Speaking
Trauma-Informed Keynotes That Build Resilience, Reclaim Voice, and Inspire Change
Heather Joy is a Registered Respiratory Therapist, trauma survivor, advocate, founder of Stand Tall, and author of The Weight of Air.
A frontline healthcare leader turned advocate and storyteller with 130,000+ followers, Heather delivers audience-appropriate, trauma-informed keynotes that help people build resilience, reclaim their voice, and find meaning after crisis.
Drawing from her experience in critical care, healthcare leadership, trauma recovery, advocacy, and personal resilience, she brings audiences practical tools, honest conversations, and stories that stay with them long after the event ends.
WHO HEATHER WORKS WITH
Healthcare Audiences
- Hospital systems and clinical departments
- Respiratory therapy, nursing, and allied health associations
- Patient experience and quality and safety teams
- Clinical leadership, charge nurses, preceptors, and educators
- Wellness, EAP, and staff support programs
Corporate, Leadership & Community Audiences
- Corporate HR and People Operations
- Leadership offsites and sales conferences
- Employee resource groups and well-being initiatives
- Women’s leadership and culture events
- General sessions needing a powerful closer or anchor keynote
SIGNATURE KEYNOTES
Reclaim Your Voice
A powerful keynote on what trauma, high stress, and life disruption steal first: your sense of self.
Heather gives audiences language and tools to rebuild self-trust, speak up, and move forward without pretending they are “fine.”
Burnout Is Not a Personal Failure
Burnout is not a character flaw.
Heather reframes what is really happening to high-performing people under constant pressure and delivers practical strategies for boundaries, recovery, and sustainable performance.
The 5-Minute Lifeline
Why small moments of joy matter in dark seasons.
A talk that normalizes humanity, restores perspective, and shows teams how to use connection and micro-resets to stay steady under pressure.
Trauma-Informed Leadership
How to lead people who are overwhelmed, shutting down, or operating in survival mode.
Heather gives leaders simple language and practices that build psychological safety without overstepping into therapy.
Stand Tall: Turning Pain Into Purpose
A mission-driven story about transforming personal hardship into impact.
Ideal for organizations investing in culture, belonging, resilience, and community engagement.
Healthcare Presentations
Trauma-Informed Communication in Healthcare: Words Matter
Audience-ready tools for language that reduces retraumatization, increases trust, and improves patient and team interactions.
The Hidden Crisis in Healthcare: Compassion Fatigue, Moral Injury, and the Cost of Caring
A clinician’s look at what is happening beneath burnout.
Heather names the patterns, the warning signs leaders miss, and the support strategies that actually help teams stay effective without going numb.
Surviving the Unspeakable: Trauma, Resilience, and Reclaiming Identity
A trauma-informed keynote blending lived experience with practical insight on survival responses, shame, and the nonlinear reality of healing.
The Weight of Air: Frontline COVID, Secondary Trauma, and Staying Human
What the public did not see: the hypervigilance, grief load, and emotional whiplash of crisis care.
A grounded talk on meaning-making after mass trauma and the cost of pushing through.
Trauma-Informed Leadership in Healthcare: Psychological Safety Without Turning Managers Into Therapists
How to lead teams carrying grief, triggers, and exhaustion.
Heather provides leaders with language, boundaries, and practical strategies that improve culture, retention, and patient experience.
AUDIENCE OUTCOMES
Participants leave with:
- Tools to regulate stress and rebuild resilience after hard seasons
- Language for boundaries and self-advocacy that protects performance and well-being
- A clearer understanding of how survival mode shows up at work
- Leadership behaviors that increase trust and psychological safety
- Permission to be human and still be effective
- Communication strategies that reduce escalation and build trust
- Greater understanding of trauma responses and healing
SPEAKING FORMATS
Heather is available for:
- Keynote Presentations (45–60 minutes)
- Keynote + Q&A (60–75 minutes)
- Fireside Chats and Interviews
- Breakout Sessions (45–75 minutes)
- Workshops (60–120 minutes)
- Panel Discussions
FEATURED BOOK
The Weight of Air
A Memoir of Trauma, Survival, and the Fight to Breathe Again
A story of resilience, survival, and self-forgiveness that leaves audiences feeling seen and empowered.
Many of Heather’s keynote presentations draw from the powerful lessons and lived experiences explored in her debut memoir.
SPEAKER SHEETS
Healthcare Speaker Sheet
Download information tailored for hospitals, healthcare associations, clinical leaders, educators, and patient experience teams.
Corporate & Leadership Speaker Sheet
Download information tailored for HR leaders, executive teams, employee wellness initiatives, conferences, and leadership events.
BOOK HEATHER
Interested in having Heather speak?
Interested in having Heather speak at your conference, healthcare organization, leadership retreat, community event, podcast, or workshop?
Email: heatherjoyauthor@outlook.com