Our Story

Message from the Founder: Pam Lewis, Excellence Seminars International

Having been involved taking, assisting, and leading programs since 1989, when I took the original Excellence Series (Pursuit of Excellence, The Wall, and Advancement), in 1999 I negotiated a license agreement to deliver the courses on Vancouver Island. Gradually we extended our territory to include all of B.C., Alberta, the Yukon, and part of Washington State. Driving this work was both passion for the transformational nature of our courses and devotion to strengthening the fabric of goodwill that exists in the world through commitment to lifelong learning.

Change is inevitable, and while we had an amazing ride delivering the original courses, there had not been any substantive change to the curriculum in 30 years. Meanwhile, our understanding about how we operate as human beings had been exponential. It was simply time to sunset the old courses. Towards this end, we joined forces with Excellence Northwest, a non-profit organization similarly committed to transformational education. Between my background in curriculum development for various post-secondary educational institutions, and with the input of program leaders from both organizations, we developed new curriculum and launched a new set of courses in January 2019.

If that was not enough change, along came the global pandemic. On April 1, 2020, a mere two weeks into the pandemic, ESI celebrated our 21st birthday by hosting our first-ever interactive virtual gatherings with over 100 grads. It was fun… it was informative… it provided opportunity for growth and learning… and it provided a forum through which we could sustain our connection and sense of community. It also provided a platform through which we could continue our work.

By the end of April 2020, we were launching courses in our CORE Leadership Series online, using ZOOM.   And… we haven’t looked back!   The transition into delivering online, in addition to continuing in-person delivery, has positioned us to be far more responsive to the needs of our community and has proven to be very worthwhile.

While the mosaic of HOW and to WHOM we deliver our transformational education programs has taken on a different shape, what has stayed constant is our alignment with our mission and our willingness to do whatever it takes to steward our work forward. What has been fun in this entire process is we now serve people from coast to coast, both in Canada and the United States, and as of July 2021, we have proudly hosted participants from nine countries and four continents… fostering meaningful connection in our global community.

Our story would not be complete without speaking of Randy and Judy Revell, co-founders of the Excellence Series and pioneers in the whole human potential movement. Randy Revell, who was an engineer, started his work in the field of personal and professional development in 1971. Seven years later and until his death in 2004, as President of Context Associated, he worked tirelessly to provide educational opportunities through which people could enhance their effectiveness, get great results and contribute to others. The contribution made by the Revells must never be underestimated. Decades later, I continue to run into people who took their programs thirty and forty years ago who emphasize just how life-changing and life-enhancing their experience has been.

​​​​Pam Lewis, Founder, Excellence Seminars International