Bring Laura to your next event

Keynotes & Plenary Talks

Whether you gather 20 people or 2,000, Laura delivers inspiring, research-based keynotes that resonate with audiences across professional disciplines and life circumstances.

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Laura clutching hands and leaning engagingly toward out-of-frame audience in a banquet hall presentation room

Engaging and Inspiring Presentations

When you engage Laura as a speaker, you receive more than a presentation or training—you experience clarity, connection, and the reassurance that your audience’s challenges are understood. Drawing on decades of experience, Laura combines evidence-based research, cultural insight, and thoughtful humor to make complex and difficult topics both accessible and impactful.

Whether you represent a nonprofit organization, community initiative, or global corporation, Laura offers a compelling perspective on the cumulative toll of overwhelm and trauma—and practical strategies to move forward with greater steadiness, sustainability, and purpose.

Recent keynote topics include:

  • Transforming trauma and overcoming overwhelm
  • Decision fatigue and cognitive overload
  • Structural supremacy and systematic oppression

Laura’s TED Talk

Watch “Beyond the Cliff | Laura van Dernoot Lipsky | TEDxWashingtonCorrectionsCenterforWomen” on YouTube
Beyond the Cliff – TEDxWashington Corrections Center for Women

Laura was invited to speak at the first TEDx event hosted inside a women’s correctional facility.

Value You Can Count On

1

Engaging, relatable delivery

Laura’s storytelling style—infused with cultural references, wit, and warmth—helps your audience connect quickly and stay engaged.

2

Clear, actionable takeaways

She tailors each talk to meet your group where they are, so you’re hearing exactly what you need in a way that resonates.

3

Grounded in purpose and change

You’ll leave the session with language, insight, and next steps—ready to implement meaningful change in your life, organization, community, or industry.

Who We Work With

Laura has worked around the world in every field you can imagine.

Department of Justice
Department of Ecology State of Washington
KIND: Kinds in Need of Defense
Yahoo!
Detroit Police
Who we work with

Testimonials

What Attendees Say

Audiences describe these keynotes as moving and uplifting.

“Wow, that was not at all what I expected. I wish I’d heard you years ago.”

There are truly no words to describe our gratitude for you and your work with us. In the last couple of hours we have received messages of gratitude and have been stopped in the halls to thank us for bringing this together. We cannot thank you enough for giving voice to the struggles so many in health and human services are facing. Your keen insight, humor, and candor brought a humbling safe space to us that will help us all make meaningful change in our lives.

Thank you so much for your flexibility, patience, and kindness during this time of transition. It was truly a fan girl moment to get to meet you and I look forward to continued future partnerships.

Ebony Rao, MA, EdM, LCMHCS
Sr. Health Program Manager
Public Health | Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST II), Mecklenburg County Government

Laura has a unique way of presenting difficult material. I know from 27 years on the job that people in law enforcement generally don’t see themselves as needing help and shy away from things that may be too touchy-feely. However, Laura is able to present about the cumulative toll of being exposed to overwhelm in a way that results in even the toughest naysayers viewing things differently.

Colonel Deborah Campbell
New York State Police

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Work with Laura

Whether you’re planning a large-scale conference or an internal team event, we’re here to help.

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