.
When I deliver a speech, I adapt it to suit the audience, drawing on my personal experience to speak about teamwork, resilience, setting and achieving goals, diversity and inclusion, and fulfilling potential.
My speeches are human, honest and relatable and it is a privilege to be able to use my experience to inspire others.
Here’s a glimpse
of my story
As a child, I didn’t desire or expect to be an athlete, let alone a gold medal-winning rower.
Labelled “disabled” at just a few months old, due to a severe visual impairment, it was expected that my life would be full of challenges and barriers. Bullying at school and lack of support from teachers resulted in low self-esteem and indifferent exam results. Yet, I grew up with a strong desire not to be defined by what others saw as an impairment.
Beyond the school walls, my parents did all they could to support my passions and encourage my talents. I was not the kind of child that would sit still for long. I would fill my time, after the completion of HOURS of homework with swimming, trampolining, self-defence, archery and any outward bound activity I could get involved in.
It wasn’t until college that I found the demanding, challenging but brilliant sport of rowing. Then, seemingly out of the blue in 2004, I was asked to join the GB Adaptive Rowing Team.
During my decade in the sport I won 6 World titles, a Bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Game, and at London 2012 Paralympics, I won Gold. At last proving to myself and the world that your abilities and not your disabilities are what define you.
Retiring from elite sport in 2013 wasn’t the end to my rowing adventures however, and in 2016 I set a new Guinness World Record as the first woman to row the length of the Navigable Thames in just under 48hours!
For me, sharing my life experiences with an audience, helping to inspire, motivate and empower them is a privilege.
I am proud to be an exclusive speaker with DBA Speakers. To book me for an event please email diana@dbaspeakers.com
Client Reviews
★★★★★
“She is that rare combination of someone who has achieved great things and yet remains down to earth”.
★★★★★
“I would have no problems in recommending Naomi as a World class speaker for your conference”.
★★★★★
“It was incredible how gripped you had every single one of us throughout”.