LeAnn Thieman, CSP,CPAE

LeAnn Thieman's Main Accomplishments Include . . .
LeAnn Thieman is a nationally acclaimed inspirational speaker, author and nurse "accidentally" caught up in the Vietnam Orphan Airlift in 1975. Her book, This Must Be My Brother, details her daring adventure of helping to rescue 300 babies as Saigon was falling to the Communists. An ordinary person, LeAnn Thieman struggled through extraordinary circumstances and found the courage to succeed. As a renowned motivational speaker, LeAnn Thieman shares life-changing lessons learned from her Airlift and nursing experiences. Believing we all have individual "war zones," she inspires people to balance their lives, truly live their priorities and make a difference in the world. LeAnn Thieman is also an expert in nurse recruitment and retention and helps to hire and inspire nurses from coast to coast.

After her story was featured in Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul, LeAnn Thieman became one of Chicken Soup's most prolific writers. Her devotion to thirty years of nursing, made her the ideal co-author of Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul. She went on to co-author other Chicken Soup books including Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul, as well as Balancing Life in Your War Zones. LeAnn Thieman has also been featured in Newsweek Magazine's Voices of the Century issue, on FOX-TV, BBC, NPR, PBS, PAX-TV's It's A Miracle, and countless radio and TV programs. She also writes a monthly column called Time Out for Nursing magazine.

While health organizations and women groups are an obvious "niche" for Leann Thieman's keynote addresses and seminars, her audiences have grown to include all walks of life. Now cattlemen, contractors and corporate America appreciate her message. One CEO summed it up best when he said, "I'm going to live my life differently after hearing you today." after hearing LeAnn's powerful keynote sharing life-changing lessons from her Vietnam Orphan Airlift adventure.

LeAnn's "Operation Babylift" adventure came full circle when, on the 25th anniversary of the airlift, President Gerald Ford asked to meet her.

LeAnn Thieman earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation and in August, 2008 she was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame by her peers of the National Speakers Association (NSA).

More About LeAnn Thieman . . .
A nurse for thirty years and coauthor of bestseller Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul, LeAnn Thieman knows first hand the "war zones" of healthcare today. As an expert in healthcare recruitment and retention, LeAnn provides insights on improving productivity and profits while helping organizations attract, recruit and retain their nursing staff. By inspiring people to care for themselves as they care for others, she boosts morale, creating positive people who then produce positive outcomes.

LeAnn Thieman met former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who wrote a personal and touching forward to Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul. A portion of this book's proceeds is donated to the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving. At the invitation of Mrs. Carter, LeAnn presented her ‘Caregiver's Soul' keynote at the Institute's annual conference in Atlanta.

• Balancing Life in Your ‘War Zones’

  "100 babies in open cardboard boxes, strapped in the belly of a gutted cargo jet!" It was 1975, Saigon was falling to the communists, and LeAnn was "accidentally" caught up in the Vietnam Orphan Airlift. Today, she applies life-changing lessons from her Airlift experience to the "war zones" of our every day lives — too much to do, too few resources, too much stress! How do we cope? In this poignant, yet humorous presentation, LeAnn motivates audiences and shares tools for life balance, living priorities, and making a difference in the world - and finding peace in their war zones.

• Light A Single Candle

  A sign above a pediatric burn unit in Vietnam read, It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness. LeAnn reminds audiences they don't have to fly into a war zone to make a difference in the world. No effort is too small. By lighting our single candles, we make a difference and set the world aglow with our goodness. By identifying, exploring, and sharing our gifts, we receive more than we give.

• Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul, Second Dose

  Most nurses didn't choose their careers because of the great hours, pay, and working conditions! LeAnn reminds them why they entered the profession- - and why they stay. By sharing Chicken Soup stories, and those from her own 30 years of nursing, LeAnn encourages, uplifts and honors nurses and champions their daily contributions and sacrifices. By teaching tools for life balance, she offers nurses a "care plan" to care for themselves as they care for others. With love and humor, LeAnn re-energizes them with hope, health, and healing during these challenging times, inspiring them to continue their compassionate service. It's estimated to cost $50,000 to recruit and train a new nurse. LeAnn's presentation increases nurse retention - and costs less than most sign-on bonuses! When she spoke to graduating nurses at a hospital nurse recruitment event, over 50 percent signed up that evening!

• Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul

  While rewarding, care-giving requires tremendous emotional, physical and spiritual stamina, making burnout an everyday challenge. In Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul LeAnn offers remedies by encouraging caregivers to care for themselves as devotedly as they do for others. By sharing stories from Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul and her own life experiences she fills caregivers with hope, courage, and strength and honors them for the difference they make in the world.

• You’ve Got To See It To Be It!

  Scientific studies prove positive thinking and visualization promote mental, physical, and spiritual health. By sharing medical research and her Airlift experiences, LeAnn empowers audiences to improve their health by improving their attitudes. A former childbirth educator, LeAnn teaches how labor tools - breathing, relaxation, positive thinking and visualization, and management of time, - apply as we "labor" through everyday life.

• His “Puzzling” Plan

  LeAnn shares her conviction that, just as God led her to Vietnam, He leads us all when we trust in His guidance. While we're working with a few pieces of the "puzzle," God sees the lid of the box! When people make the right, but not always easy, decision today, God will take care of the rest.

• Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman’s Soul

  A combination of any of these programs can be arranged and presented in a program entitled: Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman's Soul.

• What’s This Generation Coming To? Generational Differences in the Workplace

  This decade is the first time in American history that four different generations are working side-by-side in the workplace. "Generational tensions" is ranked among the top major issues affecting U.S. workers. In this fun, entertaining, highly educational keynote, audiences will learn the history, traits, and values of the four generations and identify ways to relate to, manage, and even appreciate the differences. This information is critical, not only to better understand coworkers, but to attract, interview and hire the right staff. Sharing this knowledge with all workers and caregivers decreases negativity, resentment and turnover in the workplace and increases cooperation, communication and productivity. Boost patient satisfaction scores and improve care for those we serve…our ultimate common goal.

• Each One Reach One Nurse: Learn 20 New Strategies to Recruit and Retain Your Workforce

  This interactive breakout session gets nurse leaders brainstorming on ways to keep their best and recruit new nurses that align well with your goals and vision. With 55% of the current nurse workforce planning to retire by 2020, our nation is expected to be short nearly 1/2 million nurses. But nurses can help reverse this crisis. If every nurse recruits or helps retain one nurse, we can end the shortage. LeAnn's Each One Reach One Nurse initiative gives recruiters, and nurse leaders the tools to do just that. In this session, participants will learn LeAnn's proven strategies for recruiting and retaining nurses, and brainstorm more solutions. Attendees will leave with 20 or more substantiated strategies to find and keep their best and brightest colleagues! LeAnn firmly believes that a nurse cannot deliver that which she or he does not have inside. The best patient care is that which meets the patient's physical, mental and spiritual needs. A balanced, positive nurse brings that touch to providing compassionate, competent patient care. This increases patient safety, care, healing and recovery times. That translates to higher HCAHPS scores and reimbursements.