2025 Speaker Information

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July 20 – 24, 2025
Unicoi State Park
Helen, GA

Renee Smith

“Leading with Love in a Time of Change: Healing Ourselves, Our Teams, and Our Workplaces”

 

What if leadership could feel more human—more grounded in connection, compassion, and courage? 

In this hopeful and energizing interactive keynote, Renée Smith invites us to embrace a powerful truth: Love belongs at work—and especially in leadership. Love, the energy that uplifts and connects, is not a soft sentiment—it’s a powerful force, a strategic advantage, and joyful. It’s what helps us build trust, foster resilience, and create cultures where people and organizations can truly thrive. 

As nonprofit and community leaders, we carry immense responsibility to our teams, our missions, and the communities we serve. And after years of showing up through crisis, change, and uncertainty, many of us are still leading on empty. This conversation is an invitation to reconnect with what sustains us, not just as professionals, but as people. 

Drawing from her original research and years of work with public and social sector leaders, Renée shares a practical, science-backed framework for Loving Leadership—a relational, courageous, and deeply human approach that meets this moment. Through stories, insights, and gentle challenge, she’ll help us name what’s real, honor our inner wisdom, and step into leadership that heals and serves. 

Learning Outcomes 

Participants will: 

  1. Understand the neuroscience of fear and love—and how these forces shape the way we lead and experience work. 
  2. Learn the core practices of Loving Leadership to build trust, resilience, and belonging in your organization. 
  3. Explore how to shift from fear-based habits like control, perfectionism, and disconnection to love-based approaches rooted in care, accountability, and inclusion. 
  4. Reflect on what post-crisis leadership requires to sustain yourself and your team with authenticity and hope. 
  5. Gain a simple, practical tool to lead with love in the face of challenge, without sacrificing clarity or effectiveness.

Dr. Dawn Emerick

“The Case for Trauma-Informed Leadership: Advancing Post-Traumatic Growth in the Workplace”

 

The workplace is not immune to trauma. Studies show that 70% of adults experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, and workplace stress has been directly linked to serious health conditions, including cardiovascular disease and burnout. We also spend approximately 80,000 hours Key message(s) * across the course of our lives working. Our brains are wired for connection, yet poor leadership, toxic work environments, high-pressure demands, and unresolved trauma within the workforce impair decision-making, relationships, and overall well-being. 

In this powerful keynote, Dr. Dawn Emerick, a pioneer in the movement and a leader in trauma-informed systems and organizational change, shares why trauma-informed leadership is not optional—it’s essential. With a mission to reach 1 million trauma-informed leaders, Dawn offers critical insights into: 

  • The Neuroscience of Trauma and Leadership – How trauma rewires the brain and affects leadership decision-making. 
  • The Power of Self-Care and Healing – Why leaders must model resilience and prioritize their own wellbeing to support others. 
  • Building a Trauma-Informed Workplace Culture – Practical steps to create psychologically safe spaces that foster post-traumatic growth instead of burnout. 

Through real-world examples and actionable strategies, this keynote equips leaders with the “Do No Harm” framework, guiding them toward a more ethical, compassionate, and high-performing workplace. Join Dawn in transforming leadership, shifting workplace cultures, and unlocking the full potential of teams by integrating trauma-informed practices at every level. 

Your leadership matters. It’s time to lead with knowledge, care, and impact.

Maame Afon Yelbert-Sai

“Leading with Heart – Healing, Joy, and Transformative Leadership”

 

The world is changing rapidly, and so must we. Leadership today demands more than strategy—it calls for wisdom, compassion, and connection. We must move beyond transactional relationships and embrace transformation, rewire our mindsets, and return to the wisdom of Sankofa—learning from our past to shape a better future. 

But to lead and heal others, we must first heal ourselves. Healing the healers is not self-indulgence; it is an essential necessity. Our well-being fuels our well-doing. When we cultivate joy, set healthy boundaries, and lead with empathy, we create spaces where people feel seen, valued, and inspired. 

Unprocessed trauma is passed down, but transformation is a choice. We must break cycles, nurture healing, and lead with intention. Relationships matter, and every season of our lives calls for us to show up fully— rooted in care, courage, and authenticity.

Let us step forward as leaders who not only change the world but also sustain ourselves in the process. When we lead with heart, we don’t just inspire change—we ignite a movement of healing, connection, and joy. 

The time to evolve is now. Let’s rise together. 

 

Steve Turner

 

We will introduce the group to the amazing sound of the hand pan as well as the other instruments and how we use them in a with many varied populations and settings.

 We will lead the group in a deeply relaxing sound bath experience – with gongs, chimes and other ethereal sounds and a guided visualization. 

From there we will ease into the celebration of community and spirit through the drum circle. Everyone gets to play – if you don’t drum, you have to dance! 

For us, the instruments are just the vehicles for creating connection community and we want to share with the BRI family.