Diversity, Disability & Workforce Inclusion Expert | Twice Recognized at the United Nations
Sean Wiltshire is a two-time United Nations Zero Project Award winner whose work building inclusive workforces has logged over 1.5 million hours of employment for people facing barriers — and earned international recognition as one of the world’s top 75 inclusion practices. As CEO of Avalon Employment Inc., a multi-million dollar social enterprise operating since 1992, he brings lived organizational leadership to conversations about diversity, disability, and workforce innovation that most speakers can only theorize about.
Sean Wiltshire - National Employment Conference Halifax
Canada’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce isn’t a trend — it’s a business imperative. In this presentation, Sean shows how organizations meeting their diversity goals aren’t just doing the right thing; they’re gaining a measurable competitive edge. Real-world examples, practical frameworks, and Sean’s characteristic candour make complex systemic issues actionable for any corporate or association audience.
The Autism Advantage: Unlocking Innovation in Your Workforce
Drawing on his UN award-winning work, Sean makes the case for intentional autism employment inclusion — not as charity, but as a strategic talent decision. This presentation is ideal for HR teams, people leaders, and organizations exploring how neurodiversity can strengthen their workforce culture and problem-solving capacity.
Work-Life Balance: Small Changes, Big Results
Sean has spent years helping individuals and organizations understand how a more balanced approach to work and life leads to better outcomes in both. This presentation offers practical strategies for managing expectations, setting goals, and making the small, consistent changes that build sustainable performance over time.
Platform Plus Presentations
Unique formats and ways to connect with audiences.
Workshop | Diversity, Innovation and the Bottom Line of Business
Have you made enough money today? Want to increase your bottom line? Join Sean for an engaging and entertaining session on how diversity can build your bottom line. We all want to be more innovative, diversity can help with that. Learn how the changing demographics of Canada are changing the face of the Canadian workplace. Are you ready for Change? Sean uses real life examples from his career to demonstrate how you can build and create innovative processes that lead you to be a better decision maker for your business. It makes Good Business ¢ents!
Audience reviews:
Sean's powerful keynote presentation challenges listeners to examine barriers and inspires them to act for positive change. The tools he offers are useful and practical, and helps motivate people to do things a little differently. His messages are well suited to all audiences, whether they are well-seasoned or new to the issues he discusses.
- Executive Director, British Columbia Association for Community Living
Sean's ability to offer real insight into changing demographics is second to none! If you are looking to motivate your employees, or conference participants, look no further than Sean Wiltshire
Sean Wiltshire has spent more than three decades building workplaces that actually work for everyone. Known for his booming voice, disarming humour, and zero tolerance for empty corporate diversity promises, Sean brings both the real-world track record and the storytelling ability to move audiences from awareness to action. He has spoken from St. John’s to Kathmandu, helping businesses, crown corporations, and governments see workforce inclusion not as a compliance exercise — but as a competitive advantage.
Why Organizations Choose Sean Wiltshire
Event planners and HR leaders choose Sean when they want a speaker who has actually built something. His tenure as CEO of Avalon Employment — a not-for-profit social enterprise generating over $5 million annually in payroll for other organizations and local businesses — gives him operational credibility that sets him apart from purely academic or advisory voices on diversity.
Sean’s presentations connect directly to workforce outcomes: innovation, retention, and productivity. Teams leave with specific, practical frameworks for identifying untapped talent — and a clearer understanding of why people who’ve spent their lives solving problems before they get out the door bring exactly the kind of thinking that organizations say they want to hire.
He is equally comfortable opening a national conference or running a half-day workshop with HR teams. His ability to break down complex systemic issues into humorous, human stories makes difficult conversations about inclusion feel accessible — and urgent — without being preachy.
Sean Wiltshire brings:
– Two-time United Nations Zero Project Award winner (2017 & 2021) – 30+ years as CEO of Avalon Employment Inc., serving individuals with disabilities and those on the Autism Spectrum – 1.5 million+ hours of employment delivered for individuals facing labour market barriers – Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference alumnus and National Executive Board member – Named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Business Magazine – Inaugural recipient of the Canadian Association of Supported Employment’s Wiltshire Award of Excellence — an award created in his honour
Sean Wiltshire is the CEO of Avalon Employment Inc., a not-for-profit employment service he has led since 1992 that serves individuals with disabilities and those on the Autism Spectrum. Over more than three decades, Avalon has accumulated over 1.5 million hours of employment for people who face barriers to entering the workforce — a number that reflects the scale of what sustained, serious inclusion work actually looks like in practice. The organization generates over $5 million annually in payroll, supporting not only its own clients but other not-for-profits and local businesses across Newfoundland and Labrador.
Sean has also led groundbreaking work in Southeast Asia, collaborating with teams in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal on employment inclusion programs for people with disabilities. That international scope — combined with decades of work with Canadian crown corporations, governments, and businesses — means his presentations draw on a genuinely global perspective on what inclusive workforce practices look like at different stages of maturity.
Recognized Twice at the United Nations
In 2017, Sean accepted the Zero Project Award at the United Nations in Vienna as part of a York University team addressing employment and diversity in Southeast Asia. In February 2021, his organization won the award again — this time for Avalon’s Autism Employment Inclusion Pilot, recognized as one of the top 75 diversity and inclusion practices in the world. Selected through a rigorous process evaluated by over 1,000 international experts, the award reflects both the innovation and the measurable real-world impact of the work Sean and his team have built.
That program — Employment Transitions for Individuals with Autism — has since expanded across Newfoundland and Labrador with provincial government support, and has attracted national attention as a model for how organizations can unlock the problem-solving capabilities of people who think differently. “People who have a challenge or disability are innovative thinkers,” Sean has said. “They got to solve 14 problems before they get out the door. So at work, businesses want innovative thinkers — and this is what we see.”
Leadership, Recognition & Community Impact
Beyond his work at Avalon, Sean has been recognized as one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Business Magazine and was nominated for Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. He is an alumnus of the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference (2000) and currently serves on its National Executive Board. He has served on two Federal Ministerial Advisory Committees and as past President of the Provincial Regional Economic Development Association, and was a member of the Ministerial Committee on Regional Renewal for the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador.
In 2019, Sean delivered a keynote at the PCMA Canadian Innovation Conference, where he was featured alongside NSB speakers for a national audience of meeting professionals and event planners. The Canadian Association of Supported Employment created the Wiltshire Award of Excellence in Supported Employment in his honour — presented annually to recognize organizations that have made significant contributions to employment inclusion across Canada.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sean Wiltshire
What makes Sean Wiltshire different from other diversity speakers? Sean isn’t speaking about inclusion from the sidelines. For over 30 years, he has led an organization that has placed over 1.5 million hours of employment for people with disabilities and those on the Autism Spectrum. His presentations are grounded in what actually works — and in the business case that he has proven, twice, to a global audience at the United Nations.
Is Sean Wiltshire available for Canadian events outside Newfoundland? Yes. Sean regularly presents across Canada and has spoken internationally, including in South and Southeast Asia. He is represented by National Speakers Bureau for all bookings.
What industries book Sean most often? Sean speaks frequently for corporate HR and leadership events, government and public sector conferences, not-for-profit sector gatherings, and professional associations focused on workforce development, healthcare, and community services.
What is the CASE Wiltshire Award? The Canadian Association of Supported Employment created the Wiltshire Award of Excellence in Supported Employment in Sean’s honour. It is presented annually to recognize individuals, agencies, or businesses that have made outstanding contributions to employment inclusion for people with disabilities across Canada.
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