Chief Belongingologist; Champion of Cultural Cohesion; Award Winning Speaker & 2024 Woman to Watch
Shelley Brown Biography
Shelley Brown is a leadership rebel on a mission to rewrite the rules of work:
DITCH THE MASK. LEAD WITH GUTS, GRACE & GRIT.
A former hospitality and event tech exec turned keynote speaker and coach, Brown challenges outdated leadership norms with bold, heartfelt talks that blend honesty, humor, and grit. Known for her raw presence on stage, she empowers teams to ditch performative culture and lead with real connection, emotional intelligence, and authenticity.
With over two decades in high-pressure industries, Brown lived the grind of performative leadership—until she walked away from the mask and created Rebel Leadership: a human-centered approach rooted in presence, self-trust, and belonging. Today, she equips leaders and high-performers to rewrite the rules, blend EQ with IQ, and build cultures where people thrive instead of burn out.
Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Shelley Brown and other top speakers and celebrities.
Shelley Brown Speaking Topics
-
Rebel Leadership
Lead Like You Mean It
In a world that rewards performance over presence and perfection over truth, Rebel Leadership is a call back to what actually works: humanity. In this high-impact, all-audience keynote, Shelley Brown invites leaders at every level to break free from outdated norms, burnout culture, and leadership-by-approval.
Through raw storytelling, humor, and truth-telling, Shelley shows how leading like you mean it, with clarity, emotional intelligence, and courage isn’t just rebellion. It’s strategy. And it builds legacies that last.
Break free from burnout culture and rediscover leadership rooted in presence, truth, and humanity.
Why this keynote lands:
- Challenges outdated leadership patterns that drain trust and energy
- Reveals how emotional presence transforms culture and innovation
- Equips leaders with tools for real-time clarity, self-trust, and boundaries
- Helps teams build cultures of belonging without burnout
-
Breaking the Hard Rules
Redefining Strength in Leadership by Embracing Authenticity, Empathy and Humanity
Are you ready to break some rules? Shelley Brown challenges the deeply ingrained belief that women leaders must be “hard” to succeed. Drawing from her own corporate journey and the experiences of countless women, she explores how the pressure to be “bada$$” has created a leadership culture that forces women to choose between authenticity and authority. Through compelling storytelling and actionable strategies, Shelley reveals how embracing our whole selves—both our hard and soft qualities—is not only acceptable, it’s essential for lasting influence and impact.
This isn’t just another women’s leadership talk. It’s a radical reframing of what true strength looks like in leadership today. Shelley leads the audience through a journey of unlearning outdated leadership models and embracing a new paradigm where vulnerability is a superpower, empathy drives innovation, and authenticity creates extraordinary impact. By addressing the high costs of perpetuating hard leadership, Shelley offers concrete tools to lead from wholeness, helping women shatter the mold that was never made by them or for them.
This session empowers women to stop proving they belong and start changing the legacy of leadership. It’s time to lead with authenticity, confidence, and humanity, redefining power on your terms. Powerful and human. Strong and soft. And most importantly, fully yourself.
Why this keynote lands:
- Uncovers how the “badass trap” limits women’s leadership potential
- Reframes empathy, vulnerability, and intuition as powerful assets
- Shifts leaders from perfectionism toward confident, action-oriented progress
- Provides tools to prevent burnout through boundaries, rest, and delegation
- Empowers women to redefine power on their own terms and thrive authentically
-
How do I book Shelley Brown to speak at my event?
Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Shelley Brown for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Shelley Brown, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Shelley Brown or any other speaker of your choice. -
What are the speaker fees for Shelley Brown
Speaking fees for Shelley Brown, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Shelley Brown are $20,000 - $30,000 for live events and $10,000 - $20,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Shelley Brown, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent. -
What topics does Shelley Brown speak about?
Shelley Brown is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Belonging, Business, Business Leadership, Creativity, Empowerment, Female Leadership, Health & Wellness, Hospitality, Human Resources, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Motivational, Peak Performance, Personal Growth, Teamwork & Teambuilding, Women's Empowerment, Women's Health -
Where does Shelley Brown travel from?
Shelley Brown generally travels from Chicago, IL, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent. -
Who is Shelley Brown’s agent?
AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Shelley Brown for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Shelley Brown for your next private or corporate function. -
What is a full-service speaker booking agency?
AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Shelley Brown or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us. -
Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?
If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.
Shelley Brown is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Rebel Leadership, Breaking the Hard Rules and The Belonging Equation: Unleash Your Authentic Self & Ignite Team Success. The estimated speaking fee range to book Shelley Brown for your event is $20,000 - $30,000. Shelley Brown generally travels from Chicago, IL, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Erica Dhawan, Khaliah O. Guillory, Steven Van Cohen, Wema Hoover and Heather E. McGowan. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Shelley Brown for an upcoming live or virtual event.
This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.
All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.
If you are the talent and wish to request a profile update or removal from our online directory, please submit a profile request form.








