Speaker Barb Allen
Keynote Speaking
Barbara Allen is the premier keynote speaker for “Turning Trauma and Tragedy into Triumph.” Her combination of inspiration, patriotism, humor, and proven results-oriented strategies add up to an experience your people will thank you for repeatedly, and never forget! She draws upon her own life experiences as well as extensive interviews with others who have overcome their own traumas or whose extraordinary actions impact and inspire others.
Featured Keynote:
Trian Your Pain
Ideal For: Individuals/Employees
Barbara Allen experienced sudden tragedy and prolonged trauma when her husband, Lt. Louis Allen, was murdered by a fellow soldier just 10 days after he deployed to Iraq. Left to raise their 4 young boys alone, Barb endured a 3 1/2 year court martial process that resulted in the acquittal of her husband’s killer.
The prolonged process resulted in repeated trauma for Barbara, her family, and the family of the other soldier murdered with her husband. It was national news throughout the years, right up until the acquittal.
What Barbara learned outside what the families were told was that the killer had offered a guilty plea that the military suppressed, rejected, and later denied – until Barbara got a copy of it and the NY Times published it on its front page. Barbara earned a Masters in Criminal Justice from American Military University and wrote and published her first book, Front Toward Enemy, about this case. She went on to work as a Veterans Services Officer and became an advocate for military families. She then co-founded the widely recognized American Snippets Podcast, which is now evolving into live events.
Barbara’s story of going from a normal civilian life, to a military wife, to a widow, through the military’s criminal justice system, down to the lowest points in her life, and rebuilding that life is one that leaves audiences’ jaws dropped and hearts racing. Her shared experiences of love loss, and motherhood, mixed in with her professional and personal face-plants and triumphs, are at once powerful, hilarious, shocking, and on-point when applied to the personal and professional challenges faced by her audiences.
Interested in bringing Barb Allen to speak at your event?
Triumph Over Tragedy:
It Will Stop Hurting When the Pain Goes Away!
Ideal For: Corporate/Associations/Non-Profits/Military/Individuals
Length: 60-90 minutes Plus (Optional) Book Signing and/or Q&A
This presentation is a crash course in tackling trauma head on. It is designed to equip those who have experienced personal trauma or tragedy with the tools they need to triumph in its aftermath. Whether you are recently impacted by a life event, or you were impacted years ago, you will walk away from this presentation feeling newly empowered.
Grab a front row seat to the no-holds-barred tell-all of military widow who nearly lost it all, even after she believed she had nothing left to lose. Her book takes her readers through her experience, from the moment she was told her husband had been killed, to the searing result of a court martial that rocked the military judicial system. Her live presentation takes the audience through that same journey and beyond, to where she is today. Feel the struggle. Grieve with her. Cringe at her mistakes, and bask in her victories. But prepare yourself to laugh along the way, for humor is her secret weapon. The story is gripping, made more so by Barbara’s delivery in a presentation that teaches audiences how they, too, can not just survive trauma, but triumph over it.
Learn how to recognize the resiliency skills you already possess, identify the habits you must ditch, and cultivate the traits you need.
This customized keynote incorporates principles from each of Barbara’s programs, and is tailored specifically for individual clients. Barbara’s lessons from her own life are unabashedly shared in a presentation that is sometimes raw, sometimes incredible, and often humorous. She also shares lessons she has learned from the extensive meetings and interviews she has had with extraordinary people who have overcome immense traumas in their own lives, and come out on top. She has identified specific mindsets, approaches, and habits of people who have all managed to achieve extraordinary accomplishments, and she is ready to share these secrets with her audiences. She is fearless in her approach and fiercely passionate about defying the odds. Now she shares her secrets with you in an inspiring, interactive presentation that ignites her audiences.
Interested in bringing Barb Allen to speak at your event?
When Wee Ones Grieve
Ideal For: Children/Parents/Families
Parenting is a daunting task in the best of times – but what about the worst? What happens when a child is ambushed by trauma or tragedy? How can we help our children overcome the trauma from a death of a loved one, a catastrophic illness, a divorce, or any event that turns their worlds inside out? In this presentation, Barbara walks the audience through her own experience, as her husband’s murder left her to guide her four small children through their loss even as she struggled to heal herself. Learn how she learned she had everything she needed to see her children through – even if it took her a while to realize that. Then, discover how you can lead your child through their darkness and how sometimes, your child will lead you.