Ashland, Oregon, United States •
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About
I've been to hell and back more than once, and I've spent my whole career learning how story helps people climb out. By day I direct theatre, choreograph, teach Shakespeare, and lecture on Greek tragedy — but the thread running through all of it is the same: how do we use language, rhythm, and story to move people through the hardest parts of being human? That question got personal after an eight-month journey to a diagnosis, and years of grief and loss that followed. "Hope Is a Tool" is what I built from that — not another "stay positive" talk, but a practical framework for finding your next right step when you don't have the energy to believe things will get better. I also keep a free library of hypnosis, somatic, and art-therapy practices online, because I'd rather hand people something they can actually use than just something that sounds nice on a stage. Off the clock, I'm probably reading a ghost story out loud, with a bookshelf full of Poe and folklore, in something black.
Hope is a Tool
Keynote • 30- 45 min
Hope isn't a feeling you wait for — it's a tool you use, like an ice axe on a mountain. This keynote reframes hope as a practical, repeatable action, giving audiences a simple framework — Base Camp, Route, and Summit Hope — for finding their next right step, even in the hardest seasons. Drawing on her own experience with diagnosis, loss, and grief, Deborah offers a trauma-informed alternative to "just stay positive," along with practical language for caregivers and supporters on how to accompany someone through hardship without becoming another obstacle on their mountain. Audiences leave with a tool, not just a feeling that fades by Monday.
Key Takeaways
Audience
People navigating grief, chronic illness, or hard life transitions — and the caregivers, clinicians, and professionals who support them.
Format
Duration
30- 45 min
Delivery
Your perspective matters!
What was it like engaging with Deborah?