Powerful stories. Practical insight. Lasting change.
I help people and organisations understand resilience through lived experience, honest conversation and practical strategies that can be used long after the event has ended.
My keynote talks, workshops and consultancy services are designed to challenge assumptions, inspire meaningful reflection and help people respond more effectively to adversity, burnout, pressure and change.
“I do not speak about resilience as a theory. I speak about it as something I have had to build through the hardest moments of my life.”
Kerri Douglas
Resilience that feels real, relevant and human
People do not need to be told to simply work harder, think positively or keep pushing through.
Many employees, leaders and teams are carrying pressures that are not immediately visible. They may be navigating burnout, personal adversity, trauma, uncertainty, organisational change or the emotional strain of constantly supporting others.
When these pressures are ignored, they can affect confidence, communication, performance, trust and the overall culture of an organisation.
My work creates space for honest conversations about what resilience really means. I combine powerful storytelling with practical learning so that people leave with more than inspiration.
They leave with a stronger understanding of themselves, a different perspective on adversity and practical steps they can begin applying immediately.
Support designed around your people and organisation
Every organisation is different. My services can be tailored to your audience, objectives, sector and the challenges your people are currently facing.
Keynote Speaking
Powerful keynote talks combining lived experience, practical resilience strategies and a message of possibility.
Each keynote is designed to create emotional connection, encourage deeper reflection and leave audiences with lessons they can carry into their work and personal lives.
- Conferences and corporate events
- Leadership events
- Staff wellbeing days
- Charity and public sector events
- Learning and development programmes
- Awards, away days and internal events
Resilience Consultancy
Consultancy support for organisations that want to strengthen resilience, reduce burnout and better understand the human challenges affecting their people.
I bring together lived experience, trauma informed awareness and practical workplace insight to help organisations create meaningful and sustainable change.
- Workplace resilience strategy
- Burnout prevention
- Employee wellbeing insight
- Trauma informed practice
- Leadership and culture development
- Lived experience consultation
From Adversity to Achievement
A powerful and deeply human keynote about survival, responsibility, resilience and what becomes possible when we stop allowing our past to define our future.
In this keynote, I share my journey through childhood trauma, the care system, homelessness, heroin addiction, domestic violence, mental health struggles, prison and long term recovery.
I speak honestly about the choices I made, the consequences I faced and the beliefs that kept me trapped in a cycle of shame and survival.
But this is not a story told to create sympathy. It is a story about transformation, personal responsibility and the possibility of rebuilding when life has taken you somewhere you never expected to be.
Your past may explain where you have been, but it does not have to decide where you go next.
The keynote explores the real meaning of resilience and challenges the idea that resilient people never struggle.
Audiences are encouraged to think differently about adversity, identity, stigma and the hidden battles people may be carrying.
The result is an honest, hopeful and memorable experience that encourages people to reflect on their own lives, choices and capacity for change.
Talks shaped around the challenges people are facing now
Keynotes and workshops can be adapted to suit your event, audience and desired outcomes.
From Adversity to Achievement
A powerful keynote about transforming adversity, shame and difficult life experiences into strength, purpose and meaningful change.
Burnout to Balance
An honest exploration of burnout, hidden exhaustion and the practical steps individuals and organisations can take to protect energy and create healthier ways of working.
Building Leadership Resilience
Helping leaders understand their pressure patterns, strengthen emotional awareness and lead with greater clarity, honesty and consistency.
Creating Psychological Safety
Exploring how trust, empathy, communication and emotionally safe leadership influence whether people feel able to speak, contribute and ask for support.
Thriving Through Change
Supporting people to navigate uncertainty, disruption and transition without losing connection with themselves, their colleagues or their purpose.
Trauma, Behaviour and Resilience
A trauma informed look at the experiences that can sit behind behaviour, helping teams move beyond judgement and respond with greater understanding.
Helping organisations turn good intentions into meaningful action
Resilience cannot be created through a single wellbeing initiative or motivational talk.
It is influenced by leadership, culture, communication, workload, trust, psychological safety and whether people feel able to speak honestly about the challenges they are facing.
My consultancy work helps organisations look beneath the surface and understand the human experiences affecting their people.
I offer an external perspective grounded in lived experience, practical insight and an understanding of trauma, adversity, burnout and behavioural change.
The aim is not to encourage employees to tolerate unhealthy conditions. It is to help organisations identify what needs to change and develop approaches that strengthen both people and culture.
Consultancy may include
- Reviewing current resilience and wellbeing approaches
- Identifying pressure points affecting employees
- Advising on burnout prevention and recovery
- Supporting trauma informed workplace practice
- Helping leaders hold more honest conversations
- Designing tailored resilience programmes
- Bringing lived experience into policy and service design
- Supporting organisations through change or crisis
- Developing practical tools for managers and teams
- Facilitating reflective leadership sessions
Creating change people can feel beyond the room
Every engagement is shaped around your objectives, but common outcomes include:
Greater self awareness
Helping individuals recognise their pressure patterns, triggers, needs and responses before they reach breaking point.
Stronger resilience
Giving people practical strategies to manage adversity, uncertainty and change with greater confidence.
Burnout awareness
Helping leaders and employees recognise the warning signs of burnout and understand the conditions that contribute to it.
More honest communication
Encouraging conversations that move beyond surface level wellbeing and address the realities people may be experiencing.
Greater empathy
Helping teams understand that behaviour often has a history and that people may be carrying pressures others cannot see.
Meaningful action
Turning awareness into practical steps that support healthier people, stronger leadership and more resilient cultures.
A perspective that cannot be learned from theory alone
My work is rooted in a life that has included childhood trauma, the care system, homelessness, addiction, domestic violence, mental health struggles, prison and long term recovery.
I understand how adversity can affect identity, behaviour, trust, confidence and the choices people make.
I also understand what becomes possible when people receive the right support, begin taking responsibility and discover that their story is not over.
My journey has taken me from sleeping rough to speaking in Parliament and contributing to national conversations about homelessness and social change.
I have supported campaigns, worked alongside charities and public bodies, and used my lived experience to influence understanding at both community and national levels.
This combination of lived experience, advocacy and professional delivery allows me to connect with audiences in a way that feels credible, relatable and deeply human.
“I use my story to create connection, challenge judgement and show what becomes possible when people are given the opportunity to rebuild.”
Kerri Douglas
Flexible delivery for your event and organisation
Speaking and consultancy services can be delivered in person or online and adapted to suit different audiences, sectors and event formats.
Keynote talks
Inspiring and practical talks for conferences, organisational events, wellbeing days and leadership programmes.
Interactive workshops
Facilitated sessions combining learning, reflection, discussion and practical activities.
Leadership sessions
Focused conversations helping leaders build self awareness, resilience and psychologically safer teams.
Consultancy projects
Tailored support for organisations seeking strategic insight, lived experience input or culture change.
Panel discussions
Honest lived experience insight for panels, roundtables, policy events and sector conversations.
Online delivery
Engaging virtual keynotes, workshops and consultancy sessions for remote and hybrid teams.
Are you ready to create a powerful and meaningful experience for your audience?
Tell me about your event, organisation or consultancy needs. I will work with you to create an experience that is honest, relevant and designed to leave a lasting impact.
Book Kerri