Tonya Renee Meisenbach

Tonya Renee Meisenbach is an empowerment and beauty advocate, makeup artist and digital creator who has become a compelling keynote speaker on resilience, confidence and visible difference. After surviving a life-altering burn accident that left her with injuries to the majority of her upper body, Tonya rebuilt her life in public, transforming profound trauma into purpose and impact.

Raised in Atlanta, Tonya always had a passion for beauty and self-expression. Makeup was more than appearance; it was creativity and identity. In December 2018, her life changed irrevocably when she sustained severe burns - burns that required skin grafts over 35% of her body. She was placed in a medically induced coma for two months and spent six months in hospital, undergoing around 30 surgeries including extensive skin grafts and facial reconstruction. Recovery was long and complex, involving physical rehabilitation, ongoing graft management and further reconstructive procedures. When Tonya eventually picked up her makeup brushes again, it was a decisive moment. Sharing her first tutorial online was not about cosmetics alone, it was about reclaiming control and showing others that scars do not erase individuality.

As her confidence grew, so did her platform. Tonya built a global audience of more than one million followers across social media, using honest storytelling to document life with visible difference. She earned YouTube’s 100K Creator Award, recognising her rapid growth and influence as a content creator. Her advocacy work led to her becoming an Ambassador for Face Forward International and an Ambassador for Face Equality International, roles that reflect her commitment to challenging stigma and supporting survivors of abuse and burn trauma. Through brand partnerships with international beauty companies and media appearances sharing her lived experience, Tonya has established herself as a respected voice in conversations around representation, disability and empowerment.

Tonya is hired as a keynote speaker because she combines authenticity with practical insight. She speaks on resilience after trauma, domestic violence awareness, disability inclusion, confidence, identity and redefining beauty standards. Her talks are candid and grounded, drawing on real experiences such as the moment she filmed her first makeup video after months of avoiding mirrors. Audiences connect with her honesty and leave with a renewed sense of perspective. Tonya does not present a polished fairytale, she shares the reality of rebuilding, which makes her message powerful, relevant and deeply human.