MY JOURNEY
I was born into life's chaos and like many of you, I lived through some traumatic and challenging events. Gratefully, I not only lived through them, but I also learned to thrive because of them. They became the foundation that developed my resiliency.
Life Is Full Of Irony
In public school and into university, I dreaded public speaking. It made me ill just to think about standing on stage in front of others. I would visibly shake. Tears would roll down my face. And often all I could hear was the buzzing in my ears. It would have come as a surprise to all my teachers, that after university, I was hired by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), to be a public presenter of mental health information.
After I was hired, I was petrified thinking about my public speaking role. The memories from the past seeped in. What if I really couldn’t handle the presentations? What if my fear prevented me from speaking and sharing? What if that fear caused me to lose my job?
This was my dream job. I wanted to be a part of a movement to remove stigma, bring understanding and help others find the strategies that they so desperately needed.
So, I stepped into my role and a surprising thing happened once I got started—I was not so nervous, upset or even flustered. I was energized, passionate and powerful—even funny—and my audiences responded. Seeing their 'light-bulb moments' fueled me even further.
I discovered the secret to overcoming my public speaking fear.
PASSION. PURPOSE. POSSIBILITY.
I could help others by sharing my insights from past lessons learned and information researched. When I connected to these, the fear was inconsequential. I went on to speak to thousands of people on behalf of the CMHA and we made a difference; we helped to lessen the stigma around mental illness and mental health. The media even dubbed me The Resiliency Builder.
Today, I continue to share these messages around building resiliency, managing stress and creating wellness, through my S-O-S Principle™. I love working with stressed-out, frustrated or struggling front-line teams and organizational leaders so that they can become less stressed, more resilient, healthier and productive.
WHY CHOOSE BEVERLY?
EXPERIENCE
Beverly is not a 'flavour-of-the-day'. For over twenty years, she has worked with people and organizations, using her S-O-S Principle™. Beverly's early days saw her partnering with the Canadian Mental Health Association, sharing their messages around awareness, stigma and support. Today, one hundred thousand leaders and employees have learned about Beverly's S-O-S Principle™ which is tried, tested and proven to work. Her depth of knowledge and ability to connect is why she is a trusted expert and why she has given over 500 media interviews in print, television and radio.
EFFECTIVENESS
Beverly’s focused stress, health and wellness topics are customized to directly relate to your group’s needs. From a timely, inspiring keynote to a more in-depth seminar or workshop, she can accommodate your needs. Audiences continually rate Beverly above ninety percent for quality of presentation and information, and above ninety percent in relevance to daily living. Ranked as one of the Top 0.4% of people talking about mental health, this depth of knowledge is key to meeting your team's needs.
EXCELLENCE
As one of less than seventy five Certified Speaking Professionals and Certified Virtual Presenters in Canada, Beverly takes her gifts and her business seriously. As a two-time president of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers-Toronto Chapter, a CAPS National Board Member, and part of a Global Speaker's Community, she continually updates her knowledge and speaking skills. Beverly is the author of many articles on mental health and is very proud of her book, Stress Out! 52 Weeks To Letting More Life In.
BEVERLY'S CREDENTIALS
For over twenty years, Beverly has used her S-O-S Principle™ with people and organizations who want to control their reactions to stress, build resiliency against life’s challenges, and live healthy, successful lives.
She launched her own company, R ‘n B Consulting in 1995, and since then she has helped teams from a wide range of industries, including healthcare, education, government agencies, finance, and not-for-profit, to shift from stressed-out to resilient, enabling them to be more engaged, productive and healthy.
Beverly’s psychology, sociology, management, and adult education background combine to create her Work Smart Live Smart presentations, which are soundly based in research, and are enlightening and inspirational. Audiences discover the right strategies to improve their health, manage their challenges, and enhance their life’s satisfaction using her three simple questions.
Beverly is a sought-after media spokesperson and has represented high-profile brands such as Expedia.ca, TD Insurance and P&G. She has made over 500 television and radio appearances on shows such as City TV and CBC, and in national publications from the Toronto Star newspaper to Chatelaine magazine. She is a highly respected speaker and is one of less than seventy-five Canadians to have earned their Certified Speaking Professional designation and is the first Canadian to have earned her double CVP (Certified Virtual Presenter). These designations are the promise that Beverly is going to be the easiest part of your event.
Connect with Beverly if you are looking to have her be your media spokesperson, comment on recent research for your publication, or share her expertise and experience with your audience.
Work Life Satisfaction
Beverly works hard at creating balance and believes that an important part of that is in giving back to her community. Beverly dedicates about a third of her time to multiple community agencies and currently sits on the Board or volunteers on committees for CAPS National, CAPS Toronto, Karate Kawartha Lakes and the SWKKF. She has been a Board member for Grace House, MMHA, Ascension, Grace Lutheran and on committees or volunteered for MADD Canada, Distress Center Peel, COWHA and the United Way.
The most important part of Beverly's balance is the time spent with her family including her two boys, husband and her office companions: Misty and Carly. Beverly lives in the Kawarthas and takes full advantage of the opportunities to garden, camp, sit by the camp fire, boat and explore in her vintage Mustang.
FUN FACTS
FUN FACT #1
Beverly is a karate Sensei and can count to 10 in Japanese.
But, she can’t sneak up on you like a ninja...yet.
FUN FACT #2
Beverly is the farmer’s daughter.
And, she has rode a calf, milked a cow, and loaded hay bales into the hayloft.
FUN FACT #3
Beverly has more than 20 flower beds and over 1000 outdoor plants.
But, sadly, she can’t prevent the plants in her house from dying.
FUN FACT #4
Beverly hates exercise and loves brussel sprouts and ice cream.
But, certainly not mixed together!