10 Breakthrough Speakers
March 8th marks International Women’s Day. The theme for 2021 is Choose to Challenge.
How will your organization help forge a gender equal world this year?
We’ve selected these speakers because they are leaders in their fields, from science to media; the military to business; geopolitics to outer space; resilience to sports.
These speakers have one thing in common: they have broken through barriers to achieve their incredible results and use those experiences to inspire audiences around the world with their live & virtual presentations.
Get in touch to book one of these inspiring speakers for your team.
Katty Kay – Insights on American Politics, Global Affairs, and Issues for Women
Katty Kay proclaims that “when something happens in America, my first reaction is to ask ‘How does this connect to other countries?’…because stories from this city, Washington, D.C., – ripple out, right around the world.” She is a Washington, D.C.-based British news anchor, who brings a fresh perspective to the reporting of American politics and global affairs. Katty’s insights reflect a global mindset that is a natural offshoot of having grown up in the Middle East and worked as a journalist in Europe, Africa, and Asia before coming to Washington in 1996. The award-winning journalist is currently co-anchor of Beyond 100 Days, a one-hour news program that covers Washington politics and its impact globally. The show airs to an enormous audience worldwide. Katty is also a regular guest and substitute co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe program. When she’s not busy making sense of the news from Washington and around the globe, Katty writes on the art and science of women and self-assurance – helping them turn thoughts into action to master a more confident mindset. She is co-author (with Claire Shipman) of three New York Times best-sellers: The Confidence Code for Girls; The Confidence Code; and Womenomics.
Corinne Hancock – Speaker on Leading Teams in Chaotic Environments
Corinne Hancock is a globally recognized expert in building world-class leaders, effective teams, and cultural proficiency in chaotic environments. With over a decade of international aid and development experience working around the world developing bold leaders, building highly effective teams, delivering medical trainings and delivering medical care.Corinne translates her expertise from working in chaotic environments into REAL RESULTS through EFFECTIVE and INTERACTIVE keynote presentations, corporate trainings and executive coaching, helping organizations and individuals THRIVE IN CHAOS.
Watch Corinne Hancock’s Video
Vernice Armour – First African American Female Combat Pilot and Motivational Speaker
Once you are CLEARED HOT, now what? Known simply as “FlyGirl”, Vernice ignites her audiences with a dynamic spark that can’t be extinguished. Soar through the execution of any plan by harnessing the power of a “Breakthrough Mentality” mindset! From the moment she leaps into the audience, she shows attendees how to go from “Zero to Breakthrough” and create a personal flight plan utilizing her candid strategies to help win on the battlefield of life! Leveraging her “Breakthrough Mentality” mindset, she propelled herself from beat cop to combat pilot in a record-breaking three years and became the United States Marine Corps’ first African American female pilot and, shortly after, she was recognized as America’s First African American Female Combat Pilot by the Department of Defense. Vernice ultimately impacts organizations and individuals with an understanding of the passion and leadership required to excel. Through her keynotes, executive and group coaching, seminars and executive retreats, Vernice conveys messages of Zero to Breakthrough™ through her unique insight and life strategy: “You HAVE permission to Engage!”
Watch Vernice Armour’s Video
Robyn Benincasa – Firefighter, CNN Hero and Motivational Adventure Racer
Robyn Benincasa – NYT Best-Selling Author of How Winning Works: 8 Essential Leadership Lessons from the Toughest Teams on Earth and World Champion Adventure Racer – accepts full blame for inspiring people to do insane things like climb Mount Kilimanjaro, run their first triathlon, start their own adventure racing teams, or start their own businesses. This is, after all, who she is and what she does: Robyn Benincasa inspires people to do amazing things. Her unforgettable presentations have taught countless high-performance leaders all over the world about Building World Class Teams and the followership skills necessary for dynamic role shifting and true teamwork.
Watch Robyn Benincasa’s Video
Lisa Bodell – Global Leader on Culture Change Focused on Simplification and Innovation
Lisa Bodell is a global leader on behavior change, whose skill-building firm has transformed hundreds of thousands of employees from Fortune 500 companies by showing them how to eliminate the complexity that holds them back and get to the work that matters. Her talks offer a roadmap to eradicate the workplace complexity that is killing organizations’ ability to be agile, fast and innovative. In order to experience this trifecta of competitive advantage, organizations must embrace simplicity as a basic operating principle, and Lisa’s content and energy move them to action.
Watch Lisa Bodell’s Video
Amy Edmondson – Speaker and Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management
Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School. The Novartis Chair was established to enable the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful business enterprises for the betterment of society. Edmondson’s research examines leadership, learning and innovation in teams and organizations, and has been published in numerous academic and managerial articles. Her book Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate and Compete in the Knowledge Economy (Jossey-Bass, 2012) emphasizes managing the activities that enable collaborative work across boundaries, rather than designing and managing stable teams.
Watch Amy Edmondson’s Video
Dr. Rhea Seddon – NASA Astronaut, Medical Doctor, Author and Speaker on Leadership & Teamwork
Dr. Rhea Seddon is a woman of many firsts, was one of only six women in a class of 100 in medical school – and the first woman ever accepted to her General Surgery Residency Program. As one of the first six women accepted into the Astronaut Corps, her marriage to fellow Astronaut Capt. Robert “Hoot” Gibson produced the first astronaut couple – and the two of them produced the first official “astrotots.” She was the eighth woman accepted to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Besides her space career, Rhea’s life experiences have led her from surgeon to licensed private pilot, to healthcare executive, entrepreneur, business owner, author and now inspirational public speaker.
Watch Dr. Rhea Seddon’s Video
Heather R. Younger – Speaker on Diversity, Resilience & Overcoming Adversity
Heather Younger’s expertise in adversity started early. As the only child from an interracial and interfaith marriage, she was shunned and excluded by extended family. While it left her with a lot of questions growing up, it led her to develop a high level of resilience and a deeply inspired commitment to advocate for the voiceless. Heather is dedicated to creating opportunities for people to learn strategies for reframing their own adversities and stories to lead more productive and joyful lives.
With humor, warmth, and an instant relatability – she helps organizational leaders, teams, and individuals create a laser-focused clarity into what makes them tick. She shows why that’s important while delivering clear and purposeful strategies for embracing change and recognizing the tremendous strength in diversity.
Watch Heather R. Younger’s Video
Liz Wiseman – Leadership Speaker & Bestselling Author
Liz Wiseman is CEO of the Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. Some of her recent clients include: Apple, AT&T, Disney, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Nike, Salesforce, Tesla, and Twitter. Liz has been listed on the Thinkers50 ranking and named one of the top 10 leadership thinkers in the world. She has conducted significant research in the field of leadership and collective intelligence and writes for Harvard Business Review, Fortune, and a variety of other business and leadership journals. A former executive at Oracle Corporation, she worked over the course of 17 years as the Vice President of Oracle University and as the global leader for Human Resource Development.
Watch Liz Wiseman’s Video
Marita Cheng – Tech Expert, Founder of Robogals, Aipoly & Aubot
Marita Cheng is a technology keynote speaker, one of Forbes Worlds Top 50 Women in Tech, and the founder of Robogals, Aipoly, and Aubot. Marita is an inspirational speaker who has given over 350 speeches since 2012 in 15 countries.
Her high-profile engagements have included appearing on Q&A on ABC beside two Nobel Laureates and the Chief Scientist of Australia (live TV audience of 600,000), and alongside Ashton Kutcher at Lenovo’s #TechMyWay (online audience 35,000). She has spoken before the M.A.P. International CEO Conference in the Philippines in 2016, MIT Technology Review EmTech Singapore in 2015, and the 2014 World Entrepreneurship Forum in Lyon France.
Watch Marita Cheng’s Video
To Learn more about any of these Inspiring Speakers contact [email protected]
Derek Sweeney is the Director of Speaker Ideas at The Sweeney Agency. www.thesweeneyagency.com. For 15 years Derek has been helping clients find the right Speakers for their events. Derek can be reached at 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected]