Member since October 2022
Betty Rhoades — The Storytelling Sommelier™
Betty Rhoades is a professional speaker, coach, and consultant who helps bold professionals and beverage experts elevate their leadership, communication, and career growth through the power of storytelling. Known as The Storytelling Sommelier™, she blends vivid wine metaphors with actionable strategies to help clients clarify their message, speak with confidence, and lead with purpose—on stage, in service, and in life.
A licensed attorney and former public servant, Betty spent two decades shaping policy and culture at the Department of Veterans Affairs and numerous nonprofit organizations. Today, she draws on that experience to support changemakers, entrepreneurs, and hospitality professionals who want to speak up, stand out, and command the room.
Betty also serves as Cellar Operations + Community Engagement lead at San Francisco Wine School, where she also manages the Secret Wine Bar and moonlights as SommTender. A Certified Sommelier and Certified Champagne Specialist, she believes wine holds powerful lessons about growth, timing, and transformation. She is a proud member of the National Speakers Association and lives in San Francisco with her husband and their two rescue pets.
Words, wine, and women winning!
I often tell stories related to being a cancer survivor, my work in government and nonprofit, participating in competitive karaoke (and other examples of singing/performing in public), and cosplaying at comic conventions. I can also share stories and lessons about being a woman leader in traditionally male-dominated spaces.
My favorite story, though? The one about how I met my husband...on Craigslist!
I have always been a speaker and performer. My mother says I was singing before I was talking, and I was talking to anyone who would listen before I could even walk to greet them. However, it wasn't until I was diagnosed with cancer at age 19 that I really understood the power of speech - how talking about difficult things would allow us to process them, learn from them, and share those lessons with others.
After nearly 20 years of working in the military-connected community (which involved a great deal of public speaking), I was looking for a big professional change - but even more importantly, after those two decades in male-dominated spaces, I was tired of seeing how fear and anxiety surrounding public speaking was holding women back. I set out to use my skills and talents to coach women to speak up and speak out, so they can achieve the careers and lives of their dreams.
Learning Objectives:
General Session Description:
You don’t need a theater background or a stage to be a great speaker - you just need the right tools. Whether you’re leading a team, making a sales pitch, presenting at work, or introducing yourself at a networking event, the ability to communicate with confidence is a career (and life) superpower.
In this dynamic and interactive session, speaker Betty Rhoades introduces the Savvy Speaking System - a practical, empowering approach that breaks public speaking into three manageable parts: Physical, Social, and Emotional. You’ll learn how to command attention with your presence, connect with any audience, and quiet the inner critic that says you’re not ready.
Whether you’re a nervous newbie or a seasoned speaker looking to level up, you’ll leave this session with actionable techniques and the confidence to show up, speak up, and stand out - wherever your voice is needed most.
Learning Objectives:
Talk Description:
You don’t need a cape or lightning bolt to be a superhero - you already have powers. In this fun, heartfelt keynote, Betty Rhoades shows you how to uncover the innate gifts you’ve been carrying all along. Drawing inspiration from Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and Oprah alike, she guides audiences through a three-part process to discover, define, and develop their superpowers. Whether you’re leading a team, changing careers, or simply seeking your next chapter, this talk will help you tap into your origin story and step into your own role as a force for good. Because the world doesn’t need more perfection - it needs more people using their powers on purpose.
.Learning Objectives:
Talk Description:
Forget five-year plans and "30 Under 30" lists. What if the best careers are more like wine - slow to develop, rich with complexity, and deeply personal? In this inspiring keynote, Certified Sommelier and former government leader Betty Rhoades uncorks a new way of thinking about growth using the Vintage Framework: a three-part philosophy shaped by the vineyard. Through personal stories and vibrant metaphors, she’ll invite audiences to honor their seasons, embrace the messy middle, and stop rushing to "peak." This is the career advice you didn’t know you needed, rooted in patience, purpose, and the belief that you're not behind… you're becoming.
I often tell stories related to being a cancer survivor, my work in government and nonprofit, participating in competitive karaoke (and other examples of singing/performing in public), and cosplaying at comic conventions. I can also share stories and lessons about being a woman leader in traditionally male-dominated spaces.
My favorite story, though? The one about how I met my husband...on Craigslist!
I have always been a speaker and performer. My mother says I was singing before I was talking, and I was talking to anyone who would listen before I could even walk to greet them. However, it wasn't until I was diagnosed with cancer at age 19 that I really understood the power of speech - how talking about difficult things would allow us to process them, learn from them, and share those lessons with others.
After nearly 20 years of working in the military-connected community (which involved a great deal of public speaking), I was looking for a big professional change - but even more importantly, after those two decades in male-dominated spaces, I was tired of seeing how fear and anxiety surrounding public speaking was holding women back. I set out to use my skills and talents to coach women to speak up and speak out, so they can achieve the careers and lives of their dreams.
Learning Objectives:
General Session Description:
You don’t need a theater background or a stage to be a great speaker - you just need the right tools. Whether you’re leading a team, making a sales pitch, presenting at work, or introducing yourself at a networking event, the ability to communicate with confidence is a career (and life) superpower.
In this dynamic and interactive session, speaker Betty Rhoades introduces the Savvy Speaking System - a practical, empowering approach that breaks public speaking into three manageable parts: Physical, Social, and Emotional. You’ll learn how to command attention with your presence, connect with any audience, and quiet the inner critic that says you’re not ready.
Whether you’re a nervous newbie or a seasoned speaker looking to level up, you’ll leave this session with actionable techniques and the confidence to show up, speak up, and stand out - wherever your voice is needed most.
Learning Objectives:
Talk Description:
You don’t need a cape or lightning bolt to be a superhero - you already have powers. In this fun, heartfelt keynote, Betty Rhoades shows you how to uncover the innate gifts you’ve been carrying all along. Drawing inspiration from Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and Oprah alike, she guides audiences through a three-part process to discover, define, and develop their superpowers. Whether you’re leading a team, changing careers, or simply seeking your next chapter, this talk will help you tap into your origin story and step into your own role as a force for good. Because the world doesn’t need more perfection - it needs more people using their powers on purpose.
.Learning Objectives:
Talk Description:
Forget five-year plans and "30 Under 30" lists. What if the best careers are more like wine - slow to develop, rich with complexity, and deeply personal? In this inspiring keynote, Certified Sommelier and former government leader Betty Rhoades uncorks a new way of thinking about growth using the Vintage Framework: a three-part philosophy shaped by the vineyard. Through personal stories and vibrant metaphors, she’ll invite audiences to honor their seasons, embrace the messy middle, and stop rushing to "peak." This is the career advice you didn’t know you needed, rooted in patience, purpose, and the belief that you're not behind… you're becoming.