Chef Maria Kemp
Caregiver Advocacy | Workplace Wellness Speaker at Beyond Decadence, Inc.
Health, Wellness and Fitness
Education: Dean College - French Pastry School
Cornelius, NC, USA
Biography
Chef Maria is a professional speaker who partners with HR, DEI, Wellness, Benefits, and ERG leaders, as well as event planners seeking unique and memorable topics for their audiences. She is a leading voice in caregiver advocacy, using powerful storytelling, dessert-inspired teaching tools drawn from her background as a French-trained pastry chef, and practical strategies to help organizations better support the millions of employees silently balancing work and caregiving. Sometimes that means real desserts that spark interaction. Other times it means dessert-inspired metaphors that turn complex challenges into lessons audiences carry with them.
An award-winning French-trained pastry chef and founder of Beyond Decadence, Maria previously pioneered an interactive dessert tasting model for DEI training. She later closed the catering side of her business to focus fully on helping leaders see, support, and value employee caregivers who are too often overlooked.
Her clients include Messer Construction, Sonoco, the City of Charlotte EWAP (Employees With Aging Parents), the 2023 BMW Supplier Diversity Xchange, Kimberly-Clark, and Wake Forest University Center for Private Business.
Passion
My passion stems from something deeply personal. I know firsthand what it feels like to be unseen or overlooked. I first walked that invisible path as a single parent for much of my life and then later as a caregiver for over 8.5 years for both of my parents, six years apart. Both roles shaped my commitment to help people who are too often ignored feel supported, seen, valued, heard at work and beyond.
Personal passion: Pilates, strength training, plant-based diet, wine, and travel.
Best Story
One of my favorite stories is about my dad, Papa Kemp. In his last 14 months, at 88 with late-stage Alzheimer’s, every day was an adventure, and I was never sure what colorful words were going to come out of his mouth. He had so much paranoia and so many theories about conspiracies against him, supposedly orchestrated by one retirement community resident who, in reality, was battling cancer. The only thing he was plotting was his next chemo appointment!
One afternoon, an aide was talking so loud she was almost yelling at my dad. Without missing a beat, Papa Kemp looked right at her and said, ‘I may be old, but I can hear!’ It caught me off guard so much, I actually snorted when I laughed! But that was my dad: razor sharp, unpredictable, and full of fire.
Those moments were precious because they balanced the ones that quietly broke my heart. It reminds me every day: you never know what invisible load someone is carrying, or what conspiracies they’re fighting that feel real and terrifying to them. But really, they’re just fighting for another day.
Origin Story
My story really starts with knowing what it feels like to be invisible. I became a single parent at a young age, and as a woman of color, I quickly learned what it was like to be unseen, overlooked, and underestimated while juggling everything on my own. Even with support from my mother, I was forged in the fire and did my best to ensure my daughter’s well-being and keep my career moving forward.
I didn’t take a straight path to this work. Some days, it felt like someone handed a preschooler a crayon and told them to ‘draw’ my course. I went from an extensive IT consulting career to pastry school, then running my own bakery, then back to IT consulting, then launching a pop-up bakery. Along the way, I discovered that food could bring people together in ways that sparked real conversations. That’s why I pioneered interactive dessert tastings to help people connect on deeper topics like DEI.
But I still wasn’t quite there yet. I stepped into the caregiver role not once but twice: first for my mom, Little Mama, and then for my dad, Papa Kemp. There were nursing home and retirement community battles, revolving-door double-digit hospitalizations, and cross-country relocations. When Papa Kemp earned his wings, it finally clicked. I realized every part of my journey had prepared me to shine a light on people quietly carrying so much while feeling unseen or unheard.
That’s why I’m committed to helping leaders notice and uplift those who are too often overlooked. I know what it’s like to walk that path. In reality, I’ve walked it three times.
Example talks
Invisible Load, Visible Impact: Why Caregiver Stories Belong in the Workplace
Storytelling has been proven to increase emotional connection, reduce stigma, and build psychological safety in teams (Harvard Business Review). This talk demonstrates how sharing caregiver stories at work creates empathy, strengthens teams, and fosters a culture where employees can show up fully.
Target Audience: HR leaders, DEI professionals, wellness leaders, employee caregivers
Level: Novice to Intermediate
Caregiver Inclusion: The Missing Piece in Your DEI Strategy
Only 22% of organizations have DEI initiatives at an “advanced” or “expert” level (Affirmity Research Report). This session gives leaders and event planners frameworks to embed caregiver inclusion into diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts—boosting retention, equity, and engagement without requiring full benefits overhauls.
Target Audience: HR leaders, DEI professionals, senior executives
Level: Intermediate to Expert
Balancing Acts: The Emotional Toll of Working While Caring
60% of caregivers report moderate to high emotional stress (Harvard Business School, OurParents.com). This talk equips audiences with practical strategies to prevent burnout and maintain mental well-being while balancing demanding professional and caregiving roles.
Target Audience: HR leaders, wellness program managers, employee resource group leaders, employee caregivers
Level: Novice to Intermediate
From Caregiver to Culture Shifter: Leading from Lived Experience
Leaders who share lived experiences build stronger trust and empathy, making them more effective culture shapers (Harvard Business Review). This session shows how personal caregiving challenges can transform leadership approaches, inspire teams, and reshape workplace culture. Ideal for leadership summits, HR, DEI, and wellness events seeking to humanize leadership.
Target Audience: Leadership teams, HR leaders, DEI professionals, wellness leaders
Level: Intermediate to Expert
Beyond Burnout: Real Talk, Tools & Support for Caregivers at Work
73% of employees are caregivers, and most keep it hidden (Forbes, Harvard Business Review).
This talk equips HR, DEI, wellness leaders, event planners, and employee caregivers themselves with actionable tools, vetted resource lists, and conversation templates to address caregiver strain head-on. Audiences leave knowing how to reduce absenteeism, disengagement, and turnover while improving retention and well-being.
Target Audience: HR leaders, DEI professionals, wellness leaders, employee caregivers
Level: Novice to Intermediate
Featured Video
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
Everything is negotiable
Topics
Best Story
One of my favorite stories is about my dad, Papa Kemp. In his last 14 months, at 88 with late-stage Alzheimer’s, every day was an adventure, and I was never sure what colorful words were going to come out of his mouth. He had so much paranoia and so many theories about conspiracies against him, supposedly orchestrated by one retirement community resident who, in reality, was battling cancer. The only thing he was plotting was his next chemo appointment!
One afternoon, an aide was talking so loud she was almost yelling at my dad. Without missing a beat, Papa Kemp looked right at her and said, ‘I may be old, but I can hear!’ It caught me off guard so much, I actually snorted when I laughed! But that was my dad: razor sharp, unpredictable, and full of fire.
Those moments were precious because they balanced the ones that quietly broke my heart. It reminds me every day: you never know what invisible load someone is carrying, or what conspiracies they’re fighting that feel real and terrifying to them. But really, they’re just fighting for another day.
Origin Story
My story really starts with knowing what it feels like to be invisible. I became a single parent at a young age, and as a woman of color, I quickly learned what it was like to be unseen, overlooked, and underestimated while juggling everything on my own. Even with support from my mother, I was forged in the fire and did my best to ensure my daughter’s well-being and keep my career moving forward.
I didn’t take a straight path to this work. Some days, it felt like someone handed a preschooler a crayon and told them to ‘draw’ my course. I went from an extensive IT consulting career to pastry school, then running my own bakery, then back to IT consulting, then launching a pop-up bakery. Along the way, I discovered that food could bring people together in ways that sparked real conversations. That’s why I pioneered interactive dessert tastings to help people connect on deeper topics like DEI.
But I still wasn’t quite there yet. I stepped into the caregiver role not once but twice: first for my mom, Little Mama, and then for my dad, Papa Kemp. There were nursing home and retirement community battles, revolving-door double-digit hospitalizations, and cross-country relocations. When Papa Kemp earned his wings, it finally clicked. I realized every part of my journey had prepared me to shine a light on people quietly carrying so much while feeling unseen or unheard.
That’s why I’m committed to helping leaders notice and uplift those who are too often overlooked. I know what it’s like to walk that path. In reality, I’ve walked it three times.
Example talks
Invisible Load, Visible Impact: Why Caregiver Stories Belong in the Workplace
Storytelling has been proven to increase emotional connection, reduce stigma, and build psychological safety in teams (Harvard Business Review). This talk demonstrates how sharing caregiver stories at work creates empathy, strengthens teams, and fosters a culture where employees can show up fully.
Target Audience: HR leaders, DEI professionals, wellness leaders, employee caregivers
Level: Novice to Intermediate
Caregiver Inclusion: The Missing Piece in Your DEI Strategy
Only 22% of organizations have DEI initiatives at an “advanced” or “expert” level (Affirmity Research Report). This session gives leaders and event planners frameworks to embed caregiver inclusion into diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts—boosting retention, equity, and engagement without requiring full benefits overhauls.
Target Audience: HR leaders, DEI professionals, senior executives
Level: Intermediate to Expert
Balancing Acts: The Emotional Toll of Working While Caring
60% of caregivers report moderate to high emotional stress (Harvard Business School, OurParents.com). This talk equips audiences with practical strategies to prevent burnout and maintain mental well-being while balancing demanding professional and caregiving roles.
Target Audience: HR leaders, wellness program managers, employee resource group leaders, employee caregivers
Level: Novice to Intermediate
From Caregiver to Culture Shifter: Leading from Lived Experience
Leaders who share lived experiences build stronger trust and empathy, making them more effective culture shapers (Harvard Business Review). This session shows how personal caregiving challenges can transform leadership approaches, inspire teams, and reshape workplace culture. Ideal for leadership summits, HR, DEI, and wellness events seeking to humanize leadership.
Target Audience: Leadership teams, HR leaders, DEI professionals, wellness leaders
Level: Intermediate to Expert
Beyond Burnout: Real Talk, Tools & Support for Caregivers at Work
73% of employees are caregivers, and most keep it hidden (Forbes, Harvard Business Review).
This talk equips HR, DEI, wellness leaders, event planners, and employee caregivers themselves with actionable tools, vetted resource lists, and conversation templates to address caregiver strain head-on. Audiences leave knowing how to reduce absenteeism, disengagement, and turnover while improving retention and well-being.
Target Audience: HR leaders, DEI professionals, wellness leaders, employee caregivers
Level: Novice to Intermediate