The story is rarely just one person’s
A true story about what people carry, how it ripples through a family, and what it takes to keep doing the next thing.
Or send an inquiry below.
Hi, I’m Jessi
I'm an entrepreneur, marketing strategist, and author. For nearly a decade, I've run a marketing consultancy serving founders and growing companies, and most of my career — twenty-plus years across agency and client sides — has been spent helping leaders tell the truth about complicated things in ways people can actually hear.
The Story We Share isn't told in one voice. Alongside mine, it includes written perspectives from my husband, my family, and my friends, and from medicine, the courts, and law enforcement: a layered portrait of how trauma travels through a whole system rather than one person.
When I speak, I sit at the intersection of strategy and lived experience. I'm warm and direct on stage. I don't traffic in clichés or motivational shortcuts. I'd rather tell the truth and trust the room to do something with it.
The Keynote
What We Carry With Us
A few days after the worst night of my life, a detective tore a page out of her notebook and handed me a list of what to do next. This talk is the story of that list: the birthday party that came before it, the family that carried what followed in their own ways, the day the system quit on us, and what doing the next thing has looked like for thirteen years. It's a true story, told plainly. And it ends by turning to the room with three things to carry out: retire the movie version of how people respond to the worst day of their lives, learn the difference between a conversation of well-being and retraumatization, and choose presence over perfection with the people you love, lead, and work beside.
45 minutes plus Q&A. In person or virtual.
One talk, built to flex by room
The story never changes. The final section turns outward to your audience. For corporate and ERG rooms, it's how what people carry shows up at work and what presence looks like on a team. For nonprofit galas and luncheons, it's the advocate who showed up on the worst night and what a room like this one makes possible. For women's conferences, it's the sabbatical, the rearranged priorities, and permission to ask. For legal, advocacy, and university audiences, it's the 97 percent policy, the civil route, and what the system asks of survivors.
A note for hosts: The sexual assault is named plainly once and is never described in detail. There is no graphic content. Every host receives a content note and local support resources to share with attendees.
Who I Speak To
My talks are designed for audiences where what people carry is part of the work, even when no one names it. Recent and upcoming audiences include:
Corporate teams and employee resource groups: Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, mental health awareness, and wellness programming, and any room where people are carrying things quietly
Nonprofit organizations: galas, annual luncheons, coalitions, and statewide conferences
Women in business, founders, and entrepreneurship audiences: story-first keynotes for annual conferences and signature events
Professionals who work with trauma-affected people: attorneys, advocates, SANE nurses, Title IX coordinators, EAP staff, HR
Leadership programs and executive teams: a true story about what people carry into work, not a how-to
Universities and Title IX programs
Mental health and helping professionals: therapists, social workers, counselors
Law enforcement and prosecutorial training
Book clubs, faith communities, and reading groups (tailored conversation format)
If your audience isn't on this list and you think the work fits, send an inquiry. I'd rather have the conversation than miss it.
The Experience
What the audience takes away
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Vulnerability with a purpose
I don't share to share. I share because specifics (the kitchen, the hand, the call) help audiences feel less alone and more equipped.
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The next thing
Every keynote closes by turning to the room: three plain, human things anyone in the audience can do for the people they love, lead, and work beside.
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A safe room, even for hard subjects
I create a regulated, trauma-informed environment for listeners, so the weight of the material doesn't land on the audience without a way to carry it.
What People Are Saying
Investment
Explore our range of services designed to help you move forward with confidence, wherever you're headed next.
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starting at $3,500
45 minutes, in-person or virtual. Includes a brief Q&A, custom adaptation for your audience, and a pre-event planning call. Travel and per diem additional for in-person events.
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starting at $750 (virtual) / $1,500 (in-person)
45–90 minutes, conversational format. A facilitated discussion around The Story We Share and its themes, designed for staff readings, book clubs, and small organizations.
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Half-day sessions, multi-session series, fireside chats, and panels available on request. Investment varies based on format, audience, and travel.
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I'm based in Kansas City, Missouri, and available to travel anywhere in the U.S. (and internationally for the right fit). Travel and per diem are billed separately from the engagement fee.
Every paid engagement includes:
Copies of The Story We Share for attendees (folded into the engagement fee or invoiced separately, depending on your preference)
Pre-event planning conversation
Custom adaptation for your audience and outcomes
Conversation?
Ready to start a
I am currently booking keynotes, author chats, and book club Q&As (virtual and in-person) for 2026 and 2027. Send me a few details about your event and I'll be in touch within 2 business days. If you'd rather hop on a quick call, book here.