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Thought-provoking talks & interactive workshops

I create engaging experiences that broaden our understanding of what's possible and strengthen our commitment to change.My talks and workshops draw on my expertise as a change leader, strategist, and LGBTQ+ health advocate. As a writer and researcher, I weave powerful stories and practical knowledge with research evidence. My sessions are learner-centered and context-informed, creating opportunities for participants to grow their skills.

Speaking topics:

Leadership for Systems Change

The necessary skills and competencies leaders need to create and sustain change in our organizations and systems. This talk combines practical experience, systems thinking, and the affective and somatic landscape of change.

Practical Strategies for Complex Times

Building strategic capacity in complex systems, with a focus on nonprofits, funders, and research organizations. This talk offers ideas, tips, and tools gleaned from my extensive experience designing and implementing organizational strategies.

Queering Leadership

What queerness can teach us about transforming leadership in service of our individual and collective flourishing. This talk is an inspiring celebration of queer leaders while offering calls to action for all leaders committed to disrupting the status quo.

Liberatory Care for LGBTQ+ Communities

Strategies for equitable and inclusive LGBTQ+ health care and why we must think beyond unjust systems in order to transform them. This talk is for health care providers and providers-in-training looking to go beyond the basics as they build a foundation of equitable and inclusive care.

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Selected past talks 

  • “What is Your Knife and How Are You Using It?”: Holding Power and Creating Change in LGBTQ+ Health. 2SLGBTQ+ Health Hub, University of Toronto, May 8, 2024.

  • LGBTQ+ Health Care Praxis: Building More Equitable and Just Futures Today. Montreal Health Ethics Conference Series, McGill University, June 20, 2024.

  • Creating Change Together: Pathways to Equitable and Inclusive LGBTQ+ Health Care. William E. Petersen, MD DE&I Lecture Series, Allina Health, April 2, 2024.

  • Understanding and Navigating Change. Addgene, December 6, 2023.

  • Dreaming Together: Envisioning the Future of LGBTQ+ Health. Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, March 22, 2023.

  • From Institutional to Collective Ethics: Practicing Accountability in LGBTQ+ Health Care and Research. Health Care Ethics Speaker Series, University of Louisville, February 16, 2022.

  • Dear First-Year Medical Student. Stanford University School of Medicine, August 21, 2019.

  • Queering Leadership. Q-Med: Building LGBTQI+ Leaders in Health Care conference, Yale School of Medicine, March 30, 2019.

Conversations that transform communities.

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Conversations that transform communities. 🦋

Workshop topics:

Grieving and Dying Queerly

LGBTQ+ end-of-life care and grief support that welcomes diverse community needs and supports people to die and grieve as queerly as they lived. This workshop for hospice staff, volunteers, and other end-of-life and bereavement care providers combines practical strategies with evidence-informed knowledge, informed by Zena’s experience as an LGBTQ+ health advocate and hospice volunteer.

Format: 2-3 hours | Combines instruction with practice, feedback, and group reflection

Writing Our Grief

How writing grief stories can be a means of healing and connection with ourselves, our communities, and those we’ve lost. This workshop centres on writing as a tool for relating to and understanding our grief, combining hands-on exercises with grief fundamentals. It draws on Zena’s expertise as a grief companion, end-of-life doula, and author of a grief memoir.

Format: 1.5-3 hours | Combines instruction with craft exercises

Curating and Assembling Anthologies

This workshop is for editors seeking to bring anti-oppressive values to the work of curating and assembling anthologies, a process often spanning years and involving diverse collaborators with varied needs. It offers practical tips, advice, and guidance gleaned from Zena’s experience as the editor of three anthologies, with a focus on relational, accessible, and trauma-informed practices.

Format: 1-1.5 hours | Combines instruction with group dialogue and peer coaching

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Selected past workshops 

  • In All Things a Wisdom: Complexity Theory and Practice for Liberatory Mental Health. With Kai Cheng Thom. Tending the Future of Care, IDHA, June 22, 2025.

  • Honouring Life: Strategies for Providing Equitable and Inclusive End of Life and Bereavement Care for LGBTQ+ Community Members. Sunshine Coast Hospice, March 22, 2025.

  • Honouring Life: Strategies for Providing Equitable and Inclusive End of Life and Bereavement Care for LGBTQ+ Community Members. Cowichan Hospice, June 27, 2023.

  • Curating and Assembling Anthologies. The Festival of Literary Diversity (The FOLD), May 4, 2022.

  • "As the newly appointed Director of Organizational Transformation at a mid-sized biotech nonprofit, charged with guiding us through an extended period of significant change, there was no one-size-fits-all template I could use to inform my role or the work I would need to do. After some thoughtful conversations with Zena during which she ascertained our needs and culture, she crafted and presented a custom change management workshop that introduced appropriate words and concepts that we began applying immediately and effectively."

    —Eric Perkins, Senior Director of Organizational Transformation, Addgene

  • "Zena is personable, very knowledgeable, and genuine. Her workshops on LGBTQ+-inclusive hospice care were interactive and research-informed, and her use of personal stories really added to the richness of the presentations. Feedback from the participants indicated that they felt more confident and committed to providing inclusive care moving forward."

    —Doreen George, Volunteer Coordinator, Sunshine Coast Hospice

Interested in booking a talk or workshop?

I'd love to discuss how we can create meaningful dialogue for your event. Contact me with details about your audience, goals, and timeframe.