Manya Chylinski | SpeakerHub

Personal Details

Current position (1)

Keynote Speaker, Workshops

Degrees (2)

MS, Library and Information Science

Simmons University

1991 to 1992

BA, History

Cal Poly Pomona

1984 to 1988

Bio

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Bio

Manya Chylinski is a writer, marketing consultant, and speaker. She is also a survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. She advocates for those who are psychologically impacted by crime and addresses such topics as communicating in a crisis, overcoming obstacles, and the importance of recognizing the psychological impacts of tragedy.

Manya’s life was violently altered, along with the lives of hundreds of others, while a spectator at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on the afternoon of April 15, 2013. However, her injuries could not be treated by first responders. As she returned to her daily life, she struggled with symptoms she didn’t understand, like fear, anxiety, and visions of explosive events in her mind. It took recognizing that she was not merely a witness but also a victim for her to get the help she needed.

How do you help the invisible victims of crime and mass violence like the Boston Marathon bombing? As a speaker and a writer, Manya’s mission is to spread the word about how some survivors appear unharmed but actually experience very real mental health injuries. She has spoken to public health officials, emergency preparedness personnel, first responders, and communicators. She uses her experience to help people understand the importance of recognizing mental health injuries, how we communicate about difficult subjects, and how to move past adversity to build a new life.

Testimonials

“@ManyaChylinski reminds us phys injuries are not only injuries in traumatic event. Pub Hlth must plan for & respond to mental hlth needs 2”

Hudson Regional Health, @HudsonRegHealth

New Jersey Emergency Preparedness conference, May 2017

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“[Manya] brings us to the experience of the Boston Marathon Bombing #iabc15 makes me want to just listen.”

Joe Borgenict, @jborgenict

IABC International conference, June 2015

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• Insightful information from a survivor.

• Great content, very eye opening.

• Interesting story. Great job turning your tragedy into a way to help those around you including dispatchers.

• Thank you for sharing those strong thoughts and emotions. You touched on what dispatchers deal with over time.

• The more Manya spoke, the more I felt something special in her message!

• Good insight, gives you more to think about than just the incident.

• I could visualize Manya's experience based on how she explained everything.

Participant feedback

Michigan NENA conference, May 2017

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“Manya, I first want to say thank you for your presentation. It was truly an incredible, vital application to our public safety responsibilities.

Many tend to forget all the components to the response, and recovery to traumatic events. You have successfully identified a useful part in making this component much more appropriate.

This is a national application that can be utilized to help in any emergency, being of any size. I personally understand where you're coming from, as a dispatcher the staff is generally never considered part of the recovery phase. We've teamed up with local responders, and PTSD teams to help respond better to these events, making certain that everyone involved, directly and/or indirectly are being taken care of in every aspect possible.”

Charlie Bickford, West Virgina APCO President

2017 APCO International conference, August 2017

Past Speaking

SXSW 2019

National Homeland Security Conference

IAEM International Association of Emergency Managers

Conference on Domestic Terrorism and Mass Casualty Incidents

International Crisis and Risk Communication (ICRC) Conference

APCO International Annual Conference & Expo

Association of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Professionals Annual Conference

American Counseling Association Conference

International Association of Business Communicators World Conference

PEMA Emergency Management Conference

Association of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Professionals Annual Conference

Minnesota Governor’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Conference

Virginia Emergency Management Symposium

Nebraska APCO/NENA Conference.

Atlantic APCO/NENA Joint Conference

Missouri Public Safety Communications Conference

PA APCO Annual Conference

Texas Public Safety Conference

Virginia Public Safety Communications Conference and Exposition

New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Association

Michigan 911 Conference

Presentations

Presentations (4)

WHAT SURVIVING THE BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TAUGHT ME ABOUT RESILIENCY

Each of us has difficult and traumatic experiences; and we all want to live our best lives. Resiliency is what helps get us through–it is an important skill we all have and can benefit from building. In this inspiring presentation, Manya will teach you participants to create environments that nurture whole lives. This program will encourage and challenge you to recognize how to recover, and even thrive, after difficult life experiences.

TRAUMA SENSITIVE LEADERSHIP: CREATING MORE COMPASSIONATE WORKPLACES

Every leader wants healthy people and a healthy environment. But what do you do when you or your team are overworked, stressed, and non-productive? This keynote offers a guide for recognizing signs of stress and trauma in order to help individuals build their own wellness, simple steps to validating difficult experiences, and how a compassionate environment improves engagement. Manya illuminates new perspectives on the role of leadership and the importance of paying attention to what matters to people’s lives.

WORDS MATTER: HOW WHAT YOU SAY (AND DON’T SAY) INFLUENCES WELLNESS

WORDS MATTER: HOW WHAT YOU SAY (AND DON’T SAY) INFLUENCES WELLNESS
Difficult life experiences can create stress and trauma, which can make it harder for people to feel engaged with life and work, and can cause them to disconnect, isolate themselves, or feel invisible. How we talk about stress, trauma, and mental health matters—in helping individuals contextualize their own experiences and begin to heal. In this exciting presentation born of personal experience, Manya shares why we all benefit when we aren’t afraid to have difficult and nuanced conversations, and discusses the role of communication in aiding recovery and wellness.

PSYCHOLOGICAL AFTER-EFFECTS OF MASS VIOLENCE

Discover first-hand how people process traumatic events and deal with intense circumstance, the role of psychological first aid, how to effectively discuss the different levels of impact from violence, and use communication to validate the experience of and reach those in the community who may be affected by a major event.

Past talks (3)

Invisible Victims of Mass Violence: Why Psychological Trauma Is a Public Health Issue

ICISF World Conference

Baltimore, MD

May 22, 2019

Emotional Toll of Mass Violence

SXSW

Austin, TX

March 8, 2019

Helping Invisible Victims of Mass Tragedies

National Homeland Security Conference

Buffalo, NY