Inspiring adaptive leadership for future-focused organizations.

Keynote topics

• 01Relationships · Enneagram

  Anchored: Relationships, Communication, and the Enneagram

  Personality shapes every connection we make — at work, at home, and everywhere in between. This keynote blends Enneagram insight with practical communication tools to help teams, leaders, couples, and families understand themselves and each other on a deeper level. Attendees learn how to read patterns under conflict, navigate change and life transitions without losing themselves, and stay anchored in steady, honest connection wherever life (or the sea) takes them next. Equal parts self-discovery and team-building — designed for groups who want to communicate like they actually mean it.

• 02HR Leadership

  The Mental Health Imperative for Extraordinary Leaders

  Empowers HR professionals and other leaders with comprehensive knowledge, practical tools, and effective strategies to prioritize their own mental well-being and create supportive workplace cultures — enabling them to assess, address, and proactively support mental health needs within their organizations. Subtitle: Prioritizing Self-Care and Building a Supportive Workplace Culture.

• 03AI · Higher Ed & L&D

  It's Saucy: A1 or AI?

  AI is rewriting the rules for higher ed, corporate L&D, nonprofits, and associations — opening unprecedented opportunity and surfacing real risk. In this interactive seminar, Professor Deirdre Simmons (neuroinclusive, DBT- and UDL-trained, and an AI-in-curriculum grant recipient) unpacks the "secret sauce" behind ethical, high-impact AI integration: protecting academic integrity, preserving foundational communication skills, and designing authentic assessments that work for neurodiverse learners. Through Socratic dialogue, real case studies, and hands-on AI activities, attendees leave with concrete strategies to build AI literacy and graduate thoughtful, ethical contributors — not just consumers. Whether you're an AI novice or an early adopter, you'll leave knowing how to make your curriculum powerful and palatable, no matter how saucy the headlines get.

• 04DisruptHR

  Talkback Mic: Shifting Your Culture One Track at a Time

  An interesting twist on key issues in human resources, the culture factor, and their parallels to popular artists' songs (developed from the DisruptHR keynote). The audience is given egregious examples of recruiting, leadership, learning and development, and IDEA & B as a cautionary tale — and learns how to be visionary, human-centered leaders for their organizations.

• 05Communication

  Public Speaking — Your Bridge to Success

  While the world will tell you communication is a soft skill, this keynote highlights how communication is the key to most of your life goals — and how public speaking is the bridge to success. Communication is not soft but necessary and concrete. Overcome anxiety, build credibility, and learn tools to implement immediately.

• 06Women's Leadership

  Curiosity Ignited: Empowering Women to Lead the Disruption

  Harness curiosity for a transformative shift — breaking free from barriers and sparking self-reflection to empower purposeful leadership. We explore the inclusion obstacles women face, expand their vision beyond the barriers, understand identities and values, and how to overcome systemic inequities with intentionality. Delivered for the UConn Women's Advance Conference.

• 07Keynote

  #DoBetter — Making the Shift

  How do we overcome the obstacles that seem to keep us from living our best life? What are your guiding virtues and values? A talk about recrafting your narrative — allowing your wilderness moments to move you to your passion and purpose where you #DoBetter. The goal: help you believe in the possibilities, hope for the future, and be accountable to do the work.

• 08Ministry · Faith

  Lessons from the Unnamed and the Influential

  An interactive keynote presentation that helps you heal from grief by acknowledging memories, affirming your journey, managing the pain, and attaching to hope and the future versus clinging to the past. Scripture reference: Moments with the Syrophoenician (Matthew 15:21–28).

• 09Workshop

  Quiltmaking — An HR and Leadership Journey

  Using analogies related to quiltmaking, this seminar discusses the importance of historical context in your organization's operations and processes. Attendees leave with frameworks for organizational analysis, change management, and performance management — and a greater understanding of gaps that hinder strategy. Aligns with key SHRM BoCK competencies and sub-competencies.

• 010Keynote · Liberation & Communication

  Freedom Speaks: A Lesson in Resistance and Historical Consciousness

  Public speaking as a transformative act of liberation — rooted in Black historical consciousness, ethical persuasion, and culturally sustaining communication. Attendees explore the need for continual adaptation as biases evolve and new challenges emerge alongside technological advancement. Public speaking emerges as a living practice of freedom: dynamic, responsive, and essential for enduring social change.

• 011Series · 6 parts

  Grandma's Poundcake

  A six-part series activating core memories — built on lov(e)-in-action moments with my grandmother. Each section is designed for a particular audience and addresses mindset shifts around pain points and tension. Designed as keynote speeches, easily adapted for interactive workshop seminars: change management, relationships, setbacks — and a recipe for future success.

• 012Seminar · Higher Ed Faculty

  Backward Design for Scientific Teaching

  A working seminar delivered for the UConn Mobile Summer Institutes on Scientific Teaching (MoSI). Faculty leave with a goal-oriented backward design framework — writing measurable learning outcomes (Bloom's, Fink's), aligning formative and summative assessments, and selecting active learning activities that push retention down the learning pyramid. Includes facilitated small-group practice writing real outcomes for participants' own courses.