ANN KERIAN
AWARD-WINNING TELEVISION NEWS ANCHOR/REPORTER, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER, EXECUTIVE COACH, AND AUTHOR
Ann Kerian spent more than 15 years motivating people through a camera lens as an award-winning Television News Anchor/Reporter. Now, she takes her talents to another level as a Motivational Speaker, Executive Coach, Consultant, Fundraiser, and Author.
Ann was born and raised in North Dakota. She has a B.A. in Broadcasting with a minor in Political Science and Sociology from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Ann started her career in her hometown of Minot, North Dakota and was then on television in North Carolina, Florida, and Iowa.
(Ann most recently worked at KWWL-TV, the NBC affiliate in the Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Dubuque market. She was tasked with co-anchoring the 5, 6, and 10 PM news and covering health stories. Before that, she worked at WEAR-TV, the ABC affiliate in Pensacola, Florida. She co-anchored the 10 PM news and handled the military affairs beat. Ann was a bureau chief for WCTI-TV, the ABC affiliate in New Bern, North Carolina. While at KMOT-TV in Minot – she did everything: Midday host, weather, weekend and even sports photographer!)
The award-winning journalist received her training as a Coach through Coach U. Ann Kerian: Consulting & Coaching, LLC (www.annkerian.com) was established in 2007. Through her work, she helps everyone from individuals to Fortune 500 companies strengthen their leadership, communication, and media skills.
Ann is co-author of the book, Mastering the Art of Success with Les Brown (The Power of Purpose), Mark Victor Hansen, and Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul). She also co-authored, No Winner Ever Got There Without a Coach with Dr. Pam Brill and David Rock.
Ann is a member of the prestigious National Speakers Association and the International Coach Federation. Her impact and influence have earned national recognition. MSN.com named her one of the “Top 10 Leading Speakers to Follow in 2025,” and she received the “Speaker of the Year” award from the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE).
Ann also spends a lot of her time volunteering. She is a board member of the University of North Dakota Alumni Association Foundation. As a huge supporter of the arts and education, she also serves as a volunteer for the McCallum Theatre and is a member of the Loyola Society for Xavier College Preparatory school.
Ann currently lives with her husband, youngest son and three dogs in Palm Desert, California. Her two older boys are in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Riverside, California.
God’s “Butterfly Effect”'
ANN KERIAN
The “Butterfly Effect”(1) is a concept which postulates that small, seemingly insignificant, disconnected changes can lead to vastly different and wildly unpredictable outcomes. It illustrates how tiny, seemingly insignificant choices or events can multiply over time to cause massive, unintentional consequences and outcomes.
I believe this theory perfectly explains my life. My existence is all due to a series of unplanned, accidental, fortuitous circumstances. There is undeniably no question, I am lucky to be here. In fact, this is why I believe in the existence of God—because I know there is no way I would be alive today without Him.
My birthmother’s future was unclear. She had thought about becoming a nun, but things don’t always work out the way you plan. Everything changed when she went on a European vacation. She met a man, and one thing led to another, and as luck (for me) would have it, she ended up getting pregnant.
Back in the 60’s, an unmarried pregnancy was deeply stigmatizing, and it was unquestionably taboo to be a single mother. The societal pressure of the era was immense.
Fortunately, she had a strong Godly influence in her life. There was absolutely no way she would ever consider having an abortion. So instead, unbeknownst to her Midwestern, staunch Catholic parents, she went to a home for unwed mothers, and 9 months later, a healthy baby girl was born and placed for adoption. I can’t begin to imagine how agonizing all this was for her.
Clearly, I—that baby girl—was meant to be on this earth.
My birthmother’s strong faith and desire for a deeply religious life created the irony for how I was ultimately saved. Her religious convictions gave her the strength to choose life. I believe her decision was an act of maternal sacrifice guided by God, rather than just a desperate pathway to escape.
How easily the timeline could have been disrupted. What if she never went to Europe or one flight was missed? What if she visited a different city or stayed in a hotel on the other side of town? What if she had made other plans that night? So many purposeful choices along with so much pure happenstance. Everything perfectly aligned to bring two total strangers together. Change just one little thing and I would not be here writing this essay.
When I sit back and contemplate the life I have lived—all my trials, passions, resilience, and triumphs—it validates that it was meant to be and that I have a purpose on this earth.
I am extremely appreciative for my birthmother’s courage and difficult choices to ensure I was born. I am forever grateful to my loving family who always made me feel I was their daughter - which I was. And of course, I am profoundly thankful to God for His most important role in this magnificent puzzle. Some might call this all chance, but I see it as divine orchestration guiding every step of my journey.
Footnote:
1) https://www.americanscientist.org/article/understanding-the-butterfly-effect
During the 139th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Edward Lorenz posed a question: “Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?”
In the early 1960s, MIT meteorologist Edward Lorenz was running weather prediction models on a computer. During one simulation, he re-entered a starting variable rounded to three decimal places instead of the original six. Even though this tiny difference was negligible at first, the system's nonlinear nature meant the error compounded rapidly. Within a few simulated months, the weather pattern diverged entirely from the original run. This demonstrated that in complex systems (like weather or the stock market), absolute long-term prediction is impossible because minor inputs will always cascade into massive deviations.