Latonya Howell
Founder at CoachHER Life
Human Resources
Education: Bachelor of Science in Child and Family Services, University of Phoenix
Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Biography
Latonya Howell is a trauma-informed speaker, HR executive, Christian life coach, associate pastor, and the author of The Trauma Was Necessary. With over 15 years of experience in strategic HR leadership, she brings a unique and powerful blend of corporate expertise, spiritual insight, and lived experience to every stage she steps on.
From foster care to the executive boardrooms, and from personal loss to healing through faith, Latonya’s journey is rooted in resilience, identity, and purpose. She equips women and workplaces to heal, lead, and thrive using trauma-informed tools, biblical truth, and practical strategies that create lasting change.
She speaks at women’s conferences, corporate leadership events, and faith-based retreats. Each talk is authentic, insightful, and grounded in her coaching pillars: healing, faith, confidence, leadership, and community.
Latonya is the founder of CoachHER Life LLC. Her coaching pillars of Healing, Faith, Confidence, Leadership, and Community anchor every word she speaks.
Passion
I’m passionate about helping women rediscover their confidence, heal from trauma, and step boldly into their purpose. Whether I’m speaking to corporate leaders, faith-based communities, or women navigating life transitions, nothing brings me more joy than witnessing someone realize they are not broken, they are built for impact. I also love equipping workplaces to lead with empathy, emotional intelligence, and purpose-driven leadership.
Best Story
The most defining moment of my life came on January 6, 2011—the day I lost my five-month-old daughter, Desirae, to SIDS. I had kissed her that morning before heading to work, not knowing it would be the last time I’d see her alive. I got the call hours later while in training at a new job. When I walked into the room and saw the police officers, social workers, and my pastor waiting for me, I knew.
I remember walking into my apartment, seeing her tiny body wrapped in the blanket we used to bless her, and realizing that my world had just shattered. I didn’t know if I could breathe, let alone go on. In that moment, I had two choices: collapse under the weight of grief or call on the only One I knew could hold me up—God.
I didn’t heal overnight. I didn’t bounce back quickly. But I kept whispering, “Help me, Lord,” over and over until I could stand again. That loss became the turning point that led me into my life’s work—helping others turn pain into purpose, just as I had to. The trauma didn’t define me. God used it to refine me.
This is the story I carry into every room I speak in: real, raw, and redeemed. Because when I say healing is possible, it’s not theory—it’s my testimony.
Origin Story
CoachHER Life wasn’t something I sat down and mapped out. It was born from the response I received after publishing my book, The Trauma Was Necessary.
Once the book was out in the world, women started reaching out to me. They saw their own stories reflected in mine. They didn’t just connect with my pain, they found hope in it. They saw that healing was possible, even after the worst kind of loss. What I thought was just my personal testimony ended up being a bridge for other women to find their own path forward.
Over time, those conversations turned into coaching sessions. Women kept telling me they felt safe talking to me. They felt seen and heard. And I knew then that this was bigger than just a book. This was a calling. That’s when CoachHER Life was born. It became a space for women to heal, grow, and rediscover their purpose, with faith and intentionality at the center of it all.
Example talks
LeadHERship Redefined: Confidence, Calling, and Career Advancement
What does it take to lead with both power and purpose? In this dynamic talk, Latonya equips women to overcome self-doubt, lead with authenticity, and advance in their careers without compromising their faith. This isn’t about perfection—it’s about permission to own your lane boldly.
Key Takeaways:
Tools to overcome imposter syndrome
How to lead from values, not fear
Faith-forward strategies for career growth
Confidence-building that starts with identity
Perfect For: Women in leadership events, corporate ERGs, colleges, career development workshops
Format Options: Keynote | Workshop | Masterclass | Panel
The Trauma-Informed Leader: Creating Safe and Empowering Workplaces
Workplace trauma is real—and leaders are either contributing to it or healing it. In this talk, Latonya Howell combines her experience as a trauma-informed life coach and HR executive to teach leaders how to recognize trauma, build emotional intelligence, and foster safety within teams. Learn how trauma-informed leadership drives retention, belonging, and innovation.
Key Takeaways:
How trauma affects workplace behavior and performance
Signs of trauma in team dynamics
Practical tools for emotionally safe leadership
Why psychological safety is the future of work
Perfect For: HR conferences, leadership summits, corporate DEI initiatives, wellness in the workplace events
Format Options: Keynote | Workshop | Panel | Corporate Training
From Tragedy to Triumph: The Power of Faith, Mindset, and Purpose
After losing her infant daughter to SIDS, Latonya found herself shattered, but not done. In this powerful, faith-filled talk, she shares how loss became her launchpad. Her story will inspire audiences to rise from their own pain, anchored in God’s truth and guided by purpose.
Key Takeaways:
How to rebuild when your world breaks
What mindset really means in healing
How faith and purpose create resilience
Scripture-based strategies for lasting strength
Perfect For: Women’s conferences, grief support events, church gatherings, wellness retreats
Format Options: Keynote | Testimonial Talk | Women’s Workshop | Faith Panel
Beyond the Buzzwords: Reimagining Inclusion Through the Lens of Lived Experience
This isn’t your typical DEI talk. In this keynote, I dismantle corporate jargon and invite leaders to explore inclusion through a trauma-informed, soul-aware lens—one shaped by my lived experiences as a foster youth, a woman of color, a mother who lost a child, and an HR executive who built inclusive workplace cultures from the ground up.
Key Takeaways:
The Truth About Belonging: Why people don't leave companies—they leave cultures. And how “belonging” requires leaders to hold space for both difference and dignity.
The Trauma-Informed Workplace: How to embed safety, trust, and empathy into workplace culture—and why it’s essential for underrepresented voices to thrive.
From Policy to Practice: Personal stories from my time in foster care, corporate HR, and the pulpit that reveal how real transformation happens—not with checklists, but with courage.
What Inclusion Actually Feels Like: Teaching leaders to listen deeply, respond with humility, and create environments where no one has to leave parts of themselves at the door.
Ideal For:
Executive leadership teams
DEI and HR professionals
Organizations ready to move from performative to purposeful
Featured Video
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I generally get paid for speaking but make exceptions
Topics
Best Story
The most defining moment of my life came on January 6, 2011—the day I lost my five-month-old daughter, Desirae, to SIDS. I had kissed her that morning before heading to work, not knowing it would be the last time I’d see her alive. I got the call hours later while in training at a new job. When I walked into the room and saw the police officers, social workers, and my pastor waiting for me, I knew.
I remember walking into my apartment, seeing her tiny body wrapped in the blanket we used to bless her, and realizing that my world had just shattered. I didn’t know if I could breathe, let alone go on. In that moment, I had two choices: collapse under the weight of grief or call on the only One I knew could hold me up—God.
I didn’t heal overnight. I didn’t bounce back quickly. But I kept whispering, “Help me, Lord,” over and over until I could stand again. That loss became the turning point that led me into my life’s work—helping others turn pain into purpose, just as I had to. The trauma didn’t define me. God used it to refine me.
This is the story I carry into every room I speak in: real, raw, and redeemed. Because when I say healing is possible, it’s not theory—it’s my testimony.
Origin Story
CoachHER Life wasn’t something I sat down and mapped out. It was born from the response I received after publishing my book, The Trauma Was Necessary.
Once the book was out in the world, women started reaching out to me. They saw their own stories reflected in mine. They didn’t just connect with my pain, they found hope in it. They saw that healing was possible, even after the worst kind of loss. What I thought was just my personal testimony ended up being a bridge for other women to find their own path forward.
Over time, those conversations turned into coaching sessions. Women kept telling me they felt safe talking to me. They felt seen and heard. And I knew then that this was bigger than just a book. This was a calling. That’s when CoachHER Life was born. It became a space for women to heal, grow, and rediscover their purpose, with faith and intentionality at the center of it all.
Example talks
LeadHERship Redefined: Confidence, Calling, and Career Advancement
What does it take to lead with both power and purpose? In this dynamic talk, Latonya equips women to overcome self-doubt, lead with authenticity, and advance in their careers without compromising their faith. This isn’t about perfection—it’s about permission to own your lane boldly.
Key Takeaways:
Tools to overcome imposter syndrome
How to lead from values, not fear
Faith-forward strategies for career growth
Confidence-building that starts with identity
Perfect For: Women in leadership events, corporate ERGs, colleges, career development workshops
Format Options: Keynote | Workshop | Masterclass | Panel
The Trauma-Informed Leader: Creating Safe and Empowering Workplaces
Workplace trauma is real—and leaders are either contributing to it or healing it. In this talk, Latonya Howell combines her experience as a trauma-informed life coach and HR executive to teach leaders how to recognize trauma, build emotional intelligence, and foster safety within teams. Learn how trauma-informed leadership drives retention, belonging, and innovation.
Key Takeaways:
How trauma affects workplace behavior and performance
Signs of trauma in team dynamics
Practical tools for emotionally safe leadership
Why psychological safety is the future of work
Perfect For: HR conferences, leadership summits, corporate DEI initiatives, wellness in the workplace events
Format Options: Keynote | Workshop | Panel | Corporate Training
From Tragedy to Triumph: The Power of Faith, Mindset, and Purpose
After losing her infant daughter to SIDS, Latonya found herself shattered, but not done. In this powerful, faith-filled talk, she shares how loss became her launchpad. Her story will inspire audiences to rise from their own pain, anchored in God’s truth and guided by purpose.
Key Takeaways:
How to rebuild when your world breaks
What mindset really means in healing
How faith and purpose create resilience
Scripture-based strategies for lasting strength
Perfect For: Women’s conferences, grief support events, church gatherings, wellness retreats
Format Options: Keynote | Testimonial Talk | Women’s Workshop | Faith Panel
Beyond the Buzzwords: Reimagining Inclusion Through the Lens of Lived Experience
This isn’t your typical DEI talk. In this keynote, I dismantle corporate jargon and invite leaders to explore inclusion through a trauma-informed, soul-aware lens—one shaped by my lived experiences as a foster youth, a woman of color, a mother who lost a child, and an HR executive who built inclusive workplace cultures from the ground up.
Key Takeaways:
The Truth About Belonging: Why people don't leave companies—they leave cultures. And how “belonging” requires leaders to hold space for both difference and dignity.
The Trauma-Informed Workplace: How to embed safety, trust, and empathy into workplace culture—and why it’s essential for underrepresented voices to thrive.
From Policy to Practice: Personal stories from my time in foster care, corporate HR, and the pulpit that reveal how real transformation happens—not with checklists, but with courage.
What Inclusion Actually Feels Like: Teaching leaders to listen deeply, respond with humility, and create environments where no one has to leave parts of themselves at the door.
Ideal For:
Executive leadership teams
DEI and HR professionals
Organizations ready to move from performative to purposeful