MATT RICHARDSON - INTERNET SAFETY AND DIGITAL WELL BEING EXPERT.
REVIEWS
Positive, Empowering, and Engaging
“I worked directly with Matt on the design and delivery of safety seminars in many schools. He designed original materials for a variety of important topics that include; personal and internet safety and being respectful online. Matt maintained a positive atmosphere and made the most difficult subject matter age appropriate even for young audiences. His materials reflect current best practices and incorporate the latest in technologies including social media platforms, messaging apps and online gaming. I highly recommend Matt to anyone looking for an engaging and dynamic facilitator for online safety!”
First Class Experience
“Matt has been providing online and personal safety seminars with us at the Trenton Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) for past three years. He is a popular speaker and his seminars are in high demand due to his engaging personality, first class speaking skills, and complete mastery of the subject matter! He has a firm grasp of the unique needs and sensitivities of the military community and therefore has managed to forge a meaningful connection. Matt has even (on an ongoing basis) provided our staff and members of our community with timely support and advice on sensitive and even potentially dangerous situations. We continue to work with Matt and we cannot emphasize enough how highly we recommend him and his services. Those that do will not be disappointed!”
An Unforgettable Experience
“Matt did an excellent job presenting his online and personal safety seminar for my class, and later that evening a group of parents. He hit on important information that people of all ages need to know to be safe and found a way to make even the most difficult subject matter age appropriate and non- threatening. Matt was highly approachable to parents, students and staff alike and worked in a collaborative fashion with our principal and teachers. His style is focused on empowerment (not fear) and at all times maintained a positive presence and reassuring atmosphere. He maintained a balance between the online risks and positive uses for technology and potential for social media to be a powerful tool that if used safely and responsibility can be used for goodness and kindness. I highly recommend Matt!”
Inspiring!
“My friend and I hired Matt to come to our house and teach us, and our children (aged 8-11) about staying safe online. It was a great experience! We found it to be very informative and our children thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked Matt’s approach of making the experience positive and empowering, not scary or dark. Always presenting topics in an appropriate manner he not only avoided scaring our children, he inspired them! My 8-year old daughter even did two school presentations for her class on the lessons she learned from Matt. We highly recommend Matt to families, schools and any groups with a need for online safety training. Try him, you will not be disappointed”!
Highly Recommend!
“As a law enforcement officer I am well aware of both the prevalence of online threats and the glaring gap in education that is current and impactful. Matt’s seminars reflect both current best practices in terms of safety and prevention of abduction and exploitation as well as the latest technologies and tactics deployed by online predators. We are thrilled to have him as the online safety facilitator at the Belleville Children’s Safety Village and highly recommend him!”.
Captivating and Informative
“In my capacity as Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Police Services Board for the City of Quinte West I had the pleasure of inviting Matt to speak for both our Police Services Board and on a separate occasion at a City Council Meeting. His complete mastery of the subject matter and dynamic and entertaining presentation style captivated all in attendance, including the Mayor, members of the media, and even experienced law enforcement professionals! His considerable expertise on matters involving high technology and internet predation make him a potent educator on the subject of online safety. His expertise and presentation skills make him a must have for any organization or group looking for valuable information on staying safe and secure when online. I highly recommend him and his services.”
Nearly Became a Statistic
“Matt presented a seminar for a group of high-risk youth as part of our “SEED” program. At the conclusion of his seminar two young ladies confided that everything Matt said in his seminar is true and that they were currently experiencing dangerous situations. One involved luring and grooming tactics and being propositioned by older men. The other was a very real human trafficking luring situation with promises of money and a better life. In both cases they began after the young ladies had experienced family breakups and publicly posted their feelings of loneliness and sadness and low self esteem. Just as Matt had told them the posts that showed vulnerability attracted the attention of human traffickers and online predators or as he calls it “the wrong kind of attention”. With Matt’s assistance our staff worked with the girls to; review the messages and posts, block the users, take screen shots of the messages, provide advice if they decided to contact police, and showed them how to tightened up their privacy settings. There is no way to predict the future but I believe that they came as close as a person can to becoming a statistic and Matt’s seminar and advice is directly responsible for preventing a bad situation from becoming something much worse. Myself and my peers highly recommend Matt!”
Skillfully Navigated Subject Matter with Care and Sensitivity
“We have been very pleased with our experience with Matt! He has shown an innate ability to engage and make a strong connection with our team from the beginning. He thoughtfully asked us what we wanted and with great care customized presentations and materials to meet our community’s specific needs. His philosophy is empowerment over fear and he expertly navigated complex and dark subjects and found a way to make the material age appropriate. We have greatly enjoyed our experience and plan to work more with him in future. We highly recommend Matt and his programs to anyone with an interest in online and personal safety and practical strategies to stay safe and protect our families!
Complete Dedication and Mastery of the Subject Matter
“Matt’s dedication to educating children and parents about Internet safety has never been more important and needed. He has the ability to explain the risks for online activity in a way that doesn’t frighten, but empowers his audience with knowledge and information that can be used immediately. Matt’s program is something that could be useful for law enforcement organizations, schools, and any community group. I would encourage everyone to support Matt and keep our children safe”.
A Wealth of Information
“Having a common interest in helping children safely navigate the internet, I was fortunate to have crossed paths with Matt. We communicate, share ideas, and brainstorm frequently. Matt is passionate about his endeavors and he is a wealth of information. If you have the opportunity to collaborate with Matt, I highly recommend that you do so!”