Impact Speaking

Impact Speaking that moves audiences from awareness to action.

Research-informed, trauma-aware keynotes and workshops that equip caregivers, professionals, and systems to create meaningful change for children in foster care.

Featured Talk

COLLABORATION OVER CONTROL

How trauma-informed collaboration transforms outcomes in homes, schools, and systems

Control-based approaches dominate our schools, agencies, and caregiving systems, yet they consistently fail under stress and trauma. This keynote reframes behavior, resistance, and disengagement through a trauma-aware lens and offers a clear, humane alternative rooted in collaboration.

Drawing on neuroscience, education, and child welfare research, this session shows why collaboration is not permissiveness. It is a disciplined, effective strategy that strengthens relationships, improves outcomes, and reduces burnout across roles.

Ideal for: Conferences, leadership summits, education and child welfare audiences, interdisciplinary teams

Audience leaves with:

  • A new framework for understanding behavior under stress

  • Practical strategies for replacing power struggles with problem-solving

  • Tools that work across classrooms, homes, and organizations

  • A shared language that strengthens collaboration across systems

Available as a keynote or extended workshop

Supporting Talks

Educational Stability Is a Public Issue

Why school disruption costs us all and what actually improves outcomes

Educational instability for children in foster care is not an individual problem. It is a public issue with long-term social and economic consequences. This talk connects policy, practice, and lived experience to show what improves outcomes and where systems fall short.

Ideal for: Policymakers, agency leaders, educators, funders, cross-sector audiences

Focus areas:

  • Long-term impacts of school instability

  • What ESSA intended to solve

  • Practical strategies that improve stability and achievement

Trauma, Learning, and the Myth of “Noncompliance”

What behavior is really communicating and how systems get it wrong

This talk challenges the widespread belief that behavior problems stem from defiance or lack of motivation. By unpacking how trauma impacts cognition, memory, and emotional regulation, audiences gain a clearer understanding of why traditional disciplinary approaches often escalate rather than resolve issues.

Ideal for: Educators, caregivers, clinicians, administrators, frontline professionals

Focus areas:

  • Brain-based explanations for challenging behavior

  • Why punishment fails under trauma

  • Trauma-aware responses that preserve dignity and accountability

From Foster Care to Flourishing Futures

Moving beyond survival-based systems toward long-term success

This visionary talk challenges audiences to rethink what success looks like for youth in foster care. It centers on the role of stable education, trained caregivers, and coordinated systems in creating pathways to long-term well-being.

Ideal for: Keynotes, closing sessions, funder gatherings, system-wide convenings

Focus areas:

  • Why survival metrics fall short

  • What flourishing actually requires

  • How systems can align around long-term outcomes

Advocacy That Changes Outcomes

How ordinary adults can navigate complex systems without burning out

Advocacy should not require legal expertise or endless emotional labor. This session equips caregivers and professionals with practical tools, language, and preparation strategies that make advocacy more effective and sustainable.

Ideal for: Parents, foster parents, CASAs, educators, nonprofit staff

Focus areas:

  • Strategic vs reactive advocacy

  • Language that influences systems

  • Collaboration as a leverage point for change

Selected Engagements

National Conferences

  • Education Law Association

    • Annual Conferences (2020 & 2023)

  • Attachment & Trauma Network, Inc. (ATN)

    • Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference (2026)

  • Association for Training on Trauma

    and Attachment in Children (ATTACh)

    • Annual Conference (2026)

Speaking Competitions

  • Voice of Purpose 2023

    • Top 10 Finalist

  • Unicorn Talks 2024

    • Fan Favorite

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5-star reviewed podcast guest known for compelling stories, actionable insights, and ability to engage audiences across the foster care, education, and advocacy sectors

Why This Matters

Too often, foster care–related presentations raise awareness without offering solutions. My speaking engagements are designed to deliver clarity, practical tools, and a path forward. Audiences leave with language they can use, strategies they can apply immediately, and a deeper understanding of how systems either support or hinder children’s success.

Audiences gain:

  • Clear understanding of trauma’s impact on learning and behavior

  • Practical advocacy strategies grounded in real systems

  • Tools that strengthen collaboration across roles

  • Language that empowers rather than escalates

  • Insight that translates into action, not overwhelm

Each presentation is grounded in research, informed by practice, and designed to move audiences from insight to action. Topics can be tailored for keynotes, workshops, panels, or multi-session engagements.

Who I speak to:

  • National and regional conferences

  • State and county child welfare agencies

  • Foster care and licensing agencies

  • Nonprofits and foundations

  • CASA programs

  • Educators and school leaders

  • Universities and training institutes

  • Interdisciplinary panels and summits

Each presentation is tailored to the audience, goals, and context of the event.

Formats available:

  • Keynote presentations

  • Workshops and breakout sessions

  • Half-day or full-day trainings

  • Panels and moderated discussions

  • Virtual or in-person delivery

© 2025 Foster Care Training Today - All Rights Reserved.