The photo and everything after
My keynote. April 19, 1995, the twenty years of PTSD and silence that followed, and what it cost me before I asked for help.
Speaking
Most people carrying trauma look fine from the outside. I did, for twenty years. I talk about the mask, what it cost me, and how I finally took it off.
Where I’ve spoken
- Los Angeles Fire Department
- Sacramento Fire Department
- FBI Academy
- U.S. Navy SEALs
- U.S. Army
- Pepperdine University
The talks
Every audience is different, so I shape each talk to the people in the room, whether that’s a recruit class, a corporate team, or a banquet full of families. When a whole department needs to hear it, I’ll come for several days so every shift can be there. For the Los Angeles Fire Department, that meant three sessions a day. In Sacramento, two a day.
The mask
Why the people everyone leans on are often the last to admit they are struggling, and what it costs them to keep performing strength at work and at home.
Where it started
Why the hardest years often trace back to something much older, and why naming it was the turning point in my recovery.
How to help someone who says they’re fine
What I’ve learned as a peer team member with the Oklahoma First Responder Wellness Division: how to start the conversation, what to say, and what not to. Especially for family and friends watching someone they love fall apart.
Leading people who won’t ask for help
For leaders in any organization. The culture that teaches people to stay quiet, what that silence costs, and what changes when leadership goes first.
Who I speak to
- First responders (fire, law enforcement, EMS and hospital trauma)
- Corporate audiences
- Military audiences, including the U.S. Navy SEALs and the U.S. Army
- The FBI Academy
- Wellness seminars, symposia and statewide conferences
- Banquets, galas and family nights
- Clinicians who treat first responders
What you get
- A speaker who has lived it, not a consultant describing it.
- A talk built around your people and what they’re carrying right now.
- Peer support training grounded in critical incident stress management, not motivational language.
- A bio, photos and press kit ready for your program.
Recent engagements
- Pepperdine UniversityMalibu, CA, keynote · September 11, 2026
- Kansas Law Enforcement Training Crisis Response and Resource SymposiumKansas · April 24, 2026
- Oklahoma Haz Mat ConferenceOklahoma · March 11, 2026
- Leave No Victim Behind Virtual ConferenceHosted by Texas State University · February 24, 2026
- Mid-Del Tinker 100 Club First Responder BanquetOklahoma · February 12, 2026
Check a date
Click to book Chris at your next event.