Speaking Engagements

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Kari's sessions explore the power of belonging, connection, and engagement from early childhood to corporate settings. She blends personal storytelling with educational research on non-cognitive and culturally responsive factors to help educators, leaders, advocates, and families create and support inclusive, connected spaces.

Recent Workshops Include:

• The One Question That Changes Everything: Leading for Trust, Belonging, and Results
• Stronger Classrooms: Building Belonging and Courage in Early Childhood Classrooms
• Belonging in a Connected World: Human Connection in Tech-Enabled Classrooms
• Culturally Responsive Belonging: Turning Warmth Into Work and Aligning with the Portrait of a Graduate
• The One Question That Changes Everything: Strengthening Family-School Partnerships for Students with Disabilities

Each keynote or workshop is tailored to the audience, from educators and organizational leaders to executives, teams, families, and advocates.

Kari works closely with organizers across education, leadership, and workforce settings to shape sessions that reflect your goals, your people, and your context, from inclusive practice to culture-building and engagement.

Yes. Kari’s sessions are grounded in a broad base of empirical and practitioner research. She draws from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research; CASEL’s SEL framework; the internationalization and global citizenship work of Betty Leask, Darla Deardorff, and UNESCO; and adult learning theory. Her content also incorporates evidence on belonging in tech-enabled learning, behavior as communication in early childhood, and community-building in postsecondary settings. Each session translates this evidence into practical, inclusive strategies for educators.

Yes. Workshops align with Title I, Title II, and ESSA priorities for educator development, school climate, and family engagement. Sessions also connect to state-level initiatives such as Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education and Portrait of a Graduate frameworks, making them eligible for a range of federal and state professional learning and equity funding streams.

Keynotes: 20–60 minutes
Workshops: 50 minutes to 6 hours
Delivery: In-person or virtual

Workshop Fee: $2,500–$5,500, depending on length, scope, and customization.

Keynote: Fee is customized based on the event’s size, audience, and travel; Please contact us for a quote or honorarium arrangement.

Travel & Logistics: Travel, lodging, and other reasonable event-related expenses are billed in line with educational travel regulations and invoiced/reimbursed upon completion of the event.

Any keynote or workshop can be built into a multi-part series with deeper application between sessions. Customized and differentiated follow-up support may include 1:1 coaching or small-group reflection sessions to strengthen implementation and impact.

Typically 2–3 months in advance for in-person events and 4–6 weeks for virtual sessions. However, Kari does her best to accommodate shorter timelines when possible.

Absolutely. Sessions can be customized for a single school, district cohort, or regional and national events. Kari regularly partners with small districts, international schools, non-profit organizations, and large-scale conferences to design sessions that fit each audience’s needs.