LORENE19 for $190 off any coaching package · June 10–30, 2026.Deirdre Simmons is a keynote speaker, facilitator, and educator who translates 20+ years inside human resources, operations, and the college classroom into the kind of talks decision-makers remember — and the kind of seminars teams actually use on Monday morning. From DisruptHR mainstages to UConn Women's Advance, executive retreats, and STEM conferences (CLARB, CESSE, SPFE), she meets every room where it is — including faith-based, scripturally sound seminars that motivate, walk participants through grief and trauma, and bring project design for social innovation to ministries.
Two books written for the people who have to lead, teach, present, and persuade — for real. Adopt them in your classroom, share them with your department, or use them as the foundation for a seminar with Deirdre.
Kendall Hunt · E-book
Kendall Hunt Publishing — Second Edition · ISBN 979-8-7657-4285-3
Confidence isn't a gift — it's a skill. This second edition gives students and emerging leaders the structure, presence, and persuasion tools to speak in any room and be heard.
Ideal classroom adoption for communication, business, and leadership courses.
Innovative Ink Publishing · Second Edition
Professional Communication — Deirdre Simmons
In a hyper-connected world, your words echo across boardrooms and borders. This is the playbook for leaders and teams who want to captivate, persuade, and lead — with cultural awareness, EQ, and an authentic personal brand.
Built for workplace teams, executive cohorts, and university courses in business communication.
Pair either book with a live workshop or keynote tailored to your team, course, or leadership cohort. Practical frameworks, real-world practice, and the kind of communication tools your people will actually use on Monday morning.
Our team designs and delivers training across the full spectrum — foundational communication skills through advanced leadership development. Every engagement can be taken off-the-shelf or built as a bespoke learning session, customized to your industry, audience, and outcomes — delivered virtually or in-person.
Deirdre is a LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Certified Coach — bringing hands-on, creative methods into strategy, team-building, and problem-solving workshops.
Watch Deirdre work a room — then picture her working yours.
Keynote at NOMA Games for Change — AI + Automation
Facilitation & community work — on the ground in Africa
BLACKPRINT 2.0 History Summit — Freedom Speaks
Deirdre Simmons — CEO, Consulting Alma, LLC
found the session valuable
would attend again
rated it actionable & inspiring
would hear her speak again
Audience feedback · Talkadot reports — UConn Women's Advance, Women's Ministry & Still We Teach. Still We Rise. Summit
“Coach Deirdre was amazing. I would love to go to future meeting events. Inspirational and gets you thinking.”
“If you want to be inspired, attend one of Deirdre's workshops.”
“The program was excellent. Mrs. Simmons was highly qualified and did an amazing job connecting with the ladies at this event. I was impressed that she took time to research our ministry and shared information, letting us know she did her research.”
“It has made me think about the use of language in my professional and personal life — and how to model it better in my speech and public speaking to model the way.”
“Wonderful — with key takeaways.”
“I think it was really generative and generous. It felt very grounded and applicable across so many areas (my own non-academic area included). The material was really clear and your presence was magical.”
Facilitating transformative conversations for human-centered leadership — ultimately increasing collaboration, performance, and profits, creating cultures of civility, understanding, and critical thinking across this nation and the world.
Consulting Alma, LLC · Vision Statement
Certified in coaching, facilitation, and HR — we provide a pathway to #DoBetter through HR consulting, executive coaching, facilitation, and keynote speaking.
Conferences · executive offsites · ERG summits · ministry
Customizable keynotes that ignite vision, sharpen self-awareness, and give audiences language for the work ahead. Deirdre has delivered for DisruptHR, UConn Women's Advance, CLARB, CESSE, SPFE, Streetwise Partners, and Blackprint 2.0 — meeting every room where it is.
Half-day · full-day · multi-session · retreat formats
Interactive sessions built for retention and behavior change — leadership development, communication, IDEA & B, change management, and team cohesion. Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Coach, with a deep bench of consultants to scale by audience and topic.
1:1 and cohort coaching for executives and rising leaders
Strategic career management, leadership presence, and relationship-building — with measurable outcomes (one client earned a $30K raise and promotion). We help craft a path that is uniquely yours by uncovering and activating purpose.
Available on a select-engagement basis
Two decades of operator-level HR experience — gap analysis, HRIS strategy, performance redesign, compensation benchmarking, and culture work. Engaged selectively today, this is the depth that grounds every talk, seminar, and coaching engagement.
Deirdre's keynotes and seminars are grounded in two decades of running real HR and operations functions — gap analysis, HRIS implementations, performance redesign, compensation strategy, and culture work that held up in the boardroom. That depth is why executives, conference chairs, and L&D leaders trust the room to her.
Every engagement begins here — surfacing process friction, quiet risk, and where the employee experience falls short of what the culture intends.
End-to-end design and implementation: HRIS optimization, automated onboarding workflows, compliance infrastructure, and people analytics that actually inform decisions.
Rearchitecting review cycles, calibration, promotion criteria, and development planning so they function as strategic tools — not annual obligations.
Benchmarking analyses, equity models, and market positioning that build the business case executives need — work that holds up in a boardroom.
Talent communities, partnership networks, and referral architecture that keep strong candidates warm — compressing time-to-fill and protecting the employer brand.
Engagement diagnostics, IDEA & B strategy, manager bootcamps, and the compliance backbone (multi-state employment law, EEO-1/AAP, handbook architecture) that keeps it all defensible.
Every engagement is built around the outcome you actually need — measurable, lived, and lasting.
"She replied, 'Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.' So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs."
— Joshua 15:19 (NIV)
Every leader and every organization has springs beneath the surface — the profits, the performance, the steadiness to navigate VUCA. My work is helping you name what you're really after, find the courage to ask for it, and take the steps that turn vision into ground gained. That's #DoBetter.
Whether you need a coach, a keynote, a facilitator, or a full HR partner — let's get you where you need to be.
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