Chris Hoquis grew up in an immigrant household that prioritized family, academics and physiological needs over mental health. As the pressures of providing for his family and being a perfect student increased, he was forced onto a pathway of depression, suicide attempts, and extreme levels of low self esteem. In his talk, he shares his discovery of resilience and aims to provide steps for everyone to overcome struggle through storytelling and poetry. He hopes to serve as a catalyst for others to discover relentless empathy and find resilience within. MBA (Candidate), BBA, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO

Chris Hoquis is an Entrepreneur, lead Instructor at the University of Manitoba, Keynote Speaker, information technology professional for over 15 years, and a youth basketball coach.

Chris’ mind tends to wander in ideation, creativity and social innovation, which has led to several business ventures. Most recently, he launched “Rally the Locals”, a platform dedicated to driving growth for local businesses through lead generation, content curation, innovative marketing, and partnerships.

His unique style of story-telling, poetry, and hard hitting dialogue has culminated into intuitive blueprints that help others believe they’re worth more than they think they are and serve as catalysts for destigmatizing mental health. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx