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South Dakota Professional Development for Teachers

Mike Veny was named one of the top mental health motivational speakers, along with Brené Brown. 😲

🏆 Corporate LiveWire’s Innovation & Excellence Award for 2022-2024

🏆 2023 Leader Of Mental Health Awareness Award from NAMI New York State

 

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Emotional Intelligence

Self-Awareness

Actionable Solutions

Mike Veny is standing confidently with his arms crossed in front of a wooden wall painted in brown and green. He is wearing a black T-shirt and a beaded bracelet, smiling warmly at the camera. The setting has a natural and relaxed vibe, emphasizing his approachable demeanor.

Engage, Inspire, and Transform Your Audience with Mike Veny’s Authentic Approach to Mental Health

In today’s fast-paced, high-pressure world, mental health isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a business imperative. Stress, burnout, and workplace mental health challenges affect productivity, employee retention, and overall morale. What if there was a way to address these critical issues with empathy, practicality, and lasting impact?

Meet Mike Veny, one of the top mental health speakers in the world, celebrated for his ability to connect authentically and deliver powerful, actionable strategies that inspire change. With a unique blend of personal storytelling, deep expertise, and engaging delivery, Mike transforms the conversation around mental health into a catalyst for positive growth.

Why South Dakota Professional Development for Teachers Matters

The South Dakota Department of Education offers a wealth of professional learning opportunities. These include courses, events, and resources accessible through their platform, helping teachers:

  • Track continuing education contact hours
  • Access certificates and transcripts
  • Engage in district-level events and state-led initiatives

Professional development isn’t just about meeting requirements; it’s about equipping educators with the tools they need to succeed while addressing the challenges they face daily.

Icon of the South Dakota Department of Education, featuring a stylized white flame design on a solid red background.

Tackling Teacher Burnout: Real Challenges, Real Solutions

Did you know that burnout is one of the leading causes of teachers leaving the profession? Here are some eye-opening statistics about teachers leaving the profession:

  • Nearly 44% of teachers report feeling burned out regularly.
  • Compassion fatigue in education is at an all-time high, with many teachers citing emotional exhaustion.

Teacher burnout causes include:

  • Overwhelming workloads
  • Lack of support
  • Emotional strain

To combat these challenges, Mike Veny offers strategies for teacher burnout prevention, emphasizing self-care for teachers, resilience, and emotional wellness.

Promotional graphic for 'Fill Your Cup: The Exhausted Educator's Guide to Emotional Wellness' by Mike Veny. The image features a chalkboard background with the title in bold white text. In the foreground, there's a desk with a pencil holder, an apple, a stack of books, and a steaming mug labeled 'Best Teacher Ever' with a red apple design.

The “Fill Your Cup” Framework

Mike Veny created the "Fill Your Cup: The Exhausted Educator’s Guide to Emotional Wellness" program to address the mental health and self-care needs of teachers. This course is rooted in insights gained from our teacher self-care survey, which highlighted the critical need for practical, accessible solutions for teacher resilience. 

Why teacher resilience is important: Resilience enables educators to navigate challenges with confidence and purpose. In a profession that constantly evolves, building resilience is not just beneficial—it’s essential.

Learn More

Introducing

Mike Veny

Mike Veny is onstage delivering a presentation, wearing a light blazer, white shirt, jeans, and sneakers. He is gesturing with open arms, engaging the audience. The stage features bright lights, large video screens displaying an image of a child and percussion instruments, and banners with the "Next Decade" logo. The setting is dynamic and professional, with colorful lighting and gift baskets arranged near the stage, emphasizing an energetic and interactive atmosphere.

Mike Veny is fiercely committed to empowering employees to discover the gift of emotional wellness so they can accelerate personal and professional growth. If you are looking for a proven speaker who can transform your attendees through addressing mental health, team building and wellbeing, then you’ve come to the right place.

Mike Veny is the winner of Corporate LiveWire’s 2022 & 2023 Innovation & Excellence Award for his work as a Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist®. He’s also the winner of NAMI New York State’s 2023 Leader Of Mental Health Awareness award.

As a PM360 ELITE Award Winner, he was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in the healthcare industry for his work with patient advocacy. Determined to overcome a lifetime of serious mental health challenges, Mike’s career began as a professional drummer and evolved into becoming a change maker in the workplace wellness industry.

Mike Veny has made a profound impact on educators in South Dakota, from delivering a keynote presentation at the South Dakota Department of Education MTSS Summer Conference in 2021 to leading professional development programs in school districts across the state. One of his most unforgettable career moments occurred at Crow Creek Tribal School, where he was honored with a Native American blanket ceremony after a professional development training for teachers—a deeply moving experience that also introduced him to his love for Indian tacos.

Strategies for Teacher Retention and Resilience

Professional development can be a powerful tool for teacher retention strategies. By addressing key concerns such as burnout and compassion fatigue, schools can keep talented educators in the profession. Examples of his focus areas include:

  • Resilience training for teachers: Practical exercises and insights to build emotional strength.
  • Examples of resilience in teaching: Real-life stories of educators overcoming obstacles.
  • Teacher burnout solutions: Tools and strategies to restore energy and passion for teaching.
Get In Touch With Us

Programs

Mike customizes each presentation to fit the goals and needs of your event, but at the heart of every topic is the gift of emotional wellness. The combination of his lived experience and educational content will make your event memorable.

Keynote

Transforming StigmaÂŽ Into Strength

During the next year, one in five people will experience a mental health challenge, and 1.5 million people will attempt to die by suicide. The stigma surrounding mental health is a significant barrier to seeking treatment and receiving needed help. Here’s a proven solution: Transforming Stigma®. This high-energy keynote presentation, based on Mike Veny’s bestselling book, Transforming Stigma: How To Become A Mental Wellness Superhero, performs double duty as an educational experience and entertainment for your audience. This presentation can be customized for workplace and classroom environments.


LEARNING OBJECTIVES:


  • Understand how stigma keeps people from asking for help.
  • Learn self-care strategies to avoid burnout, build resilience, and diminish feelings of shame.
  • Determine how to engage in productive conversations.
    Empower people who are struggling by cultivating a sense of belonging.

Keynote

How To Find Inner Peace In Times Of Uncertainty

There has never been a more important time in history to focus on your mental wellness. Finding inner peace is crucial to your health and safety. This important presentation will revitalize you. First and foremost, you will learn to shield yourself from stress. Next, you will learn to put your mind at ease and reduce your anxiety. Last but not least, you will learn to take advantage of golden opportunities to cope with loneliness and grief. Don’t miss this unique opportunity.


LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

  • Identify the importance of prioritizing stress management.
  • Identify three simple techniques to handle stress in minutes.
  • Practice three exercises to relieve anxiety and manage obsessive thinking.
  • Identify three inspiring strategies to cope with loneliness and grief.

Training

Fill Your Cup: Emotional Wellness For Exhausted Educators

You’ve heard the saying: You cannot pour from an empty cup. As an educator, your cup may be empty, or close to it. After pouring yourself into your job and your students, there is often little left in that cup for you, your family, and others. It may have led you to question your career choice and possibly even your true passion and purpose in life. Filling your cup can be challenging, but it can be done. This presentation will provide educators with tools and strategies for protecting and promoting their emotional wellness while supporting the wellbeing of their students. First, you will learn how to let go of worry and get control of your time. Next, you will learn how to take care of yourself. Finally, you will learn strategies for supporting your students’ emotional wellness.


LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

  • Identify strategies for spending your time and energy efficiently, productively, and peacefully.
  • Identify strategies for managing stress and preventing burnout.
  • Identify strategies for supporting students’ emotional wellness, including having conversations about mental health.

Workshop

Thriving Through Change: Building Resilience and Preventing Burnout with Self-Care

There has never been a more critical time to focus on your mental wellness and resilience. Self-care might seem daunting or trivial, but it is essential to differentiate it from mere escape activities. During this interactive workshop or breakout session, you will explore what self-care truly is, identify practical self-care strategies, and learn how these can help you build resilience, combat burnout, and maintain overall wellness—especially amidst change.


LEARNING OBJECTIVES:


  • Identify the importance of prioritizing stress management.
  • Identify three simple techniques to handle stress in minutes.
  • Practice three exercises to relieve anxiety and manage obsessive thinking.
  • Identify three inspiring strategies to cope with loneliness and grief.

Workshop

Unleash Your GrooveÂŽ Drumming Workshop: Belonging and Team Building

This live and interactive program is designed exclusively as a team-building workshop for employees. Through guidelines that support respect for each other, participants quickly learn to embrace a sense of belonging and teamwork. Engagement often spells the difference between success and failure in corporate team-building events, and this program excels at uniting a room full of people with varying personalities, interests, and skills. Unleash Your GrooveÂŽ focuses on using corporate drumming events to achieve this cohesion. While employees collaborate during the activities and games, they also learn valuable lessons in leadership. By utilizing drums, the workshop addresses crucial topics such as building an environment of trust, handling confrontation, communication, the importance of listening, and cooperation. Moreover, the games and activities are designed to help groups practice dealing with change, enhancing their adaptability in the workplace. From the outset, participants put these skills into practice, fostering a strong sense of belonging and an effective, cohesive team dynamic.


LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

  • Cultivate a welcoming culture that fosters belonging through team building.
  • Develop intentional connections with others to enhance belonging.
  • Identify teamwork strategies to achieve a larger vision and deal with change.

What clients are saying

"Best speaker that we have brought to our district."

Employee


"Thank you for coming to speak with us! I truly enjoyed your candor. Within the Military ERG we have spoken about mental well-being, but have approached it in almost a reversed, slightly clinical way. During and after your talk people have reached out to help get involved and drive mental well-being not only in the US, but in our international chapters. We knew having you speak would be meaningful to those that participated, we just had no idea that the impact would be this large. I hope we can keep the momentum going that you sparked. "

Tiffany Owen


"Mike did a great job at presenting to our staff! In fact, our exit ticket indicated that he was the best speaker that we have brought to our district. We are definitely looking to bring him back if willing to speak to our students/parents. I would really like to continue our work together!"

Melanie Kiely


"Had the privilege & honor to listen to Mike Veny sharing his wisdom and experience concerning mental health. Mike, you are such a beacon of light for so many suffering in silence. Keep shining your amazing powerful light. Such talent!"

A look at Mike Veny's books

Transforming Stigma:

How to Become a Mental Wellness Superhero

Are you or a loved one struggling with mental health challenges? Do you feel like you are silently suffering in silence due to shame about your situation? Are you at a loss trying to figure out what to do or how to get help? Do you feel like this is getting in the way of your happiness and success? It's time for you to begin Transforming StigmaÂŽ.

Transforming Stigma Workbook:

How to Become a Mental Wellness Superhero

This workbook allows you to go further into your journey of overcoming the Stigma Cycle. While it can be used alone, it’s best when paired with Transforming Stigma: How to Become a Mental Wellness Superhero. Perfect to use in both group settings or individually, this workbook walks you through real-life scenarios and questions to help you gain a deeper understanding of how the stigma works and ways that you can transform it in your own life as well as help others.

Connectivity & Conversations:

A Workplace Mental Health Course

Practical tips and takeaways on how to create a work culture that facilitates healthy discussion around employees' mental health and wellbeing. Mental health is an issue in every workplace. Burnout and mental health challenges lead to high turnover rates, lower productivity, and increased healthcare costs.

Fill Your Cup

The Exhausted Educator’s Guide to Emotional Wellness

Fill Your Cup: The Exhausted Educator's Guide To Emotional Wellness by Mike Veny is a reflective journal and informative guidebook, formatted to carry educators step-by-step as they learn how to support their own and their students’ emotional well-being in the face of an evolving high-stress school environment. This course will motivate educators and help them rekindle their passion for teaching. Equipped with the right tools, they will be able to help students, not just educationally but mentally.

Check Pricing & Availability

Ready to Take Action?

 

Whether you’re grappling with feelings of burnout, searching for teacher burnout solutions, or simply exploring ways to improve resilience in education, my programs can help. Together, we can support South Dakota teachers in becoming their best selves—because teaching the future deserves nothing less.

 

For more information about my workshops, speaking engagements, and online courses, contact me today. Let’s work together to transform professional development into a tool for lasting change. 

More client testimonials

"You made a real impact on the lives of so many educators."

Karen Barnes


"Thank you so much for your inspirational presentation yesterday! You made a real impact on the lives of so many educators. Additionally, I would love to have you return next year to present for our summit."

Jean C.


"I have to say that never in my life have I heard someone speak so frankly about their own mental illness. It was amazing and refreshing. Thank you for making your keynote entertaining, informative, and enjoyable."

Cat Kennedy


"Mike it was an honor for us to be in your company, you had such an impact. Thank you so much for helping us raise awareness of the stigma associated with mental health & how to combat it, together."

The Process

01.

Contact Mike with all of the details about your event

02.

We will discuss logistics and quote you a fee

03.

Sign the contract and promote your event

FAQs

Hold Your Date

Still don't have the answers you were looking for? Feel free to contact Mike at [email protected].

A Standard of Excellence 

Mike Veny, Inc. is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). Mike Veny, Inc. complies with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices. As a result of this accreditation, Mike Veny, Inc. is accredited to issue the IACET CEU.

The organization is also recognized by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CPÂŽ or SHRM-SCPÂŽ and is a Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) Accredited Provider.

A woman wearing a vibrant purple blazer is smiling and actively participating in a drumming activity. She is seated in a group setting, holding red drumsticks, with a drum positioned in front of her. Other participants are also visible, engaged in the same activity, creating a lively and collaborative atmosphere.

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Don’t worry, just share the basics—we’ll follow up to get the details! 🙏