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Building Resiliency: Leadership Lessons from Military Veterans

While we’re all ready to be done with this year, there is still a need for focus and investment for planning, thriving and surviving 2021.   COVID-19 will remain a significant complexity for everyone, particularly those groups disproportionately impacted. Leaders will need to continue to prioritize employees’ health & well-being, hone their ability to lead dispersed workforce, and manage returning to the office. The focus on racial inequities will stay a top focus for organizations. Ceresa will bring together experts, business and people leaders to share insights and experiences in accommodating the future workforce and how to build resiliency to make it through this year and thrive in the next.

Resiliency: “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change.”

- Merriam-Webster Dictionary

In this session, you’ll hear two amazing leadership experts, Jenny DuFresne and Kate Philp, talk about their journeys and how resiliency has played a critical role in their lives and successful careers.  Both women are military veterans, Jenny served in the United States Marine Corps for 10 years and Kate served in the British Army, the first British female to lose a limb in combat during a tour in Afghanistan.  With many more achievements following their military service, Jenny and Kate now each has their own leadership training firms, offering training and coaching to organizations and individuals in both the public and private sectors.

Jenny DuFresne, CEO, DuFresne Solutions Group

Jenny DuFresne, CEO, DuFresne Solutions Group, a leadership training firm that supports CEOs and mid-level managers build great teams, reduce employee turnover, and create a thriving company culture. Jenny served 10-years in the United States Marine Corps. As a trailblazing leader, she founded the one of the first all-male public charter elementary schools in the US. Jenny writes about her experience in her bestselling book From Empty to Overflow. The book is written for women leaders who desire to create harmonious lives and lead well. Jenny holds degrees from Harvard University and George Mason University.

Kate Philp, Director & Founder, Corran Consulting Ltd

Joining the Army after graduating in Classics from Oxford University, Kate was deployed on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, where her leadership, decision making, technical skill and adaptability were brutally tested in the fast-paced environment of front-line operations. Kate’s tour of Afghanistan came to an abrupt end when injuries caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) resulted in her electing to have her leg amputated below the knee, marking her out as the first British female to lose a limb in combat. Persistent medical issues demanded further surgery and she decided she needed a new goal by which to re-focus her rehab. Therefore, at the end of 2013 Kate trekked to the South Pole as part of an expedition organized by the charity Walking With The Wounded. This earned her the honor of being shortlisted in the Women of the Year awards in 2014.

Leaving the Army after 13 years service, Kate now works as a Consultant, Coach and Speaker. Drawing on her experience in leadership, communication, relationship management and providing solutions under pressure from her time in the military, as well as key lessons she has learned from dealing with a life-changing injury, she thrives on helping clients clarify challenges and seek collaborative solutions. Kate holds a CMI Level 7 Extended Diploma in Strategic Management & Leadership, a Diploma in Life & Business Coaching accredited by the Association for Coaching, and is an NLP Practitioner. Kate is also honored to be an ambassador for ABF, The Soldier’s Charity, (www.soldierscharity.org ) and a trustee of the Defense and National Rehabilitation Centre (www.thednrc.org.uk ).

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October 21

The Workplace Redefined: Getting Back to the Office and Supporting Remote Teams

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January 14

Ceresa Leadership Conversations | Lessons from the Top