Motivational Speakers

Katie Ledecky is a 10-time Olympic Medalist (seven Gold, three Silver) and 15-time World Championship Gold Medalist, the most for any female swimmer. She has broken 14 World Records and 37 American Records in her career. Katie was the most decorated female athlete at both Tokyo and Rio Games and had the most decorated single Olympics performance ever by a U.S. female athlete in Rio. Katie’s success has earned her USA Swimming’s Golden Goggles Award as Female Swimmer of the Year an unprecedented six times. A recent graduate of Stanford University, Katie is passionate about the importance of education, especially STEM and leadership programs for girls. Katie went home with more hardware at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics -two gold medals and two silver medals, making her the most decorated female swimmer in individual events of all time. She also made history by winning gold at the first ever 1500m women’s event.

Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, author the critically acclaimed memoir, A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Streets to the Stars, is an internationally-recognized astrophysicist, science TV personality, and global education advocate who has had a long, distinguished career in academia, scientific research, and motivational speaking.

A trailblazer in female leadership, Lieutenant General (ret) Nadja West is the 44th Army Surgeon General and the former Commanding General of US Army Medical Command. She is the first African American woman 3-star General in the Army’s history, the first African American Army Surgeon General, and currently the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from West Point. West shares her story of grit, perseverance, strength, and breaking boundaries, even when faced with adversity. Taking audiences on her journey to becoming the Army’s first African American woman 3-star General, she motivates them to overcome challenges with self-belief, bravery, and balance. With more than 20 years of experience in executive leadership, crisis management, and disaster response – including crafting the DOD medical response to the Ebola crisis – West speaks expertly on leadership tactics to effectively lead teams through times of uncertainty and crisis.

One of the best motivational people, Jessica O. Matthews, is an award-winning entrepreneur, inventor, and social scientist with more than 10 years of demonstrated thought leadership in the future of the built environment, climate resiliency, and improving equitable access to infrastructure resources. She is the founder and CEO of Uncharted, a sustainable infrastructure company that helps cities reduce the cost of developing smart infrastructure. Called “the Elon Musk of kinetic energy” by former U.S. chief technology officer Megan Smith, her groundbreaking research and career center around the intersection of disruptive technology, renewable energy, human behavior, and the psychology of self-actualization.

Executive, activist, and entrepreneur, Sarah Robb O’Hagan is described by the media as everything from “Superwoman undercover” to the “Queen of the Jocks” to the ultimate example of where fierce business woman, mother, and fitness fanatic combine for an unbelievable motivational business speaker. Named among Forbes “Most Powerful Women in Sports” and recognized as one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” Sarah's career includes leadership roles at some of the world’s most iconic brands. She is the former CEO of Flywheel Sports, former President of Gatorade, former Director at Nike, and an internationally recognized re-inventor of brands. She is the founder of Extreme Living, a consultancy focused on bringing the best out of individuals and organizations.

Polar explorer, TED speaker, and record-breaking long-distance skier Ben Saunders fuses the spirit of adventure with impressive technical ingenuity. He has five North Pole expeditions under his belt and is best known for leading one of the most ambitious expeditions in a century. Humble and self-effacing, he is an explorer of limits and his message is one of inspiration, empowerment, and boundless potential. He explores the dichotomy between ideas and action and urges audiences to consider carefully how to spend the “tiny amount of time we each have on this planet.”

For the best motivation story, Erik Weihenmayer is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers in the world. Despite losing his vision at age 14, he is an accomplished climber, paraglider, skier, and kayaker who never allows blindness interfere with his passion for pursuing an exhilarating and fulfilling life. Erik brings audiences a powerful message about harnessing the power of adversity as fuel for greatness, emphasizing the importance of building a strong “Rope Team,” and illuminating how to develop a “No Barriers Mindset.”

A NASA astronaut, Joan Higginbotham is a trailblazing electrical engineer who in December 2006, flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery to become the third African American woman to travel into space. Over the nearly 13-day mission, she joined the seven-member crew to continue construction of the International Space Station (ISS), embarking on four space walks and operating the station’s robotic arm. Sharing captivating insights from her 20-year distinguished career with NASA, Higginbotham inspires audiences with her personal journey of breaking barriers into space and beyond. Taking groups aboard the International Space Station and sharing her lessons-learned along the way, she highlights the keys to succeeding in her missions – including preparation, perseverance, and never giving up – and how these tactics can be applied to any endeavor.

A school teacher turned actor, musician, two-time national poetry slam champion, entrepreneur, and award-winning poetic voice, any given day may now find Sekou keynoting at a leadership conference, helping a Fortune 500 company with brand messaging, or even performing pieces for Barack Obama in Oprah’s backyard. Sekou is the creator of Poetic Voice, a new, cutting-edge speaking category that seamlessly fuses inspirational speaking with spoken word poetry to make messages more moving and memorable. For over 15 years, Sekou Andrews has been helping the world’s largest organizations deliver relevant information with riveting inspiration through an innovative, unconventional category of speaking called “Poetic Voice.”

Known worldwide for pursuing an incredible list of 100 Things that he wants to achieve before he dies, Sebastian Terry’s story is surprisingly not about a bucket list. It’s about something more far reaching: Permission, choice, growth, and connection. Affected by a curious mind and the death of a close friend, Sebastian experienced a moment in his life where he asked himself a simple question: “Am I happy?”. The answer was NO and so he decided to pen down a list of 100 Things that he’d always wanted to achieve. Sebastian's incredible story has grown from an entertaining tale of adventure into a global philanthropic movement that engages a growing tribe of hundreds of thousands to not just set meaningful goals, but pull the trigger and achieve them—all while helping others do the same. Guaranteed to make you laugh, cry, and inspire motivation, his talk will re-engage, connect, and inspire your organization to move forward as one.

A pioneer in medicine and leadership, Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall has been on the frontlines of healthcare for more than four decades as a clinician, researcher, and leader in the biopharmaceuticals and life sciences industries. Dr. Lewis-Hall is an incredible storyteller with a flair for well-timed humor who shares with audiences her powerful story and inspiring path to becoming a leader in the healthcare industry. Her talks motivate audience members to embrace pressure and determine their own destinations, just as she did on her path to being the first in her family to attend college, becoming a physician and, subsequently, a biopharmaceutical executive. Dr. Lewis-Hall’s message of perseverance, tenacity, equity, inclusion, and transparency is one that resonates with all audiences and diverse backgrounds.

A decorated combat veteran, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jason O. Harris is revered for his distinguished track record leading his air crews on successful missions and instilling a culture of trust in which each person owned his or her role in keeping the team out of harm’s way. Lt. Col. Harris brings his unique battlefield experience to his talks. Using real-world examples, he empowers audiences to unleash their untapped potential and sheds light about the invaluable talent each person brings to an organization and how this talent can be harnessed to positively impact the organization’s greater mission. His experiences served as the launching point for “No Fail Trust™,” a methodology Lt. Col. Harris created to empower executives and employees to foster an environment of mutual trust, responsibility, and productivity that uplifts organizations as they set out to achieve their goals.

A decorated veteran of the sea, air, land, and outer space, Captain Chris Cassidy is among the leaders of an exclusive and distinguished group of accomplished military astronauts who have made an impact on and beyond this world. Recognized for his leadership and achievements as a United States Navy SEAL and a NASA astronaut, CAPT Cassidy’s various military deployments and spaceflight missions provided the catalysts for an action-packed career where he made the most of every opportunity presented to him, even in challenging and high-stakes environments.

Sergeant Dakota Meyer is a Marine Corps veteran and the recipient of the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest honor. He is the first living marine to have received the medal since 1973 and is also one of the youngest. Through five successive missions, he helped save the lives of 13 American and 23 Afghan troops. President Barack Obama awarded Meyer the medal on September 15, 2011. Meyer was also inducted into the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon. He addresses motivation, courage, leadership, believing in yourself, doing what is right, and what happened that day in Afghanistan.

An adventurer, record-setter, and boundary-breaker, Darcy Gaechter is best known as the first woman - and member of the first team - to kayak the Amazon River from source to sea. The journey required her crew to paddle over 4,000 miles across the widest part of South America, a voyage that took 148 days to complete. She is also the author of The Kayaker’s Guide to Ecuador and Amazon Woman, an adventure memoir detailing her Amazon River expedition and the life challenges she faced to get there – the rights of which have been purchased to turn her story into a movie. Gaechter inspires audiences with her personal journey of overcoming obstacles and making the impossible possible – sharing useful tactics to take on even the most daunting of challenges and demonstrating how a strong belief in yourself and in your goal are key ingredients to any success.