This isn’t a “how to lead like a CEO” talk. It’s a “how to lead when your kid’s lunch isn’t made and you’re still wearing yesterday’s mascara” talk.

Based on her debut book, this keynote is for every woman who has ever doubted she was a leader — and showed up anyway. Part memoir, part pep talk, and part call to action, Lead Anyway blends real stories, hard truths, and the kind of honesty that makes a room go quiet and then erupt.

Takeaways: Why leadership doesn’t require perfection — it requires persistence. How to stop performing confidence and start building it. What it means to lead from the beautiful, messy middle.

Best for: Women’s leadership conferences, annual summits, ERG events, education and athletics conferences.

You can be in the room and still not belong in the room. These are completely different things — and the difference is costing organizations their best people.

This talk draws on Lauren’s research, lived experience, and 20+ years leading in spaces not built for her. She breaks down what belonging actually looks like in practice, why fitting in is exhausting and unsustainable, and what leaders can do today to build cultures where people bring their full selves.

Takeaways: The difference between fitting in and belonging. How leaders unknowingly create cultures of performance. Practical shifts that build real belonging starting Monday morning.

Best for: Leadership teams, DEI programs, education and athletics organizations, women’s ERGs.

Boomers. Gen X. Millennials. Gen Z. Gen Alpha. All in the same buildings, the same meetings, the same Zoom calls — each speaking a completely different leadership language.

Millennials are the hinge generation: raised on analog, navigating digital, and now tasked with translating between everyone else. This talk gives leaders the language, the framework, and the permission to lead across generational difference — without burning out in the middle of it.

Takeaways: What each generation actually needs from leadership. How to translate without resentment. Why being the bridge is a leadership superpower, not a burden.

Best for: Mixed-generation leadership teams, K–12 education conferences, HR and organizational leadership events.

What happens when leadership is messy, visible, and fully human? When you make mistakes in front of people and have to lead through them anyway? This talk is about the permission that comes from dropping the act — and what becomes possible when you stop performing certainty and start modeling honesty. Takeaways: Why people follow humanity, not perfection. How to lead through public failure without losing authority. What it means to grow into leadership in real time. Best for: Emerging leaders, women’s leadership programs, principal and administrator conferences, student leadership events.