I am a sociologist, author and TEDx speaker. I’m also a confidence-builder and apology-hater. I graduated with a Ph.D. in Sociology in 2014 (focusing on the sociology of women’s health), with no clear career in mind, until I attended an academic conference that completely changed the trajectory of my research, my career and my life. At that conference, I witnessed women at the pinnacle of their career deflecting praise (we call that feminine modesty) and over-apologizing for mundane issues. I immediately became obsessed with apologies. I wrote my first book "Hey Ladies, Stop Apologizing… and other career mistakes women make" in 2015, the 2nd edition came out in 2017 along with the accompanying WORKBOOK. The audiobook came out in 2018 which is a best-of compilation for both the book, the workbook and my TV appearances.

​

My full-time job is on the public speaking circuit where I give talks and workshops to girls and women about all things related to confidence, communication and mindset. When I'm not giving talks, I'm either teaching Sociology of Health part-time at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario or I'm conducting my own research. To help prepare all students for post-secondary education, I developed a FREE online program (The Student Success Guide) that includes 3 hours of videos (2-7 minutes each) about confidence, mindset and school life tips. 

 

I’m still obsessed with getting women off the damn apology train and my current research study looks at the connection between confidence and women’s communication style. This is a global study involving women from around the world, and if you're interested in participating, click the link above to learn more. I believe that confidence is a muscle that strengthens with use, so we need to push ourselves out of comfort zones and act first(!) in order to feel confident later.