Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal

As the #1 international expert on resilience and mental wellbeing, Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal has inspired audiences ranging from big stages of thousands to intimate gatherings of executives, sharing how we can all effectively face the inevitable moments of challenge, change, and complexity. LA Progressive magazine calls her “the go-to person” and “a secret weapon” for organizations and teams who want to find their edge and rise above the competition. She has received standing ovations from audiences on topics related to change, leadership, confidence, compassion & empathy, innovation, wellbeing, and, of course, resilience. Audience members say her keynotes are:

“Uplifting. Thought provoking. Unforgettable. Your life and view of the world will not be the same after hearing Dr. Taryn Marie speak!”

She is a #1 Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Bestselling Author of the book, The Five Practices of Highly Resilient People: Why some flourish when others fold, and the Founder and Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) of the Resilience Leadership Institute (RLI). By conducting two decades of original research on resilience, Dr. Stejskal developed the empirically based framework, The Five Practices of Highly Resilient People and believes that resilience is the key to individual, teams, and organizational growth and acceleration across the globe. Her mission is to positively impact the lives of 1 billion people through the practices of resilience. Prior to founding RLI, she served as the Head of Executive Leadership Development & Talent Strategy at Nike, as well as Head of Global Leadership Development at Cigna.

Global Gurus has recognized Dr. Stejskal as a Top 30 Thinker in Leadership, she is a Marshall Goldsmith Top 100 Global Executive Coach (MG100), and she was a finalist for the Tony Hsieh Award, named for the former CEO of Zappos, awarded to those who are leading human capital innovation. Her work has been featured by Fox and NBC News, Bloomberg Business, Thrive Global, and Forbes. Her TEDx talk entitled “How Resilience Breaks Us Out of Our Vulnerability Cage” has been viewed over 1 million times!

Dr. Stejskal earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, along with master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park, and completed pre- and postdoctoral fellowships in neuropsychology at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. She is the host of the top 1% acclaimed podcast Flourish or Fold: Stories of Resilience, where well-known people tell their lesser well-known story of facing challenge to remind us that adversity is a necessary ingredient in life.

She is honored to be an ambassador for The African Community and Conservation Foundation (ACCF), along with serving as a sought-after trusted advisor and board member, to amplify resilience, engagement, and talent strategy. She also serves as Chief Product Officer (CPO) and Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) for Wicked Happy, a global aspirational apparel brand that promotes positivity and possibility through inspirational messages. Her two sons, Samson and Sawyer, are always teaching her about resilience!