Amanda Lynch Speaking Topics

• Watch the Water: Aquatic Safety, Racial History, and the Case for Structural Change

  Black children ages 10 to 14 drown in swimming pools at 7.6 times the rate of white children. This is not a swimming problem. It is a history problem — and it demands a policy response. In this urgent and deeply personal keynote, Amanda Lynch traces the through line from Jim Crow-era pool closures to present-day drowning disparities, and makes the case for why community safety, maternal mental health, and aquatic access are inseparable. Drawing on her work as the founder of Find Your Float and her advocacy following the drowning death of nine-year-old King Overton at an unlicensed Virginia swim camp, Amanda calls audiences to move beyond awareness and toward structural accountability.

  Attendee Results:

  • Understand the historical roots of aquatic exclusion and their present-day consequences
  • Recognize drowning disparities as a mental health and maternal health crisis, not only a public safety issue
  • Learn what healing-centered aquatic programming looks like in practice through the Find Your Float model
  • Understand the policy gap that leaves children in unlicensed swim programs without protection
  • Leave equipped to advocate for structural change in their schools, organizations, and communities

• Breathe. Heal. Rise: The Power of Pause in a Demanding World

  In this restorative keynote, Amanda Lynch invites participants to slow down and explore what it means to breathe again after burnout, grief, or relentless service. Rooted in mindfulness and trauma-informed care, this session honors the emotional weight leaders often carry—especially women and caregivers—and reclaims rest as a revolutionary act. Attendees will reflect on the hats they wear, the breath they hold, and how pausing can become a pathway to clarity, healing, and sustainable leadership.

  Attendee Results:

  • Recognize signs of burnout, fatigue, and emotional overload
  • Learn accessible mindfulness and breathing techniques
  • Build a personalized “pause practice” to restore clarity and presence
  • Reframe rest as a leadership strength, not a weakness
  • Leave feeling seen, grounded, and reconnected to purpose

• The Rise & Thrive Framework: Brain-Based Tools to Support Youth from the Inside Out

  Amanda Lynch introduces her original Rise & Thrive curriculum—a healing-centered, brain-based movement designed to help educators, social workers, and caregivers support youth using trauma-informed practices, movement, mindfulness, and literacy. Participants learn the six principles of trauma-informed care, how to integrate SEL into daily routines, and how to build ecosystems of healing that affirm identity and resilience.

  Attendee Results:

  • Learn how brain development and stress affect student behavior
  • Integrate trauma-informed SEL into daily teaching and youth work
  • Use movement, reflection, and storytelling to support regulation and connection
  • Access ready-to-use activities and curriculum-aligned tools
  • Shift from behavior management to relationship-centered care

• Grief-Informed Workplaces: Holding Space in Times of Loss

  How do we support staff, clients, and communities through grief—without burning out ourselves? Amanda Lynch draws from her personal experience of losing her husband to gun violence and her professional work in trauma and healing-centered systems to explore the intersection of loss, leadership, and legacy. Attendees leave with language, practices, and policies to hold space for grief while sustaining purpose and compassion.

  Attendee Results:

  • Gain language and tools to support grieving colleagues or clients
  • Learn how unacknowledged grief can impact behavior and workplace dynamics
  • Identify organizational practices that either hold or harm grieving people
  • Reflect on personal experiences with loss through a restorative lens
  • Build rituals and policies that nurture grief literacy and community care

• Trauma-Informed, Healing-Centered Leadership: Beyond Buzzwords

  This dynamic session breaks down what it actually means to lead through a trauma-informed, healing-centered lens. Amanda Lynch shares real-world applications from schools, nonprofits, and public health settings—bridging neuroscience, emotional wellness, and equity. Participants learn how to shift from reactive to responsive leadership, prioritize psychological safety, and cultivate cultures of belonging where people feel seen, heard, and valued.

  Attendee Results:

  • Understand the 6 principles of trauma-informed leadership
  • Identify unintentional harm caused by well-meaning policies
  • Apply healing-centered practices to workplace culture and communication
  • Develop emotionally safe and culturally responsive spaces
  • Walk away with actionable tools for leadership grounded in empathy

• Reimagining Resilience: Storytelling, Culture & Community as Catalysts for Healing

  Resilience isn’t just about bouncing back—it’s about building systems that never should have broken us in the first place. In this keynote, Amanda Lynch explores how culturally responsive storytelling, ancestral wisdom, and community care can foster deep healing and collective action. Perfect for educators, community coalitions, and change agents ready to move from trauma-aware to transformation-ready.

  Attendee Results:

  • Understand resilience through a cultural and historical lens
  • Use storytelling as a tool for identity affirmation and social connection
  • Identify protective factors rooted in community, culture, and tradition
  • Explore the role of systems in shaping trauma and healing
  • Leave with inspiration and tangible next steps for community-rooted change

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