The Speaker

Inspiring Transformation Through Connection and Leadership

Over fifteen years, I have shown up for educators, students, and corporate teams alike, bridging the gap between public education and business leadership.

At the core of everything I do is one thing: building communities where trust, empathy, and purpose are not just buzzwords but lived daily.

Every session I lead is custom-built for the people in the room. No cookie-cutter stuff. Just honest, engaging experiences packed with tools that move the needle and stick long after the event ends.

Keynotes|Everyone or Nowhere: Belonging as the Antidote

Let me first emphasize my desire to create bespoke experiences for every audience. My core beliefs are universal, but no room is the same, and I partner with clients to build something specific and relevant to their audience.

Programs for Educators

45 to 60 minutes

After over a decade as a union rep and classroom teacher, I know exactly what educators do—and don’t—want from a speaker. They want real talk from someone who still love the classroom.

My sessions are designed to spark real change by helping educators create classrooms where students feel like they truly belong. Because when students feel seen, respected, and safe, everything else starts to click.

My keynotes are honest, energizing, and packed with practical tools teachers can use the very next day to build belonging in the classroom. I don’t just talk about values like trust, resilience, and community—I show educators how to embed them into daily practice in ways that are authentic and sustainable.

Educators leave with clear strategies to:

• Build meaningful relationships

• Create student-centered routines

• Communicate with clarity and empathy

• Respond, not react, when things get hard
  
  

At the heart of it all is one belief: every student deserves to feel like they belong. That principle reshaped my own classroom—and now it’s at the center of every session I lead.

Programs for Students

45 to 60 minutes

I’ve spent my career connecting with middle and high school students. Not just teaching them, but showing them what they’re capable of when they stop going through the motions and start showing up with purpose.

My student keynotes are built to do three things:

• Replace apathy with energy, ownership, and pride

• Build real confidence and leadership—not the fake, polished kind

• Help students understand why school matters and how to take control of their own growth
  
  

This isn’t a sit-and-get lecture. It’s an interactive, high-energy experience packed with real talk, stories that hit, and challenges that get students thinking.

Everything I do is rooted in one belief: students rise when they feel seen, challenged, and trusted. My sessions give them the tools to step up—not just in school, but in life.

Programs for Corporate Teams

Belonging is the Antidote. And it’s not just for classrooms.

I’ve led in both corporate and public sectors, and here’s what I’ve learned: people don’t do their best work when they’re micromanaged, siloed, or burned out. They do their best work when they feel like they belong—when trust runs deep, communication is honest, and everyone knows they matter.

My sessions for teams and leaders are built to do exactly that.

Whether I’m working with a leadership team, a company offsite, or an all-hands staff day, I help people cut through the noise and get back to what really drives performance:

• Clear, open communication

• Mutual respect across every level of the org

• The kind of trust that fuels collaboration, creativity, and action
  
  

This isn’t motivational fluff. These are mindset shifts and concrete tools that help teams become more connected, more effective, and more human.

If you're serious about building a workplace where people want to show up—and where they perform like it, let’s talk.

Professional Development and Coaching|Build Belonging, Together

My keynote sets the fire. These workshops build the framework.

If the keynote is about inspiration and mindset, the workshops are where we roll up our sleeves and do the work, together.

Each session is built around my three keystones: Trust, Resilience, and Community. But how we explore them depends on who’s in the room. These aren’t one-size-fits-all trainings. Every workshop is tailored to the needs, challenges, and realities of the educators in front of me.

We go deep. We get practical. And we walk away with more than good ideas—we walk away with tools that work.

Because here’s my promise:
Every educator leaves with something they can use tomorrow.
But more than that, they leave with a playbook that means something to them.

My workshops blend honest conversation, interactive strategy-building, and usable resources educators can adapt to their specific context. 

And when I say Everyone or Nowhere, I mean it. No one leaves empty-handed. No one gets left behind. Every single person walks out with tools—and a direct way to reach me long after the day is done.

Because building belonging doesn’t end when the session does. And neither does my support.

Whether it’s helping teachers build classrooms where students truly belong, challenging students to lead with confidence, or working with teams to build deeper trust, I bring energy, clarity, and real tools to every room I step into.

My philosophy is simple: Everyone or Nowhere. And I carry that into every session, every story, every strategy.

If you’re ready for a speaker who brings more than inspiration—someone who moves people to act—let’s make it happen.

Bring Joe to Your Event!