Sometimes the war is within,
there you must face your invisible enemy.
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“Adversity may shape our story, but it does not get to define its ending. When we have the courage to share what we have lived through, storytelling becomes more than expression. It creates awareness, inspires action and drives impact. Every time we choose to rise, speak and keep moving forward, we remind someone else that they can, too. I share my story not because it has been easy, but because it matters. Because it may make a difference. Because I can.” 
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I can't run from MS,
but I can run with it.
BECAUSE I CAN KEYNOTE SERIES
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The Because I Can Keynote Series is a collection of deeply personal, purpose-driven talks exploring what it means to move forward when life changes the path. Drawing from Allié McGuire’s experience living with multiple sclerosis, her work as an award-winning speaker and global storyteller, and the journey behind the documentary Because I Can, each keynote combines honest storytelling, original poetry, humour and practical human insight. Designed for patient advocates, healthcare professionals and general audiences, the series speaks directly to the distinct challenges and opportunities within each community. Whether helping advocates recognize the power of their lived experience, inviting care teams to see what the chart cannot reveal or encouraging audiences to own the lives they did not plan, Allié creates space for vulnerability without hopelessness, inspiration without performance and possibility without denying what is difficult. At the heart of every keynote is a simple but transformative idea: Because I can is not a demand to do everything or ignore our limitations. It is an invitation to recognize what remains available to us—a choice, a voice, a story, a next step or a moment we can fully own. ▶ Because I Can: Becoming the Person You Once Needed For patient advocates and patient leaders ▶ Because I Can: What the Chart Cannot Tell You For healthcare professionals, care teams and life-sciences audiences ▶ Because I Can: Owning the Life You Did Not Plan For corporate, community and general audiences |
What audiences are saying...
About Allié
Allié McGuire is an award-winning speaker, filmmaker, media producer, poet and patient advocate whose work explores the power of human stories to create connection, restore agency and turn awareness into action. She is the co-founder and CEO of AwareNow Media and editor-in-chief of AwareNow Magazine, a global publication dedicated to elevating stories, voices and causes that deserve to be heard. Through AwareNow, Allié has helped publish more than 1,600 stories while building a worldwide community centred on advocacy, impact and meaningful change.
At age 41, Allié was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after losing the vision in her right eye. An MRI revealed numerous brain lesions along with severe inflammation and damage to her optic nerve, finally providing an explanation for years of previously unrecognized symptoms, including numbness, fatigue, imbalance and weakness. The diagnosis changed her relationship with her body, her future and the meaning of forward movement, but it also deepened her commitment to helping others feel seen within experiences that are often invisible.
Allié transformed that lived experience into Because I Can, a feature documentary about MS, lifelong friendship and what it means to keep moving when the path beneath you changes. Directed by eleven-time Emmy Award winner Bill McCullough, the film follows Allié and her childhood best friend, Angie, as Angie trains to run a marathon in Allié’s honour and Allié prepares to complete an 8K while living with MS. More than a film about running, Because I Can is a story about uncertainty, adaptation, friendship and discovering that movement does not have to look the same for everyone to matter.
Her advocacy has been recognized with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 2025 Jody Burton Slowins Impact Award. She was also selected as a 2025 National MS Society Public Policy Conference Advocate, bringing her lived experience and storytelling expertise to legislative advocacy on behalf of the MS community.
As a speaker, Allié brings an unique combination of professional storytelling authority and personal credibility. She understands how stories are shaped, shared and received, but she also understands what it feels like to sit inside the uncertainty of a life-changing diagnosis. Her talks do not offer polished inspiration that skips over what is difficult; they create honest, human spaces where audiences can examine resilience, imperfection, compassionate care, identity and the possibilities that remain when life does not follow the plan.
Through The Because I Can Keynote Series, Allié speaks to patient advocates, healthcare professionals, corporate and community audiences with messages specifically designed for the people in the room. Woven with original poetry, humour and the story behind her film, each keynote invites audiences to listen more deeply, connect more honestly and recognize the value of the next step available to them.
Allié’s philosophy is captured in one line:
“I can’t run from MS, but I can run with it.”
It is a belief that reaches far beyond one diagnosis. We may not control every change, challenge or interruption that enters our lives, but we can choose how we meet the moment, how we use our voices and how we reach back for someone else.
At age 41, Allié was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after losing the vision in her right eye. An MRI revealed numerous brain lesions along with severe inflammation and damage to her optic nerve, finally providing an explanation for years of previously unrecognized symptoms, including numbness, fatigue, imbalance and weakness. The diagnosis changed her relationship with her body, her future and the meaning of forward movement, but it also deepened her commitment to helping others feel seen within experiences that are often invisible.
Allié transformed that lived experience into Because I Can, a feature documentary about MS, lifelong friendship and what it means to keep moving when the path beneath you changes. Directed by eleven-time Emmy Award winner Bill McCullough, the film follows Allié and her childhood best friend, Angie, as Angie trains to run a marathon in Allié’s honour and Allié prepares to complete an 8K while living with MS. More than a film about running, Because I Can is a story about uncertainty, adaptation, friendship and discovering that movement does not have to look the same for everyone to matter.
Her advocacy has been recognized with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 2025 Jody Burton Slowins Impact Award. She was also selected as a 2025 National MS Society Public Policy Conference Advocate, bringing her lived experience and storytelling expertise to legislative advocacy on behalf of the MS community.
As a speaker, Allié brings an unique combination of professional storytelling authority and personal credibility. She understands how stories are shaped, shared and received, but she also understands what it feels like to sit inside the uncertainty of a life-changing diagnosis. Her talks do not offer polished inspiration that skips over what is difficult; they create honest, human spaces where audiences can examine resilience, imperfection, compassionate care, identity and the possibilities that remain when life does not follow the plan.
Through The Because I Can Keynote Series, Allié speaks to patient advocates, healthcare professionals, corporate and community audiences with messages specifically designed for the people in the room. Woven with original poetry, humour and the story behind her film, each keynote invites audiences to listen more deeply, connect more honestly and recognize the value of the next step available to them.
Allié’s philosophy is captured in one line:
“I can’t run from MS, but I can run with it.”
It is a belief that reaches far beyond one diagnosis. We may not control every change, challenge or interruption that enters our lives, but we can choose how we meet the moment, how we use our voices and how we reach back for someone else.
