Speaking Engagements
Real-world resilience. Practical mindset tools. Insight that translates into action.
Neuroscience-informed speaker on resilience, menopause, and adaptive capacity in complex professional environments.
Long-distance hiking places sustained demands on focus, decision-making, and emotional regulation — often under changing conditions, fatigue, and uncertainty. These same dynamics are present in many high-pressure environments, including periods of significant personal or professional change.
In some contexts, this includes menopause, where shifts in hormones can influence cognitive load, stress response, and overall capacity.
This perspective brings a practical, real-world lens to understanding how resilience are built — not by pushing harder, but by working more effectively with changing internal and external conditions.
Featured in Great Walks (April-May 2026) — reflecting on resilience, endurance, and navigating change on long-distance hiking
These keynote presentations and workshops explore the realities of resilience, adaptability, and navigating complex change in practice. Integrating neuroscience with lessons from high-stakes, real-world environments, sessions focus on strengthening cognitive clarity, emotional steadiness, and adaptive capacity when conditions shift. They are designed for teams, leaders, and groups seeking practical strategies to navigate pressure, uncertainty, and growth.
Grounded in neuroscience and informed by lived experience navigating complex professional environments and demanding long-distance hikes, these sessions focus on practical resilience that translates into everyday performance.
Participants leave equipped with actionable tools to manage challenges, recalibrate expectations, collaborate effectively, and move forward with confidence — whether in the workplace, in teams, or any complex environment. These core principles are explored through a range of signature topics, each designed as a stand-alone session and tailored to the audience and context.
What Participants Gain
Practical tools to stay calm and focused under pressure
Greater confidence navigating uncertainty and change
Improved flexibility in thinking, planning, and decision-making
Stronger self-trust in demanding or unpredictable environments
Clear strategies for managing setbacks and competing demand
Signature Topics
Each topic is delivered as a stand-alone session and can be tailored to the audience and context.
Resilience in Practice
Staying steady and grounded when conditions are uncertain or changingPlanning for Uncertainty
Building flexibility into goals, expectations, and decision-making under shifting conditionsClarity under Pressure
Practical tools for navigating pressure and complexityWhen Things Don’t Go to Plan
Reframing setbacks and unmet expectations constructivelySelf-Trust in High-Demand Environments
Strengthening confidence and judgement under pressure and sustained cognitive loadMenopause & Adaptive Capacity
Understanding cognitive shifts and strengthening self-trust during significant change
Who These Sessions Are For
Teams navigating change, growth, or uncertainty
Organisations seeking to better understand and support menopause, cognitive wellbeing, and adaptive capacity
Leaders and professionals working in high-pressure environments
Organisations focused on resilience, wellbeing, and capability
Groups seeking relatable, practical, human-centred development
Delivery Formats
Keynotes
Interactive team sessions
Leadership retreats
Staff wellbeing events
Sessions are delivered either in person or online and tailored to audience size, timeframe, and organisational needs
Pricing
Individual / Group Bookings
Keynote presentations or interactive sessions (up to 90 minutes): A$1,500 per session
Panel discussions or Q&A-style live events (1–1.5 hours): A$950 per session
Corporate or leadership retreats (up to half-day, 3–4 hours): A$2,500 per session
Notes:
Pricing reflects single-session delivery — practical, outcome-focused, and fully customised.
Discounts are available for multiple bookings or groups larger than 20 participants — enquire for details.
Bring This Work to Your Team or Event
If you are planning a conference, leadership session, or team development initiative and would like to explore whether this work is a good fit, you are very welcome to get in touch.
Together we can discuss your audience, objectives, and the outcomes you would like to support.
→ Enquire about speaking availability
or
→ Schedule a brief conversation
Most speaking engagements are booked 2-4 months in advance.
What People Are Saying
“I am always drawn to the ‘commons-heroics’: ordinary people who are doing extra ordinary things. I liked the matter-of-fact manner of how you described the expedition, versus the enormity of the actual challenge.”
— Ami E.“I have a picture in my head of you striding and climbing around the Blue Mountains, thinking good thoughts and helping others also follow their dreams and be their best selves.”
— Sue B.“Without you, I would have never gone there and it is so amazing. Thank you.”
— Sabine Z.“Sonja’s 4 months hike across Switzerland was more than an adventure; it was a powerful example of courage and balance that was not only an inspiration to me and the broader team, but particularly motivational for … let’s say more “seasoned” women, that it’s never too late pursue bold personal goals. She is an inspiration for the workplace and in life.”
— Sonia M.“Sonja, you are in inspirational lady. Your attitude and zest for life are both qualities of yours that I admire, and I hope to be able to take and apply some of that to my own life.”
— Sandra G.“You have inspired countless people with your sense of adventure, care for the planet, how you live life to the fullest and your genuine caring nature.”
— David S.