VIDEO: Journey Towards a Positive (Self) Image

In this session, speakers explore and discuss the journey toward a positive and inclusive body image including:

• Showing your scars
• Vulnerability and confidence
• Dating and coupled relationships
• Definitions of beauty (in our minds and in the world)

This is a session recording from Phoenix: Engage 2022. 

Meet The Speakers

Cindy Rutter has been an advocate for Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors and involved in the burn community for more than 41 years. She recently completed her master’s degree to become a marriage and family therapist. Cindy has been a burn survivor for 63 years and is the former nurse manager of the burn unit in San Diego.

Karen Colligan, founder, and principal of PeopleThink, is a recognized expert in leadership, team effectiveness, and organizational development. She partners with organizations in a variety of industries to develop and retain their most precious asset – their people. An active volunteer with the Phoenix Society for many years, Karen is herself a burn survivor. At age two, she received second and third-degree burns from scalding bathroom tap water. This experience has impacted her entire life and inspired her to get involved in helping other burn survivors.

Blake Tedder and his father survived a plane crash in the mountains of Colorado. At the age of 16, he received burns on 35% of his body and was hospitalized for three months and underwent physical therapy for over a year. The journey through the physical challenges, disfigurement, and PTSD associated with his injury, ignited in him a deep desire to heal himself and help others, ultimately leading him to certify as a yoga instructor and later receive a master's degree in Social Work. He has volunteered in many capacities for over a decade with the UNC Jaycee Burn Center's Aftercare Program and the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, among many other organizations. His small Blake Tedder Burn Endowment funds healing initiatives for burn survivors in North Carolina.

Huyen “Kiki” Vo is a 30 years old Vietnamese immigrant and a proud burn survivor. At the age of 9, she was severely injured in a house fire in Vietnam that resulted in third-degree burns all over her body. Kiki’s commitment to healing from her burn trauma inspires her to pursue a career in social work. She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in social work, with an emphasis on community mental health. She is a registered Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of California. Professionally, she is a Medical Social Worker at a children’s hospital and a Social Work Supervisor for a community-based agency in San Francisco. Her "WHY" in life is to pay it forward. She is the Founder of her business, Thrive With Kiki, LLC. where she serves as a Coach, Consultant, and Speaker with the mission of uplifting, empowering, and inspiring burn survivors to thrive. She is grateful to also serve as a Board Advisor, Mental Wellness for the Close the Gap Foundation, and a Contributing Author/Speaker for the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors. Kiki lives in the vibrant city of Oakland, CA, and in her free time, loves cooking, working out, dancing, and spending time with her loved ones.