ABOUT LIBBY TRAINOR PARKER
SPEAKER
Health advocate, MC, speaker and teacher Libby Trainor Parker has more than three decades of public speaking and presenting experience.
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From presenting at conferences about her journey with endometriosis, adenomyosis and pregnancy loss, briefing parliamentarians as a health advocate, to her motivational speaking dates to university students about imposter syndrome, career advice, and achieving goals, Libby is an educated speaker who presents with honesty, warmth, knowledge, lived experience and a good dose of humour.
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With a goal to entertain, inform and educate. Libby Trainor Parker is a speaker who will bring value to your event or occasion through her natural ability to connect with an audience and tell a great story.
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Honest, informed and genuine, Libby is a stand up comedian, teacher and popular MC who can deliver a presentation on topics such as endometriosis, pregnancy loss, women's health, imposter syndrome, mental health, wellbeing and working with youth.
PERFORMER
A performer since the age of four, Libby realised early her talents lay not in the dramatic, but in comedy, when she performed an entire 'pas de deux' solo at a ballet concert because her partner didn't turn up. Enjoying the laughs that received, she quickly turned her attention to being the class clown, and four decades later, she's still at it.
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Having performed in a number of Fringe festivals, Libby writes and performs original cabaret productions with her husband Matt Trainor (The Dead Regulars), which are sometimes accompanied by a band of merry musicians featuring the likes of Dylby McCulloch (The Backyarders, Pimpin Horus, Thom Lion), Sam Jozeps (Pimpin Horus), and Phillip Parker (Libby's dad), and Laul McAleer (Juliette Seizure & the Tremor Dolls, The Dead Regulars).
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Libby's comedy cabaret about endometriosis, Endo Days is a singing support group that took the audience through the trials, tribulations, tips and tricks of living with a painful pelvis.
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Her most recent show, Extra Curricular is one by teachers, about teachers, for teachers and it'll likely teach you something... maybe.
AUTHOR
'Endo Days' is a look at the stories of those within the endo community, as told to journalist and educator Libby Trainor Parker, who was diagnosed with endometriosis aged thirty-six, and has dedicated the past eight years to finding the lighter side of chronic illness.
Endo Days is a frank, often funny and honest memoir told in a narrative journalism style, with Libby’s own story as the central story, drawing on interviews with others with endometriosis (both women, men and non-binary), their partners – male and female, doctors and specialists, researchers and the wider endo community.
‘When I was diagnosed with endometriosis 17 years after first presenting with symptoms, I threw myself into trying to make a difference for others,’ says Libby.
‘The whole endo road has been bumpy, rocky, sad, and at times utterly hilarious, and I want to share everything I’ve learned to help others manage this illness too.’
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Wakefield’s associate publisher Jo Case approached Libby to write the book after reading her account of living with endometriosis shared with a SA parliamentary briefing, and media coverage of the endometriosis awareness program she co-wrote and taught in SA schools, as well as Queensland and Victoria – now being rolled out nationwide, funded by state and federal governments and created by Pelvic Pain Foundation Australia (of which Libby served a term as a director of the board).
Jo compares Libby’s ability to combine humour, storytelling and solidly researched health information with Monica Dux and Kaz Cooke.
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‘I was struck by Libby’s terrifically charismatic writing voice and ability to motivate through stories, combined with her lived experience and acquired authority on this issue. I know that endometriosis is a condition that intimately affects the lives of so many women, that the earlier the diagnosis, the better the outcome – and that it’s been chronically overlooked for a long time, with seriously damaging consequences. A book like Libby’s has the potential to really raise awareness, and provide companionship and comfort to others with the condition.’
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Libby received an Arts SA grant to write this book during 2020.
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Purchase your copy of Endo Days HERE
Adelaide MC, writer, teacher and speaker
With a background in performance and teaching, Libby brings an air of education and professionalism, in addition to a very healthy dose of fun to every project. A popular MC and speaker, Libby has hosted charity fundraisers, conferences and gala events, and has spoken at health conferences, universities, special events and occasions.
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Funny, warm and engaging
Libby is a speaker who delivers her presentations warmly and with passion. As a stand up comedian, she is adept in finding the funny bone in all kinds of content, while connecting with her audience. As a writer, Libby produces work that is honest, raw and engaging, with a view to making her reader feel less alone in their struggles.
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Dedicated to advocating for health and wellbeing
Diagnosed with endometriosis at 36 years of age after decades of pain, Libby has dedicated her life to advocating for people with chronic illness. Having suffered eleven pregnancy losses, Libby is vocal about supporting people who are going through grief and loss, be it pregnancy or loss of ability through chronic illness, and she has channelled her energies into entertaining, educating and empowering people with illness.
ACHIEVEMENTS
2023
Women in Innovation Award - Arts
2022
SA Woman - All Rounder Award
2021
Fringe Weekly Award - Best Cabaret
2020
RECIPIENT: ARTS SA ARTS & CULTURE GRANT
SHOWS
2024
Fashionably Late
2023
Extra Curricular
2020 - 2023
Endo Days
2017 - 2019
The Vinyl Club