Skip to main content

Speaking
Engagements

Speaking Engagements

Keynote Speaking | Workshops | Retreats & Conferences

Navigate Beyond Merit. Transform Your Professional Journey.

Strategic insights from a transformative leadership coach who empowers professionals to master workplace dynamics while maintaining their authentic selves.

Your Audience Will Remember How She Changed Their Perspective.

In today’s workplace, talent and hard work are just the beginning. Your people need more than technical excellence to truly advance in their professional journey.

Brenda Harrington delivers transformative insights that empower professionals to navigate organizational dynamics with strategic purpose while maintaining their authentic selves.

Drawing on more than 30 years of experience, Brenda’s high-impact presentations are both candid and actionable. Members of your audience will receive tools they can begin to apply immediately.

“The NAHMA Emerging Leaders Learning Series (NELLS), created and facilitated by Brenda Harrington, is an exceptional learning experience for new managers and leaders. Her knowledge and expertise coupled with her warm and accessible demeanor are uniquely perfect for facilitating this important learning experience for our members.”

— Kristina Cook, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, National Affordable Housing Management Association

Executive Coach. Author. Transformative Speaker.

Through her signature Strategic Navigation Framework, Brenda helps individuals achieve sustainable professional excellence without sacrificing authenticity. Her approach combines executive leadership experience with deep expertise in professional development.

The “Harrington Effect”

Brenda brings a distinctive combination of corporate experience and leadership expertise that resonates deeply with high-performing professionals. Her candor, coupled with pragmatic strategies, creates what clients call “The Harrington Effect”—where awareness meets actionable insight.

More Than a Keynote

Brenda doesn’t just deliver a speech and leave. She creates an experience that catalyzes real transformation, providing your audience with tools they can implement immediately to enhance their professional impact.

“Brenda led 2 retreats for our team in 2024. By the end of each, folks were eager to share and put their learnings into action, thanks to Brenda’s incisive activities and active facilitation of our discussions. We are still using tools she introduced us to, helping us navigate a tumultuous time for our work.”

— Dr. Rashada Alexander, Director, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Signature Speaking Topics

BEYOND MERIT

Mastering the Unwritten Rules of Workplace Success

This riveting presentation shatters the myth that excellence alone guarantees advancement. Drawing from decades of executive experience and coaching success stories, Brenda unveils the hidden playbook that determines who advances and who remains stagnant—regardless of their capabilities.

Perfect for: Professionals seeking to advance in complex organizational environments

Audience takeaways:
  • A framework for mapping your organization’s unwritten rules
  • Techniques to increase visibility with key decision-makers
  • Strategies to transform professional relationships into advancement opportunities
  • The confidence to navigate workplace dynamics with strategic purpose

STRATEGIC SELF-ADVOCACY

Turning Workplace Barriers Into Professional Breakthroughs

This transformative session equips participants with powerful strategies to advocate for themselves effectively, even in environments that may systematically undervalue their contributions. Through compelling case studies and interactive exercises, Brenda demonstrates how to transform obstacles into opportunities for unprecedented growth.

Perfect for: Professionals determined to increase their impact and visibility

Audience takeaways:
  • A personalized self-advocacy plan tailored to specific workplace challenges
  • Communication frameworks that increase influence in high-stakes situations
  • Techniques to document and showcase contributions effectively
  • The ability to maintain authenticity while navigating organizational politics

PROFESSIONAL RESILIENCE

Thriving Despite Institutional Barriers

This inspiring and practical presentation reveals how setbacks and systemic challenges can become the foundation for extraordinary professional growth. Through powerful storytelling and evidence-based strategies, Brenda demonstrates how to develop the resilience needed to overcome obstacles while maintaining wellbeing and professional momentum.

Perfect for: Professionals determined to excel despite organizational challenges

Audience takeaways:
  • Distinguish between personal challenges and systemic barriers—and why it matters
  • Build a multi-faceted support system that sustains through difficult periods
  • Strategically reframe disappointments into opportunities for growth
  • Develop practical techniques for maintaining wellbeing amid organizational challenges
  • Create a personalized resilience assessment and development plan

What Event Sponsors Say

“Ms. Brenda Harrington has facilitated the Leadership Development Workshop for the Young Professionals Mentoring Program (YMP) of the Daniel Leadership Institute for over eight years. Brenda’s workshops have consistently been engaging, insightful, and transformative, leaving an indelible mark on the leadership and career development of our program fellows.”

— The Daniel Leadership Institute, Silver Spring, Maryland

Your Audience Will Leave with Actionable Tools

After Experiencing Brenda’s Presentations, Your Audience Will Gain:

  • A framework for navigating complex organizational dynamics
  • Strategies for exercising influence across diverse environments
  • Techniques to document and showcase their unique contributions
  • The ability to maintain authenticity while advancing strategic goals
  • Methods to transform workplace barriers into career opportunities

Book Brenda for Your Next Event.

Whether you’re planning a conference, leadership retreat, or professional development initiative, Brenda will deliver a powerful, tailored presentation that resonates with your audience and advances their professional goals.

Popular Formats Include:

  • Keynote addresses (45-60 minutes)
  • Interactive workshops (2-4 hours)
  • Leadership seminars (half/full day)
  • Executive retreats (customized)

Enhance Your Event With Brenda’s Book.

“Access Denied: Addressing Workplace Disparities and Discrimination” provides professionals with practical tools to navigate workplace dynamics more effectively, with a view toward building the lives and legacies they want for themselves and their families.

In “Access Denied,” Brenda Harrington addresses what it takes to pave a path to success in storied detail. She explains that beyond degrees, experience, and competence, it is necessary to interpret an organization’s culture, the behaviors that are tolerated, and understand who the power players are.

Add powerful impact to your event by including copies of Brenda’s book for attendees.

“When all you hear is that you can’t or that you shouldn’t, chances are that you don’t and you won’t. In many cases can’t means that you can, and shouldn’t means yes — you should!”
– Brenda Harrington

Brenda Harrington, PCC is a transformative leadership strategist, executive coach, and author who bridges professional excellence with authentic leadership. Drawing on more than 30 years of business experience, she empowers professionals to skillfully navigate workplace dynamics while maintaining their authentic selves.

As founder of Adaptive Leadership Strategies, LLC, Brenda works with leaders globally across public, private, government, and nonprofit organizations. Through one-on-one executive coaching, team coaching, group facilitation and interventions, she focuses on helping clients embrace, nurture, and develop their innate and unique attributes so they can step into the best possible version of themselves.

Cultivating environments where strategic professionals can navigate workplace dynamics with authenticity and purpose.

SPEAKING | COACHING | CONSULTING | WORKSHOPS