Speaking

Shannon Watts is a highly sought-after speaker for her profound insights and inspiration on organizing, activism, women’s empowerment, gun safety advocacy and women’s leadership. Whether it is to a group of student activists, C-Suite executives, or women looking for the “why” and the “how” of pursuing their passions, Shannon can tailor a powerful and inspiring message to your needs.

Invite Shannon to Speak

Based on her new book Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark Into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age, Shannon can can speak on:

  • Empowering women to live “on fire”: authentically, with intention, and with purpose
  • What “purpose” is often mistaken for
  • The “Fire Formula” for transformation
  • Systemic challenges women face
  • Why most women don’t live on fire and why they must anyway
  • Practical tools for sustaining motivation
  • Embracing vulnerability and growth
  • Navigating fear and failure
  • Redefining success for women
  • The importance of values in decision-making
  • Advocating for social change
  • Navigating midlife transitions
  • Balancing personal desires with societal obligations
  • Reclaiming self-worth and confidence
  • How to handle burnout when you pursue your dreams
  • What the “passion tax’ is and how to realize your value
  • The role of community and support networks
  • Speaking up for yourself at work
  • Building resilience against your fire “extinguishers”
  • “The Fire Cycle:” embracing rebirth after decay
  • Stories of real-life, inspirational “Firestarters”
  • Legacy building

Additional areas of expertise include:

  • Grassroots movements and community organizing
  • Advocacy in the digital age
  • Her role campaigning for Kamala Harris in 2024–including as the organizer of Answer the Call!
  • Gun Safety and her role as founder and president emeritus of Moms Demand Action
  • Channeling Anger into Action

For corporations and business leaders, Shannon can tailor a powerful and motivating talk based on these ideas: 

Leadership development for women

Shannon Watts speaks and writes about the importance of building networks that foster collaboration and support among women, which are essential for personal and professional growth. As the “summoner of women’s audacity,” Shannon shows women the formula for recognizing their leadership potential at all stages of life and shares how societal barriers can delay women’s entry into leadership roles.  She speaks to burnout, speaking up for yourself at work, and advocation for fair pay. This theme could translate into workshops or talks focused on developing leadership skills among women.

How to handle intimidation

Shannon’s organization, Mom’s Demand Action, took one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the world: the NRA. She can speak on how how to face intimidating business challenges, whether it is a high-stakes client, a difficult leader, or competitor. 

Mindfulness in leadership

How Buddhism and mindfulness helped Shannon grow as a leader in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors, including making consistently better decisions under pressure, building stronger teams, driving impact and achieving superior results.

The importance of building a brand

Shannon Watts built one of the most recognizable and empowering nonprofit brands from the ground up, transforming a Facebook post into a nationwide grassroots movement with chapters in every state and millions of supporters. Her strategic use of social media, compelling messaging, and the iconic red t-shirts worn by volunteers helped her build and grow a powerful brand that resonates with millions. Watts will share what she learned along the way about the importance of storytelling, repetition, and positivity.

It’s all about storytelling

Everything we do — from selling products and services to activism to asking for a favor — requires us to tell stories. As a former corporate communications executive who went on to create a compelling narrative around gun safety that resonated with mothers across the country, Watts is uniquely qualified to speak on the transformative power of storytelling in social movements. In addition to demonstrating the power of stories to inspire action and create change, Watts will teach participants how to communicate compellingly about anything in under one minute.

Advocacy and grassroots mobilization

Shannon Watts’ experience in building Moms Demand Action from a Facebook page into a national organization illustrates how one person’s action can lead to collective engagement and fundamental change.  

Shannon has spoken at conferences, workshops, colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, political rallies and more. 

Sample past speaking opportunities include:

  • 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
  • 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, and George Washington University
  • Sonoma Speaker Series
  • Temple B’nai Israel’s Rising for Action series
  • National PTA Convention, keynote