public speaker

I am a Change Facilitator and Inspirational Speaker. I believe in the inherent ability for anyone to change. My mantra is that that there is hope, always.

You can view my corporate workshops, available through Speakers Inc.

I obtained my Postgraduate Diploma (with Honours) from UCT in 2019 and am an Honorary staff member at the University of the Witwatersrand, where I am a consultant to the Family Medicine Centre. I also conduct lectures and supervise medical students in the Family Medicine faculty.

I am an addictions and general counsellor, and have worked together with adults and adolescents to help them overcome drug and alcohol dependence, eating disorders, sex, gambling and other self-defeating behaviours for the past 12 years. I work with family members affected by addiction too, as no lives are ever left untouched by the illness.

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I also help individuals work through trauma associated with physical, sexual and emotional abuse. I also impart skills for how to deal with intense emotions, high levels of stress and a variety of mental illnesses.

I am a member of the Life Righting Collective, an NPO whose vision is to heal South Africa’s fractured past through the writing and sharing of personal stories. I head up the Fundraising Initiative and am the ‘Diva of Donations’!

I am also a member of Woman Zone Cape Town, an organisation who aims to uplift and empower women from diverse cultures, ethnicities and disciplines using a variety of creative platforms.

I would like to share with you what I have learnt about changing adversity into opportunity, and – in doing so – how to find your purpose. Available through Speakers Inc., I would like to show you how to unveil your truth, find your authentic voice and start speaking your truth. I would like to show you that there is no failure in asking for help and no shame in showing vulnerability.

In addition, I also offer Corporate Workshops and follow-up Corporate Wellness packages that are tailor-made to suit the needs of any organisation’s employees, including individual counselling and interventions, stress and emotional management, education around addiction, mental illness and trauma as well as support, and access to ongoing group or individual therapy.

I am also available to address high school learners and offers workshops on important issues such as recognising toxic relationships, boundaries, high-risk behaviours and sexual consent.

I am a vocal advocate for the destigmatization of addiction, abuse and mental illness. I believe that everyone is impacted in some way by one or more of these issues.

I want you to know that help is available. Sometimes it finds you.

public speaking.

February 2020

I was a guest author of the Salonfestival Cape Town event, alongside Robert Hamblin and Malika Ndlovu.
I was the guest speaker/ author at the Adam Tas Literary Fees.

January 2020

I was invited to be a judge for the inaugural Philida Literary Award by Dr Karina Szczurek.

October 2019

Presented “The Truth About Lies” to members of The 8 ‘O Clock Club.

September 2019

I presented a talk, “The Truth About Lies”, at Pecha Kucha Cape Town [Volume 55] and received a full standing ovation; the first in many years.
I was a guest speaker at the Recovery Festival in Cape Town.
I graduated from and am a member of the High Impact Public Speaking Professionals Group.

April 2019

Keynote Assembly address at private co-educational school – approximately 200 learners, teachers and parents – about my journey as outlined in my memoir and the urgent need for resilience, courage and hope.

I have been represented by Speakers Inc. as an Inspirational Speaker/ Changer Facilitator, where I have since been afforded the opportunity to address corporates on relevant and important issues such as addiction, abuse and mental health concerns and how I turned my atrocities into opportunities to find my purpose, and about the power of vulnerability, courage and hope.

March 2019

Guest speaker at 1001 South African Stories where I shared about the pain of trauma, addiction and the need for offering hope to others and the destigmatization of ‘taboo’ topics.

September 2018

Keynote speaker at the Cape Town Recovery Walk.

public appearances & media highlights.

2020

  • Interview with John Maytham on Afternoon Drive on CapeTalk.
  • Interview on Nick Hamman’s 5Drive on 5FM.
  • Interview on EW Blog with Ezekiel Kakana.

2019

  • Featured interview on INUA international website/ blog.
  • Featured on Beautiful News SA, an initiative powered by Mercedes-Benz.
  • Featured on Heartlines
  • Featured on ‘South Africans Doing Great Things’ with Nickolaus Bauer on 702/ 567AM Cape Talk.
  • Guest speaker at 1001 South African Stories on the topic of “Addiction”.
  • Panellist at the Franschhoek Literary Festival.
  • Featured interview podcast with Emma-Jane Truter from ‘Moment of the Mind’.
  • Featured interview podcast with Freddie van Rensburg from “Meet Me In The Field…”
  • 3-part interview on the Life Righting Collective’s website about the process of writing memoir with Helena Wagener
  • Panellist at the Kingsmead Book Fair, Johannesburg.
  • Contributor to the Life Righting Collective’s Readathon, Claremont, Cape Town.
  • Speaker at the Midlands Literary Festival, Kwa-Zulu, Natal.
  • Interview/ podcast with the Cheeky Natives.
  • Featured interview on Smile FM with Andre Du Toit, The Big Positive Guy.

2018

  • Featured guest twice on Late Nights with Sara-Jayne King on 567AM Cape Talk.
  • Featured guest on Afternoon Express on SABC 3.
  • Featured on Cape Town TV.
  • Featured on Drive Time show with Suga on Heart FM.
  • Featured in the Weekend Argus in an article about the Open Book Festival 2018.
  • Panellist in 3 sessions at Open Book Festival, Cape Town.
  • Interview with Linda Koama for her YouTube channel “Linda Reads”.
  • Featured on Pippa Hudson’s Family Matters show on 567AM Cape Talk.
  • Featured on Benito Vergotine on Smile 904FM.
  • Featured on Wild Coast 98.6FM.
  • Featured on hashtagradio with Hani du Toit.
  • Featured of 5FM 5 Talks with Nick Hamman.
  • Review of We Don’t Talk About It. Ever. feature in the Cape Argus by Helen la Grange.
  • Featured on SABC2 Morning Live “Book Pick of the Week” with Pearl Shongwe.
  • Featured on Good Hope FM with Nigel Pierce on his drive-time show.
  • Double-page spread feature in Vrouekeur magazine by Maryke Roberts.
  • Feature story in community newspaper, Southern Suburbs Tatler.

talks. media. panels.