Synopsis:

Leadership doesn’t happen only in plans and performance metrics - it unfolds in the in-between: the pauses between projects, the spaces between change and stability, and the quiet moments where we process both professional and personal loss.

In this deeply human keynote, Deanna Davies invites project professionals to explore leadership through the lens of the body, the nervous system, and the emotional landscape of change. Drawing from her own lived experiences of transition, loss, and renewal, Deanna shares how embodied leadership can help us navigate uncertainty with grace, resilience, and authenticity.

Through storytelling, reflection, and gentle somatic practice, participants will reconnect with the body's wisdom as a guide to grounded, emotionally intelligent leadership.

Learning Outcomes:

• Gain a deeper understanding of The In-Between as a natural and necessary space for growth.
• Find insight into the connection between emotional intelligence, presence, and embodied awareness.
• Discover tools to navigate loss, transition, and complexity through somatic grounding.
• Develop inspiration to lead with authenticity, compassion, and inner steadiness.

PDUs:

0.5 (Business Acumen)

0.5 (Power Skills)

0.5 (Ways of Working)

Agenda:

7:00 PM - Welcome and Opening
7:05 PM - Presentation
8:00 PM - Q&A
8:20 PM - Closing Remarks
8:30 PM - Conclude

Registration Deadline:

Registration closes on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 6:59 p.m.

Fees:

(Subject to HST)

PMI Toronto Members (login prior to registering): $5.00

Non-Members and Guests: $20.00

Presenter:

Deanna Davies

Deanna Davies is a community leader, educator, and project professional with more than three decades of experience across business, project management, economic development, and leadership. She holds an MBA in Community Economic Development and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

A regular speaker with PMI chapters across Canada, Deanna is known for bringing a human-centered perspective to project leadership. She focuses on the relational and emotional dimensions of projects, helping leaders build stronger teams, navigate complexity, and lead with clarity during times of change.
Deanna is the founder of Elevate3, where she integrates leadership development, emotional intelligence, and embodied practices to support resilient leaders, teams, and communities. She is also a yoga teacher and wellness practitioner who believes that grounded leadership begins with awareness of both strategy and self.

She is a recipient of the PMI North America Leadership - Star of the North Award, as well as the PMEvolve Honorable Member Award and the PMEvolve Collaboration and Teamwork Award, recognizing her contributions to leadership, community building, and the advancement of project management practice.