Speakers Bureau

Cheryl Kerrigan

Cheryl Kerrigan
Speaker, Author and Survivor

 Cheryl Kerrigan is an eating disorder survivor and author of Telling ED NO! and Other Practical Tools to Conquer Your Eating Disorder and Find Freedom. 

Held captive by her eating disorder (ED) for more than two decades, Cheryl experienced an entire childhood, adolescence, and much of her adulthood from the perspective of a tortured prisoner—until she found the strength and support to break free.

Cheryl touches her audience through an honest and moving story of her struggle and recovery from a 22 year battle with Anorexia.  Through her story, Cheryl provides the audience with important information on the inter-workings of the mind of an eating disorder (ED), shares vital aspects of her recovery, provides successful and practical recovery tools and shows you, through real-life scenarios, what life in recovery looks like. 

Cheryl's inspiring story "Brings Recovery To Life."

Cheryl’s presentation and style is honest, engaging, compelling, humorous and very informative.  Your audience will walk away with hope, insight and successful, practical tools they can utilize in their own recovery journey.

Here is what people are saying about Cheryl’s presentation:

"Cheryl's words were very inspirational.  Her talk is not only a true testimony that recovery is possible, but provides individuals and loved ones with steps to take in building a strong foundation for recovery.  Cheryl shares useful tools to use and brings hope for living a life free of ED and in recovery!"
~ Kourtney Klepfer, LCSW, Laurel Hill Inn

Contact information and learn more About Cheryl's Presentations

Shannon Cutts

Founder of MentorCONNECT. Author of Beating Ana. Speaker. Singer-Songwriter. Survivor.

The sharp rise in the incidence of eating disorders is making headlines around the world. Yet eating disorders continue to be quite possibly the most misunderstood of all mental illness-related disorders. If you have ever caught yourself wondering, "I just don’t get it – why would someone binge/purge/starve themselves....to death!?" then you haven’t met Shannon Cutts yet.

Shannon survived a fifteen year battle with anorexia and bulimia and emerged in triumph to found MentorCONNECT, the first global eating disorders mentoring organization. Beating Ana: How to Outsmart Your Eating Disorder and Take Your Life Back, her book about how she recovered and turned around to "pay it forward" by mentoring others, is quickly becoming a library must-have for sufferers and their support teams.

Shannon’s speaking style is warm, witty, compassionate, and compelling. She leaves no stone unturned, no question unanswered as she interweaves profound personal experiences with current events and scientific facts. Her programs are expertly tailored to the needs and interests of participants. Whether you are an educator wrestling with how to bring eating disorders awareness to your campus, a health professional exploring new insights into current recovery practices, a parent or spouse striving to support someone who is suffering, or a sufferer who wants – needs – to know that recovery IS possible, Shannon has a program just for you!

Choose from exciting events like Beauty Undressed¸ Beating Ana: My Story, A Beautiful Recovery: When Mental Illness Meets its Master, Concerts For Life, Whole Girl/Whole Woman Beauty, Under My Skin: Understanding the Language of Self-Harm, Eating Disorders 101: Awareness. Education. Intervention. Prevention, and many more! Shannon is a frequent presenter at conferences, conventions, colleges, treatment centers, hospitals, and schools, and will happily customize an event to meet your exact needs.

P.S. Looking for inspiring recovery music to bring that extra special touch to your next event? Shannon is also a Billboard award-winning performing songwriter who has performed her original music around the world!

To schedule Shannon’s visit to your organization, visit her at www.key-to-life.com. Also, see Shannon's Utube presentation:

Jenni Schaefer

Author of Life Without Ed and Goodbye Ed, Hello Me (new book released by McGraw-Hill in September 2009), International Speaker, and Singer/Songwriter

Jenni's straightforward, realistic style has made her a role model, source of inspiration and confidant to people across the globe looking to overcome their eating disorders and live complete lives. Her appearances on shows like Dr. Phil and Entertainment Tonight, in publications ranging from Cosmopolitan to The Washington Post, and before live audiences have brought a world of hope to men and women seeking real solutions.
As author and therapist Carolyn Costin, LMFT, M.A., M.Ed. says about Jenni in her foreword to Goodbye Ed, Hello Me, "She makes recovery and full living seem possible for everyone."

A popular speaker on college campuses, including Yale, William & Mary, and Vanderbilt University, Jenni also presents regularly in middle and high schools. She speaks at national and international professional conferences, various community events, and other venues.

Jenni brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and compassion to each appearance, as well as her trademark sense of humor and her musical background. An active Nashville singer-songwriter, she invariably concludes her talks with at least one uplifting song.

For more information about Jenni’s work, visit www.jennischaefer.com.

What people say about Jenni’s presentations:

Jenni Schaefer's inspirational story and spirit may be just the things necessary to help others begin and to sustain their own recoveries from eating disorders. - Joel Yager, M.D. Past-President, Academy for Eating Disorders Chair, Clinical and Scientific Advisory Council, National Eating Disorders Association

Excellent, wonderful speaker. Speaking from the heart! The song said it all. - Participant, Atlantic Psychiatric Conference, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Jenni has made significant contributions to our eating disorders conferences here in Michigan every time we have invited her to be a part of the programs. A picture of an eating disorder in recovery is Jenni Schaefer. A simple analogy would be: "A picture is worth a 1000 words." - David G. Hall, Ph.D., Lecturer, teacher, consultant and therapist, specialist in eating disorders

I can't tell you how much your talks help me and open my eyes up to what I still need to work on! - Erika, St. Louis, Missouri

For more information about Jenni’s availability as a speaker, contact her booking agent, Catherine Hagen at info@jennischaefer.com or (615) 844-3488.

Kathy Kater

Kathy J. Kater, LICSW
Psychotherapist
2634 19th Avenue East
North St. Paul, MN55109
Phone: (651) 770-2693
Email: kathykater@isd.net
Website: www.bodyimagehealth.org

Kathy Kater, LICSW is a St. Paul, MN psychotherapist and an internationally known and respected author, speaker, and consultant who has specialized in treatment and prevention of the full spectrum of body image, eating, fitness and weight-related problems for over 30 years. Frustrated that progress in understanding these problems had not been matched by effective prevention, Kater authored Healthy Body Image: Teaching Kids to Eat and Love Their Bodies Too!, published by theNational Eating Disorders Association in 1998. Fully updated in 2005 to more fully incorporate concerns about rising rates of obesity, this primary prevention curriculum was among the first of its kind to demonstrate significant measurable improvement in weight-related attitudes and reduced risk factors for disordered eating in pubescent children. Healthy Body Image is recommended by the U.S.D.H. Office of Women's Health in their BodyWise information packet for educators. Kater’s second book, Real Kids Come in All Sizes; Ten Essential Lessons to Build Your Child’s Body Esteem (Broadway Books/Random House, 2004; Spanish Edition, 2006) was written as a companion guide for parents.

Kathy's presentation is empowering and exciting! CEU's are available for professional audiences. All participants in her workshops will hear an overview of the research related to the onset and development of the full spectrum of body image, eating, nutrition, fitness and weight concerns in Western culture over the past forty years, and how children are now affected at ever younger ages. Participants will leave armed with a new perspective and some of the language needed to apply the Model for Healthy Body Image and Weight in relationship to children, nutrition and weight.

Andrea Roe

As a native European, Andrea grew up with an unrealistic image of what a woman should look like. When she started to hit puberty and her body developed in a way that wasn't like the models - curves, acne and what she considered an awkward smile, she started to hate who she was. For three long years, she suffered with severe body image issues and depression until eventually, by the age of sixteen, her obsession turned into anorexia and ultimately bulimia.

However, almost ten years after her initial decent into self-hate, she was able to overcome her struggles and won the fight against her eating disorder. She learned to accept and love herself for who she really was - a beautiful woman inside and out - with a whole life to enjoy. She now spends her time on her passions - supporting others on their path to recovery. To help with that, in October 2006, she published her first book, You Are Not Alone: The Book of Companionship for Women Struggling with Eating Disorders. With a second book just released, an increasing number of speaking engagements and a popular recovery focused Internet newsletter called the You Are Not Alone Support Letter, Andrea truly is showing eating disorder sufferers everywhere that recovery IS possible.

To book Andrea, call 604-533-5393 or send an email to speaking(at)youarenotalonebook.com. Be sure to visit her web site to sign up for her free support letter, filled with recovery stories, interviews with leading figures in the eating disorder, inspiring poems and artwork, recovery tips and more. www.youarenotalonebook.com.

Abigail Natenshon

A psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders for the past 40 years and founder of Eating Disorder Specialists of Illinois, author Abigail Natenshon has shepherded hundreds of eating disordered individuals and their families to timely and sustainable recoveries. In her book, When Your Child Has an Eating Disorder: a Step-by-Step Workbook for Parents and Other Caregivers, Natenshon’s was a pioneering voice in encouraging parents and families to become advocates for their loved one’s recovery. Her new book, Doing What Works: An Integrative System for the Treatment of Eating Disorders from Diagnosis to Recovery is the first book if its kind to offer clinicians a coherent and sequential system for approaching and managing these complex cases from start to finish.

Abigail’s optimistic perspective and genuine love of her patients and her work become evident in her impassioned and compelling speaking/teaching style. She offers keynotes, half and full-day training workshops, and professional consultation to small groups and individuals. Tailoring each program to meet the needs of her audience, she welcomes group participation, and personalizes her teaching through case examples and experiential activities. Novice eating disorder practitioners learn "how to" treatment guidelines... veteran clinicians learn to recognize existing expertise and strengths while upgrading the quality of their care-giving. As a certified Feldenkrais practitioner, in addition, she brings to her audiences a unique experiential understanding of the mind-body connection, and of the function of brain plasticity in eating disorder healing.

Practicing in the greater Chicago area, Natenshon has appeared widely in the media as an eating disorder expert, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The John Walsh Show, MSNBC and National Public Radio. Having been interviewed by Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal among other publications, she hosts three informative websites; www.empoweredparents.com for parents, families and patients; www.treatingeatingdisorders.com for treating professionals; and www.empoweredkidZ.com a kid-friendly site for youngsters seeking knowledge and advice. CEU’s are available for professional audiences. See http://www.empoweredparents.com/pages/services-dr1.htm for more information.

What people have said:
"Ms. Natenshon is a gifted and engaging presenter in the area of eating disorders and its treatment. Her grasp of the material, ability to synthesize important insights and impart them in a highly "usable" manner is impressive and inspiring. Her clinical sensitivity and passion for her subject empowers her audience to leave feeling enhanced and prepared to face clinical challenges. By combining clear thinking, concrete tools and a wealth of clinical experience, she helps you understand not only what to do when treating this population, but why. Ava Carn-Watkins, Ph.D.Assistant Director, Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology The Family Institute at Northwestern Universiy: Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies.