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Shannon Watts Speaking Shannon Watts Speaker

Ignite Passion. Build Community. Lead with Courage.

Shannon Watts is a New York Times bestselling author, movement-builder, women’s empowerment expert, and midlife catalyst who helps organizations and audiences create community, step off the sidelines and into their lives, and tap into their passions—personal, political, or professional.

Watch Shannon Speak

WBUR Panel

MAKERS Conference

HOW Institute

Signature Keynotes and Workshops

Women’s Empowerment

How to Live on FireThe Radical Act of Following Your PassionsHow to Build Your “Bonfire”The Power of Collective ConnectionRX: Controlled BurnThis Ancient Ritual is Ultimate Self Care

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Midlife
Transitions

It’s Not Too Late and You’re Not Too OldThe Fertile Ground of MidlifeDiscovering Your Dormant DesiresBreathing Oxygen into Old FlamesThe Empty Nest is an Invitation for ReinventionTurning Transition into Transformation

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Women’s Corporate Leadership

The Fire FormulaUnlocking Employee PassionLighting Up is the New LeaningIn How Passion and Joy Drive Success“The Heatwave”Women in Midlife Bring Passion, Energy and Momentum into Leadership and C-Suite Roles

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Words of Impact

“Shannon Watts electrified the Ellevate community at our annual Mobilize Women Summit. She spoke directly to the heart of what it means to lead and work with passion, inspiring women from every industry to own their voice and their power.”

—ALLYSON MCDONALD, Owner, Managing Partner, Ellevate Network

Words of Impact

“Shannon Watts has a gift for leading workshops. She doesn’t just share big ideas—she makes them clear, actionable, and inspiring. She knows how to spark engagement, create real connection, and motivate people to actually take that first step toward change.”

—TRACEY MARX BERNSTIEN, Executive Producer, MAKERS by Yahoo

Words of Impact

“Shannon Watts met our students exactly where they were—curious, ambitious, and eager to make a difference. In sharing her personal journey from concerned parent to national leader, she modeled how advocacy can grow from a single spark of passion into a sustained movement. Our students were eager to engage in discussion with her, and her guidance was both practical and inspiring; she gave our students a clear sense of how to connect their values to their actions, along with the reminder that they can have an impact right where they are. We are grateful for her wisdom, storytelling and the sense of possibility she left with our community.”

—AMANDA WOOD, Program Manager of Dialogue Vanderbilt

Words of Impact

“Shannon Watts brought essential clarity, compassion, and conviction to WBUR’s Cognoscenti panel on menopause. Her perspective as both an activist and an advocate enriched our conversation in ways that bridged policy, health, and lived experience. A skilled panelist, she listened attentively, built on her fellow speakers’ points, and drew the audience in with her relatable storytelling. Shannon spoke expertly about the systemic barriers women face in midlife health, from overlooked treatments to social stigma, and challenged our audience to demand better. Her presence elevated the dialogue, and she empowered our audience to move from awareness to action.”

—AMY MACDONALD, Director WBUR, City Space

Summary of Credentials

Leader and Founder

Created and built Moms Demand Action, the nation’s largest grassroots gun violence prevention group, now with chapters in all 50 states and over 11 million supporters (twice the size of the NRA).

Movement Builder

Founder of Firestarter University (a women’s empowerment program) and Bonfire communities (local gatherings fostering political, professional, and personal power).

Recognized Changemaker

Named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, a Forbes 50 Over 50 Changemaker, a Glamour Woman of the Year, a WORTH Worth 100 honoree, and a 2025 Parents Next Gen Award winner.

National Bestselling Author

Fired Up (2025) a New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller; Fight Like a Mother (2019)

Coach

Provides one-on-one tailored coaching to women leaders, C-Suite executives, organizers, and any woman interested in pursuing her political, professional, or personal passions.

Political Strategist

Led Moms Demand action volunteers to pass 500+ gun safety laws, block the gun lobby’s agenda in statehouses 90% of the time and helped elect thousands of gun sense candidates.

Board Leadership

Active board member of Emerge America (recruiting and training women to run for office) and Persist (a network for politically engaged women protecting democracy).

Communications Expert

Former public relations and communications VP at Fortune 100 companies and global firms.

Mother of Five

Leverages lived experience as both a parent and organizer to inspire women to take bold, collective action.

MORE ABOUT SHANNON

Past Hosts

  • Business for Social Responsibility conference, keynote
  • Levi Strauss Corporate Headquarters with CEO Chip Bergh
  • Vital Voices Conference founded by Hillary Clinton, Melanne Verveer, Madeleine Albright
  • Emerson Collective Conference founded by Laurene Powell Jobs
  • Forbes’ Most Powerful Women Next Gen
  • Ted X
  • Moms 2.0, keynote
  • Makers Conference
  • SXSW
  • Town & Country Philanthropy Summit
  • WBUR Cognoscenti
  • Women Moving Millions
  • Ellevate Women’s Leadership Summit
  • American Library Association
  • University of New Hampshire
  • Commonwealth Club
  • The HOW Institute for Society
  • NewSchools Summit
  • Texas Tribune Festival
  • Chicago Ideas Summit
  • Visiting scholar at American University, University of Southern California, & George Washington University
  • Sonoma Speaker Series
  • Temple B’nai Israel’s Rising for Action series
  • National PTA Convention, keynote
  • Common Sense Summit on Kids and Families
  • University of Southern California
  • Vanderbilt University Women’s Center

Moments of Impact

TIME The 100 Most Influential People of 2023

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Fired Up by Shannon Watts

A NYT and USA Today Bestseller!

For women ready to stop living on autopilot and playing it small, Fired Up invites you to shatter your self imposed limitations and unleash your potential so you can finally start living the life you deserve.

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