Denise Wozniak

Denise Wozniak

Vancouver, British Columbia
TEDx Speaker, Certified World Class Speaking Coach, Resilience, Overcoming Adversity & Trauma Expert
A Canadian-UK citizen, Denise Wozniak is a TEDx speaker, Certified World Class Speaking Coach, and is trained in Positive Psychology, Mental Wellbeing and Resilience by the University of Pennsylvania. Denise previously worked in Human Resources at the international accounting firm of Ernst & Young, served on non-profit boards and was a conference planner of events and retreats. Denise Wozniak has both lived and learned experiences. She weaves her personal, traumatic story into a guide relevant to all audiences, helping them understand how they too can control their own destiny and become catalysts for change. As a Speaking Coach specializing in storytelling, Denise Wozniak knows how to engage listeners through stories, research, and humour. She tailors each speech to address the needs of her audience. L’Oreal Women of Worth; Royal Photographic Society “100 Heroines”, and is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals.
  • Change Management
  • Communications
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Employee Management
  • Health & Wellness
  • Leadership
  • Mental Health
  • Peak Performance
  • Academia
  • All Staff Meeting
  • Annual General Meetings
  • Associations & Unions
  • Award Galas & After Dinner
  • Awareness Days
  • Board Meetings & Strategic Advisory
  • Campus & University Speakers

DENISE WOZNIAK BIOGRAPHY

Denise Wozniak hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, is a Canadian-UK citizen, and is a highly sought-after transformative, motivational, and inspirational presenter. She is a TEDx speaker, World Class Speaking Coach and Advanced Toastmaster. Her impressive track record over the past 20 years includes speaking to diverse audiences, including large organizations, associations, hospitals, universities, unions, pharmas, governments, and universities. Denise is frequently interviewed for her opinion by national media outlets and podcasts.

Denise’s training in Positive Psychology, Mental Wellbeing, and Resilience through the University of Pennsylvania, coupled with her experience of working in Human Resources at the international accounting firm of Ernst & Young, has further enhanced her expertise and solidified her reputation as a trusted authority in character assessment and working with diverse groups.

Denise Wozniak is not your average motivational speaker – she is an extraordinary inspiration with a wealth of lived experience and professional training. She has overcome unimaginable personal trauma and transformed her long journey into your shortcut with relevant, easy-to-understand tools that any audience member can use to focus on their destiny.

Denise’s words resonate with audiences, leaving an enduring impression. She is known for her captivating energy, infectious British humour, and boundless enthusiasm which create an engaging and uplifting experience – she leaves a lasting impact that travels beyond every stage she graces. Through her powerful delivery and profound insights, Denise sparks the flame of change, empowers audiences, and ensures they walk away with unforgettable and actionable takeaways.

Denise’s exceptional advocacy work, particularly on behalf of hospitals and charities, has garnered her prestigious recognition, including the esteemed Queen Elizabeth II Gold and Diamond Jubilee medals. In addition, she is celebrated as a L’Oreal Paris Woman of Worth and is among the Royal Photographic Society’s 100 Heroines.

Her unwavering dedication to making a difference is evidenced by her volunteer service and work on various Advisory Committees with the United Nations, Women’s College Hospital, ViiV Pharma, and as the Chair on numerous Executive Boards. Denise actively contributes her expertise to shaping impactful initiatives and policies that have a lasting positive impact.

Denise enjoys photography, politics, puzzles, blogging, reading and comedy.

Videos

Podcasts

Play

Don‘t Stop Me Now Podcast

Jennifer Vaughan

Losing Your Baby to AIDS

Denise Wozniak Topic Presentations

elevate organizational success with a dynamic duo - chatgpt-powered narratives.

  • Keynote PresentationWorkshop SessionFull Day Training
  • Join renowned speaker Denise Wozniak in an interactive and captivating presentation that unveils the potent synergy between ChatGPT and the art of storytelling, propelling your organization to new heights of success.

    Discover the transformative capabilities of ChatGPT as Denise delves into how this AI powerhouse can invigorate product launches, amplify brand identity, and infuse vitality into client success narratives.

    Explore a visionary approach as Denise guides you through an ingenious storytelling framework, seamlessly integrated with ChatGPT, to reshape your digital landscape from website and social media to engaging blogs. Learn to harness ChatGPT’s prowess not as a mere tool, but as a collaborator in your creative process.

    Whether your aim is nurturing a vibrant community or forging unwavering client loyalty, the fusion of ChatGPT and Denise’s expert guidance as a Certified Storytelling Coach will empower you to cultivate innovation and elevate your organization like never before.

trauma to triumph - building mental wellbeing

  • Keynote PresentationWorkshop SessionFull Day Training
  • Get ready to embark on an extraordinary journey with Denise Wozniak as she dives into the world of stress, inviting the audience to reveal their own stressors through ingenious anonymous technology. This sets the stage for a candid, engaging and open conversation.

    Denise fearlessly lays bare her own traumatic journey – a rollercoaster of challenges: from being laid off to receiving devastating diagnoses, caring for loved ones battling illnesses, and breaking free from domestic abuse. But she doesn’t stop there, she reveals her recent victory over bladder cancer, a testament to the power of resilience.

    In this heart-touching tale, Denise sheds light on her journey with Chronic PTSD, beautifully weaving her story with the everyday struggles we all face. The raw emotions, the relatable aspects of trauma, and the profound impact on mental wellbeing.

    This is where Denise unveils her secret “Power Through” method roadmap: seeking support, shifting perspectives, and mastering practical coping strategies. She will leave you with documentation that you can keep, helping you “Power Through” your own challenges.

    As the presentation ends, Denise leaves her audience with inspirational and actionable takeaways that can be instantly implemented and shared with others.

hiring for skill, firing for character

  • Keynote PresentationWorkshop SessionFull Day Training
  • From the beginning, Denise Wozniak captivates the audience with her story of working in the world of Human Resources, leading into the heart of her speech: the crucial role of character in the hiring and firing process.

    Denise delves into the traditional emphasis on skills and stresses the importance of continuous training to keep employees growing and thriving.

    But what sets this presentation apart is how Denise brings “character” to life. Using an ingenious anonymous response system, she skillfully engages the audience through thought-provoking questions like, “what defines desirable character in the context of the workplace?” Prepare to be amazed by the insightful answers that unfold!

    Denise passionately explains why character truly matters in the workplace, highlighting the value of certain character traits, and demonstrating how they lead to a positive and productive work environment.

    The real magic lies in her practical tips for assessing character and you’ll leave with a toolkit of techniques you can immediately apply.

    Denise reminds you of the cost of ignoring character flaws and urges organizations to embrace effective leadership in building a cohesive and character-driven workforce.

    With this presentation you’ll laugh, you’ll learn and most importantly, you’ll walk away with actionable insights that can transform your approach to hiring.

leadership and team building

  • Keynote PresentationWorkshop SessionFull Day Training
  • Denise Wozniak captivates her audience with a powerful opening, drawing them into her world of leadership experiences during her time in Human Resources and as an Executive Assistant. Through her stories, she vividly portrays the impact of exceptional leaders who built strong, cohesive teams, and the flip side, where poor leadership resulted in dismal employee retention, disengagement and even had employees questioning their leader’s loyalty.

    Denise poses a thought-provoking question to the audience: “What do you believe makes an effective leader?” The anonymous responses she receives never fail to surprise adding an element of curiosity and engagement to her speech. She discusses sharing a vision and goals; promoting collaboration and effective communication; empowerment; the value of diversity and inclusion; recognition, facilitating team-building activities, and conflict resolution.

    Denise Wozniak closes with a summary of the key principles of effective leadership that generate strong and successful teams.

encouraging diversity, stopping stigma

  • Keynote PresentationWorkshop SessionFull Day Training
  • Prepare to be inspired by Denise Wozniak’s incredible journey of resilience and determination! Living in a diverse community, she faced harsh judgment and stigmatization, which pushed her to the brink. In the 90’s, her life took an unexpected turn when both she and her baby daughter were diagnosed with AIDS, thrusting her into a world of secrecy and fear.

    Denise’s story is a testament to the power of courage and determination. Refusing to let ignorance, fear and public opinion define her, she embarked on a remarkable path to educate the public and become a fierce advocate for women and children facing similar challenges.

    You’ll be captivated as Denise shares her transformative journey of overcoming her intense fear of speaking, a hurdle that seemed insurmountable. With sheer grit, she founded an organization dedicated to helping children and collaborated with UNAIDS to effect positive change by raising respect for the rights of children everywhere.

    Through media and podcasts, Denise boldly confronted the public about the consequences faced by those who live in secrecy due to stigma. She talks about the trap of guilt and self-stigma, reminding audiences that it’s vital to reach for inner confidence to rise above adversity and reclaim power.

    Denise breaks barriers of stigma and judgment with powerful storytelling. She will leave you with the belief that discrimination has no place, and the strength of the human spirit has no bounds.

combating ageism starts here!

  • Keynote PresentationWorkshop SessionFull Day Training
  • As the baby boomer generation approaches retirement age, Denise Wozniak uses her Positive Psychology training and experience working in Human Resources to explore the emerging popular and pressing topic of “Combating Ageism”. The economic impact of boomers leaving the workforce results in the need for a workplace strategy to combat age-related biases and prioritize diversity and inclusion. The legal and policy related implications of discrimination laws should be considered to protect older workers while ensuring career opportunities remain available for younger workers.

    Denise encourages organizations to foster intergenerational collaboration and harmony. She examines ways of preparing teams that can leverage boomer experience and knowledge, while encouraging the creativity, humanitarianism, and technical knowledge of younger generations.

    Through her work with Ernst & Young International and her role on advisory boards, Denise has personal knowledge of the importance of continuing alumni involvement.

    Denise Wozniak concludes by highlighting ageism’s impact on mental health and wellbeing and emphasizes the importance of creating a society that respects and supports individuals of all ages. Organizations can be leaders in this emerging field, giving them an opportunity to be referred to as the gold standard.

    This presentation provides great sharing opportunities and actionable takeaways on how to combat ageism in the workplace.

storytelling methods to promote your organization

  • Keynote PresentationWorkshop SessionFull Day Training
  • In a world where you must grab your audience’s attention in a matter of minutes, Certified World Class Speaking Coach, Denise Wozniak knows the impact that great storytelling can have as a powerful communication tool.

    Denise examines the various forms of storytelling in our world today, including social media, podcasting, websites, YouTube, speaking to audiences and communicating to clients. She explains how to build emotional and lasting connections and gives specific examples of when storytelling works and when it dismally fails.

    Denise’s work for advocacy campaigns demonstrates how storytelling can be used by leaders to communicate vision, values, and brand. She delves into the topic of motivating others to align with the organization’s mission.

    Denise Wozniak will share examples of how storytelling can be used to communicate change and facilitate smooth transition in times of organization transformation and gives examples of when poor communication fails to engage employees.

    Lastly, Denise gives a model that can be used by any organization to increase its storytelling ability and create a storytelling culture.

    Audiences will leave with a call to action to embrace storytelling as a powerful tool to foster engagement, collaboration, and success in their respective organizations.

Denise Wozniak travels from Vancouver, British Columbia & delivers customized and tailored keynote speeches, presentations, workshops and training sessions. on the topics enlisted below. These services are designed for a variety of audiences, industries, and event types and event formats.

Testimonials

I had the privilege of being an audience member at an SFU Health Sciences lecture where Denise Wozniak was present as a guest speaker. Denise not only has the abilities of a world-class inspirational speaker but the ability to convey educational information better than world class professors. The lecture hall was filled with emotion as Denise inspired a group of 250 young health sciences students, and provided them with a new outlook on people living with HIV.

B.M.

HEALTH SCIENCES STUDENT
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY, VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Denise Wozniak is extremely thoughtful, and spreads an amazing amount of hope. It was a absolute blessing for me to hear her story.

T.M.

CUSTOMER RELATIONS
ALL GRAPHIC SUPPLIES

Denise Wozniak has very kindly agreed on several occasions to speak to various assemblies of both Positive Living BC members and larger gatherings of people living with HIV in BC over the course of more than two decades. On subjects ranging from her own personal experiences to how to deal with seemingly insurmountable health care challenges in a family setting to how to affect government policy, and many others, her messages have always been delivered with conviction, knowledge, humour and an unerring eye for the “telling detail”. Not surprisingly, then, they have always been received by our audiences with “you-could-hear-a-pin-drop” attention and, at their...

R.H.

CEO
POSITIVE LIVING SOCIETY OF BC

Denise Wozniak was extremely professional with this most sensitive moderation session she was gracious and clear and controlled the Panel LS5 Session As a participant, she was extremely eloquent in how she conducted herself to me and the other participants on this highly sensitive topic. I would highly recommend Denise for any kind of public forum Speaker in any situation.

R.F.

PANELIST
HIV QUALITY CONTINUUM OF CARE COLLABORATIVE, QUALITY IMPROVEMENT NETWORK, BC

Denise Wozniak We were pleased to have Denise speak to our group of 30 analysts at the end of a two-day work session.  Denise spoke about strategies for building personal resilience framed within the context of her personal story.  The topic of building resilience was timely as this session was held at a time when our work unit was in the midst of resolving significant challenges. Denise is an engaging speaker able to relate the wisdom from her own personal experiences and learnings with humour, cheerfulness and a unique approach to interacting with an audience.   

Jim Brown

Manager Forestry, Lands, Natural Resources
British Columbia Provincial Government

Articles & Media

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Books

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How to book Denise Wozniak for an event?

Denise Wozniak keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. Denise Wozniak delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire Denise Wozniak from Vancouver, British Columbia for your event to inspire the audience to take action and make change in their work and their lives. Your workplace will benefit from our keynote speaker and their keynote talks and speeches will shift the mindsets or behaviours for the audience members in Canada. 

Interested in booking Denise Wozniak for an event?

Are you looking to hire Denise Wozniak for your event? Denise Wozniak Vancouver, British Columbia is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. Denise Wozniak is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. Denise Wozniak is an expert keynote presenter and speaks on wide variety of topics. Hiring a great speaker for your event is important and working with a thought leader like Denise Wozniak from Speakers Canada’s roster will engage audiences into the content of the presentation to bring awareness and a fresh perspective for their approach to their work and their lives. Book Denise Wozniak to educate, motivate and activate the audience through an interactive and entertaining presentation at corporate meetings and gatherings.

Known as a popular key note speaker in Canada, Denise Wozniak creates life changing experiences for the participants with practical insights and strategic advice they can implement right after the session. Working with a one our leading expert speaker like Denise Wozniak from Vancouver, British Columbia offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, Denise Wozniak is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, Denise Wozniak focuses on changing individuals to make better decisions at work and their lives. No matter if you are holding an in person or virtual event, having an influential speaker such as Denise Wozniak will engage, motivate, and activate the audience to make a change in their lives and inspire action for results to meet organizational goals. Your workforce will benefit from Denise Wozniak’s presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book Denise Wozniak speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire Denise Wozniak for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Denise Wozniak is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada’s talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Denise Wozniak speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Denise Wozniak to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Denise Wozniak for your event. As Denise Wozniak's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization’s behalf to try to help you get in touch with Denise Wozniak and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Denise Wozniak Disclaimer
Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Denise Wozniak for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Denise Wozniak, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada’s top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Denise Wozniak we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization’s event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Denise Wozniak about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker’s fees. If you are looking to hire Denise Wozniak, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.

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