Climate change — responsibility or opportunity?

Let’s shift the narrative!

I get it.

Climate change is scary and overwhelming. I was personally lost in that despair cycle for YEARS. But then I figured out that fear, guilt, and shame don’t spark positive action. It was time to approach things in a new way.

Turning the tide on climate change starts with us.

And the truth is we can turn this around. All we need is the courage to question our ways and say yes to change.

We must activate the inner leadership and resiliency that can keep us grounded through these times while nurturing the curiosity and courage necessary to try new things. Doom and gloom won't activate that for us, for that we need informed and empowered optimism.

Who is this for?

Students + Teachers

For the youngsters who need to believe there’s a future to look forward to!

 

Activists

The passionate souls who are the backbone of our climate movement!

 
 

Employees

The people at companies with the power to change things from the inside out!

 
 
 

Leaders

Managers, team leaders, or C-Suite executives — integrating a possibility-driven company culture starts with you!

  • Anne Therese's capacity to inspire and impart knowledge on climate issues is extraordinary, making her an valuable asset to any event focused on environmental sustainability and action.

    — Leo Schall, Alps Forum, Switzerland

  • This was the best presentation I have attended in a long time!!

    ANJEE Winter Conference for Teachers and Educators

  • Her positive energy, charisma, and knowledge really helped the audience connect with her and understand how to be Climate Optimists and what actions can be taken to help heal the environment. Would highly recommend Anne Therese and plan to work with her again on future climate / environmental initiatives.

    — Chloe, Scotia Bank

A time for informed and empowered optimism

Climate optimism is not about taking a step back and hoping for the best to happen. It’s about diving into awareness and choosing a path of resilience, action, and hope!

I believe that climate optimism has the ability to not just change the world, but lives, families, and organizations. It’s an act of healing and self-empowerment that opens up for curiosity and solutions-thinking; a driver for positive change, innovation, and growth.

Speaker Topics

These are suggestions of topics. Let’s talk about what message would suit your audience best!

  • The inner leadership and bold rethinking that will activate our future today!

    In a world that faces unfolding uncertainties, many feel the need to take a step back and hold on to what they know. Although a primitively rooted behavior developed to keep us safe, it’s a response we can no longer afford. Instead, we must muster the courage to venture out and explore – to seek opportunities for new and even better ways.

    Just because changes are upon us doesn’t mean we have to succumb to fear and regret. Instead, recognizing the climate crisis for what it is puts us in an incredibly empowering position – the ability (and right) to think again. It’s about finding the courage to choose change.

    We must learn to ask ourselves:

    • What does it look like to seek happiness in new realities?

    • How do I find the strength to see, accept, and embrace change?

    • What if these seemingly challenging times are opportunities for innovation, growth, and positive change?

    This session/keynote will touch on the main reasons we retreat and hold on tight when letting go and moving forward will unlock possibilities and growth. By understanding the underlying psychological behaviors that keep us stuck, we can begin to tell a new story; one that holds the potential for leadership, innovation, and transformative change.

    This workshop/keynote is suitable for:

    • Companies that want to activate their employees and infuse a culture of possibilities and positive change

    • Organizations and communities looking to support and uplift their members

    • Schools and classrooms in need of tools to assist their students and to set them off on an empowering path toward a meaningful career (can be hosted for teachers and/or students)

  • It's about time we get super intentional about how we communicate the climate crisis. Adapting a mindful and uplifting approach has nothing to do with denying our climate reality and everything to do with understanding how our brains perceive and respond to different information.

    We desperately need change, and we need it fast. For that, we must activate inner leadership and resiliency that can keep us grounded through these times, while nurturing the curiosity and courage necessary to try new things. Doom and gloom won't activate that for us, for that we need informed and empowered optimism.

    In this keynote/workshop, we will cover the three profound narrative shifts that will help you rewrite the story of the climate crisis – and your place in it:

    1. From responsibility to opportunity

    2. From minimizing to maximizing (our footprint.

    3. From saving the old world to creating a new one

    Included in this keynote/workshop:

    • The mental barriers for why we haven’t acted more on the climate crisis, as well as steps for overcoming them

    • Tips for communicating the climate crisis in an empowering way

    • The path to compassion/awareness overload and how to navigate that challenge

    • Three narrative shifts that will ensure that you forever see the climate crisis in a different light

    • Tips, tools, and inspiration for activating impactful and grounded leadership (in leaders, employees, grassroots activists, or students)

    This workshop is suitable for corporations, teachers, students, and organizations. We will work together to make sure it fits perfectly with your goals!

  • How do you communicate the climate crisis from a lens of possibilities instead of responsibility and shame? Understanding the difference can be game-changing for a brand trying to position itself on the path toward a net zero world. Although climate change is becoming a more and more present topic in most of our minds, the ability to act, or the motivation to do so, is rarely there.

    This keynote/workshop is aimed to help leaders and communicators at companies of any size better understand the psychology behind climate communication and how to plant seeds of curiosity, hope, and excitement for a better world. Brands and corporations can play a pivotal role in the green transition and the ability to position oneself as a climate-forward company will put you ahead of your competition, attracting valuable talent while speaking to customers shifting demands.

    Included in this keynote/workshop:

    • The main barriers to climate action and the messaging that drives them

    • The science of optimism and how it plays a role in marketing and communication

    • The role companies play in fueling the transition to a greener world and how to leverage that opportunity to build customer loyalty and engagement

    • Tips for sparking climate conversations that kindle creativity and hope over doom and despair

  • … you name it! From climate change to zero-waste and circular design, how we talk about these challenges (or should I say possibilities) plays a huge role in our ability to successfully implement changes and pave new paths.

    Shifting the narrative means:

    • Recognizing that words and framework matters

    • Understanding the underlying behavioral psychology and messaging that shapes change

    • Accepting that doom and gloom, as well as fear and a shame-based narrative, will never spark the long-term, sustainable change we’re aiming for.

    Whether you’re a school, company or grassroots organization, I’d love to shape an impactful narrative that will leave your students, employees or members feeling inspired and uplifted in their ability to enact positive change.

  • Tools for Growing Emotional Resilience in a Changing Time

    What does it mean to live with climate change awareness without losing oneself to hopelessness and despair? Is it possible to understand the complexities of climate change and still feel inspired, optimistic, and motivated to take action?

    The answer is yes and it starts with shifting the narrative on climate change so that we can act from courage and excitement, not fear. This workshop will cover what it means to grow emotional resilience in the face of climate change, tips for nurturing optimism that sustains, and the mental blocks that stop us from taking action.

    Attendee results:

    • Understanding the psychological reasons why we aren’t acting more on climate change

    • Underlying drivers of climate anxiety and what it does to your ability to take action

    • The difference between toxic positivity and grounded optimism

    • Tips and tools for nurturing optimism, resilience, and hope – while keeping a fact-based and awareness-driven approach to climate change

    • Climate anxiety shows up differently for different people and settings. We will work together to make sure this session best speaks to your audience.

Keynotes, hosting, moderating

Count on me to bring the optimism!

*Photo cred: Techarenan

How do we find the courage to dream? TLF, New York City, 2021

Moderating panel discussion with Tetra Pak — beings about 5 min in

We were thrilled to have Anne Therese as the May 2023 commencement speaker at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).

Her inspiring words helped make our ceremony memorable with words of resilience, action, and optimism. 

Anne Therese was a pleasure to work with and generous with her time, showing a genuine interest in our students, faculty, and mission. At ESF, we work to address the Earth’s most pressing problems — and students come here because they want to be part of the solution. We are proud to be educating climate-change warriors, environmental champions, and sustainability advocates.

Her message to the class of 2023 focused on the power of positivity, how to plant small seeds of change, and why optimism has never been more needed. I am sure our graduates will remember her words, inspired to continue improving their world.  

Joanie Mahoney, President, SUNY ESF