Member since April 2023
Brandi pairs her learning and development experience, Master's in Leadership, and background in improve to the stage to get your audience thinking, acting, and laughing. It's not uncommon for attendees to say "it felt like a stand-up with information I would actually use". She would tell you that's from her Bachelors in Theatre, her mom would tell you that she's been that way since she was four.
Brandi's jam is using story telling, and activities to introduce the topic but also leave your audience with the knowledge and ability to implement it. She's lead over 250 workshops, stood on stages of over 4,000 people, and would attribute her success to her ability to be present with the room and people in it (thanks, improv). If Brandi's sweet spot speaking gig were a vin diagram, in true millennial fashion, it would be the intersection of:
1. Leaders or people who don't take themselves too seriously
2. A room that's open to laughing, chatting, a little bit of improv, and [sometimes] bad jokes
3. A dress code that's 50% professional, and 50% looks like she could be hiking a trail at any time
I'm passionate about helping other women to trust themselves through imposter syndrome (Fraud to Friend), and helping leaders to know how to pour into their people and crate the cultures where they want to stay (Pivoting with People).
I served as the Director of Women's Network for three years at my local Chamber of Commerce in my late 20's. One of my roles was to book monthly professional development speakers. Having just finished my masters in leadership, I was looking to book a speaker on generational differences (a topic I had just completed my thesis on). I was talking with a well-known executive leader on her recommendations for a speaker when she paused and said "didn't you JUST finish your thesis on this topic? Why don't you do it?". Instantly, my jaw dropped and I quickly said "no no no-- I'm not qualified enough to do that". Her response was "If you're looking for someone that has done more than 3 years of research on this topic that isn't you, I'm not sure I have any other recommendations for you". I did NOT heed her advice and instead brought in two gentlemen from Wisconsin to present on the topic.
Leading up to their speech, the common message I kept telling myself was "I couldn't do that". I had so many reasons: "I'm not a speaker", "I haven't done enough research", and many more excuses. Fast forward, its the day of their keynote on Generational Differences, and I'm sitting at the back of the room intently listening and calculating. They finish their presentation, we all clap, and as I'm standing up to take the stage and thank them for their presentation, I quietly whisper to myself "I could have done that. And I think I could have done it better." Two years later I was hired by the same individual that recommended that I do the generational differences keynote; she hired me as a learning and development specialist for the 5,000-person organization she worked for. Sitting at that keynote changed everything for me. When she hired me to do a job I had never done before, I knew I could do it. I knew I could do every one of the over 200 workshops I would do in the next 4 years. I knew I could host that same company's 6,000 person holiday parties when I was later asked to. And I knew I could start my own company 4 years later, where I am now standing on stages in front of thousands of people doing the exact same thing I once told myself I couldn't do. I'm doing it, and odds are there are so many women out there just waiting for that moment where they finally whisper to themselves "I could do that... and I could do it better". I cannot wait to be in rooms where that happens.
After working as a learning and development specialist for so long, I started realizing that my gift for sharing information, training individuals, and supporting leaders spanned outside of the company I had been at for 4 year's walls. I had such confidence in the work that I was doing, and knew I wasn't only good at my job... I was an expert at it. It wasn't until I met one of my favorite authors that the ball started rolling even faster. After chatting for twenty minutes, we kicked off conversations on a collaboration of content and training. He saw something in me in twenty minutes, and it clicked for me. I knew I was supposed to be doing this. I knew I had a gift for training, presenting, and entertaining audiences. And that was the moment I decided to start my own business and doors began to fly open off of the hinges.
I served as the Director of Women's Network for three years at my local Chamber of Commerce in my late 20's. One of my roles was to book monthly professional development speakers. Having just finished my masters in leadership, I was looking to book a speaker on generational differences (a topic I had just completed my thesis on). I was talking with a well-known executive leader on her recommendations for a speaker when she paused and said "didn't you JUST finish your thesis on this topic? Why don't you do it?". Instantly, my jaw dropped and I quickly said "no no no-- I'm not qualified enough to do that". Her response was "If you're looking for someone that has done more than 3 years of research on this topic that isn't you, I'm not sure I have any other recommendations for you". I did NOT heed her advice and instead brought in two gentlemen from Wisconsin to present on the topic.
Leading up to their speech, the common message I kept telling myself was "I couldn't do that". I had so many reasons: "I'm not a speaker", "I haven't done enough research", and many more excuses. Fast forward, its the day of their keynote on Generational Differences, and I'm sitting at the back of the room intently listening and calculating. They finish their presentation, we all clap, and as I'm standing up to take the stage and thank them for their presentation, I quietly whisper to myself "I could have done that. And I think I could have done it better." Two years later I was hired by the same individual that recommended that I do the generational differences keynote; she hired me as a learning and development specialist for the 5,000-person organization she worked for. Sitting at that keynote changed everything for me. When she hired me to do a job I had never done before, I knew I could do it. I knew I could do every one of the over 200 workshops I would do in the next 4 years. I knew I could host that same company's 6,000 person holiday parties when I was later asked to. And I knew I could start my own company 4 years later, where I am now standing on stages in front of thousands of people doing the exact same thing I once told myself I couldn't do. I'm doing it, and odds are there are so many women out there just waiting for that moment where they finally whisper to themselves "I could do that... and I could do it better". I cannot wait to be in rooms where that happens.
After working as a learning and development specialist for so long, I started realizing that my gift for sharing information, training individuals, and supporting leaders spanned outside of the company I had been at for 4 year's walls. I had such confidence in the work that I was doing, and knew I wasn't only good at my job... I was an expert at it. It wasn't until I met one of my favorite authors that the ball started rolling even faster. After chatting for twenty minutes, we kicked off conversations on a collaboration of content and training. He saw something in me in twenty minutes, and it clicked for me. I knew I was supposed to be doing this. I knew I had a gift for training, presenting, and entertaining audiences. And that was the moment I decided to start my own business and doors began to fly open off of the hinges.