Dr. Will Miller
Stand Up Authority, Therapist, Host
Dr. Will Miller’s unique background as a professional stand-up comedian, television personality, psychotherapist, educator, and best-selling author – along with his five graduate degrees – make him one of the most popular and insightful presenters you’ll ever invite to your stage. His presentations are packed with a shrewd understanding of the human psyche supported by delightfully humorous stories that turn critical concepts into applicable ideas that stick.
Dr. Will Miller has earned the reputation as an extraordinary keynote speaker. He is a recognized expert in the area of stress & coping, interpersonal relationships, organizational health, wellness and workplace culture. A therapist and teacher at Purdue University, he lectures at the schools of Organizational Leadership, Management and Mass Communication on the social environment of the workplace and the impact on productivity.
Dr. Will Miller is one of the country’s leading authorities on stress reduction and life balance. Your audience will take away a solid message about what gets in the way of living a life of personal and career well being. Unlike standard, simplistic motivational speeches that feel good in the moment, Will’s content is grounded in solid psychological and sociological science and research.
Dr. Will Miller is uniquely qualified to impact your group. It’s no surprise with his five graduate degrees and years of experience as a therapist, counselor and author. If that were not enough, Will spent 16 years as a top headline comedian in New York City. He has toured the country extensively as an entertainer and has appeared on countless standup comedy programs. He was the on-air spokesman for the Nick-At-Nite television network and hosted the NBC Daytime program The Other Side.
For the past 12 years Will has appeared before thousands of people at hundreds of events in the U.S. and Europe, offering a compelling and entertaining keynote for this country’s top corporations and national organizations. The response has been outstanding.
Your group’s needs and meeting themes are important. Dr. Will Miller can easily tailor his presentation to meet these needs and empower those themes. In addition to his renowned keynote address, he excels at workshop and seminar settings as well. And with his extensive entertainment background Will is one of the best event hosts and emcees in the business, balancing spontaneous humor with respect for your organization.
Dr. Will Miller received his Doctorate in Urban Education and Urban Studies from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. His Masters’ Degree in Education along the way was focused on special education in urban schools. His first position after graduation was with the Massachusetts State Department of Education as a regional director of Title I Funding for schools in Western Massachusetts. After two years he took a position with a federally funded state program called ‘Project Prod’ helping regional high schools include special education students enroll in mainstream, vocational education programs. He was there two years before leaving to move to New York and start his comedy career.
While performing professionally in New York he received a Masters’ Degree in Theology (M.Div) from Union Theological Seminary – Columbia University in New York. And then a Masters’ Degree in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University and a Masters’ Degree in Health Psychology from Walden University.
REFRIGERATOR RIGHTS FOR CORPORATE AMERICA
Issues that endlessly confront business organizations most often focus on maintaining a healthy and productive workforce that understands the life and stresses of customers and clients. The key to an improved quality of daily life, he tells audiences, are rooted in our social support network. We need real and claimed family”those relationships where people feel comfortable opening each others' refrigerators. And its impact is felt at work and at home. Inspiring, instructive and based on the best social science research, the wisdom gained from this presentation - tailored to the changing realities of business - gives the audience new insights into what fundamentally motivates them and their clients.
REFRIGERATOR RIGHTS FOR HEALTHCARE
Healthcare workers and first responders have a high stress job. Lives are literally at stake. In most cases, these professionals assert that theirs is more than just a career, but a calling and a mission. How do we thank them, support them, and empower them? Healthcare corporations and organizations fully understand the vital role being played by their caregivers: the nurses, physicians, technicians, and first responders. If you are thinking about a great way to honor, thank, and encourage them, Dr. Will Miller has an answer. A nationally recognized expert on coping with stress and living a high quality of life, Dr. Miller has 25 years' experience as a psychotherapist, teacher, author, and stress consultant for law enforcement agencies. His presentation is rich in content based on the latest social science research, and has practical application of course. But it is also funny! Give yourself and your team of caregivers a gift: bring in Dr. Will Miller for a delightful keynote presentation for your team.
EMERGING WITH RESILIENCE FROM THE COVID CRISIS
Dr. Will Miller brings a message of resilience and energy to the people of your organization moving on after the Pandemic. Throughout the Covid crisis he actively engaged dozens of groups offering tools and strategies for coping with the psychological challenges. Now moving forward from the stress of the disruption and isolation, what does science tell us works to restore our resilience? A specialist with five graduate degrees he teaches and treats professionals in high stress careers, Will is a certified P.T.S.D. Clinician, is active treating critical care professionals including law enforcement and first responders. His keynote, delivered live or virtually, offers the latest neuroscience has to offer. A therapist with years of experience, Will is a former professional standup comedian and television personality. Your group will learn, change and laugh.
CARE FOR THE CAREGIVER
Dr. WIll Miller is a Trauma & PTSD educator. He has served police, fire fighters and emergency first responders on scene and in their debriefings for over a decade. He has intensive formal training on both episodic trauma and long term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
This national epidemic is a crisis affecting millions, well beyond first responders and combat veterans. It includes all who have been victims of traumatic experiences, from childhood through adult onset abuse. As a psychotherapist for over thirty years and with five graduate degrees, Will has vast experience in helping people restore their emotional and psychological wellness.
His presentation is for relevant audiences and groups, related professional meetings and other interested gatherings. He is endorsed by area and state law enforcement and EMT professionals. Dr. Will Miller is a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist and his talk is accessible, relevant and engaging.
COPING WITH THE STRESS OF WORKING FROM HOME - VIRTUAL PRESENTATION
With the arrival of the Corona Virus pandemic American daily life has been fundamentally altered. Whether the predictions are for some weeks, or months, or even longer, it is a time of unprecedented anxiety. With the necessity for radical social isolation and disconnection, we are all now experiencing various levels of quarantine in our homes. The urgent challenge is protecting and maintaining your Employee’s/Membership’s physical and emotional health. There has never been a more stark challenge to the mental health of the American Public.
Dr Will Miller has been studying and researching the issue of social connection and isolation for 25 years. He teaches social media strategies at Purdue University’s graduate Communication Department. A therapist and health psychologist, he is a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist who works with police fire fighters and other first responders on coping and wellness. In addition to his extensive academic resume, Will was also a professional standup comedian in New York for 20 years. He brings the perfect balance of research data along with an engaging style to both his live and webinar presentations.
His Thirty Minute Presentation Covers the Challenges and Strategies for navigation of this major lifestyle disruption:
- Remaining Connected in an Isolated Time: (Managing tensions in the household: anxiety and displaced emotion)
- Using Social Media to remain connected: (Committing to positive content and its psychological contagion)
- Body, Mind & Spirit: (What we learn from trauma studies: Movement, Nature & Spiritual Awareness)
BECOMING A RESILIENT EDUCATOR: TAKING CHARGE OF WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL TOOLS FOR TEACHER LIFE BALANCE
Making a choice to become a teacher is done with enthusiasm and optimism. It’s a true calling to teach and serve children. And while most enter the profession aware that there are challenges, it can be a demoralizing experience when actually facing the issues that can sour the job and dampen the enthusiasm. The list is long: pressures of over testing, absent parents, hovering parents, lack of preparation time, salary pressure, data collection and on and on. Now add your personal life issues. So what helps? What works? Dr. Will’s presentation, filled with research insights and humor, guides teachers into new areas of self care and a renewal of energy even while coping with this noble work. He is a stress and trauma authority with years of counseling experience with other high pressure professions including law enforcement and first responders. Will specializes in the self care for professions like modern education! The audience will gain a reset of attitude and experience encouragement to recalibrate the balance between the job and home.
STEPPING INTO YOUR ORGANIZATION’S MENTAL HEALTH DILEMMAS
The American Lifestyle continues to be radically transformed by the destabilizing effects of our high tech lifestyle. No facet is immune from the significant health consequences that overwhelm us. Correlations are rightly made between our personal and professional communication technologies and a wide variety of mental health problems. Many of your staff members may be doing well, but stressed by mental health challenges at home and in their local communities. Across all demographics America’s social isolation has wrought damaging consequences including epidemics of depression, anxiety, addiction and suicides. We do know we cannot assume the smiling ‘game faces’ tell the story of your people. Taking the best care of them is worth its weight in gold!
Entering into these issues to affect change has been the life work of Dr. Will Miller, whose research and writing capture the primary drivers at play. His best selling book ‘Refrigerator Rights: Creating Connections and Restoring Relationships’ coauthored with Purdue professor Glenn Sparks lays the cause at the feet of our loss of relationships that recreate the organic extended family, the connections we call ‘refrigerator rights’ friends. Adequate social support is missing for many of not most American workers. Dr. Will Miller's presentation on social connection is an incisive and persuasive presentation that helps leaders convince their team to invest in the mental health mission for all in their organization. His message brings achievable strategies for personal wellness, at the job and away. And since Will is a professional comedian as well as a scholar, the presentation is thoroughly enjoyable.
REFRIGERATOR RIGHTS FOR EDUCATORS
The academic industry faces unprecedented demands. As a recognized authority on the challenges of living in the era of social isolation and media immersion, Dr. Will offers a rich level of research and understanding into the plight of the educational institutes charged with preparing future generations to live a well-balanced and meaningful life. With five graduate degrees, Will shares the wisdom of his experience as a therapist and professor at Purdue University. And along with his two decades experience as a professional standup comedian, Dr. Will offers a funny but incisive perspective to find real solutions and alleviate the worry about the future. Based on his books Refrigerator Rights and Graduation Jolt: How to Survive and Thrive after College Graduation, co-authored with Dr. Glenn Sparks (2014).
REFRIGERATOR RIGHTS FOR CIVIC ORGANIZATION
This presentation which combines scholarly insight with entertainment is ideal for civic gatherings seeking to cultivate community and family initiatives by nurturing meaningful relationships among populations filled with a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Discover how to initiate volunteerism, engagement, and new collaborations in your city, town, and state. Help your people discover the joy of being an active part of a community rich in opportunity.