I live happily in southern California with my husband where I enjoy eating lots of sushi, going on hikes and long drives and exercising daily. Previously, I was in Dallas for 10 years where I went to Southern Methodist University for both my undergraduate and graduate programs. My family is originally from Honduras, Central America, where I was born and raised. Currently, I’m a social media strategist trying to help brands make an impact in the digital space.
Wendy has been the daughter, the wife, and the mother of loved ones managing life with IBD in addition to mental health issues, substance use disorders, and autism spectrum disorder. It is through her caregiver experiences that she has become an unhailed expert in her own little chronic disease community. Having spent her career as a college educator teaching English as a Second Language (domestically and overseas), Wendy has also written several novels, translating them herself into Spanish. She also writes blog posts for Different Brains, an organization that advocates for inclusion, acceptance, and awareness of neurodiversity. Her newest life role is that of Navy mom, offering yet more opportunity to practice living the term Semper Gumby (always flexible). Wendy has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast production from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in education and second language instruction from Florida International University. She has now joined the Lyfebulb team to incorporate her passion for writing, learning, teaching, and connecting with others to focus on her role as IBD Community Manager
I’m Madeleine Jane, a mom and a nana, I’m from Piedmont California and graduated from UCLA with a degree in Sociology although my favorite classes were Psychology. I now live in Lake Oswego, Oregon and love cooking, entertaining, gardening and yoga.
Bob McEachern is a Follicular Lymphoma patient and advocate. Soon after his diagnosis in 2008, he started a blog to update family and friends about his condition. Years later, the blog continues to be a source of education and inspiration for FL patients and caregivers in over 80 countries. A writing teacher, Bob is a former columnist for Lymphoma News Today and a Community Advocate for Blood-Cancer.com, and has written about cancer and patient advocacy for The Mighty, Patients Have Power Magazine, and Media Commons, among other venues. He has served as a Consumer Reviewer for the Congressionally-Directed Medical Research Programs on peer-reviewed cancer research and rare cancers, and as a member of the HealtheVoices Impact Fund Advisory Board. He lives in Connecticut with his amazing wife and three kids, and slightly less amazing dog.
Yolanda is the Founder of Spitfir Productions specializing in Brand Strategy; and a former Brand Fashion Manager. She’s penned “Another Face of Multiple Myeloma”, reflecting on her journey with multiple myeloma. Yolanda is also the Executive Director of Mae’s Breath Foundation 501c (3). Mae’s Breath Foundation is a lung cancer awareness organization that promotes and provides information to the community about the disease. Yolanda is the Founder, President, and Certified Trainer of Chronic Fitness a fitness boutique service for clients with chronic conditions, who seek fitness direction. She’s currently in remission. She’s hopeful for a cure to myeloma- but until then living life as an advocate for health.
Hey y’all! I’m a liver transplant recipient, wife, adoptive mom, and chronically ill human, blogger, and podcaster. After a diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis in 2005, I received a life-saving liver transplant that same year. I love talking with anyone in the transplant, mental health, or chronic illness world and help communicate their stories. I use my platform, The Bonus Years, to help bring hope to the hard. I can’t wait to connect with you!
Sahil Om Madan was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as a 20 year old college student. Graduating as an electronics engineer he moved on to a successful career with Siemens Healthcare. In early 2021 he left a management position with the German MNC in order to pursue his passion full time.
Sahil is today dedicating all his time to his health startup Fused Training, India’s first fitness platform for people living with different types of diabetes. While focusing on providing tailor-made solutions for T1Ds, the 80 million people in India living with Type 2 Diabetes are indeed welcome to the Fused family too.
While still in his corporate role, Sahil spent his spare time getting certified as a fitness coach and he started training other T1Ds in 2019. He is also a Certified Diabetes Educator and currently studying nutrition.
Sahil co-founded the NGO Diabetes India Youth In Action (DIYA) in 2018 – an organisation which has contributed significantly to the progress of the T1D patient advocacy community in India.
Having just celebrated his 10th diaversary, 2021 marks a decade long journey from waking up to a new reality in the ICU after a severe DKA – to being a fitness professional with his own healthcare startup.
Fused Training aspire to inspire and support as many as possible to lead healthy and happy lives by fusing the scientific knowledge and personal experience of diabetes management and a holistic fitness approach.
Debra Braddock (formerly Madden) is a 2-time cancer survivor who was first diagnosed at the age of 22 years as a young adult shortly after she’d graduated from college. She had been struggling with unexplained symptoms for several years–symptoms that she later learned were “classic” for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After a particularly horrific bout of coughing during which Debra couldn’t catch her breath, her father insisted on bringing her for a chest x-ray. The moment she saw that x-ray, time was divided into “before” and “after.” She finally received her explanation: she had stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Thus began her entry into young adulthood and a world comprised of painful biopsies, CT scans, chemotherapy, radiation, and more time spent with her oncology nurses than with her friends and new work colleagues. As many young adult cancer survivors will tell you, receiving such a diagnosis at that time of your life brings with it multiple unique, difficult challenges. And for some of us, not only does it divide time, but it shapes who we are henceforward. For Debra, it has affected every important adult decision of her life, including career choices, when to get married, the question of having children, whether and when to move, and on and on and on. And again, as with far too many young adult cancer survivors, in the years following Debra’s treatment for Hodgkin’s, she went on to develop several serious late effects secondary to that treatment, including serious cardiac issues in her 30s and a second cancer diagnosis at the age of 42: this time, stage 2 ER+, PR-, HER2- breast cancer. It was following Debra’s second cancer diagnosis that she became a nationally active cancer research advocate. One afternoon shortly after her bilateral mastectomy and reconstructive surgery and a day or so after she’d once again begun chemotherapy, she began her transition from a patient to a patient advocate. She was reading about a breast cancer survivor who decided that she wanted to gain a seat at the table with clinicians and investigators where research decisions were made. She joined the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) and applied for their extremely competitive and rigorous advanced six-day scientific course, called “Project LEAD,” that focuses on the biology of breast cancer, genetics and genomics, epigenetics, epidemiology, research design, advocacy, and more. Debra decided then and there that when she completed her active cancer treatment, she was going to apply for the NBCC’s “Project LEAD.” She applied and was as ecstatic as when she’d received her college acceptance letter when she learned that she’d gotten in. She walked into that class in Denver as a shy, recovering cancer patient and walked out as a passionate cancer research advocate with countless lifelong new friends who were fellow breast cancer survivors. She immediately started to make additional connections and shortly established partnerships with scientists and clinicians to design breast cancer research protocols, began to review breast cancer research proposals for the Department of Defense (DOD)’ Breast Cancer Research Program and other research panels, and became a member of several Scientific Advisory Committees. Further, as one who had already been a medical writer for many years, she began to write journal articles, patient educational materials, and commentary on breast cancer and other medical and health issues. As a nationally active cancer research advocate, Debra is a member of the NBCC; several committees and subcommittees with the ECOG/ACRIN Cancer Research Group; was a member of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)’s inaugural Advisory Panel on the Assessment of Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options, and regularly participates on integration programmatic panel grant reviews for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs’ Breast Cancer Research Program. Due to her frustration with the lack of scientific rigor regarding complex medical issues reported in the popular media, she also began a blog that deconstructs and shines a light on the often misleading, sensationalized, or downright inaccurate information provided to the public in her ongoing efforts to improve health literacy and ensure that patients are able to make informed decisions as active members of their own healthcare teams. You can find her blog at https://cancerresearchadvocate.com/. Ever since her diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Debra is passionate about taking complex medical information and making it understandable, timely, accessible, and actionable for patients, their caregivers, consumers, clinicians, researchers, and additional audiences. In fact, she recently left her long-time position at an ambulatory neurology practice–where she served as the health information technology / electronic health record (EHR) project manager and as a clinical systems specialist after her regional hospital system acquired her practice. She did so, so that she may concentrate full time on her content writing, editing, and blogging as a freelancer / contractor on important medical and health issues. Debra wanted to establish a name and logo for her new business that captured her eagle-eye attention to detail in a whimsical, interesting way, so she and her husband came up with the name, “The Persnickety Scrivener.” He then designed a logo that highlights a bespectacled bunny busy at work editing a towering stack of work—just the way that Debra prefers it.
I’m Ashley! A newlywed, mom-to be, and creator of things. I love creating hospitality experiences geared towards entertaining in your own home and making my guests feel like family. I’m originally from Tulsa, OK and currently reside in Houston, TX. As a type 2 diabetic, it’s important that I find balance in the kitchen to support a healthy lifestyle that I love.
Mike Veny loves working with leaders who are tired of bringing the same old textbook presentations on mental health or Diversity & Inclusion to their events. If you are looking for a compelling speaker who will connect with, entertain, and engage your audience—all while educating and uniting them around improving wellness—you’ve come to the right place.
As a Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist®, Mike’s presentations move past simply educating an audience to providing them with actionable steps they can take to change their lives and work environments. His reputation as a dynamic speaker provides confidence and peace of mind for meeting planners everywhere.
The mission of his company, Mike Veny, Inc., is to support you in receiving the gift of emotional wellness through unique learning experiences designed to empower your personal and professional growth. The International Association for Continuing Education and Training has awarded his company the prestigious Accredited Provider accreditation for its continuing education programs.
Mike’s Story Mike’s path to becoming a speaker became evident at an early age. He convinced the staff at psychiatric hospitals to discharge him three times during his childhood. In addition to being hospitalized as a child, he was expelled from three schools, attempted suicide, and was medicated in efforts to reduce his emotional instability and behavioral outbursts.
By the fifth grade, Mike was put in a special education class. Aside from getting more individualized attention from the teacher, he learned that pencil erasers make great sounds when tapped on a desk. He had no idea that drumming would become his career or his path to recovery. As an adult, Mike spent many years facilitating drum workshops for children with special needs, teaching them to channel their energy by banging a drum while also learning how to listen, focus, work together and succeed through teamwork. The project was such a hit that he continued to expand his drumming program, first to adults in recovery and eventually into the corporate setting.
A few things you may find of interest
* His bestselling book Transforming Stigma: How to Become a Mental Wellness Superhero and The Transforming Stigma Workbook have become valuable mental health resources for people of all ages.
* As a 2017 PM360 ELITE Award Winner, he is recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in the healthcare industry for his work as a patient advocate.
* He has presented for audiences in the corporate world, healthcare systems, K-12 education, professional development for teachers, colleges, and universities.
* He has delivered keynote presentations for Heineken, T-Mobile, Aetna, Salesforce, Sanofi and CVS Health.
* He is proud to be a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), National Diversity Council, Meeting Professionals International, the National Speakers Association and the Rotary Club of Wall Street New York.
* His presentations can be customized to fit the needs of your event and deliver the results you’re looking for.