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PUBLIC SPEAKING

Get a glimpse of Elissa’s previous talks!

Elissa’s Most Frequently Requested Topics

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WORKING TO LIVE AND LOVING TO WORK:

Strategies for Work-Life Integration and a Life Well-Lived

Work-life balance is a false dichotomy — when you see work as part of your life-life, you unlock more joy, presence, and resilience.

The idea of a work-life balance has always created a false distinction between work and life… it’s all life!  Elissa redefines ideas about work-life integration to bring more joy, presence, creativity, and productivity to all of life, at work and beyond. 

This interactive session includes:

  • Strategies for transforming “Work Versus Life” conflicts into “Work for Your Life” opportunities.

  • Identifying the “Compass Points” that help navigate competing demands through values clarification.

  • Skills for wellness that go beyond traditional “self-care” and build resilience in the moment.

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CONSCIOUS CONNECTION:

Reclaiming the Heart of Networking

Trust, collaboration, innovation, and productivity are impossible without this essential human need: CONNECTION. 

Combining skill-building, networking, and team-building, Elissa guides participants through this engaging workshop that is both challenging and fun! Too often, networking is seen as a way of getting things, when at its heart, networking is about building connections. This session helps participants reclaim the core of networking as meaningful relationship-building, not transactional exchange.

In this workshop, participants:

  • Experience the power of connection.

  • Practice Elissa’s “Plant, Root, Grow” method of networking.

  • Learn strategies to leverage connections to bring value to themselves and others.

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CONFIDENCE IS A VERB:

Taking Action at your Growth Edge

Confidence isn’t a trait that you have; it’s a muscle you build through action.

So often we talk about confidence as a trait, but this talk will change your mind. Confidence is not just something we have or don’t have. In this engaging and interactive breakout session, Elissa will walk you through the ways that confidence is a verb and how you can move past your Growth Edge, whatever that means to you!

Through an engaging blend of neuroscience, practical skills, and personal examples, Elissa helps participants see Confidence Gap Moments as a part of growth and develop new skills for moving through them. 

Participants will come away from this session with:

  • A new understanding of confidence and what it takes to grow it.

  • Key confidence skills for navigating Confidence Gap Moments.

  • A Confidence Action Plan for putting skills into practice.

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LEADING FROM THE INTEGRATED SELF:

Reclaiming Wholeness in Leadership

The best leaders lead with their whole self — it’s time to bring more of you to the table.

Elissa helps leaders discover hidden strengths and sources of resilience to enhance their leadership. Through guided reflection and practical tools, participants will have the chance to explore skills that are essential to inspired leadership. Connect with what drives you and your unique skill sets while working to harness your inherent strength. Authenticity can’t be learned, but it can be reclaimed. 

Participants will learn:

  • How to find the shadow-side of their strengths and leverage under-utilized skills.

  • To show up as their whole self, energized, impassioned, and ready to lead. 

  • Practical tools for managing a better balance in leadership. 

PREVIOUS SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

  • Elissa was a featured breakout session speaker at the 2025 Women’s Leadership Connection Conference that took place in Ashland, Oregon.

    The topic of her session? Confidence is a Verb: Taking action in Moments of Uncertainty.

  • In this podcast episode, Elissa discusses practical ways to support mental health, both for individuals and organizations. She focuses on simple, consistent habits that build resilience and reduce stigma around mental health. It’s a candid, actionable look at why mental wellness needs to be part of everyday life, not just addressed in a crisis.

  • Retirement is a major life transition that can bring unexpected emotional and psychological shifts. In this talk, Elissa explores how to prepare for the mental and emotional side of leaving the workforce. Attendees will walk away with practical strategies to support well-being and thrive in the next chapter of their life.