Tenay Benes helps people and organizations win the war on complex illness through strategy, lived experience, and powerful leadership insights.
5.00 of 5
Top rated!5 of 5
"A brilliant leader who gets after tought problems."
Major General (Retired) Dusty Shultz
U.S. Army
Tenay Benes is a keynote speaker, author, and impact entrepreneur who helps people and organizations win the war on complex illness. A retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel with an intelligence background, she brings a strategic perspective to healthcare transformation and healing. Benes combines military strategy, consulting experience, and lived experience with chronic illness to deliver practical insights for leaders, caregivers, and patients navigating complex health challenges. Her work equips audiences with frameworks that bring clarity, coordination, and resilience to situations that often feel overwhelming.
Tenay Benes is a keynote speaker, author, and impact entrepreneur focused on helping people and organizations win the war on complex illness. Drawing on her background as a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel with experience in intelligence, she approaches healthcare challenges through the lens of strategy, systems thinking, and leadership.
Her work combines professional expertise with lived experience navigating chronic illness. This unique perspective allows Benes to speak to both the structural challenges within healthcare systems and the personal realities faced by patients and caregivers.
Benes holds a BA in Biology, an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Consulting, and an MS in Information Science. Earlier in her career she worked in consulting through Deloitte, where she collaborated with federal agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Today she shares her insights with healthcare organizations, leadership audiences, and communities navigating complex conditions.
Tenay Benes is the author of “Heal or Die: A True Story of Trauma, Chronic Illness, and Unexpected Help.” The book tells the story of her journey through trauma and chronic illness and the unexpected support that helped her find a path forward.
Through that experience, Benes developed a broader understanding of how complex illness unfolds. She recognized that healing requires more than medical treatment alone. Her work highlights the importance of coordinated systems, strong support networks, access to information, and personal resilience.
This perspective became the foundation of her seven-domain wellness framework, which guides her speaking and consulting work.
Tenay Benes delivers two signature keynote presentations that translate her experiences and frameworks into practical insights.
Win the War on Complex Illness focuses on leadership and systems thinking for healthcare organizations and human services leaders. The keynote introduces strategic approaches inspired by military intelligence and shows how organizations can better coordinate care and support patients facing complex conditions.
Heal or Die is a deeply personal keynote that speaks to individuals and caregivers navigating chronic illness. Through storytelling and practical insights, Benes explores how resilience, support, and strategy can change the course of a difficult journey.
Both keynotes combine powerful storytelling with clear frameworks that audiences can apply in their own work and lives.
Organizations invite Tenay Benes to speak because she brings together military strategy, consulting experience, and lived insight into complex illness. Her presentations resonate with healthcare professionals, leadership audiences, patient communities, and human services organizations.
By translating intelligence strategy and personal experience into practical frameworks, Benes helps audiences better understand how to navigate complexity, build stronger systems of care, and support people living with chronic conditions.
Her talks leave audiences with a renewed sense of clarity, resilience, and direction in the face of one of today’s most pressing healthcare challenges.
5 of 5
"A brilliant leader who gets after tought problems."
Major General (Retired) Dusty Shultz U.S. Army
5 of 5
"Tenay was a fantastic officer and leader in Battalion Command -- when I had the opportunity to hear her speak I was impressed with how she engaged the audience and brought people along!"
Colonel Molly Salsbury U.S. Army
Keynote by Tenay Benes:
194 million adults and 22 million children in the U.S. are fighting complex illness — and most healthcare, wellness, and human strategies into actionable tools for the front lines of healthcare. Drawing on her book "Heal or Die," Tenay shows leaders how to cut through fragmented systems, align teams, and drive measurably better outcomes for the patients and communities they serve.
Keynote by Tenay Benes:
What does it actually take to heal from trauma, chronic illness, and medical injury — while still showing up for your life? For millions of individuals and caregivers navigating complex illness, the journey feels isolating, overwhelming, and without a clear path forward. In this inspiring and deeply personal keynote, Tenay Benes shares her own story of healing from complex PTSD, chronic fatigue, and developmental illness — while building a purpose-driven life as a mother, spouse, entrepreneur, and Army officer. Drawing on her book "Heal or Die" and a seven life-domains framework, Tenay offers a practical and empowering roadmap that bridges Western medicine, holistic care, and the power of unexpected help.
Attendee Results: Discover a seven life-domains framework that addresses the full scope of complex illness recovery. Gain practical strategies to take ownership of your healing journey with confidence and clarity. Understand how trauma, illness, and adversity can become the foundation for purpose and resilience. Leave feeling seen, equipped, and empowered to take the next step — for yourself or someone you love.
Audiences: For Patients, Caregivers, Wellness Groups & Patient Advocacy Orgs.
Watch Tenay Benes in action!
