Recognized as one of the Inaugural Top 100 National Women in Business to Watch by bizwomen.com, Diane M. Simard is a strategy consultant to senior business executives and an award-winning writer and motivational speaker.
A survivor of Stage 3c breast cancer, Diane is also an advocate to expand access to mental health resources for those impacted by the psychological trauma of cancer. After completing treatment in 2015, she founded the Center for Oncology Psychology Excellence (COPE), a specialty at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology. She later helped launch a mental health therapy pilot grant program through the Ray of Hope Colorado Cancer Foundation and served as a patient advisor for a digital therapeutics company.
Her first book, The Unlikely Gift of Breast Cancer, was named one of the best breast cancer books of all time by BookAuthority, placed third in the memoir category of the 2019 Colorado Independent Publishers Association book awards, and received a 5-star rating from Readers Favorite. The COPE story was featured in Courageous Warriors: Beauty from the Ashes, a multi award-winning independent documentary film.
Her next book, Heal Forward: Transform Emotional Scars into Impact releases to the public Sept. 12, 2023 and has received a five-star rating from Readers’ Favorite. The book is the first in her HEALFORWARD series.
Diane’s business experience includes over 30 years as a senior executive in the financial, information technology, and aerospace industries, plus service on numerous corporate and nonprofit organization boards of directors. She attended the Air Force National Security Forum (Air War College) and was selected by former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to attend the Department of Defense’s Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, the department’s oldest and most prestigious public liaison program.
Other recent honors include Top 25 Most Women in Denver, Top Woman in Energy, Ray of Hope Cancer Foundation honoree, Outstanding Woman in Business in Technology and Telecom by the Denver Business Journal, and the Bob Cardenas Award for her support of veterans and the military. In addition, Diane was named the Aurora, Colorado Chamber Woman of the Year, a Mile High Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction, and a University of Nebraska-Kearney Distinguished Alumna.
More information at DianeMSimard.com.