Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Ashley Rhodes-Courter, LCSW, is a New York Times bestselling author, nonprofit CEO, and keynote speaker on employee engagement and retention. She helps mission-driven organizations bring people back from quiet disengagement and keep the ones they cannot afford to lose.

Her message starts with a simple truth: every action lands twice, once on the people around you and once on you. When good people stop showing up, both sides lose. Rhodes-Courter shows audiences how to keep showing up and stay connected to their purpose, even when conditions are slow to change.

She knows the territory from the inside. Rhodes-Courter spent nearly a decade in foster care as a child, moving through 14 homes, and refused to fall through the cracks. Her memoirs, "Three Little Words" and "Three More Words," have reached millions of readers and are studied on campuses nationwide. At 26, she ran for the Florida State Senate.

Today, Rhodes-Courter is the founder and CEO of the Foundation for Sustainable Families and a practicing licensed clinical social worker. That makes her rare among engagement speakers. She does not just describe disengagement and burnout from the outside, she understands and treats them as a clinician.

On stage she gives audiences a simple, repeatable method to steady themselves, focus on what they can control, and take the next real step. People leave with practical tools, renewed ownership, and real reasons to stay engaged.

She has spoken everywhere from intimate trainings to a sold-out arena of more than 20,000, and has been honored as a L'Oreal Paris Woman of Worth. She does not simply tell a powerful story. She helps people lead, serve, and keep going with intention.