Member since November 2023
Naeemah Elias is a speaker, coach, and founder of Elias Presence Ventures, where she helps professionals thrive as outsiders, grow into confident leaders, and show up like experts when it matters most.
She spent 13 years at State Street Bank, working her way up from Executive Assistant to Managing Director. Along the way, she built programs that made the workplace smarter, more inclusive, and better at recognizing talent. She also coached hundreds of people to speak up, own their value, and go after what they want.
Before all that? She was a professional actress—performing with the American Repertory Theatre, helping to build Boston’s Zeitgeist Stage Company, and earning awards for her work on stage.
Today, she blends corporate insight, performance skills, and a whole lot of heart to lead public speaking and leadership workshops for teams, companies, and conferences. Naeemah speaks on presence, inclusive leadership, and how to thrive when you don’t quite fit the mold.
I’m passionate about change - real, lasting, human-centered change. I help people and organizations imagine and build futures that look nothing like their past. Whether I’m coaching a young professional to ask for what they deserve or guiding a senior leader to see past their blind spots, I focus on visibility, voice, and bold leadership.
I care deeply about outsider experiences: what it means to rise in rooms that weren’t built for you; and how to build power without losing yourself. I love helping people rewrite their own stories.
And I bring that same passion home. I spent most of my parenting years as a single mom, raising three independent, responsible kids: Kid1 and Kid2 are studying overseas, and Kid3 is still in high school and planning to follow. I recently remarried, but those single mom years shaped everything: my values, my voice, and my capacity for navigating chaos with love and purpose. You can catch a glimpse of our whirlwind journey on my YouTube channel (LuckeyMommey), where I share stories from the front lines of motherhood and creativity.
After Kid3 was born, my company shut down without notice. We packed up our home in Chicago, moved in with my in-laws in Kansas, and I took a grueling, low-wage job, relying on food pantries to get by. An unsettling conversation with my pregnant teenage niece jolted me awake. I walked into my boss's office and said, “This is not my story.” I laid out my plan to get back to Boston. Instead of resistance, he offered his support.
That same day, a recruiter friend emailed: “I have the job that brings you home.” He was right. Within weeks, I flew to Boston, interviewed, and accepted an offer TRIPLING my salary. Three weeks later, I was back in Boston, staying with friends while I saved to bring Kid1, Kid2, and Kid3 home.
This experience taught me the power of declaring your reality. From the moment I claimed my story, the right doors opened. December 12 to March 10—less than three months to rewrite my path.
I believe in the power of manifestation, the people who lift us up, and the opportunities waiting for us. It’s all out there—you just have to claim it.
I grew up in poverty in Chicago, IL, but with the scaffolding of Upward Bound, early-intervention programs, and a community of people who believed in me, I made it to Harvard. After graduating, I toured as a professional puppeteer and helped build a small theatre company. At the same time, I began designing solutions in office roles, straddling the worlds of theatre and corporate work for years.
In 2022, a talent leader asked me to write my ideal role. On Halloween night, with a glass of wine, a pencil, and a sheet of paper, I sketched out a model for an internal consulting function to solve organizational talent challenges—attrition, visibility, development, mobility, engagement, and pipelining. That exercise clarified exactly how I wanted to spend my life.
After leaving State Street in early 2023, I explored traditional roles but kept coming back to the solutions I had designed. Then I accidentally landed a client. Then a second. That was the sign—it was time to launch a business and commit fully to the work.
I have never felt more joy.
In this deeply personal and inspiring talk, Naeemah Elias shares how she went from angry, tired, and sick to patient, creative, and grounded. Drawing from her three core pillars (Thriving as an Outsider, And Introducing: YOU, and Leadership Legacy), she reveals how true growth begins when we create space for our own brilliance to expand.
Audiences will walk away with practical insights on building emotional and physical capacity for excellence, leading with authenticity, and redefining success through balance, purpose, and grace.
Perfect for leadership events, women’s summits, and organizations focused on well-being and professional growth, this keynote reminds us that magnificence isn’t something we chase... It is something we intentionally make space to experience and express.
Thriving as an Outsider is an interactive session inspired by Naeemah's TEDx, designed to help employees reframe the moments when they have felt like they do not belong (whether because of identity, role, or circumstance), and transform those experiences into strengths. Everyone has felt like an outsider at some point in their lives. By surfacing and normalizing those experiences, this workshop creates space for open communication, inclusivity, and authentic connection across teams. Participants will leave with practical tools for embracing their unique perspectives and leveraging them for growth and impact.
Target Audience: Employees at all levels who want to strengthen their confidence, communication, and influence; especially those who have ever felt overlooked, underestimated, or out of place at work.
Are you ready to transcend the ordinary and make a lasting impact on the lives of those around you? Leadership is about impact, not just results. Naeemah shares her experiences managing emerging leaders, focusing on developing talent, helping team members thrive in the right roles, and fostering growth. She highlights how empowering others and creating opportunities builds lasting loyalty beyond a single job. This keynote will inspire you to redefine leadership, cultivate growth, and leave a meaningful legacy across careers.
Target audience: Managers and business leaders
Public Speaking from an actor's perspective for corporate audiences, with a focus on preparation, voice, body, and confidence.
Leaders who communicate clearly and persuasively, in both formal and informal settings, are more likely to build trust, motivate their teams, and achieve their goals. But public speaking is widely recognized as the number one phobia, affecting 75% of individuals to some degree. Join us for “And Introducing: YOU”, an interactive discussion led by an award-winning actress. Receive preparation tips, participate in extensive Q&A, and discuss the essential “Costume of Confidence” to conquer public speaking fears and speak with authority.
Students and young professionals entering the workforce post-covid have a different foundation (emotionally, socially, and experientially). As business leaders, managers, and mentors, it's essential to understand the impact of school shootings, social media, and other pervasive elements on their work history - or lack thereof. By understanding our responsibilities and adapting our approach, we have the power to create smoother transitions, and maximize the potential of the next generation.
Target audience: Managers of early career professionals, leaders of early career programs, college career centers
After Kid3 was born, my company shut down without notice. We packed up our home in Chicago, moved in with my in-laws in Kansas, and I took a grueling, low-wage job, relying on food pantries to get by. An unsettling conversation with my pregnant teenage niece jolted me awake. I walked into my boss's office and said, “This is not my story.” I laid out my plan to get back to Boston. Instead of resistance, he offered his support.
That same day, a recruiter friend emailed: “I have the job that brings you home.” He was right. Within weeks, I flew to Boston, interviewed, and accepted an offer TRIPLING my salary. Three weeks later, I was back in Boston, staying with friends while I saved to bring Kid1, Kid2, and Kid3 home.
This experience taught me the power of declaring your reality. From the moment I claimed my story, the right doors opened. December 12 to March 10—less than three months to rewrite my path.
I believe in the power of manifestation, the people who lift us up, and the opportunities waiting for us. It’s all out there—you just have to claim it.
I grew up in poverty in Chicago, IL, but with the scaffolding of Upward Bound, early-intervention programs, and a community of people who believed in me, I made it to Harvard. After graduating, I toured as a professional puppeteer and helped build a small theatre company. At the same time, I began designing solutions in office roles, straddling the worlds of theatre and corporate work for years.
In 2022, a talent leader asked me to write my ideal role. On Halloween night, with a glass of wine, a pencil, and a sheet of paper, I sketched out a model for an internal consulting function to solve organizational talent challenges—attrition, visibility, development, mobility, engagement, and pipelining. That exercise clarified exactly how I wanted to spend my life.
After leaving State Street in early 2023, I explored traditional roles but kept coming back to the solutions I had designed. Then I accidentally landed a client. Then a second. That was the sign—it was time to launch a business and commit fully to the work.
I have never felt more joy.
In this deeply personal and inspiring talk, Naeemah Elias shares how she went from angry, tired, and sick to patient, creative, and grounded. Drawing from her three core pillars (Thriving as an Outsider, And Introducing: YOU, and Leadership Legacy), she reveals how true growth begins when we create space for our own brilliance to expand.
Audiences will walk away with practical insights on building emotional and physical capacity for excellence, leading with authenticity, and redefining success through balance, purpose, and grace.
Perfect for leadership events, women’s summits, and organizations focused on well-being and professional growth, this keynote reminds us that magnificence isn’t something we chase... It is something we intentionally make space to experience and express.
Thriving as an Outsider is an interactive session inspired by Naeemah's TEDx, designed to help employees reframe the moments when they have felt like they do not belong (whether because of identity, role, or circumstance), and transform those experiences into strengths. Everyone has felt like an outsider at some point in their lives. By surfacing and normalizing those experiences, this workshop creates space for open communication, inclusivity, and authentic connection across teams. Participants will leave with practical tools for embracing their unique perspectives and leveraging them for growth and impact.
Target Audience: Employees at all levels who want to strengthen their confidence, communication, and influence; especially those who have ever felt overlooked, underestimated, or out of place at work.
Are you ready to transcend the ordinary and make a lasting impact on the lives of those around you? Leadership is about impact, not just results. Naeemah shares her experiences managing emerging leaders, focusing on developing talent, helping team members thrive in the right roles, and fostering growth. She highlights how empowering others and creating opportunities builds lasting loyalty beyond a single job. This keynote will inspire you to redefine leadership, cultivate growth, and leave a meaningful legacy across careers.
Target audience: Managers and business leaders
Public Speaking from an actor's perspective for corporate audiences, with a focus on preparation, voice, body, and confidence.
Leaders who communicate clearly and persuasively, in both formal and informal settings, are more likely to build trust, motivate their teams, and achieve their goals. But public speaking is widely recognized as the number one phobia, affecting 75% of individuals to some degree. Join us for “And Introducing: YOU”, an interactive discussion led by an award-winning actress. Receive preparation tips, participate in extensive Q&A, and discuss the essential “Costume of Confidence” to conquer public speaking fears and speak with authority.
Students and young professionals entering the workforce post-covid have a different foundation (emotionally, socially, and experientially). As business leaders, managers, and mentors, it's essential to understand the impact of school shootings, social media, and other pervasive elements on their work history - or lack thereof. By understanding our responsibilities and adapting our approach, we have the power to create smoother transitions, and maximize the potential of the next generation.
Target audience: Managers of early career professionals, leaders of early career programs, college career centers