About

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Ash Beckham is a bold, dynamic presenter who speaks about empathy, respect and the power of having real conversations. Online videos of her TEDx talks “Coming Out of Your Closet” and "Owning Your Duality" and her Boulder Ignite speech “I am SO GAY” have gone viral with more than 10 million YouTube views. Since then, her message has become a topic of global discussion. You can learn more about that message by browsing her program options to the right, but ultimately Ash advocates for freedom: freedom to give voice to your truth, freedom to love without limits, freedom to be the person you were intended to be. Ash has delivered keynotes and workshops for universities, organizations, and corporations across the country including Bank of America, Target, Procter & Gamble, GameStop, Vanguard, the U.S. Forest Service, and the FBI. Her first book, Step Up: How to Live with Courage and Become an Everyday Leader, debuted in Spring 2020. In it, Ash presents eight pillars to become an everyday leader—Empathy, Responsibility, Courage, Grace, Individuality, Humility, Patience, and Authenticity. For each pillar, she shares engaging stories of her own journey from isolation and anger to a place of greater openness and connection. She then provides eye-opening research on what it takes to build these essential qualities, coupled with practices to mindfully change the way you relate to yourself and the people in your life.

Check out her book, Step Up, on Amazon!

Ash Featured on NPR: What's Your Coming Out Story?

12-TIME PAST NACA SHOWCASING ARTIST

popular programs

Give Voice to Your Truth
With an arresting blend of urgency and humor, Ash takes on topics like the crippling experience of being trapped in a closet, the difference between tolerance and acceptance, and the need to remove the word “gay” as a pejorative from our lexicon. With wildly funny and poignant stories, and a tough yet deeply compassionate stance, Ash tells us how to take off the armor and be our authentic selves. She tells us how to get REAL.

Ash declares to her audiences “Hard is Hard. There is no Harder. There is only Hard.” She gives us permission to relate to each other as direct, authentic, unapologetic human beings. Rather than serving up candy-coated optimism, her stories offer listeners something more tangible. She elevates her audience beyond empathy into the realm of personal discovery, and challenges every listener to take personal responsibility for creating a much bigger societal shift.

Ultimately, Ash advocates for FREEDOM. Freedom to give voice to your truth, freedom to love without limits, freedom to be the person you were intended to be.
I am SO GAY!
In a world of 6 second videos and 140 character tweets, sometimes we don't take the time to think about the words we use—or the impact those words have on other people. With a blend of personal stories and relateable antidotes, Ash unpacks how word choice affects people. She helps you understand the need for inclusive language in so many aspects of our lives—everyday conversation, institutional forms, policy initiatives.

Someone may not feel like a word or phrase or lack of inclusive language affects them if they are not in the marginalized group. But, it is critical to find the empathy in other people’s struggles in order to create a stronger community. That empathy is most easily discovered when we begin listening to each other’s stories and we know what it is like walk a mile, or even just a couple steps, in someone else’s shoes.
The Art of Taking a Stand
Throughout our lives we find ourselves in situations where we want to take a stand either to advocate for ourselves or address injustices that we see done to others. When that fleeting moment to stand up approaches, our internal dialogue starts: Am I strong enough? Am I quick witted enough? Am I doing more harm than good by speaking out?

The questions come at us at warp speed often crippling us from action of any kind. To empower all people to take a stand, we must reframe our perceived requirements of standing up in the first place.

In this talk, Ash proposes that taking a stand is like art — individual, creative, and messy. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the mastery of it. Ash provides a quick brain chemistry lesson to help us understand what is happening inside our bodies when stress is applied to give us a better sense of what drives our reactions and how we can make change.
The art of inclusive leadership
Nearly anyone can be a good leader.  But what does it take to be extraordinary?

In this session, Ash explores why the single most important trait in the leaders of today is mastering the Art of Inclusive Leadership.  By first turning the lens inward, we can explore our own unconscious bias and histories.  Only then can we begin to truly lead.  Our ability to personify the inclusion we are striving for is critical to our personal success and the success of our companies.

In this entertaining and provocative talk, Ash will explore the 5 pillars of inclusive leadership.  With wildly funny and poignant stories, and a tough yet compassionate stance, Ash tells us how to take off the armor and be our authentic selves. She tells us how to get REAL.
Rather than serving up candy-coated optimism, Ash gives us permission to relate to each other as direct, authentic, unapologetic human beings by elevating her audience beyond empathy into the realm of personal discovery, and challenging every listener to take personal responsibility for creating a bigger societal shift.
HAVING HARD CONVERSATIONS
Everyone, including you, has the power to communicate authentically. Once you begin communicating authentically, you can begin to establish trust. Trust turns into abundance, more collaboration, more success. 

In order to make clear connections with people, we first need to understand how to discover our own truths, and how to share those truths with others in a way that will resonate with them. In the workplace, forging these connections must be accomplished in a professional and time-efficient manner.

Ash will present a framework for quick, authentic communication as she takes the audience on an interactive journey to first understanding the self and then to connecting with others.

This method helps people experience the difference between expressing thoughts, feelings, and desires—in real-time. When we learn to communicate from all three places, we are showing up as the most authentic version of ourselves. 
 
Participants will learn to:
  • Authentically communicate thoughts, feelings, and desires
  • Use storytelling to create deeper interpersonal connections
  • Feel more clear and confident with who they are, empowering participants to show up as their true selves consistently
  • Increase trust among co-workers, colleagues, and customers
  • Make stronger connections with people in a shorter amount of time
​​WORKPLACE AUTHENTICITY
​THROUGH STORYTELLING
​Maximum participants: 20
Format:  3 - 4 hour workshop

Nearly every organization strives to master diversity and inclusion.  But policy and practice are two different things.  How do we make inclusion the cultural norm rather than just a talking point?

In this workshop, Ash will use her personal stories to guide a small group of employees down the path of making authenticity into a life-long key tenet.  If we want our organizations to hold authenticity as a corporate benchmark, our leaders must know how to communicate, foster, and act with authenticity. This workshop breaks down into three sections.
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  • Mastering authentic communication - To speak and exist authentically, it is critical that we understand and utilize our three sources of individual expression – brain, heart and gut.  In order to fully show up, we need to bring these three parts of ourselves to the table.  Participants will identify when and how we speak from each source and learn to give voice to the sources we mute.
 
  • Finding universal truth in our individual experience - In order for our personal experience to make a difference, we need it to relate not only to people like us, but also to people who, on paper, seem to be our opposite.  That is the power of universal truth.  Participants will find the universality of human experience through an exploration of the beliefs, behaviors, and feelings that unite us in a world that can feel divisive.
 
  • Sharing our personal stories - Our stories, kept inside, are merely vignettes of self-reflection. To make cultural change, we need to find the courage to share our stories and truly believe that they will make a difference.  Our ability to create, protect, and foster inclusive workplace environments is rooted in our willingness to share our individual stories.  Participants will use the previous two steps to craft their own unique, personal diversity story.

This workshop has broad application for any organization: team-building, leadership development, presentation skill-building, sales/client connection, and senior leadership-driven cultural shifts.
AUTHENTICITY IN THIRDS
​​60 – 90 minutes interactive workshop

The goal of this workshop is to create personalized, actionable goals for the participants to become more authentic in the workplace. By breaking daunting tasks into thirds, participants set simple, attainable goals that allow them to progress over time and have a repeatable model in place for future goal – authenticity related or otherwise.
 
The workshop will be a combination of Ash’s personal stories (used to illustrate concepts and transition between ideas) and group work. There will also be time for individual reflection.
 
The end product workbook will be a tangible piece that they can take back to their office and use as a reference guide as needed. Each participant leaves with a personalized strategic plan for being more authentic and they will take one action to do so before they leave the room. 

Ideal audience size is 30 to 50, but can be adjusted for larger groups as needed.
"The Art of Taking a Stand"

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After participating in the highly engaging and emotional journey Ash took us through during the workshop, I realized each of us as an individual can make a difference. Ash was relatable, honest and provided specific actions we can take as individuals that resonated with our corporate audience.

Wil Lewis
SVP, Diversity and Inclusion Executive
​Bank of America

MORE REVIEWS

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Bestselling Author of Permanent Midnight and I, Fatty

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