Roanne van Voorst dr.

About Roanne van Voorst

Roanne (Ph.D) is an international speaker, awarded author and social scientist.

Roanne obtained her doctorate with honors on an anthropological research into risk behavior. She writes fiction and non-fiction and is an inspirator and public speaker around the themes bravery and fear. Characteristic of her work is her anthropological way of working: by living for a long time among the people she studies, she learns the world from their eyes and is able to explain seemingly strange or irrational behavior. She went for years among whale hunters, slum dwellers, and extreme athletes. She shares their lessons about fear and courage in her books, workshops, lectures and media appearances. In recent years Roanne has lived for a long time among the Inuit hunters on Greenland (from whom she learned to survive in a changing climate), in one of the poorest slums in Jakarta (from whom she learned why a flood-prone riverside is the best place to live in world), and went among mountaineers and other high-risk athletes (from whom she learned the most effective methods to overcome fear of heights, fear of street, fear of failure and other common fears). Her latest research focuses on soldiers, refugees and humanitarian workers in war zones. Whether she writes, teaches or speaks; Roanne van Voorst always does it in an accessible, humorous and lively way. She is also an experienced speaker, and speaks with ease and pleasure for different types of audiences: from management audiences to young students.

Her reputation as a speaker is built on her ability to explore difficult topics with tremendous honesty, warmth, and humor. She is a researcher and storyteller with the rare ability to both inspire audiences and leave them with actionable change strategies.

Roanne enjoys working with event coordinators to customize her talks within the scope of her research.