Topic: Courage

Candace Doby

 Candace Doby knows that life is too short to play games with your potential. She has spoken to nearly 100K+ people about how to own your brilliance at work, transforming employees into more confident, empowered, and productive people.

Past Speaking Engagements

 
Blacks in Business
United States Navy Logo
YMCA
SUNY Oneonta
EGR – Global Gaming
International Interior Design Association
Novozymes
Duracell
FREENOW
American Association of Medical Colleges
University of Georgia
TedX Atlanta
MARTA
 

Speaking Options

(Ideal for a Juneteenth Celebration) – Calling On Courage: What Black History Can Teach Us About Taking More Worthwhile Risks At Work

(Note: Candace also has a WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH version of this talk)

What stops us from taking worthwhile risks in the workplace — risks like having hard conversations about diversity and inclusion, showing up authentically for ourselves and our teams, and challenging old systems that do not serve new workplace realities? The answer centers on courage. Speaker and coach Candace Doby leverages stories of incredible courage from leaders in black history to show participants how to conjure their own to speak up, step up and show up at work. 

Create A Courage-Ready Culture

Candace Doby HeadshotWhat could your organization accomplish with a workplace culture that duly equips and rightly supports team members to take worthwhile risks and perform to their potential? A lot — including more innovation, higher employee engagement and increased productivity. In this presentation, speaker and coach Candace Doby shows leaders how to create a Courage-Ready Culture™ where everyone can contribute and own their brilliance.

By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

  • Follow the courage process its team members go through to prepare themselves to own their brilliance at work.
  • Identify key opportunities within that process to deliberately engage and support their teams in taking worthwhile risks.
  • Apply key strategies to those opportunities that, when repeated, start to create a culture where employees are ready, willing and able to courageously speak up, step up and show up.

Courage at Work: How to take more risks and own your brilliance

Candace Doby Promotional Head Shot PhotoAn organization’s ability to reach its highest level of excellence comes down to one thing: its people — courageously owning their brilliance, in both typical and transitional times.  But how do you get them to speak up with divergent ideas, show up with authenticity and step up with confidence when failure and judgment loom as potential outcomes? In this leadership development presentation, speaker and coach Candace Doby blends storytelling and research to take participants through a process for how to manage fear, activate personal courage and take worthwhile risks — so they can unleash their potential and make a greater impact on their organization.

By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

  • Identify three key components in the development of courage that will eliminate the frustrating feeling of not knowing where to start when facing a new challenge.
  • Convert those components into a process that prepares them to evaluate risks from insight, instead of insecurity.
  • Leverage that process when opportunities arise for them to step outside of their comfort zone and demonstrate their brilliance.

The Courage To Own Your Brilliance: DEI In The Workplace

Candace Doby TedXIt takes a lot of courage to thrive in a world where you are challenged, questioned, and/or dealing with daily microaggressions as a person of color. In this talk, Candace shares stories of DEI + belonging through the lens of courage. She offers advice about how to conjure your courage to more fully embody your own brilliance — to lay claim to your uniqueness, skills, and experiences — to support the creation of space for DEI+Belonging initiatives to take root in organizations. This talk is ideal for corporate ERGs as well as youth (schools/colleges/organizations) and is ideal for Black History Month, too.

Selected Media

Sizzle Reel

TEDx: Be Courageous. Not Fearless.

Press

Testimonials

Candace doby testimonial by ashlie white“Our organization was looking for an energetic and engaging speaker to motivate our attendees in their roles as advocates. We were incredibly fortunate to find Candace Doby to give the keynote during our annual Policy Forum in Washington D.C. She presented with a fantastic energy. Her engaging style is also approachable and down-to-earth, allowing attendees to connect to her message and see themselves within it.”
Ashlie White, Chief Programs Officer – Amputee Coalition

 

Cara Dollinger testimonail for Candace Doby“Candace spoke for us at our  council conference, kicking off our main event which had about 1100 attendees. Having her speak really set the tone and filled everyone with excitement as we went into the week! Her message was well-delivered, inspirational and she tailored it to fit our attendees. She was professional, fun and relatable. I highly recommend Candace as a keynote speaker!”
Cara Dollinger, League of SE Credit Unions

About Candace DOBY

Featured on MSNBC and NPR, Candace Doby is a speaker, author, and coach who works with companies and organizations to create a culture of courage where employees perform at their highest potential.

Candace combines a decade of research on courage with her experiences leading marketing teams at Chipotle and traveling the world solo. This unique combination equips her with the implementable strategies she has shared with thousands of leaders to help them courageously speak up, step up and show up in the workplace.
 
Candace is known for delivering those strategies with a blend of truth, love and a bit of shade to match the realness of courage, which prompts clients to refer to her in-person and virtual presence as “captivating”. She has spoken with thousands of employees at organizations such as the The Timken Company, The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transportation Authority, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and The American Camp Association.
 

Who Caught Your Eye?

Melibee Global Speakers is a boutique speaker booking agency, laser-focused on the needs of event professionals in any industry or field seeking to book diverse keynote speakers and corporate edutainment. Our mission is to provide an easy, customer-friendly, efficient and trusted talent booking experience.

Inquire about booking MelibeeGlobal speaker, Candace Doby using the form below.

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Deirdre Cooper Owens

Deirdre Cooper Owens, PhD

Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens is an award winning author and a historian most known for her writings on slavery and the history of reproductive medicine. She is also widely known for capturing the history of Harriet Tubman as a disabled woman and how it relates to DEI. 

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Desiree Adaway

Desiree creates and sustains a culture of equity and inclusivity. She’s the one who runs towards the difficult questions.  

Past Speaking Engagements

 
The Gates Foundation
3 Percent Conference
DePaul University
AWWEE
Vaya Health
OnTrack
 

Speaking Options

Organizational Reckonings: Past, Present, And Future

As organizations work to challenge, address, and repair racial inequities in the present, we need to know the truth of our past.

The truth is that American industry was built on genocide and chattel slavery. It’s not surprising that the concept of middle management and many accounting practices were developed on slave plantations. One year, ten years, of anti-racism work won’t reverse 400 years of colonization and white supremacy. But a long-term, resourced, intentional commitment can transform our organizations into places rooted in transparency and trust, where People of Color experience true equity, power, and inclusion.

During this talk, we’ll explore our history, its impact on today, and look at ways organizations have successfully pushed back on the norms of white supremacy.

The History Of The Racial Sleep Gap & Creating Communities Of Care 

Did you know that nearly 1/2 of of all Black, multiracial, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders get fewer then 7 hours of sleep every night? And that the decrease in duration and quality of sleep leads to poor health outcomes?
 
The history of racial inequities in rest and health pushes us to ask: What is the cost on our bodies and minds as we live with White Supremacy? We’ll also explore the Praxis of Liberation and what it takes to develop communities of care to heal.

Bipoc Resiliency

Desiree Adaway - Melibee Global Speaker on topics of Diversity, Women, and History

What would it look like to be a person of color in the US and flourish? To be safe and to thrive in our workplaces, in our communities. To thrive in our own bodies and minds, without the constant need to contort and conform? To move beyond the relentless pressures placed on us. This is a moment to push what we’ve been told is possible, to deepen our analysis and imagination of what justice, equity, and liberation can look like. To invest even more deeply in each other. This workshop will create space for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to be in conversation about racial equity, the pressures of dominant cultural norms, tools for resiliency, and building collective power.

 

A Critical Analysis Of Power: The Relationship Between Racial Equity And Truth

We’ll name different types of power that operate in the workplace and explore exactly what white dominant culture is, and how it impacts organizational culture, relationships, policies, and processes. We’ll look at what behaviors and practices reinforce dominant culture and share ways we can work to mitigate it.

 

Black Joy: Rest And Resilience

In this talk, we’ll talk about White Dominant organizational culture, the problem with expectations of constant resilience from BIPOC, and rest as a pathway to healing.

 

Black Joy: Waging Love And Claiming Joy

Are we treating ourselves with enough joy, tenderness, and peace? What practices are we engendering and developing in the community to support a love ethic and claim joy? In this talk, we’ll look at a framework for lifelong learning, pleasure, and Joy as resistance.

Selected Media

Sizzle Reel

At the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Spring 2023

Desiree Adaway, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Testimonials

“Desiree’s teaching and mentorship have radically enhanced our leadership, focus and vision for our work at Be Nourished. Her wisdom and skillful presence has touched every layer of our business, imbuing each with a renewed depth of focus on equity and inclusion. Desiree leads with the kind of love that is fierce, true, and holds you to your wisest self. She embodies the kind of leadership that holds space for growth and depth of change. Working with Desiree will solidify your vision for a new world so you can stay in process with that vision for a lifetime.”
Hilary Kinavey & Dana Sturtevant, Co-Creators of Body Trust®

“Desiree Adaway is a powerful doula for this lifelong process of inquiry and praxis. She takes participants down a sometimes painful and always revelatory path towards a deeper and more personal understanding of freedom, inclusion, access, race, and equity.” 
Tucson, AZ

“Desiree Adaway is a gifted coach and mentor. 
I appreciate Desiree’s extensive wisdom, her direct, no-bullshit style of communication and her huge heart. With her guidance, I have not only developed and enhanced my leadership and communication skills but I have been able to gracefully navigate my transition out of direct leadership of the organization I founded and move into an emerging new role related to that work.”
Amy Mandel, Founder and Funder, Tzedek Social Justice Fund

“Desiree brings compassionate rigor. She tells the truth about what she sees. Desiree challenges us to think deeply about what real equity looks like, and in the process, we live into our values and amplify our impact.”
Danielle Keiser, Exec. Dir. and Founder, Menstrual Health Hub

Carrie Meyer, Assistant Professor, Head of Special Collections and Archives, Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library

“As an organization with a lot of energy behind DEI, but without much experience, Desiree Adaway has helped us navigate several important junctures on our still emerging journey. I’ve grown as a person and professional because of our partnership.”
Carrie Meyer, Assistant Professor, Head of Special Collections and Archives, Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library, University of Nebraska Medical Center

About Desiree Adaway

Desiree Adaway is a consultant, trainer, coach and speaker building resilient, equitable, and inclusive organizations. Desiree is the person who says the “thing”, who runs towards difficult conversations. She is an expert at teaching others how to handle complex, charged conversations (particularly around identity and power) with grace, assertiveness, and transparency.

Desiree has over 20 years of experience creating, leading and managing international, multicultural teams through major organizational changes in over 40 countries. As the Senior Director of Mobilization for Habitat for Humanity, she was responsible for planning the strategy and training for hundreds of membership organizations, totaling more than 50,000 members. She was responsible for the overall strategy and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) plans for 1,600 US affiliates and one million volunteers globally. 

Her keynotes have a mix of thought-provoking content presented with humor and wit. She makes a point to create a safe space for growth. Desiree is known by colleagues, peers, and partners as being great at open, honest, and productive conversations. She is not afraid of addressing anything that gets in the way of great work. Her style is positive, approachable, engaging, service-oriented, and audience-centered.

 

Who Caught Your Eye?

Melibee Global Speakers is a boutique speaker booking agency, laser-focused on the needs of event professionals in any industry or field seeking to book diverse keynote speakers and corporate edutainment. Our mission is to provide an easy, customer-friendly, efficient and trusted talent booking experience.

Inquire about booking MelibeeGlobal speaker, Desiree Adaway using the form below.

Let us know by completing the form and we'll be in touch quickly!

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Select from the speakers listed below.*
Please select one or more speakers of interest.
Appearance Preference
Please select the preferred appearance location.
Please tell us more! Who is your audience? What are you goals? Why do the speakers interest you? Do you want a standard talk with Q&A or something more?
Please enter the venue name. Not required if an online appearance.
Venue Location
Please enter the address of the venue location. Not required if an online appearance.
Please enter an ESTIMATED budget for the speaker fee and travel. (This field will only accept one amount and not a range.)
Please enter a date or date range in the text field provided.
How did you hear about us?*

What else do we need to know to make this a great event? Don't hold back!
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

MelibeeGlobal Speaker - Jeffrey Binney Side Profile on mountain trail

Jeffrey James Binney

Jeffrey Binney was losing his mom to a health crisis. His fear for his own health turned this comedic, non-athlete into an ultrarunner. His inspiring film and storytelling will motivate you to do what feels impossible. Book inspirational speaker Jeffery Binney through Melibee Global Speakers.

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