RKW Wellness (Radiate Kindness Wholeheartedly) Motivational Speaker from Winnipeg, MB

Meet Heather Woodward... For more than 25+ years, Heather Woodward has devoted her career to walking with people through some of life’s most difficult challenges. The first half of her career was spent on the frontlines, working with at-risk children, youth, and families. She gained extensive experience across complex systems—education, mental health, justice, crisis response, child protection and enhancement, and social services—advocating and supporting those whose voices often go unheard. The work was both heart-work and hard work—rewarding, but also deeply demanding. It was through these experiences that Heather came face to face with the realities of burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma of her own. Healing from these challenges became another turning point in her career. She realized that in order to continue serving others, she needed to prioritize her own wellness—and that realization shaped the second half of her professional journey. It was from a pivotal moment in 2017 that change her trajectory. She shifted her thesis topic in her Master’s degree in Social Work, grounded in Indigenous Knowledge (MSW-IK) from “working with the clients to working with the workers.” Her graduate thesis and research—Wholistic Self-Care for the Social Workers: A qualitative study positioning “The physical” in an Indigenous model of care practices for social workers reflect her commitment to weaving together wholistic perspectives with evidence-based strategies. Today, Heather dedicates her work to those who “help others.” Her focus is now supporting, but not limited to frontline workers, first responders, caregivers, and professionals in high-demand roles (beyond social services), helping people recognize the signs of burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma then, reconnect with balance through achievable, wholistic self-care practices. She draws on her own healing journey to offer tools that are not only practical, but also compassionate and sustainable. Her passion since completing her MSW-IK in 2019 has been bring awareness to others on the importance of caring for ourselves (self-care). Over the years, she has worked as a sub-contractor creating custom workshops, recording webinars, and facilitating workshops across North America. She has delivered more than 200+ workshops for 5,000+ participants across 100+ organizations on 50+ mental health and wellness topics. Building on this experience, Heather now considers herself to be a inspirational and motivational speaker. Her passion now is to speaking with others about the importance of wholistic self-care and wellness—reminding audiences that those who care for others deserve care too. She brings authenticity, humor, and heartfelt insight to every stage, inspiring people to create space for their own wellbeing. Whether delivering a keynote, facilitating a workshop, or leading a conversation, Heather creates safe and engaging spaces where people can learn, reflect, and recharge. Participants often leave her sessions not only with new skills, but with a renewed sense of self-awareness, hope and connection. Outside of her professional life, Heather restores her own balance by spending time in nature, reading, working out, connecting with people, and enjoying life with her beloved dog. She also embraces more JOY in her life through family, friends and travel. At the heart of Heather’s work is a guiding belief: “I am the most important “client” I will ever work with therefore I need to treat myself that way. Those who care for others require care too.” By helping helpers reclaim their own story and wellness, she empowers them to continue their vital heart-work with resilience, strength, and joy. As stated earlier, this work is both heart-work and hard work for Heather—rewarding, but also deeply demanding. Heather never wants to ‘quit’ her work, she wanted to find and sustain ‘wellness and joy’ within it, both at work and home~ wholistic wellness; balance.