Michael's latest book, Koshersoul, was named the Jewish book of 2022 by the Jewish Book Council.
Topic: Authors
Candace Doby
Create A Courage-Ready Culture
What could your organization accomplish with a workplace culture that duly equips and rightly supports team members to take worthwhile risks and perform to their potential? A lot — including more innovation, higher employee engagement and increased productivity. In this presentation, speaker and coach Candace Doby shows leaders how to create a Courage-Ready Culture™ where everyone can contribute and own their brilliance.
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
- Follow the courage process its team members go through to prepare themselves to own their brilliance at work.
- Identify key opportunities within that process to deliberately engage and support their teams in taking worthwhile risks.
- Apply key strategies to those opportunities that, when repeated, start to create a culture where employees are ready, willing and able to courageously speak up, step up and show up.
Courage at Work: How to take more risks and own your brilliance
An organization’s ability to reach its highest level of excellence comes down to one thing: its people — courageously owning their brilliance, in both typical and transitional times. But how do you get them to speak up with divergent ideas, show up with authenticity and step up with confidence when failure and judgment loom as potential outcomes? In this leadership development presentation, speaker and coach Candace Doby blends storytelling and research to take participants through a process for how to manage fear, activate personal courage and take worthwhile risks — so they can unleash their potential and make a greater impact on their organization.
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
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Identify three key components in the development of courage that will eliminate the frustrating feeling of not knowing where to start when facing a new challenge.
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Convert those components into a process that prepares them to evaluate risks from insight, instead of insecurity.
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Leverage that process when opportunities arise for them to step outside of their comfort zone and demonstrate their brilliance.
The Courage To Own Your Brilliance: DEI In The Workplace
It takes a lot of courage to thrive in a world where you are challenged, questioned, and/or dealing with daily microaggressions as a person of color. In this talk, Candace shares stories of DEI + belonging through the lens of courage. She offers advice about how to conjure your courage to more fully embody your own brilliance — to lay claim to your uniqueness, skills, and experiences — to support the creation of space for DEI+Belonging initiatives to take root in organizations. This talk is ideal for corporate ERGs as well as youth (schools/colleges/organizations) and is ideal for Black History Month, too.
Calling On Courage: What Black History Can Teach Us About Taking More Worthwhile Risks At Work
What stops us from taking worthwhile risks in the workplace — risks like having hard conversations about diversity and inclusion, showing up authentically for ourselves and our teams, and challenging old systems that do not serve new workplace realities? The answer centers on courage. Speaker and coach Candace Doby leverages stories of incredible courage from leaders in black history to show participants how to conjure their own to speak up, step up and show up at work.
“Our organization was looking for an energetic and engaging speaker to motivate our attendees in their roles as advocates. We were incredibly fortunate to find Candace Doby to give the keynote during our annual Policy Forum in Washington D.C. She presented with a fantastic energy. Her engaging style is also approachable and down-to-earth, allowing attendees to connect to her message and see themselves within it.”
–Ashlie White, Chief Programs Officer – Amputee Coalition
“Candace spoke for us at our council conference, kicking off our main event which had about 1100 attendees. Having her speak really set the tone and filled everyone with excitement as we went into the week! Her message was well-delivered, inspirational and she tailored it to fit our attendees. She was professional, fun and relatable. I highly recommend Candace as a keynote speaker!”
– Cara Dollinger, League of SE Credit Unions
Featured on MSNBC and NPR, Candace Doby is a speaker, author, and coach who works with companies and organizations to create a culture of courage where employees perform at their highest potential.
Candace combines a decade of research on courage with her experiences leading marketing teams at Chipotle and traveling the world solo. This unique combination equips her with the implementable strategies she has shared with thousands of leaders to help them courageously speak up, step up and show up in the workplace.
Candace is known for delivering those strategies with a blend of truth, love and a bit of shade to match the realness of courage, which prompts clients to refer to her in-person and virtual presence as “captivating”. She has spoken with thousands of employees at organizations such as the The Timken Company, The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transportation Authority, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and The American Camp Association.
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Deirdre Cooper Owens, PhD
Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens is an award winning author and a historian most known for her writings on slavery and the history of reproductive medicine. She is also widely known for capturing the history of Harriet Tubman as a disabled woman and how it relates to DEI.
Alan Bergo
The Grocery Store Outside
This talk is ideal for those interested in farming/growing, including restaurants/bars
There is a world of food at our fingertips that we overlook and take for granted on a daily basis. With our current food system relying on conventional agriculture, we need to look at every angle we can if we’re ever going to attempt to feed more people with less inputs. A byproduct of searching for the finest ingredients for his restaurants was that Alan discovered the virility and extreme volume with which some particular plants grow, plants that are at our fingertips, and under our feet. We harvest corn and soy, but what if there were products we could harvest up to six times a year? It’s possible, and you don’t need a hobby farm to try out Alan’s ideas! A wide variety of people and organizations: community gardens, small farms, vegetable growers, restaurants/bars, thrifty eaters, vegetarians, and locavores will find great takeaways in this talk.
Foraging Forward: Innovation for the Food Industry
This talk is ideal for culinary professionals including culinary students, chefs, and the food service industryThe culinary world devours new ingredients. Obtaining those that others can’t easily locate is a competitive advantage for chefs and restaurants. Alan (the “Forager Chef”) takes you on a journey into the cutting edge of the culinary world—literally the final frontier of ingredients that he, a handful of chefs, and wild food authors are shedding light on including wild herbs, like kinome and galium, extremely obscure vegetables, like angelica and cow parsnip blossoms, hyper seasonal parts of plants we never knew we could eat, like the shoots of squash, unripe pumpkins, and young elm seeds, and a legion of leafy green plants history has forgotten. Alan shares stories of how he began to forage and the processes he went through serving his unique finds in restaurants. He shares the challenges, including sourcing, the cycle of wild food harvesters that inhibit chef access, and how we might break those cycles to share these things with the world. (That is a picture of Chef Alan Bergo – left – on Hulu’s Chefs vs. Wild – Picture courtesy of Hulu.)
Alan, a well-trained chef who specializes in the bounty of foraged foods, is available for consulting also. Fill out the form below to inquire.
Alan Bergo: Tastemade – Foraged+Found
Alan Bergo: Chef vs Wild (HULU)
Alan Bergo: Today Show
Alan’s segment is the latter half of a story on Blue Zones. Click to view the full Today Show video.
Alan Bergo: The Wild Harvest
Alan Bergo: Midwest Wild Forest Festival Keynote
“We booked Chef Alan Bergo speak at American Culinary Federation’s 2022 National Convention in Las Vegas and it was such a cool learning experience. Chef Bergo was so knowledgeable and passionate and it was a joy to work with him as he was very well prepared. You can definitely feel his passion and his presentation was brought to life with beautiful photos and a tasting, while we all learned about foraging wild foods. Our convention room had close to 1000 chefs in attendance who are all culinary experts, and we’ve received great feedback that attendees, and how they are now very inspired to find ways that they can now incorporate foraged ingredients into their restaurants! We learned so much about foraging…… and the ingredients that are growing in our backyards!”
– Jacqui Pressinger, Director of Strategic Partnerships, American Culinary Federation
“Alan is a dynamic and engaging speaker. Well organized and high-interest PowerPoint too. Alan was also incredibly generous with his time at the book signing.”
– Amy Alpine, Chippewa Valley Book Festival
“Alan is my Yoda. He taught me everything I know about the kitchen, and the wild.”
– Jeremy Bechtold, Executive Chef: The Happy Gnome, St. Paul MN
“Few chefs have the sort of culinary and field experience Alan does.”
– Samuel Thayer, Founder of Foragers Harvest and Wildwood Products. Author of The Forager’s Harvest, Nature’s Garden, and Incredible Wild Edibles
“When the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Agriculture asked me to sit on a task force to help author the statewide certification class for wild mushroom foragers, sellers and buyers, my first call after accepting that appointment was to Alan. I asked him to join me on the task force since I felt his superior knowledge would be valuable to the process. He didn’t disappoint.”
– Chef Leonard P. Russo, Seven-time James Beard Nominee and Former Executive Chef/Owner of Heartland Restaurant, St Paul, MN Author of Heartland: Farm Forward Dishes from the Great Midwest
James Beard Award Winner, (2022), Alan Bergo, is the Forager Chef, a leading authority on culinary uses of mushrooms and plants. Thousands follow his work at Forager | Chef – a website dedicated to wild food seasonal cooking and kitchen industry life – for tips on how to maximize what is available to us via the woods (and our backyards, too). The website started as a journal and evolved into a mycelium-like network of wild food authorities and mushroom hunters from around the world.
A Midwestern native, Alan worked for 10 years under Italian chefs and then served as sous chef to Lenny Russo at St. Paul’s 7-time James Beard nominee Heartland. He led two restaurants as executive chef of the Salt Cellar and then at farm to table cornerstone Lucia’s in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a consultant on everything from foraging for unique restaurant menus to how mushrooms can be used for wild things like grain-free starch fabrication and even as a condiment.
Alan’s work has been featured in various print and visual media, including REI Coop, The Today Show, FOX, The Daily Beast, Heirloom Gardener, Experience Life Magazine, The Growler, The Heavy Table, Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine, and Women’s Health. 2021 book titled “Forager Chef: Flora” is a study in rare and forgotten plants, herbs, vegetables, and culinary techniques is already in its 4th print run! In 2022, Alan won the James Beard Award for Instructional Visual Media for his online show, The Wild Harvest. You can see Alan in Season 1, Episode 2 of Hulu’s new show “Chef vs Wild” (2022).
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Jennifer Hamady
DEI and Communication
It is necessary, incredibly self-affirming, and empowering to explore how we can be successful in a world that isn’t fair – one that is full of microaggressions, bias, and a daily need to (re)explain ourselves as people of color. What vision can we create that acts as a beacon for ourselves and for our lives when we are faced with what feels like daily assaults? What skills do we need in order to communicate most authentically and effectively with those within and outside of our communities, so that we may bring that vision to life? Jennifer’s work with hundreds of people of color – from high school students to corporate executives = is absolutely life-altering. There are no words to convey the impact of this work with diverse people. This DEI topic can be offered for retreats or as a day-long masterclass/workshop and is ideal for diverse corporate ERGs/teams as well as students and staff of color (high school/college).
Overcoming The Fear Of Public Speaking
Managing the fear of public speaking is the subject of a thousand books, workshops, and programs that attempt to help deal with and mitigate its effects. Yet only a fundamental shift in the way in how this anxiety is perceived will allow us to overcome and transcend it. In this presentation, Jennifer speaks to the true nature of performance anxiety, helping us to break down the barrier- finally- that exists between us and other people in all of our interactions.
Leadership And Voice
As leaders, we know the importance of communication, yet our habits and blind spots can hinder our ability to effectively lead, connect and advance our careers. In this talk, Jen leads a conversation about the technical and emotional issues that interfere with our communication and self-expression. In this interactive approach, you will learn practical tools for developing and extending your most powerful voice in the workplace and beyond.
Finding Your Voice
In this presentation, Jennifer teaches us how to discover, honor, and express our most authentic selves. She explores topics including our levels of physical, mental, and emotional awareness, and how to address and resolve any limiting associations and actions that prevent us from walking openly, joyfully, and powerfully into and through our lives.
Corporate Public Speaking: The Heart & Art
Whether you’re in sales, customer service, or the CEO of a company – you’ll walk away from this talk feeling ready to communicate and lead with confidence and a new perspective on self and your stakeholders! While most communication training aims to teach you the tricks of the technical trade: how to craft a great speech, connect with your audience, and properly protect and project your voice (all important goals, for sure) – these are not nearly important as first considering who is doing the speaking. In this engaging interactive presentation, Jennifer helps individuals and teams discover the dis-empowering ways of thinking and being that have been standing in the way of their best self-expression at work. Once revealed, Jennifer works with participants to bring the technical skills of speaking and communication to life in an interactive format that is the hallmark of her keynotes and workshops.
Voice And Communication In The Culinary Arts/Food Industry
The food industry is a demanding career path and as with any work, communication is often challenging. When you throw high stakes, pressure, and different personalities in a professional culinary kitchen into the mix, communication can quickly get out of hand. Join Jennifer for a unique look at how to bridge the divides that diminish our power and joy in working together in the food industry – resulting in respect, partnership, and a shared sense of vision and responsibility. You and your culinary team will walk away from this incredible conversation with the skills necessary for personal, interpersonal, and professional success.
Masterclass: Voice For Singers
Working with aspiring and professional singers is one of Jennifer’s greatest joys. Each event is tailored to meet your group’s specific needs, which Jennifer brings to life through a combination of conversation and working one on one with volunteers. Whether participants sing or observe, the experience of being ‘shown’ rather than ‘told’– combined with Jennifer’s unique ability to teach and lead with love, humility, and humor– will result in a magical and memorable session, as well as vocal and personal tools that last.
Popular topics include:
- Performance Presentation and Authenticity
- Vocal Technique and Troubleshooting
- Working With and Through Performance Anxiety
- Bringing Balance and Bravery to a Career in Music
Jennifer Hamady is a voice consultant and board-certified psychotherapist specializing in technical and emotional issues that interfere with self-expression. With offices in New York and Washington DC, Jennifer works in private practice with musicians and others to discover, develop and confidently release their personal, professional and performance potential. Her clients include Grammy and CMA award-winners, contestants on The Voice and American Idol, performers in Emmy and Tony award-winning productions, and corporate clients (including CEO’s) across an array of industries.
Jennifer is the author of The Art of Singing: Discovering and Developing Your True Voice, Learning to Sing: A Transformative Approach to Vocal Performance and Instruction, and The Art of Singing Onstage and in the Studio. Jennifer also writes regularly for The Huffington Post and Psychology Today on matters of creative expression, and conducts workshops and lectures frequently around the world.
In addition to recording four albums of her own material, Jennifer toured internationally with Cirque du Soleil’s DELIRIUM as a lead singer and sang back-up vocals for artists and television programs including Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Patti LaBelle, Def Leppard, Jessica Simpson, Lee Ann Womack, The Grammys, American Idol, David Letterman, Good Morning America, and The Tonight Show.
Her undergraduate and graduate work are in Classical Vocal Performance and Psychology, she holds current, professional affiliations with The American Counseling Association (ACA), National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC), Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), The International Women’s Writing Guild (IWWG), Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), American Society of Composers and Performers (ASCAP), Women In Music (WIM), The Author’s Guild (AG), National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the New York Singing Teacher’s Association (NYSTA).
Jennifer is of Lebanese, Cuban and Mexican descent. She loves to travel abroad and speaks Spanish. Jennifer resides in the Washington DC area.
Ashley English
No Taste Like Home
In this talk, author Ashley explores telling your personal culinary experiences and journey through your cookbook or menu. Using examples (and tastings when possible!) from her book Southern From Scratch, which showcases how her culinary upbringing informed and shaped the cook she am today. She’ll discuss ways to imbue dishes with both literal and figurative, personal flavor.
So You Want To Write A Book?
Ashley guides you on the journey of creating a book concept, pitching it, working with agents versus being unaffiliated, recipe development and testing (where relevant), and more. She’s learned many helpful steps to catching an editor’s attention along her 11 book journey and she generously shares what insider tips have stuck, and what hasn’t, along the way.
Recipe Development (aka: What’s Your Flavor?)
Ashley invites you to more deeply explore the process of recipe writing. Having authored 11 food-based books, she’s learned quite a few tips and tricks for crafting recipes that are original yet personal, innovative yet familiar. This talk is geared not just for those interested in writing cookbooks of their own, but also for getting out of “safe” culinary ruts.
Breaking Bread
For centuries, people bonded over food—building long-term relationships based on a need to collaborate in order to grow, harvest, and preserve food. Today, the easy access to food has eliminated the need for those relationships, leaving us with one less reason to interact. In this talk, Ashley discusses how eating together has the power to create scientifically proven social bonds, engender community preservation, and serve as a form of diplomacy.
Using Food as a Catalyst for Memoir Style Writing
This talk is ideal for those food professionals that enjoy writing as much as they enjoy cooking. We’ll discuss ideas for creating and nurturing food-based first person essays, articles, blog posts, and more, and ways to get out of food-writing ruts.
Ashley English is the author of 11 books, including all 5 books in her “Homemade Living series” (Canning & Preserving, Keeping Chickens, Keeping Bees, Home Dairy, and Home Apothecary), as well as A Year of Pies, Quench, Handmade Gatherings, A Year Of Picnics, The Essential Book of Homesteading, and Southern From Scratch.
She has worked over the years with a number of nonprofit organizations committed to social and agricultural issues, hosted a bimonthly column for several years in the popular blog Design*Sponge entitled “Small Measures with Ashley,” is an ongoing contributor to the quarterly publication “Taproot,” and regularly contributes to a number of international, national, and regional print publications. She has been a frequent guest on Martha Stewart Radio on SiriusFM.
She regularly teaches classes on topics such as chicken-keeping, bee-keeping, canning & preserving, pie-making, creating dairy products, making homemade health & body care items, and crafting homemade beverages.
She holds degrees in holistic nutrition and sociology, and is an alumnus of both The University of North Carolina at Asheville and Clayton College of Natural Health. She lives in Candler, NC with her husband Glenn, their young sons Huxley and Alistair, and a menagerie of animals. You can follow along with Ashley’s writings at Small Measure.
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