Speaking & Media
Luann is a fierce advocate for women and diversity. She uses her experience as an engineer, VC, and entrepreneur to connect with her audiences and find common ground. Her ability to be transparent and not hide from the difficult conversations makes her a valued voice in the room. She brings insights and ideas that inspire thoughtful and deliberate growth in individuals and organizations wanting to make an impact.
My Favorite Topics
Changing What We Think Is A Qualified Leader: It’s time to reconsider how biased systems inform what we think of as qualified. By opening our minds to the different—but valuable experiences and leadership skills—of talented women, we can diversify our CEO ranks, and reap the rewards that follow.
Overcoming Bias in an Interview: I know women are smart, experienced and competent, unfortunately, that doesn’t mean she is going to get the job. As a woman you have to break through hundreds of years of bias to be seen as the leader you are. This presentation hits on some of the things you can do to ensure your interview highlights your qualities and breaks through the bias.
Elevating Women: Owning Your Value, Enlisting Support, and Ending Bias: People don’t always realize what powerful leaders women can be. This workshop can help you identify and embrace the skills that make women powerful leaders; learn the difference between mentors, sponsors, and allies and how to enlist them throughout your career journey; learn tactical skills to interrupt and end bias for yourself and others.
The Confidence Issue is Not Your Fault: Women Leaders and aspiring women CEOs often struggle to recognize their worth. This lack of confidence isn’t actually women’s fault. It’s the result of an educational and business culture that has devalued the contributions of women from the very beginning. And that it has resulted in an upper echelon of leadership that still includes so few women isn’t a surprise—it’s the natural consequence.
Balancing, Belonging & Benefits (aka DEI for startups): Even if you are two people working out of your garage, it is never too early to set the stage for prosperous, diverse, and inclusive growth.
The Myth of the CEO: What makes a great CEO? It’s probably not what you think.
Advocating for Gender Equity is Important for the Boys & Men in Your Life: Gender equity isn’t just good for women, it improves the lives of men too.
Testimonials
Luann had our audience riveted with her honest, insightful and educational speech around the challenges women face in the workplace and the subtle and not so subtle ways everyone can help. She shared the research-based reasons why elevating women and gender diversity is crucial to the success of companies of all sizes. Her real-world experience and her dedication to gender equality is so authentic and the audience loved her! We were fortunate to have a room of 40% men and the feedback across the board has been incredible.
Courtney Muller, Manifest Conference
Luann’s approach to her work is incredibly effective for various reasons, but what stood out to me the most was her ability to connect the dots between her expertise, lived experience, and passion to empower and advocate for women leaders. She does a fantastic job of utilizing data and evidence-based practices with day-to-day examples that make her content compelling and relatable. Luann establishes trust and rapport with her audience right off the bat and she is adaptable to speak with all levels of professionals from entry-level to C-Suite Executives.
Cyrus Mooney, Bend Chamber
Luann Abrams is a powerful and engaging speaker. I invited her to join an all-female CEO panel at a major Insurance Technology conference entitled: Your Path to the C-Suite. She is an outstanding speaker by every measure. She commanded the stage and set the tone with real-world data and analytics. She is not afraid to present hard-hitting facts and at the same time, her advocacy and support of women leaves the audience inspired. Luann is a gifted storyteller. She is warm and approachable and was very much in demand for Q&A following the standing-room-only session. She is TED talk material, both in content and delivery.
Megan Kuczynski, President, Insurtech
When we invited Luann to lead a discussion at our company, we were seeking a solution to counterbalance a long history of cultural challenges within the organization. Luann came into a skeptical team but in the end, she had everyone including the CEO inspired and determined to drive positive changes going forward. Luann’s ability to transform multifaceted DEI concepts into engaging and approachable material was impactful, but it was the genuine connection she establishes with participants that enabled the real work to begin. Her workshop goes beyond just imparting knowledge; it opened up a much-needed dialogue around the desire for positive change that previously had not existed within the Company previously. Luann has a gift for connecting with people and creating a safe and comfortable space for discussing sensitive topics allowed us to delve deep into important conversations with empathy and respect.
Thanks to Luann, our team is now on a dedicated path toward a more inclusive and diverse workplace!
Tim Riefke, CFO
