Speaking & Workshop Opportunities

Leadership • Resilience • Generational Wisdom

Laura Briel Sullivan helps leaders, families and young people starting their careers navigate life’s headwinds —blending financial service leadership expertise with candid storytelling about grief, grit and growth.

SIGNATURE SPEAKING TOPICS

  • Moments of grief, caregiving, and life transitions shape how people show up at work. Drawing on corporate leadership experience and the stories behind Sailing with Angels, Laura explores why empathy, flexibility, and humanity are not soft leadership traits—they are strategic advantages that build stronger cultures and more resilient organizations.

    Ideal for:
    Corporate leadership conferences
    HR initiatives
    Executive retreats
    Women’s leadership programs

  • Building Organizations That Can Sail Through Change

    In times of disruption, organizations often focus on technology alone. True resilience comes from aligning technology, team design, and talent development. Laura shares how leaders build organizations capable of navigating uncertainty—where the right tools support empowered teams and human talent remains the ultimate competitive advantage.

    Ideal for:
    Financial services conferences
    Fintech events
    Systems integrator client programs
    Digital transformation forums

  • The Helpful and Hard Conversations

    The most valuable inheritance families receive is rarely financial—it’s wisdom, habits, and perspective. Blending financial services insight with stories from Sailing with Angels, Laura explores how families and leaders can preserve generational wisdom, navigate aging and loss, and ensure the lessons of one generation continue guiding the next.

    Ideal for:
    Wealth advisors
    Family offices
    Client appreciation events
    Estate planning forums

  • Navigating the People Who Shape Our Lives

    Every life and career is shaped by three kinds of people: Angels who guide us, Alligators who challenge us, and Anglers who help us find new opportunities. Laura shares a memorable framework for recognizing the mentors, adversaries, and catalysts who sharpen judgment, build resilience, and shape stronger leaders.

    Ideal for:
    Leadership retreats
    Team offsites
    Corporate culture events
    Community leadership forums

  • Creativity often emerges during life’s most difficult seasons. In this talk, Laura explores how storytelling, art, and humor help people navigate grief and reinvention.

    This program can also feature illustrator Aileen Bennett, sharing the story of their creative partnership and how words and art transform loss into connection.

    Ideal for:
    Book festivals
    Creative leadership events
    Universities
    Women’s forums

  • Innovation requires more than good ideas—it requires understanding how different people approach solving problems. This interactive workshop draws on Laura’s training in the FourSight Creative Problem Solving framework, guiding participants through a live challenge that highlights the roles of Clarifiers, Ideators, Developers, and Implementers. Teams leave with practical tools for navigating complex challenges and a deeper appreciation for how diverse thinking styles strengthen collaboration and innovation.

    Ideal for:
    Leadership retreats
    Corporate strategy sessions
    Innovation workshops
    Team development programs
    Career development programs

  • BOOK LAURA FOR

    A. Corporate & Financial Services Programs
    Leadership and executive conferences, financial services and fintech events, corporate culture initiatives, team development programs, and client appreciation events.

    B. Schools, Universities & Career Development
    Workshops for schools, universities, and young professional programs focused on leadership, career pathing, resilience, and cross-generational mentorship.

    C. Elder Care, Healthcare & Hospice Organizations
    Programs designed to support conversations around grief, caregiving, memory, and legacy for healthcare systems, hospice organizations, and community groups.

    D. Creative Problem Solving Workshops
    Interactive sessions using the FourSight Creative Problem Solving framework to help teams unlock innovation, navigate change, and move ideas into action.

    E. Media & Interviews
    Podcast interviews, radio programs, and television appearances.

  • WHY EVENT HOSTS BOOK LAURA

    Business Insight Meets Human Storytelling
    Laura combines decades of financial services leadership with candid storytelling about resilience, leadership, and life transitions.

    A Voice for the Sandwich Generation
    Speaking from a Gen X perspective, Laura addresses the realities of balancing leadership roles while caring for aging parents and family.

    Memorable Frameworks
    From The Three T’s of Resilience to Angels, Alligators & Anglers, Laura offers practical ideas audiences remember and apply long after the event.

    A Conversation That Continues Beyond the Stage
    Her book Sailing with Angels, and coming books about Alligators and Anglers, creates a natural bridge to deeper conversations about leadership, grief, grit, generational wisdom, and resilience.

  • SPEAKING TOPICS INCLUDE

    Leadership resilience

    Navigating change and uncertainty

    Generational wisdom and legacy

    Workplace culture and empathy

    Career pathing and professional reinvention

    Technology, team, and talent leadership

    Grief, caregiving, and the sandwich generation

    Creative Problem Solving Workshops



Contact to Learn More

More about Laura’s Stories and Soundtracks

Sailing with Angels is a lyrical fable about grief, memory, and resilience—designed as a reflective object of comfort rather than a traditional self-help book, positioned as a lovely addition to a coffee table, bedside table or desk as a quick read and reassurance that you can sail through life’s headwinds.

It is the first in a series exploring:

  • Grief — Sailing with Angels

  • Grit — Sailing with Alligators about navigating the jerks and life’s headwinds

  • Growth — Sailing with Anglersabout learning to fish in different waters

The book is:

• A lyrical fable that reframes grief through metaphor and memory
• An enduring gift—an alternative to flowers or sympathy cards
• A reflective object people return to when memories surface
• A conversation starter for families navigating loss and legacy

Read more from Laura in her Soundtracks Blog and Substack.