I believe that the real strength of my presentation, which allows it to be so effective in reaching youth and their communities, lies in the fact that I bring both formal training and personal experience to bear on my discussions with youth on the varied causes and consequences of alcohol and drug misuse along with impaired driving.  In terms of personal experience, not only do I have first hand experience of someone who has been in trouble with substances as a teenager but I also caused harm to the people I loved the most.  My ignorant choices caused the death of my best friend, severed trust in my community forever, destroyed relations in my family, and I continue to live in those consequences today.  Because of my past, I have worked very hard to get where I am at today to rebuild trust in my commmunity.  In terms of education, I have a BA and an MA in adolescent counselling.  In terms of professional experience/training, I have worked in the social services field on both the addictions and the prevention side, supporting youth and their families on a number of topics for over 15 years.  As such, my presentations have the advantage of making a profound impact on both a professional and deeply personal level.  I have received years of positive feedback from youth and families on the impact of those experiences.  I have presented all throughout BC schools and many Canadian schools since 1996 sharing about my experiences. 

This presentation is advantageous and innovative because of the fact that I have been a driver who is making my experiences a real life solution.