Barbara Rubel – Keynote Speaker & Trainer for Griefwork Center, Inc.

Inspiring Resilience, Well-Being, and Growth in Trauma-Exposed Professionals

Barbara Rubel is a nationally recognized keynote speaker, award-winning author, and trainer who helps professionals navigate the emotional demands of work that involves trauma, grief, and loss. Through Griefwork Center, Inc., she delivers engaging keynotes and customized training programs on compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, moral injury, and professional well-being.

Known for her warm, energetic, and often humorous presentation style, Barbara brings together research, professional expertise, personal experience, and practical strategies that resonate with audiences. She addresses challenging subjects without overwhelming participants, creating opportunities for reflection, connection, and meaningful change.

Whether speaking to healthcare professionals, first responders, victim services providers, behavioral health professionals, or educators, Barbara helps audiences recognize the impact of emotionally demanding work while discovering ways to strengthen resilience, practice self-compassion, and reconnect with the purpose and satisfaction they find in their professions.

Barbara’s presentations are grounded in a powerful message: Those who care for others deserve the knowledge, tools, and support to care for themselves.

What Makes Barbara's Presentations Different?

Serious Subjects. Engaging Presentations. Meaningful Takeaways.

Compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, moral injury, and grief are serious subjects, but presentations about them don’t have to leave audiences feeling emotionally drained. Barbara Rubel brings warmth, humor, and an encouraging perspective to conversations that can otherwise feel overwhelming. Her approach acknowledges the realities of trauma-exposed work while helping participants recognize opportunities for growth, connection, and renewed purpose.

Drawing on decades of experience in grief education, traumatic stress, and professional training, Barbara combines evidence-informed concepts with relatable stories, personal insights, and practical applications. Rather than simply explaining the challenges professionals face, she helps audiences understand how those challenges affect their well-being and what they can do to respond.

Barbara’s goal is not just to increase awareness. It’s to help participants leave with a greater understanding of themselves, practical strategies they can apply in their work and personal lives, and a renewed sense of hope about their ability to thrive in emotionally demanding professions.

Keynote Speaking and Training Topics

FABULOUS TRANSFORMATION®: From Vicarious Trauma to Growth, Resilience, and Well-Being

Barbara’s signature program helps professionals recognize the impact of compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and emotionally demanding work while developing practical strategies for resilience and personal growth.

Through the FABULOUS TRANSFORMATION® framework, participants explore flexibility, self-compassion, professional boundaries, job satisfaction, and other essential components of well-being.

Explore FABULOUS Transformation®

Compassion Fatigue & Vicarious Trauma

Professionals who regularly support people experiencing trauma, suffering, and loss face unique occupational challenges.

Barbara helps organizations and their teams understand the distinctions between compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious trauma, recognize how these experiences can affect professional well-being, and identify practical approaches to prevention, early intervention, and organizational support.

Explore Compassion Fatigue Training

Suicide Postvention & Grief

Drawing on her extensive work in suicide bereavement and grief education, Barbara addresses the complex emotional and practical challenges that follow a suicide death.

Her presentations help professionals understand the needs of those affected by suicide loss and explore compassionate, informed approaches to postvention and support.

Palette of Grief®: Understanding and Processing Grief

Barbara’s Palette of Grief® offers a reflective approach to understanding the many dimensions of grief.

Through guided exploration and personal reflection, participants gain greater awareness of their grief experiences and discover ways to express, process, and respond to loss with compassion.

Explore Palette of Grief®

Who Barbara Speaks To

Barbara Rubel works with organizations whose professionals regularly encounter trauma, grief, loss, and emotionally demanding situations. Her keynote presentations and training programs are designed for audiences who care for, protect, and support others, often while managing significant stress themselves.

Her presentations are particularly relevant for:

Healthcare and Hospice Professionals

Nurses, physicians, hospice and palliative care teams, and other healthcare providers who navigate patient suffering, end-of-life care, grief, and the emotional demands of caregiving.

First Responders and Public Safety Professionals

Law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and other responders who routinely encounter critical incidents, traumatic events, and cumulative occupational stress.

Behavioral Health and Mental Health Professionals

Counselors, therapists, psychologists, social workers, and other clinicians whose work involves supporting individuals experiencing trauma, grief, and psychological distress.

Victim Services and Advocacy Professionals

Victim advocates, crisis response teams, and professionals who support survivors of violence, crime, and traumatic experiences.

Social Services and Community Support Organizations

Case managers, social service professionals, and community-based organizations serving individuals and families facing significant life challenges.

Educators and Helping Professionals

Teachers, school counselors, and other professionals who support students, families, and communities affected by adversity, grief, and trauma.

Whether presenting at a professional conference, association meeting, organizational training, or staff development event, Barbara adapts her content to the audience’s experiences, professional responsibilities, and organizational needs.

Barbara in Action

See how Barbara Rubel brings challenging subjects to life through engaging presentations, relatable stories, and meaningful audience connections. Watch her speaking videos to experience the energy and perspective she brings to professional conferences and training events.

Watch Barbara’s Speaking Videos

Barbara Rubel on stage at a speaking conference

What Event Organizers and Attendees Say

“There is such a challenge to striking the appropriate balance between serious content and humor, but you were exceptional at this. The material was important, but you made the presentations inviting and brought some relief to very serious topics. Both sessions you led were engaging and fun and did not skimp on information and tangible tools for developing a strong and resilient baseline to lean on. We count ourselves so fortunate to have been able to partner with you on this event.”
Elizabeth Cronin, Director, New York State Office of Victim ServicesSenior Producer, Real Life with Mary Amoroso

“Barbara is, well, FABULOUS! She was able to tailor a program to fit our time limitations and specific needs. Her enthusiasm is contagious and every one of the attendees raved about her her compassion and wit. I have yet to interact with a presenter who is willing to do more and be more flexible than Barbara. It was simply a wonderful and meaningful two day event which we hope to host again soon.”
Chaplain Danny L. TomlinsonMcLane Children's Hospital

Read More Testimonials

“Thank you for your presentation at the Blaustein Pain Grand Rounds entitled “Preventing Compassion Fatigue While Providing Compassionate Care”. You did a superb job! I believe you sensed the rapt attention of the audience and clearly your talk touched their hearts and minds. This was an extraordinarily important topic and your talk gave us a moment to reflect on our roles in helping patients with vital issues in their lives. I believe your talk brought about a renewal of energy and a more healthy regard for what we are able to do with our patients.”
James N. Campbell, M.D.Johns Hopkins Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery

Helpful Resources for Event Planners

Planning an event featuring Barbara Rubel? Find the information and materials you need to introduce Barbara to your audience, promote her presentation, and prepare for a successful event.

Barbara’s Biography

Learn more about Barbara’s professional background, experience, publications, and contributions to the fields of grief education and traumatic stress.

Read Barbara’s Biography

Speaker Photos

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See Barbara in Action

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