One of the original founding members of the Jamaican Bobsled team Devon Harris will be one of the keynote speakers at the annual Burlington Diversity Conference at the Hilton Hotel on March 30. He will be the opening speaker at the event and will be followed by the former US ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa Carol Moseley Braun, and they will be talking about bringing awareness to diversity in our society, education and careers. The morning speech will begin at 9:00 a.m., and the second speech will be followed by that and start around lunch time. This conference is sponsored by the Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center and is expected to draw in a large audience, as there will be other shorter talks from people who represent the Multicultural Affairs office and St. Louis College.

Harris was born in 1964 and raised in Kingston, Jamaica  in the ghetto of Sunrise Drive in Olympic Gardens. He is one of the original members who started the Jamaican Bobsled team, as portrayed in the true story movie “Cool Runnings” starring John Candy. The avid football player and track and field athlete had dreams of representing Jamaica in the 1984 Summer Olympics, however when plans for that fell through he ended up on a panel of guys to be Jamaica’s first bobsled team in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. He participated in two more Olympic Games in 1992 and 1998 before retiring from the sport. In addition to that, during his first two Olympic Events he returned home to do military service as well.

Harris now travels and works as a motivational speaker, and will be talking at the Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center at the end of the month, with others who will be discussing the importance of diversity in culture and education.

To inquire about Devon Harris speaking fee and appearance cost, contact the agents at Athlete Speakers by calling us at 800-916-6008 or by Starting Your Booking Request Now.

Watch Devon Harris Speaking about his Olympic Experience: