Lisa Goodman- Helfand
Lisa Goodman-Helfand's interactive style, compelling content, and hilarious humor will leave your audiences inspired.She is an author, speaker, consultant, educator, and founder of Comfortable in My Thick Skin. Her unique life journey has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX News networks. People Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Yahoo!, and many other media outlets around the globe have covered Lisa's ability to approach colossal setbacks with tenacity, humor, and perspective.
Lisa has suffered from disfigurement, and serious health traumas for the past 35 years. She inspires others by sharing her uphill battle with the rare autoimmune disease; scleroderma, she was diagnosed with at age 10. After the birth of her second child, Lisa survived the loss of two organs, temporary paralysis, and eight major surgeries during a 218-day hospital stay. By sharing her story, she motivates audiences to face life's obstacles with grit and resilience.
Lisa provides keynotes to healthcare professionals in an effort to enhance their understanding of the patient's perspective. She also speaks to Med-Tech and pharmaceutical companies, reminding them that behind every product and sale, is a patient.
In 2015, Lisa launched a movement to promote acceptance after the Facebook Ad team rejected a photo of her bare face, stating it may draw high negative feedback. Her campaign went viral and garnered international media coverage. She shares this journey with audiences interested in conquering fears, elevating confidence, or embracing differences.
Lisa offers educational workshops/ presentations on acceptance, anti-bullying, and being an up-stander. As a public school teacher for 20 years, she blends her own childhood memories with her experiences as a mother and teacher to send a powerful message to students, parents, and educators.
An award-winning writer, Lisa is the author of Does This Hospital Gown Come with Sequins? and has been published in Cosmopolitan, Elle, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Dr. Oz, The Huffington Post, Chicago Parent, and more.
Lisa Goodman-Helfand's interactive style, compelling content, and hilarious humor will leave your audiences inspired.She is an author, speaker, consultant, educator, and founder of Comfortable in My Thick Skin. Her unique life journey has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX News networks. People Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Yahoo!, and many other media outlets around the globe have covered Lisa's ability to approach colossal setbacks with tenacity, humor, and perspective.
Lisa has suffered from disfigurement, and serious health traumas for the past 35 years. She inspires others by sharing her uphill battle with the rare autoimmune disease; scleroderma, she was diagnosed with at age 10. After the birth of her second child, Lisa survived the loss of two organs, temporary paralysis, and eight major surgeries during a 218-day hospital stay. By sharing her story, she motivates audiences to face life's obstacles with grit and resilience.
Lisa provides keynotes to healthcare professionals in an effort to enhance their understanding of the patient's perspective. She also speaks to Med-Tech and pharmaceutical companies, reminding them that behind every product and sale, is a patient.
In 2015, Lisa launched a movement to promote acceptance after the Facebook Ad team rejected a photo of her bare face, stating it may draw high negative feedback. Her campaign went viral and garnered international media coverage. She shares this journey with audiences interested in conquering fears, elevating confidence, or embracing differences.
Lisa offers educational workshops/ presentations on acceptance, anti-bullying, and being an up-stander. As a public school teacher for 20 years, she blends her own childhood memories with her experiences as a mother and teacher to send a powerful message to students, parents, and educators.
An award-winning writer, Lisa is the author of Does This Hospital Gown Come with Sequins? and has been published in Cosmopolitan, Elle, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Dr. Oz, The Huffington Post, Chicago Parent, and more.
Redefining Beauty: Embracing your Reflection
The Art of Resilience: Facing Obstacles with Humor and Perspective
Everyone faces obstacles in life, it's how we confront them that define us. Living with a chronic disease for more than 30 years, nearly dying at the age of 31, undergoing intensive physical, occupational, speech and respiratory therapy to regain the ability to walk, eat, speak and breathe again, has taught Lisa the art of resilience. She shares her story with honesty, humor and a simple message; we all need to take a dip in the pity pool once in a while, but we don't want to spend our...
Beyond the Chart: Empathy in Patient Care
As a prolific healthcare consumer, Lisa offers a unique glimpse into the patient experience. She offers an honest, and interactive style that lends insight into a system often saturated in statistics and bottom lines. As healthcare becomes increasingly digital, her personal patient perspective reminds professionals that behind every number, there is a person.
Don't Just Survive, Thrive with Chronic Disease: Finding Your Silver Lining
Doctors and machines kept Lisa alive, but they couldn't bring her back to life. Even in our darkest hour, there is always the potential to rebuild, reinvent, and create meaning from life's obstacles. Whether it be living life with a disfiguring disease, managing an ostomy bag, or losing two major organs, Lisa approaches obstacles with a large dose of humor. She shares how she's transformed devastating circumstances, like the Facebook Ad team rejecting an ad featuring her bare face, into...
Redefining Disability and Shattering Assumptions
Doctors told Lisa she may never walk again. Her road from temporary paralysis to regaining her mobility was long and filled with detours. At age 31. Lisa was bald, weighed under 75 pounds and wheelchair bound. Lisa shares how she was regarded by society and offers a unique glimpse into how disabilities are perceived and what we can do to shatter assumptions.
The Boundless Impact of Healthcare Providers: Celebrating Medical Professionals
Lisa celebrates the positive impact medical professionals make on the lives of their patients. She shares first-hand accounts of how her life was saved multiple times by the medical heroes who practiced the art of medicine during her 218 consecutive days in the hospital. By sharing her compelling journey from near-death to a miraculous recovery, Lisa reminds those in healthcare the critical role their work plays in society.
