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
INVITE TO SPEAK

Biography

Chef Maria is a professional speaker who partners with HR, DEI, wellness, and ERG leaders. She is a leading voice in caregiver advocacy, using powerful storytelling and practical strategies to help organizations better support the millions of employees silently balancing work and caregiving.

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), 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.

Featured Video

I am willing to travel

More than 100 miles

When it comes to payments

Everything is negotiable

Topics

caregiver advocacy working caregivers employee caregiving support employee well-being employee engagement employee retention employee retention and engagement diversity equity and inclusion dei psychological safety mental health at work burnout prevention work-life integration storytelling for change lived experience speaker human-centered leadership supporting single parents unseen workforce erg speaker keynote speaker innovative keynote speaker panel discussion speaker fireside chat speaker women in leadership women of color speaker culture transformation corporate wellness speaker inclusion and diversity caregiver empowerment patient and caregiver engagement worklife balance for caregivers promoting caregiver access caregiver support hiring caregiver caregiver recruitment and retention grandkids as caregivers caregiver support in the workplace

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.