Art: Self-Discovery, not Self-Destruction

Why Goats are Truly the Greatest Of All Time

Are You Connecting or Protecting?

Fishing with Safety Pins

My Mom Is Gayer Than I Am

Move through fear to form deeper connections

The Trust Triad

It is no longer Africa to the world it is the world to Africa

Inclusion = The 8 Specific Needs of All People©.

Unsuitable

My Children Chose this Shit Time, Let’s Listen.

Create Your Own Life Recipe!

Fear is a Liar

Become a Pro Trash Talker

Building our cities to better un-fuck the world

Drag is for EVERYONE

Mindfulness is a Mind-fuck (but in a good way)

One even way to fix oddly low Voter Turnout

The Nature of Rest: how rest can restore personal and planetary wellness

How I conquered my 1st 14er while being fat and black

Crossroads: A Journey with Britney Spears

Why We Need Ranked Choice Voting

We need for electoral change, and ranked-choice voting system could be the answer. Ranked choice voting is the smart choice for the US. We should look at its history and also see if there are any potential negative attributes to it.

How Longing Became My Lover

My essay, “Does My Virginity Have a Shelf Life?” was published in the NYT & resulted in an interview w/ Katie Couric. What I didn’t understand then is how easy it is to long for some fantasy than commit to reality w/ a chance of failure.

Confessions of a Reformed Slacktivist

My activism used to be from the comfort of my living room. I would gather all of my energy and courage and…. sign an online petition. This is the story of how I moved from the couch to the board room of a nonprofit.

Chess: The REAL Game of Thrones

It’s been around for over 1500 years but less than 10% of the world population knows how to play it. It’s proven to help improve IQ, creativity, problem solving, and memory skills, and it even helps prevent Alzheimers.

The Sexy Library: A Campaign for a New Trope

While a library may not be able to let down its hair and take off its glasses to reveal a supermodel in hiding, it is stacked with enticing features for anyone who is willing to notice. I’m ready to talk about my love for DPL.

What Cupcakes tell us about our Sales Style

Learn how preferences predict your own Sales Style, Customer/Client Behavior and how simple, short term adjustments in your own style allow you to better connect with your customers, increase sales and overcome objections.

How to read 50 books each year

Whether your goal is to read 1, 10, or 100 books this year, these are actionable, tactical things you can do to make reading a bigger part your life.

How Music Saved My Life

Join me on a musical journey through my personal story of overcoming obstacles and setbacks as I strum my guitar and sing familiar Hooks of Power Anthems we have all grown to love over time. Hear how Music can heal, inspire and transform.

The Feminist Impact of “Dirty Dancing”

“Dirty Dancing” taught young women more than the sweet moves for their wedding dance. It teaches female empowerment as it tackles abortion, sex, autonomy, and consent. Don’t put yourself in the corner – be the hero of your story like Baby.

Mental Health advocacy, the career for the brave.

What do you think of when I say mental health? I know it’s the topic that wakes me up at 2am & lights my heart on fire. We have a huge barrier to mental health in Colorado and in the U.S.A and learn why & how I am going to try to solve it.

Get Ready For The 4th Industrial Revolution

First came steam and water power. Next came electricity and assembly lines. Then computerization. No longer just technology upgrades, the fourth industrial revolution will be the convergence of digital, biological and physical innovations.

My Digital 4Edom journey through blaxk motherhood

My life has been liberated as a mother. I am a digitally connected millenial, bohemian mother, family advocate, and birthworker. My life can be catagorized in 4 elements: evolution, emacipation, expression, and empowerment.

Spirituality: the Cheat Code your Business Needs?

Top businesses are harnessing the power of mindfulness and spiritual practices like yoga and meditation to alleviate employee burnout, increase productivity, and spearhead incredible company growth. How? Why? What can we learn from them?

Dirty Talk: Dispelling Taboos of Money Matters

I was 7 years old the first time I was told not to talk about money. Money, the want for & the lack of, is supposed to be hidden in our closets like Dad’s Hustler collection. Let’s have an oral financial orgy & release the tension.

Move through heartache with grace & rise, phoenix!

We all have the power to transform our lives, even in the most difficult situations. Through sharing her story, Heidi provides inspiration and practical tips for navigating your own transformation, moving from surviving to thriving.

Emotional literacy will revolutionize our world

We can foster the compassion and understanding needed to tackle the complex current events of our day, eventually leading to the development of positive right action related to these current events, through emotional literacy.

The Spooky Tale of Silver Heels and Slut-Shaming

Celebrate Halloween with the sad tale of a dance hall girl who saved over a thousand miners from smallpox. Does she haunt Buckskin Cemetery to tend to the graves of the fallen or in the hopes that someone remembers her real name?

Casa De Paz

Mental Health advocacy, the career for the brave.

What do you think of when I say mental health? I know it’s the topic that wakes me up at 2am & lights my heart on fire. We have a huge barrier to mental health in Colorado and in the U.S.A and learn why & how I am going to try to solve it.

The ABC’s of hiring generations X, Y, and Z

Generations X, Y, and Z make up 73% of the workforce and it’s only growing from here. Let’s talk about a practical framework for hiring and retaining each of these generations.

Powerful Women Going Mad Isn’t Subversive

Game of Thrones became a worldwide phenomenon in large part because it broke fantasy and war story tropes in ways that were often devastating, but always human. But there is nothing devastating, shocking, or subversive about catty arguments, focusing on other women’s looks, or a woman going mad with power. Let me tell you why.

Making payments work for all 7.5 Billion of us

Cards, eChecks, Wires, even Venmo require banking and are susceptible to fraud. Only 3.8 billion people have access to any banking at all. I’ll introduce the current problems and how cryptocurrency solves many of them in plain language.

Fast fashion is unethical & harmful to the planet

Let’s talk about the fast fast fashion brands, their use of toxic chemicals, textile waste & unfair working conditions. How all that makes the brands unethical and harmful to the environment. I want to encourage conscious consumerism.

Connecting With Purpose In Our Automated World

Today our culture has been obsessed with technology and we’ve lost our ability to really connect. Learn how to connect using automated marketing technology and still have face-to-face interactions.

The Rise of Contouring as Told Through the Kardashians

The teens of the 21st century will be remembered by a disaster greater than the Titanic or Lusitania. The events of the Downton Abbey-equivalent of the 2010s will indeed by kicked off by failed attempts at contouring. Why are we painting ourselves like Picasso paintings for day wear? Can anyone actually pull this off? I attempt to reconcile this fad through the ever-changing glam of the Kardashian sisters.

I’m a badass mermaid, what size are my running shoes and why am I laughing?

Educational Outcomes, Economic Impact and the Internet

The internet is increbily impactful on educational and economic outcomes, so why is fast reliable internet more accessible?

What the hell is compassion?

Oxford says it’s “sympathetic pity . . .” and Merriam Webster says “sympathetic consciousness . . . with a desire to alleviate”, but true compassion begins with empathy and extends into a knowing of self and others as whole and complete.

That bullet must’ve been a fertilizing pill!

 He was shot in the back by his neighbor on Friday the 13th. My father’s heart stopped twice on that operating table before the doctors surrendered. They decided to leave the bullet in his back—afraid to risk his heart stopping again. 

Self care is boring(wa-waa-waa) I make it KICKASS

The key to changing your unhealthy habits (& talking poorly to yourself) is your mindset. I’ve found a super fun & creative way to get started on this and in my 13 years of coaching this is THE THING that gets people taking action

So You Want to Buy a House (But It’s Intimidating)

Buying a house is part of the American Dream. But it’s basically impossible right now, especially in this market. Except it’s not. Follow one person on a 2 year journey (that only took 2 months) to home ownership. Then do it yourself!

Playing Nice With Your Inner Critic

When we think of that voice in our heads that likes to tell us all the reasons we won’t succeed, it’s tempting to fight it, reject it, or kick it to the curb. I believe we’re better off trying to make friends with that voice, instead.

Vertical feet for prosthetic feet

In 2015, we asked people to dedicate one day of their mobility to an amputee in need of a prothesis. In 4 years, 2000+ people have climbed mountains on all 7 continents to help 300+ amputees get prosthetic care to reach their own summits.

Toxic Masculinity that Kills

 Harmful culture and mindsets are causing the death and abuse of millions of girls around the globe. Gendercide is toxic masculinity at its worse. Yet, it is an issue few know about. It’s time to shine light on this global crisis.

Braedi And Beyond

We all go through middle school like troubles in our daily lives. Weather you have a child who is struggling to get through school or you are having some problems of your own; we often forget the lessons we learned in middle school.

I Am SOOOOOO the Boss of You!!

In today’s world of abuse, public scrutiny, and phone cameras, we’ve forgotten how to parent. Or better yet, we’re afraid to parent. Well, I’m here to tell you to Get Over It! Let me share some tricks on how to take back your parenthood.

You Are Creative

I believe every person is inherently creative. In this reprise of my Ignite Boulder talk I will talk about how we lose touch with our creativity, and how we can reconnect with it and tap into our creative genius.

Fuzzy dice…do we wish at-risk kids “good luck”?!

It hit me yesterday… I have 9 months in which to bring James, reading at 2nd grade level, up to 4th grade level. Thereafter…he’s on his own…

Prosecutorial Discretion in Denver

When a prosecutor evaluates charges against an accused person they use a ‘Reasonable Likelihood of Conviction’ standard. I’m leading an effort in Denver to review the prosecutorial discretion privilege and improve criminal justice outcomes.

Two Months and 10 Days on the Missouri River

In 1981 I and four friends paddled one canoe and one homemade canoe catamaran from Fort Benton Montana to Sioux City Iowa. That’s one thousand three hundred miles. It took two months and ten days. That trip changed my life.

The Most Underrated Skill to Master Freedom

What if we stopped being so serious? You work hard to have the dream life yet something key is missing. What if you can work AND have fun? What if you unleashed a playful spirit into everything you do?

ALS Association Rocky Mtn Chapter

I have been a presentation designer for companies big and small for the past 8+ years. Sadly, most people suck at powerpoint and don’t even know why. In this quick talk I go over basics of presentation design and how to make a killer deck

Destroy, Build, Destroy!

What have you destroyed lately? Charting a pathway between divergent and convergent thinking can be a powerful tool, to increase creativity in all aspects of our lives. This concept holds true across personal and professional realms.

Twinkie, Twinkie, Little Star

You’re under pressure, thinking big, & you get the hungries. You grab a coffee & a twinkie to tackle the urge. Ack! You’re caught in the impulse of urgency. See the bigger view and be more productive, more energetic, and more spectacular.

The things you learn driving for Lyft

15,887 Miles of BEing

What if we stopped asking ‘what do you do?’ And started asking ‘how do you want to BE in the world?’ Last summer I traveled to all 48 continental U.S states on a 90-day road trip, talking to almost 400 strangers about their story of BEing.

How to Be a Difficult Employee

There are many books about finding your dream job, but none about how to get out of a job that sucks. The speaker has been fired from companies large and small, public and private and will show you how to be a difficult employee.

BTW, Your Stoic Mask is Killing You

The masks we wear as business owners, parents, and partners holds us back from reaching out truest potential in life, love, and business. The stoic mask shows up as “I’m fine” or “I’m ok” and ruins our relationships!

Revisiting Langtang

Hiking In Nepal 2015 50 miles from 7.8 quake epicenter in a narrow valley the hills suddenly become alive…

Raising a Champion (& kickass girl)- no seriously!

Raising kids is fucking HARD! Raising a kickass girl, a champion, at a time when lots of kickass girls are needed is imperative Share a Tiger-Soccer Momma’s kickass & fun journey in raising a smart, confident, badass, literal…champion.

10 Ladies Walk into Denver…

Walking Denver’s 78 neighborhoods in one year challenged our sense of self, fear, and connectedness. From Athmar Park to Wash Park, we found friendship while exploring Denver’s history. We’re all connected–one neighborhood at a time.

Even More Love…

It seems like our society needs more; more success, more money, more, more, more. As we pursue more, we have to be reminded that we also need more love. This talk will focus on the lessons of love learned while working at a high school.

Love is a verb. Education is liberation.

No longer are teachers keepers of knowledge. Education today is about asking the right questions. Today’s students know we love them not only by how we show up and fight for them, but how we encourage them to fight for themselves.

You Should Delete Facebook

We don’t fully realize it, but every day we are trading our precious time for an experience that has been proven to make us unhappy. Imagine putting that time towards something else: reading, working out, meditating. I did. You should too.

Rising Together: Growing With Foster Kids

As a technologist, I’m inclined to the predictable. Yet my world was turned upside down when we decided to grow our family with foster children. Allow me to share the beautiful, the hilarious, the ugly, and everything in between.

The Truth About Lies

Can telling just one lie put you on a path to prison? The Truth About Lies depicts one man’s story from a small businessman to building a 10M$ business, to ending up in a prison cell. All because he could not face the truth. He was a liar

Captain Planet gave me a Complex

Remember the eco-concious 90’s cartoon? Five powers each protecting the Earth, but heart was clearly the fifth wheel. I related w/ heart as my super power and it gave me a complex! Let’s examine how we societally view our own super powers.

Britney Spears said it best, you drive me crazy

What goes on inside the head of someone experiencing OCD? I’ll recount personal stories of fear, sadness, joy, and hope in my journey towards recovery. I’ll share the ways I have tried to feel ‘normal’, and why normal is overrated.

Robots, AI, and the workplace of Tomorrow

Over the next few years robots and artificial intelligence will dramatically change the landscape of employment. How will this impact the arts, business, and individual lives? We’ll help you explore the possibilities.

Imagination: That Thing We Have But Stopped Using

It drives me crazy that most adults have forgotten how to use their imagination. On a daily basis, I require adults to brainstorm, and quite simply, they don’t generate anything wacky. Let’s remember how to tap into this awesome resource.

Root Rot

Rejection is painful, it feels deeply personal and when the root of rejection stems from your family system, I call it root rot. It’s painful on the inside, but on the outside, it can be expressed as regression, rebellion or complacency.

Middle Schoolers Are Not Demons

My field experience was the pit of despair – Middle School. I wanted to hate it. It took 5 weeks. And I fell in love with them. I”ll share what they taught me – from the tears of heartbreak to the joy of redemption and back again.

Learning from Bullet Holes

In college, I heard a lecture from an aeronautical engineer who was stationed on an aircraft carrier during WWII. His unique experience in aircraft design sticks with me whenever I apply myself to a problem.

This Isn’t Political

Why it’s worth standing up for someone different than you. (Delivered by someone with a little more melanin). Amusing ways to constructively deal with “isms” (sexism, racism, triumphalism, atheism) especially when they’re not directed at you.

Jackpot! I’m Not Dead!

On July 7, 2007 I woke up from a coma after having survived a near death experience. I want to explore some of the key lessons I’ve learned my last nine years in recovery and how they highlight the privilege of being alive.

Dizzying Days – Dealing with the Needs of One Aging Parent, or Two?

Dad got cancer, died 2.5mths later. He was the crutch for mom’s ALZ. Their outlook changed radically, quickly. I educated myself on choices needed to guide & help them. Every day dad had one less, and I could only keep helping…

Don’t count on motivation

It’s 2017, and you’ve already broken your New Year’s resolution. You fail because you rely on your buddy Motivation. He’s your friend who bails at the first sign of trouble. To succeed, don’t count on Motivation, count on Discipline.

Heart Power

Consciously connecting to your heart as much and as often as possible in your everyday life will increase your happiness, groundedness, connection to others, improve your communications and make you a master manifestor!