From homeless to CEO: Leading from Purpose with Ben Brooks
- Nisi Bennett
- Mar 19
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 24
Meet Your Expert: Ben Brooks
As the CEO of Pay It Forward SA, Ben Brooks brings an extraordinarily personal perspective to the Leading with Purpose track. With a powerful journey from addiction and homelessness to nonprofit leadership, Ben embodies the transformative impact of purpose-driven work and demonstrates how lived experience can become a foundation for authentic leadership and community change.
Presentation Overview
Title: From homeless to CEO: Leading from Purpose
Some leadership journeys follow traditional paths through education and career advancement. Others emerge from profound personal transformation and a deep commitment to creating the change one has needed themselves. In this compelling presentation, Ben Brooks shares his remarkable story of overcoming addiction and homelessness to discover his purpose in helping others navigate their own recovery journeys.
Through authentic storytelling and hard-earned wisdom, Ben demonstrates how purpose-driven leadership emerges not despite personal struggles, but often because of them. His presentation offers a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and illustrates how our greatest challenges can become the foundation for our most meaningful contributions.
Presentation Objectives
During this inspiring session, participants will gain insights into:
Mental Health Awareness: Understand the critical importance of addressing mental health challenges in both personal development and organizational leadership.
Recovery Possibilities: Discover how recovery from substance use disorders is not only possible but can become a catalyst for profound personal and professional transformation.
Community Service Impact: Learn how serving others through mission-driven work creates reciprocal healing and growth, benefiting both those who receive and those who give support.
Why You Can't Afford to Miss This Session
Authentic Leadership: Experience a raw, honest account of leadership that comes from lived experience rather than textbook theory—offering insights into authenticity that traditional leadership presentations rarely capture.
Hope and Inspiration: Gain renewed perspective on human potential and the capacity for transformation, reinvigorating your own sense of purpose and possibility.
Stigma Reduction: Participate in breaking down the stigma surrounding addiction, homelessness, and mental health challenges through the power of storytelling and example.
Mission Reconnection: Reconnect with the fundamental "why" behind nonprofit work—the belief in human potential and the transformative power of community support.
Practical Wisdom: Benefit from practical insights on recovery support, purpose discovery, and community engagement that come from direct experience rather than theoretical frameworks.
Comentários