About
Expertise
What I want to be known for?
Career and job progression counseling especially for women; identifying commonalities and lessons learned; provide useful, relevant resources; Close the confidence gap in leveling up one’s skills and finding and pursuing your passion. Promoting inclusion and collaboration. (i.e. Mentorship; passion for learning; seeing people growing – tell the story of how they are tied together)
Keywords people might use to find someone like me?
Accountable, legit, genuine; able to express my passion and connect with people on a professional and personal level;
Audience
Who needs to hear my message?
All young professionals, especially women and those in underrepresented groups, searching for their passion and niche. Those who want to know how to advocate for themselves and how to advocate for others who don’t have a voice or a seat at the table. Those seeking motivation on how to present their whole, authentic selves.
What I want them to do differently?
Stop shying away from speaking up; stop hiding in the background; seek out counseling and advice from trusted individuals.
Your Stories
Why does what you do matter to you?
I have worked in 5 very different industries throughout my 23-year career. I want to share lessons learned as if I am speaking to my younger self of 20 years ago. It’s time for me to get up and go—to rise up and share what I’ve learned.
What journey did you take to get where you are?
Self-discovery; trial and error; overcoming obstacles and challenges.
What traction have you achieved?
I’m at 1500+ followers; I started speaking up through the learning program management social posts I did through my last couple of positions; but there is more work to be done.
Your Personality
How do you want others to see you?
Learning Leader; Relationship Builder; Community Partner and DEI Advocate; Honest, helpful, passionate about learning as a lifelong journey and inclusivity and collaboration to capture diversity of thought and perspectives to result in the most innovation solutions for organizations facing complex training problems.
What makes you weird? (Everybody has something…)
In my personal life, I am a youth minister, pianist/organist, and I enjoy doing haircuts and chemical services for ethnically diverse heads of hair, and acrylic painting as a creative outlet. Helping people find their unique strengths and maximize them.
Your Voice
What tone of voice do you typically use to express yourself?
Lifting others up; sharing unique insights and thought-provoking quotes and concepts; fair and balanced; attitude of gratitude
Favorite mottos, sayings, emojis, and gifs?
“Leadership is action, not position.” – Donald H. McGannon “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.” – African proverb.
Daisy is my trademark I use when I sign my name;– colorful impressionist paintings of nature scenes. Claude Monet is my favorite artist.
Mission Statement
The time is now to speak life into your goals, purpose, and existence. Honor your boundaries and words. Learn wisdom, well-being, and self-worth.
About
Debbie Petru
Debbie (she/her/hers) found her passion for writing and public speaking during her college years, growing her talents personally and professionally within the walls of her childhood church. This experience was further cultivated by giving back to her community through serving youth ages 6 weeks through high school as a child development teacher and volunteer, arts academy assistant, Sunday school teacher, youth group leader, and pianist.
She now serves as a group mentor for middle school students and youth minister in her church. She keeps her cosmetology license active, giving haircuts and chemical services to friends and family with all hair types. She hopes to one day return to expressing herself through acrylic paintings. She finds her energy and purpose in helping people discover, develop, and maximize their unique strengths and talents.
Debbie brings over 10 years of experience in training design, facilitation, and volunteer leadership experience and over 5 years working in DEI advocacy and program management roles. She specializes in identifying and implementing process improvements, contract and speaker negotiation, mentoring, and coaching. She enjoys arranging and engaging in professional development opportunities that promote better managerial communication, leadership development, psychological safety, inclusivity, and self-awareness as a personal journey.
She is a certified trainer in Emergenetics and Challenger Sales Coaching and develops innovative teaching tools tailored to adult learning preferences and communication styles. She received her BA in Organizational Communication from UNO and her MA in Managerial Communication from Bellevue University. She enjoys listening to audio books, trying new foods and recipes, and spending time outdoors with her husband, Scott, and daughter, Nyah.