Encourage critical thinking and help your students, faculty, and staff go beyond "Everybody Knows"
Using an engaging and powerful combination of humor and hard facts, trained researcher, National Dance Champion, and marathoner Ragen Chastain helps students, faculty and staff think critically about health and weight, see their bodies as worthy of excellent care, and develop healthy relationships with their bodies, food, and movement, as well as helping current and future health professionals promote public health and provide healthcare effectively to people of all sizes.
KEYNOTES The Positive Body - Real strategies for health, happiness and high self-esteem starting wherever you are right now.
Fitness For Every Body – Movement/fitness/exercise by any definition is never an obligation or barometer of worthiness. But for people who want to move their bodies – whether it’s because they enjoy it, or because of the benefit(s) they get from it (even if they don’t enjoy it,) whatever the reasons, toxic fitness culture can create barriers, misinformation, and other difficulties. In this workshop we’ll explore tips, tricks, and information to help us move our bodies for our own reasons and on our own terms.
The World is Messed Up, You Are Fine - An interactive talk that examines the messages that come to us through popular culture about beauty, our bodies, and our health. We'll look at the sources of these messages, the surprising effects they can have on every facet of our lives, and steps that we can take to fight back and improve our world and, ultimately, the world.
Queer Bodies Great And Small - A look at the intersections of Body Image, Self-Esteem, Health and the LGBTQI+ community. An interactive Keynote or workshop that includes a critical look at the messages that we receive about ourselves, and options for re-framing the conversation for our best mental and physical health.
Weight Stigma and Capitalism - a discussion of how capitalism intersects with weight stigma and other forms of oppression to create marginalization and harm, a deep dive into how the weight loss industry has and is manipulating the concepts of health and healthcare for profit, options to mitigate the harm that is being done, and alternatives that could be employed. . HEALTH AND WELLNESS SPECIFIC KEYNOTES (Student and Faculty/Staff Talks and Workshops available)
Healthcare for Every Body – Caring for Higher Weight Patients- We'll look at what the research tells us about the best ways to care for higher weight patients, the ways that weight stigma impacts healthcare from research to direct care, and what healthcare practitioners can do to make sure that they are providing the highest level of evidence-based, ethical care to patients of all sizes.
Wellness Care for People of Size A discussion of the ways that weight stigma impacts healthcare - from research to direct care to public health messaging - and how those messages can affect patient and practitioner relationships with bodies, food, movement, and health. We’ll break down what the research tells us about the best ways to care for higher weight patients, and discuss healthcare and public health messaging best practices that help higher weight people access ethical, evidence-based care.
Public Health for Every Body - In this workshop we'll learn what research and lived experience teach us about creating evidence-based health campaigns that engage people of all sizes while avoiding common mistakes that can drive shame, stigma, oppression, and patient disengagement.
Creating Inclusive Fitness Spaces - Nobody is obligated to participate in fitness, but every body should be welcome. Unfortunately, many fitness spaces aren’t comfortable for those with marginalized identities. In this workshop you’ll learn practical, realistic strategies to create fitness spaces that are welcoming and accessible to every body!
The Role of Size Acceptance in Eating Disorders Prevention and Treatment - In this workshop we'll examine the messages that come to us about beauty, our bodies, and health, and how they create an environment that perpetuates disordered eating and eating disorders. We’ll discuss how using a framework of Size Acceptance and Weight-Neutral health prevents eating disorders and provides practical, realistic options to help those dealing with disordered eating and eating disorders, as well as anyone affected by these negative messages, to repair the damage these messages have done, and create strategies that support dealing with them moving forward including through recovery journeys and beyond.
The World Is Messed Up, You Are Fine – Helping Clients Deal with the Culture of Body Shame (for health and wellness practitioners - including counseling, mental health and eating disorder specialists) - In this talk we’ll examine the messages that come to clients (and all of us) through our culture about beauty, our bodies, and health. We’ll discuss the ways in which those messages can effect relationships with bodies, food, movement, and health. We’ll explore the sources and motivations behind those messages, the surprising effects they can have on every facet of our lives, and we’ll discuss practical steps you can take to support your clients in recognizing and dealing with these messages as part of their wellness journey.
Your Health Your Voice – An interactIve workshop where we learn to advocate for ourselves in various healthcare settings to make sure that we get the evidence-based and supportive healthcare we deserve throughout our lives.
DANCE WORKSHOPS
Dancing In TheWild - a fun dance class for people of all abilities where we'll learn some popular line dances that are played at weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, and on cruises, and look at how to use those simple moves to be comfortable dancing freestyle on the floor.
Dance For Every Body - In this dance class for people of all abilities we'll learn some fun choreography with options to make it work for people of all levels. We'll practice not caring about getting everything right and moving our bodies just for the joy of it.
CUSTOM PRESENTATIONS are available and encouraged. Contact us for more information at booking@sizedforsucces.com
General Audience Past Engagements (Partial List)
Dartmouth College
University of Southern California
University of Florida
California Institute of Technology
Smith College
Cornell
Mount Holyoke
Amherst College
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Michigan State University
Dickinson College
University of New Hampshire
Castleton College
Health Profession & Public Health Departments (Partial List)
New England/New York State College Health Assoc Annual Meeting
University of Texas at Austin -- Dietetics Program
Michigan State University -- Olin Student Health Center
San Francisco State University -- Student Dietetic Association
Long Island University -- School of Health Professions
Texas A&M University -- School for Rural Public Health
The National College of Natural Medicine
The Academy of Oriental Medicine
Testimonials
Ragen’s talk was both inspirational and well-informed by research. Students really seemed to gravitate towards her style of presenting and she seemed to have the ability to connect with audiences who are in all different places with understanding both size acceptance and the health at every size approach. I would highly recommend her to you and specifically for any of you who are interested in bringing her into a university setting. --Elizabeth Asta, Ph.D. Assistant Training Director and Senior Staff Psychologist, University of Oregon
At Florida State 66% of attendees filled out an evaluation with 100% of evaluation respondents reporting satisfaction with the event and that they learned something new. 92.5% reported that the presentation challenged previously-held beliefs and 94.3% intended to share some of the information with others. The responses were very positive with many attendees writing in comments like “Please have her come back. I would love to bring more people to this event.” Attendees reported enjoying the question and answer session and felt inspired by Chastain’s positivity, enthusiasm, perspective, and attention to detail in her research. --Shannon Kirkpatrick Delaney, MPH, RD, Health Promotion Specialist
We were mesmerized by her dynamic, articulate, compassionate, evidence-based, and humorous speaking style. Ragen's abilities to connect with audiences, and to connect the dots between weight stigma/discrimination and other oppressions are AMAZING. There were tears, there were laughs, there were a whole lotta selfies taken with our honored guest. Invite Ragen to your campus/organization and those who connect with her will never think of weight the same way again! She not only provided a fabulous keynote on Wednesday that was well attended and thoroughly enjoyed, she also guest lectured in three general education HAES courses, provided a dance workshop at our campus rec center, AND shared meals with students, staff, faculty, and community members in order to get her empowering messages of size and self acceptance out to as many people as possible in a one day tour de force. --Michelle Morris, Professor & Dietetic Internship Director, California State University Chico
Ragen Chastain may be one of the most composed, perceptive, and influential professionals, and provides an invaluable speaking service. Ragen is not only easy to work with and fun to be around, but was polite and professional with both faculty and staff and relatable to students. She was very accommodating and understanding of our needs, flexible with her schedule and provided us with four talks in the ONE day that appealed to a variety of groups on-campus. Her way of delivering her message was not only perceptive of alternate views, but accepting of these views and informative of current research on her topics. Ragen’s preparedness backs her message. She has the ability to respond to animosity with a tolerant attitude that is so inspiring and flawless, that I was proud that students were able to view and learn how to tactfully respond by being educated, self-empowered, and humble. Students learned much from her talks and discussed how much it helped them towards their journey of self-acceptance. I would highly recommend her for discussing much needed difficult conversations! --Maria Caplan, MS RD/LD CSSD, Registered/Licensed Dietitian, Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, University of New Hampshire Office of Health Education and Promotion
The professional health student event with Ragen was very successful. Clearly, some of the students had never thought about behavior centered health before, but they were very interested in what Ragen presented. The faculty discussion was equally successful. As Ragen began sharing her evidence-based approach to public health, it was obvious some of the faculty were skeptical, but as the discussion progressed, they became more open to new ideas. If you're looking to challenge your students and faculty at examining new public health methodologies, I highly recommend Ragen because she is an engaging, thought-provoking public health speaker. --Dr. Barry Eckert, Dean, School of Health Professions, Long Island University-Brooklyn
Ragen spoke to my Fat & Feminism class of 21 students via Skype. Her presentation was professional but personal, and pitched perfectly to this audience. Her stories were relatable, her manner was engaging, and her responses to student questions both thoughtful and thought-provoking. I’d Skype her into class again in a heartbeat. --Harriet Brown, Associate Professor, Syracuse University
Ragen Chastain is truly a social change agent. Having her visit Dartmouth College and work with our students around positive body image and health at every size was such a gift. Her message of compassion and respect for people of all sizes is clear, profound, and necessary in creating social justice on our campus. Ragen’s energy and passion is contagious and our students felt comfortable engaging with her around difficult conversations. I believe every college campus, and ultimately our country, can benefit from Ragen’s work. --Kyle L. Carpenter, MS., Coordinator, Health Education Programs, Dartmouth College
Ragen Chastain's programs were received extremely well by students, faculty, staff and community members during our Body Appreciation Week 2014 at SUNY Cortland. Ragen presented a number of programs that were tailored to specific campus and community groups. Her engaging and entertaining style and her excellent sense of humor were all great assets in conveying her message. Ragen's positive, upbeat message that people can be healthy at every size, that health options should be accessible and available to all, and that we can love and appreciate our bodies just as they are reinforced our week’s theme: “Appreciate the Pieces of Your Puzzle.” Ragen has worked very hard to promote a culture that does not tolerate discrimination but rather values size acceptance, respect for others, health at every size and appreciating our bodies. Some of the very positive “take-away” messages and comments from participants at Ragen’s programs included: “This was very inspirational; you’re awesome!” and “I loved this speaker; I believe 100% that she should come back!”
Without a doubt, Ragen’s programs raised awareness and fostered appreciation for the diversity, complexity and uniqueness of each individual.