Motivational, Creativity-sparking
keynote speaker
‘Very moving and powerful!’
‘this woman has things to say!’
WITH 10+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN SPACE PHYSICS RESEARCH, BUILDING SPACE INSTRUMENTS FOR NASA MISSIONS, AND OUTDOOR EXPLORATION AS AN ALPINE ROCK AND ICE CLIMBER, LEELA EMBODIES THE SPIRIT OF AN EXPLORER. SHE UTILIZES HER EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, AND PLAYFUL CURIOSITY TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO DISCOVER THEIR INNER EXPLORER AND COURAGEOUSLY TAP INTO THEIR UNIQUE BRILLIANCE AND HIGHEST CREATIVITY TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL IN THEIR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIVES.
MEET Leela O’BRIEN
Space Sciences PhD | Instrument Engineer | Creativity Coach | Alpine Climber
Leela is an explorer of science, the solar system, AI, and creative expression. As a ballerina turned scientist, Leela contributes a unique artistic, imaginative, and playful flair to the world of science and engineering. As an experienced alpine rock and ice climber, she applies her instincts, courage, and drive to explore the unknown to everyday life.
Utilizing the powers of creative and courageous exploration, Leela has adapted to and circumvented the physical and cognitive limitations brought on by a neurological disorder she developed from Covid-19.
Leela is on a mission to help more people and organizations embody and encourage exploratory thinking, and tap into high-level creativity to improve engagement, fulfillment, innovation, and productivity in the workplace and beyond.
As a captivating keynote speaker, Leela shares her powerful story and signature Explorer Mindset method to inspire and guide people to unlock their unique brilliance and share it with the world.
Through her coaching and speaking, she has supported many people in engaging in unconventional practices proven to wire their brains for habitual creative and exploratory thinking so they can:
Discover their strengths/what intrigues them and learn how to apply it in a practical sense
Openly explore their minds and dream up new possibilities
Avoid experiencing the detriments of burnout and apathy
Become courageous, resilient, and adaptable in any situation
speaking experience
Academic science conferences
NASA science and engineering review panels
Universities and primary/secondary schools
Creative retreats
speaking topics
creativity and innovation
creative exploration breeds high-level Engagement and innovation, problem-solving/critical thinking skills, and productivity, while also bringing a sense of fulfillment.
leela will show your audience how to openly explore their genius by wiring their brains for habitual creative and innovative thinking.
Engagement and Fulfillment
maximum productivity is achieved when there exists genuine engagement and sense of fulfillment.
Leela will lead the audience in discovering intrigue and purpose in their endeavors, leading to higher engagement and productivity in personal and professional endeavors.
For: corporate leadership events, industry conferences and boardrooms, motivational speaking events, training seminars and workshops, retreats, and webinars/virtual seminars
From big global stages to immersive retreats, Leela delivers custom-tailored keynotes that will inspire audience members to ignite their creative forces and lead their teams to do the same. Drawing from her years of experience in science research and space technology development, AI model training, outdoor adventure missions, and gracing many stages as a ballerina, Leela provides highly-effective, cutting-edge practices that wire the brain for creative exploration and help people develop an adventurous and resilient mindset.
courage and exploration
progress requires stepping into the unknown with both courage and curiosity to explore what is possible.
Leela will guide the audience in practicing embodiment of an explorer mindset, in which they will boldly explore new ideas and take action to bring them to life.
Leadership
An impactful leader creates a safe, supportive space where the team is inspired to contribute, create, innovate, and connect.
Leela will guide leaders to create an environment that motivates their teams to feel excited, inspired, exploratory, creative, and encouraged.
adaptability and resilience
consistent growth, success, longevity, and effective leadership requires resilience and adaptability in dynamic environments and changing circumstances.
Leela will demonstrate how to tap into internal resilience and adaptability in the face of a changing world and challenging curve balls.
Connection and collaboration
More can be achieved collectively than alone.
Leela shows audiences how to create a sense of trust and camaraderie within a team that promotes healthy and productive collaboration and how teammates can excite and inspire one another.
signature keynote:
“The next hold”
Tap into high-level creativity and an exploratory mindset to unlock your highest potential - amp up innovation, engagement, fulfillment, productivity, and adaptability.
Our most powerful drive and inner genius lies in our creativity and innate sense of exploration.
“The next hold” is a rock climbing term representing the next piece of rock a climber is reaching to in a sequence of moves executed to ascend a rock face. Reaching for the next hold is an act of exploration: it requires a sense of curiosity and courage to step into the unknown, a trust in one’s abilities, and a utilization of one’s creativity, instinct, adaptability, and problem-solving skills to successfully and safely ascend the rock wall.
Leela’s thought-provoking and inspirational keynote will awaken your inner explorer and empower you to reach for the ‘next hold’ with curiosity, creativity, courage, and focused brainpower. With her unique Explorer Mindset framework, Leela will challenge the way you think and approach life by introducing unconventional tools and practices that wire the brain for habitual exploratory and creative thinking.
Drawing from her diverse background - accomplished space physicist/engineer, skilled outdoor adventurer, artistic ballerina, and vibrant creativity coach, Leela merges the spirit of bold, creative exploration with logical/analytical thinking to guide the audience in accessing their unique genius - sparking more innovation, engagement, productivity, adaptability, and connection in their professional and personal endeavors.
A PhD who was once enthralled in her physics research with a curious, imaginative mind and a passion for exploration and learning, Leela lost her ‘spark’ and began to hold back her greatest creative and intellectual contributions. This prompted her to unveil the cracks in today’s academic and professional systems that result in far too many people holding back their brilliant potential. She is now re-instilling a creative and exploratory drive in the world.
This keynote will inspire and give individuals and teams the tools to:
Access their open, curious, and creative minds, and merge with their practical and logical thinking processes.
Improve their abilities in problem solving and adapting to changing circumstances and conditions.
Develop courage and resilience in the face of challenges.
Discover joy, fulfillment, and sense of connection and community in their work and life.
This keynote is designed and customized for corporate/business and general audiences:
Corporate/business executives and professionals aiming to maximize innovation, engagement, productivity, and collaboration to successfully reach goals and create an enjoyable and stimulating work environment and community.
Leaders and visionaries on a mission to find solutions to outstanding problems, make a lasting impact on the world, and fulfill their life’s dreams.
Purpose-driven entrepreneurs desiring to grow their businesses, manage and overcome obstacles, and fulfill their goals and life’s work with more fun, ease, and courage.
Individuals seeking inspiration and tools to find more excitement, engagement, connection, and fulfillment in everyday life and unlock the brilliance, courage, and resilience needed to bring their personal and professional dreams to life.
Takeaways from “The Next Hold” keynote. You’ll learn..
Why many of us are not channeling our unique genius or reaching our highest potential and sense of fulfillment in our professional and personal lives
What is causing burnout rates to be so high - leading to disengagement, poor performance/productivity, and physical/mental health challenges
What an ‘Exploratory Mindset’ is and why embracing it can allow us to tap into our highest creativity and bold, brilliant minds to bring our visions and goals to life..and have fun doing it
How to use the tools/practices in my ‘Explorer Mindset’ framework to wire our brains for habitual exploratory and creative thinking and improve innovation, engagement, problem-solving abilities/adaptability, productivity, and collaboration
what is included when you book with leela
Leela’s engaging and empowering 60-minute keynote
Customized to align specifically with YOUR theme and YOUR audience
A pre-event discovery call
Collaborative discussion to address objectives and ensure that the desired impact/experience will be delivered to your audience
A pre-event 60-second custom marketing video
Created to spark audience excitement and intrigue
Post-event 10-minute training video
Audience will have access to more practices/tools to further ignite their creativity and develop exploratory habits
On-stage survey
Will share insights into audience engagement, effectiveness, and impact
What PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT LEELA’S SPEAKING…
“Leela’s speech was truly inspirational. Her comfort level on stage is fantastic and the way she speaks is powerful. ”
— Kerri Miller, teacher
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“Leela’s story brought tears to my eyes. Very moving. She took us with her on a journey - one that got me thinking differently about my life and how I want to connect more with my creativity and my purpose.”
— Mark Snyder, Boulder Speakeasy Toastmasters Sergeant at Arms
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“Leela O’Brien has an extraordinary gift for finding moments of enchantment everywhere around her. Thanks to her, I’ve come to realize that the sublime and the everyday are part of the same cosmos of wonder, equally capable of inspiring us to live more creative and devoted lives.”
— Katie Ives, author of Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams and former editor-in-chief at Alpinist magazine
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“Leela has a true gift for holding space and bringing people together in a meaningful way.”
— Liz Meyer, User Experience Designer