Keynotes & Presentations

The goal of my keynotes is to motivate and inspire by sharing interesting ideas in the most engaging way possible. This means having a clear understanding of your audience and event objectives.

Workshops

I speak about taking charge of your career, business, and life. I leverage my many years of experience in storytelling, entrepreneurship, human resources, and as a credentialed career coach to listen, facilitate, and teach.

Conversations

Whether it’s a panel, a conference or a small special interest club, I enjoy dynamic conversations around the themes of inclusion, freedom, justice, marketing, business, career, and creativity.

Speaking:

I’m happy to speak at your book store event, small book club, large conference audience, retreat, classroom, special interest group, high school assembly, podcast audience, or contribute a customized article for your blog or newsletter.

I’ve given sermons at liberal places of worship, taught small group workshops for writer’s groups, served as a guest speaker in academic classes, and have spoken at large conferences. I appreciate speaking in-person, by phone or webinar with a customized topic or any of my signature topics below.

My topics are suitable for a variety of time-frames to fit event needs.

 

Keynotes & Presentations

  • Do What You Love Without Being Broke All The Time
  • Pre-Publication Marketing Strategies for Writers
  • Creativity as a Spiritual Practice (Sermon, 20 min)
  • Activism for Introverts (Sermon, 20 min)
  • Faith in Action: Using Artistic Creativity to Support Justice (Sermon, 20 min)
  • Artistic Creativity: A Sacred Source for Advocacy & Spiritual Practice (60-75 min)

 

Workshops

  • Getting Past Negative Experiences: Healing Through Storytelling
  • Discovering Your Dream Career Through Storytelling
  • Your Creative Career: Fix the Top 10 Mistakes You Don't Know You're Making
  • Creating a Writing Routine That Works As Hard As You Do
  • Discovering & Growing Your Artist Platform (Five-part series or full day. Each part is ideally 60-90 min)
  • Using Your Book to Market Your Book

 

Conversations

In addition to my topics, I enjoy serving on panels and moderating around the following:

  • LGBTQ Issues in Fiction
  • Motivational Inspiration & Career/Personal Development
  • Business & Marketing of Writing & Publishing
  • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity
  • Using Artistic Creativity for Social Advocacy & Justice

I have also served an Inspirational Closing Speaker, Ingathering/Opening speaker and led Closing Ceremonies for events such as Women’s Retreats.

 

SELECTED TOPIC DESCRIPTIONS

High School Assemblies & Youth Motivational Speaking

I speak with high school students on techniques for creating their future, following their dreams, and overcoming negative thoughts and other obstacles to success. I touch on my own journey, sharing the skills and mindset I learned that helped me get to where I am today. I discuss how everyday emotion can be translated into powerful poetry, fiction, or song lyrics. I highlight the power of the written word in goal-setting and the impact of self-fulfilling prophecy in negative self-talk. I make clear that while we want to achieve our own person goals, we must be aware and compassionate about the state of the world around us, being the change we want to create. Students walk away with a renewed sense of self-confidence in their ability to direct their own path, tools for staying motivated, and a sense of ownership as a global citizen. All of which helps equips them to not only achieve their goals, but to do their part in making the world a better place. I stay after the program to answer questions, encourage, and listen.

 

Discovering Your Dream Career Through Storytelling

Storytelling is tried and true right-brain creative process that enhances the factors most important for career management: imagination, innovative problem solving, and creative thinking. Leveraging this method, you’ll use storytelling to review and reflect on your career identity, values, needs, desires, strengths, and aptitudes to find meaningful work in a relentlessly shifting global marketplace. Through the use of personal stories, we will discuss past experiences, present situations, and future aspirations so that you leave the session with a realistic action-oriented plan to create an authentic career path you’re excited about.

 

Your Creative Career: Fix the Top 10 Mistakes You Don't Know You're Making

You’ve invested a lot time, money, and heartache into your creative career. You want to make sure your return on investment isn’t destroyed by mistakes you could easily avoid, but simply aren’t aware of. Learn 10 detrimental mistakes authors make and how to fix them. You’ll learn valuable strategies to grow your business, increase your sales, save time and money, and achieve your goals. Fixing just one of these mistakes can make a huge difference in your career; imagine if you fixed all of them. Your potential is limitless.

 

Getting Past Negative Experiences: Healing Through Storytelling

We can’t change the past. The good news is not only can we change how we perceive our past, but we can control our future circumstances regardless of our present situation. What you’ve done or what was done to you; does not define you: You are not your past. The past is written, but your future’s pages are blank. You are the architect and author of your future. How does your story end? Let’s write! Studies have proven time and time again that there is power in the written word. We will harness that power and energy for inspiration and deep healing.

In this session, you will learn strategies for turning your emotions into fuel to support your happiness, instead of holding you back. We will acknowledge the pain; its healthy to experience negative emotions for a reasonable amount of time. Afterwards, you will create a more positive mindset through storytelling. You will experience a proactive and healing “happily ever after” to the story of your life.

 

Artistic Creativity: A Sacred Source for Advocacy & Spiritual Practice

Applying our creativity as a spiritual practice is rooted in the seven Unitarian Universalist principles. Creatively leveraging our artwork, song, writing, and other creative expressions and connecting it to personal experience and scripture, demonstrates the “living tradition” of our roots.

This program also highlights Indigenous artists from the Americas who have use their creative expressions as a means to advocate for their culture, justice, and inclusion. Through their example, participants will be inspired by the innovation and tradition of indigenous peoples, despite their devastating historical obstacles. This program also addresses the theme of readiness for action by providing action-oriented ideas on living our values using artistic creative expression for social change and justice.

Participants will leave the session empowered with a deeper appreciation for their creative yearnings. They will learn how tapping into the divine within to create something that affects others in dynamic and miraculous ways can be a tool for advocacy. Participants will learn how to apply strategies that demonstrate their faith in action by using their creativity to support equity, inclusion, and justice.

This program will raise awareness of the sacred connection between our creativity and the divine.

 

Creating a Writing Routine That Works As Hard As You Do

The best writing routines are hand-craft and unique to the author. Trying to mimic or recreate the writing routines of others will only take you so far. A strong writing routine that you're committed can help your reach your writing and career goals. It can also help you manage your time so you have the freedom to write. This goal is for a sustainable, realistic and meaningful routine that helps you finish your creative project.  You will leave this workshop with an action plan that you can maintain and feel proud of.

 

Do What You Love Without Being Broke All The Time - How to be financially free so you can pursue your passion (when your passion costs or doesn’t make money! 

You should be able to afford pursing your creative expression! Money should not be a barrier to doing what you love in life. Life is just too short! You deserve better. When you’re not pursing your passion and purpose in life, it eats away at the core of your soul. For creatives, its particularly detrimental, because for many, our creative expression is also a spiritual one. A Starving Artist is someone who’s starving financially, emotionally, and spiritually.

The bottom line is your financial situation should not keep you from doing what you love. In this keynote, I share my story of transition from federal employee to creative entrepreneur. I share how I published my first book while working in Human Resources during the day and attending graduate school at night.

You’ll learn how I left a great paying federal job to work for myself in a career portfolio of multiple businesses. I’ll share my wins and fails. I’ll also share the specific strategies I used to earn money and create the time needed to enjoy a lifestyle that allows me to follow my passions. I’ll offer suggestions and tips on how you can apply this to your own life.

In most cases you will need “seed money” to get started and a stable income to allow you to continue to enjoy what you’re passionate about, even if it makes much less money or actually costs you money. The bottom line is you should be able to afford to do what you love in life. If you don’t have the money, then this keynote is for you.

 

Discovering & Growing Your Author Platform (also a five-part series or full day. Each part is ideally 60-90 minutes)

In these sessions you will articulate the Why behind your writing and be excited about How you will get others to care about your Why. This matters because people don’t buy books: they buy entertainment, inspiration, or education. Believe it or not, the best time to build your platform is before you’ve published any books. There are numerous ways to build your author platform and you only need to do a few well to be successful.

This session is about creating awareness of many of the platform-building methods, discovering which you prefer based on your personality, comfort level, and goals, and growing your platform into a consistent and meaningful entity that attracts prospective readers and strengthens relationship with your loyal fans. This session emphasizes strategies that catered to platform building before a book has been published and for new authors with less than three books available for public consumption.

Part 1: The Foundation: Branding Fundamentals with an Authentic & Powerful Author Bio

Part 2: Social Sharing Online: Social Media, Quora & Blogging

Part 3: Connecting with Readers: Goodreads, Book clubs, and Conferences

Part 4: Author Website Asset: Content Decisions, Copy Writing, & Content Marketing

Part 5: Easy Self Promotion: Your Book, Business Cards, Writing Samples, & Networking

 

Using Your Book to Market Your Book

We’ll review real-life examples of an independently published books to delve into best practices for using a book to market other (or future books). Learn how to find affordable and high-quality book cover artists, inside book formatting solutions, create a copywrite page, gather back-of-book blurbs, use QR codes, and understand inside-book marketing tips to sell books you haven’t even written yet, and much more.

 

To request a speaking date with me, click on the button below.