Evolve Leadership Coaching and Consulting

09/08/2026

Shame is a very human emotion. It is one we have all experienced and one that often goes unacknowledged in our workplace. Brene Brown defines shame as:
“the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging – something we’ve experienced, done, or failed to do makes us unworthy of connection”

Ouch!
While it may surprise those who know me professionally, I have struggled to untangle my own feelings of deep unworthiness and shame. Emotions that while part of the human experience only gain power when they remain buried under layers of stigma and fear.

Research exploring the impacts of shame in medicine are relevant not only to health care and veterinary medicine but to every workplace. Shame shapes workplace culture, impacts relationships, has a negative correlation with emotional thriving and a negative impact on patient care. Shining a light on shame by learning to recognize it, acknowledge it and implement practices, policies and material conditions to eliminate it’s impact are important steps to healthier, happier and more productive organizations.

It was both thought provoking and eye opening to be part of the conversation on Shame by Professor Luna Dolezal last year. Thank you for the opportunity to capture the key insights of this presentation visually and to share this graphic with a wider audience. If you are interested in learning more, check out Shame Competence Training workshops being offered to veterinary professionals by the Shame Lab. Link in comments.

03/04/2026

It was so much fun to facilitate these conversations and explore actions we can take to impact culture and leadership in a positive way. After designing an audience driven and interactive in-person session I was then able to capture the thoughtful insights visually.

Thanks BS Communication Strategies for trusting me to lead these important conversations. Check out the blog 👇🏻 for a recap of the Hot Topics sessions in 2025 along with my graphic recordings.

I am excited to be part of the Curiosity in Conversation Summit again November 2026 and hope to see you there!

Hot topic discussion and graphic facilitation of group think at the recent, Curiosity in Conversation, communication summit held in Calgary, Alberta, November, 2025.

12/15/2025

My graphic recording from day 2 of the Curiosity in Conversation Summit 2025 captured the experiences, ideas and insights from a room of engaged learners and passionate leaders. I love how documents a group's conversations and ideas in a beautiful, tangible and memorable way.

What do you think?
How can I help your team engage in conversations that matter and capture them visually to help you move forward together?

I am booking engagements for Spring 2026 now. Let's talk!

12/05/2025

When I was invited to facilitate the hot topics sessions for BS Communication Strategies Curiosity in Conversations Summit last month I spent a lot of time thinking about how to facilitate a meaningful conversation with a group of 80 plus amazing humans... in one hour!

How do you:
💡 Create a sense of safety and trust in such a short time?
💡 Build in time for opening, closing and meaning making?
💡 Ensure opportunities for 80 voices to be heard?

I love bringing people together to find inspiration, connection and build community. I also love a challenge and know that great facilitation supports great conversations and can be a catalyst for deeper change at both the personal and organizational level.

On day one we explored the topic "Misery Loves Company - Solving Toxic Culture". I am excited to share the graphic recording I created following the session that captures the BIG ideas and insights that emerged from our session.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic:
What organization do you have a "culture crush" on and why?
What lessons/ideas/tools could you apply from your "culture crush" in your own workplace?

Stay tuned for the graphic recording that captured our leadership discussion on day 2!

09/30/2025

Growing up on a family farm shaped who I am. It gave me feet firmly planted in the soil, a head that dreamed of becoming the female version of James Herriot and a heart in love with the outdoors and the animal world.

Being invited to attend Animal Health Canada's Forum 2025 felt like a full circle moment. Bringing together federal, provincial and territorial partners, industry and others working on animal health and welfare, Animal Health Canada plays an important role in building trust and promoting collaboration to protect our livestock, our agricultural industries and the health of our animals and ourselves.

It left me feeling proud to be a Canadian, lucky to have grown up on a family farm and honoured to harvest the key takeaways and learnings from this group of leaders working to protect the future of agriculture and the welfare of animals for future Canadians.

09/12/2025

Shame. It is a universal experience and one we have all experienced. But have you ever thought about the impact of shame in medicine?

Yesterday I had the good fortune to attend the virtual workshop "Shame in the veterinary profession" presented by shame researcher and professor Luna Dolezal. Organized by the amazing UK thought leaders Clive Elwood, Petra Agthe, Katie Ford, Hamish Morrin... and others (forgive me if I have missed anyone - no disrespect intended). I found this session as well as the prior workshop on shame, incredibly informative from both a professional and a personal perspective. Similar to a trauma informed lens, looking at our practices through a shame sensitive lens has the power to improve clinical outcomes and make our organizations and services more sensitive and humane.

It was an honour to be in the room for this conversation and capture it graphically. Keep learning and growing everyone!