Lead from Where you Stand

In a field where lives can change in an instant, it’s easy to feel like you're constantly reacting — to calls, protocols, and pressures outside your control. But real leadership doesn’t require a title or a promotion. It starts with owning your impact — and recognizing that everyday choices, even small ones, can shape culture, spark connection, and bring joy back to the work.

Whether you're a career medic or a volunteer, brand new or decades in, this keynote challenges the belief that burnout, frustration, and turnover are just part of the job. Through real stories, science-backed insight, and a little humor, we’ll explore how showing up with intention and presence — even in the chaos — is one of the most powerful forms of leadership available.

We’ll dig into how purpose and human connection fuel retention, satisfaction, and staying power. And we’ll look at how our brains respond to things like trust, laughter, belonging, and micro-moments — the natural highs (hello dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin) that help us thrive in this high-stakes profession. Expect to leave recharged, reminded of what matters, and ready to lead — right where you are.

Learning Objectives:

1) Define leadership as a daily practice of influence and intentionality, regardless of title or position in the EMS system.

2) Identify specific, actionable choices that build team culture, trust, and connection — and understand how those choices contribute to improved retention and job satisfaction.

3)0 Explain how personal ownership over mindset, behavior, and interpersonal dynamics can reduce burnout and increase fulfillment in high-pressure environments.

4) Recognize the role of neurochemicals like dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin in motivation, human connection, and emotional well-being — and apply that knowledge to everyday EMS experiences.

5) Create a personal plan for showing up with purpose, presence, and positive impact in your current role, using tools that enhance clarity, joy, and connection with others.