Climate change — responsibility or opportunity?
Let’s shift the narrative!
Climate change isn’t just a crisis—it’s a call to leadership. I help audiences replace fear with agency and paralysis with purpose. Through my signature lens of climate optimism, I reveal how shifting our mindset can unlock courage, creativity, and collective action.
I get it.
Climate change can be scary, confusing, and overwhelming. I was personally lost in that despair cycle for YEARS. However, I eventually realized that fear, guilt, and shame don’t spark change. It was time to approach things in a new way.
Turning the tide on climate change starts with us.
We must activate the inner leadership that will keep us grounded through these times while nurturing the courage to try new things. Doom and gloom won't activate that for us; for that, we need curiosity, vision, and informed, empowered optimism.
Speaker Topics
Unlocking the Future: The Inner Leadership We Need Now
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What does it mean to lead from the future that wants to emerge, rather than remain anchored in the limitations of the present?
How do we cultivate the inner leadership required to navigate uncertainty and recognize that the future is built on courageous stewardship of the unknown – the trust, belief, and bold action upon realities we’ve yet to experience?
In this keynote, I guide individuals and organizations through the shift from climate anxiety and paralysis to resilience and meaningful action. Centered on the “Inner Leadership” pillar of Climate Optimism and rooted in the Inner Development Goals, this talk reframes climate engagement as a human development challenge.
The audience will gain clarity on the psychological barriers that stall climate action (guilt, overwhelm, helplessness) and walk away with practical tools for cultivating optimism as a strategic leadership practice. They’ll learn how to access their inner capacity to imagine boldly, act intentionally, and lead with a mindset that recognizes that tomorrow is shaped by the choices we make today.
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.
In this keynote, I explore:
How to activate inner leadership as the foundation for climate action and organizational resilience.
The psychological barriers that keep people stuck in guilt, helplessness, and overwhelm.
Why optimism is a strategic leadership skill, not a “nice to have”. As I say, one should choose to be radically optimistic, or not radical at all.
How curiosity, courage, and imagination unlock new pathways forward – beyond what we believe to be possible today.
Practical inner development tools for leading change from within teams, institutions, and communities, rooted in the Inner Development Goals framework for inner-to-outer transformation.
Imagining the Future We Want: The Power of Unfoldings
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How do we make space — in our minds and in our hearts — for what we cannot yet see?
How do we imagine a future that has no blueprint? And how can we act with intention today if we don’t first learn to hold a vision of the world we want to create?
We live in a world filled with information, and have gotten accustomed to the “quick fixes” that provide fast answers, but in doing so, risk losing our deeper human qualities and skills. Yes – we’re losing trust in ourselves and shortening our attention span, but even more concerning is that we’re also coming short of the ‘mind wandering’ that occurs when we give our fullest attention to a task.
It’s in mind wandering that our brains can piece together the ‘not yet seen’, meaning where creativity and innovation come into play.
In this keynote, I invite audiences to step outside the noise of a busy world and create mental space (and intentional focus) where imagination, curiosity, and innovation can flourish. Participants will explore how envisioning positive futures, rather than only focusing on what we must avoid, fuels curiosity, courage, and purposeful leadership.
The challenges we face, and the opportunities awaiting us, require more than reimagination — they ask for intentional unfoldings. Together, we will recognize that the future is still unwritten and that creating space for new visions to unfold is a radical act of climate leadership.
In this keynote, I explore:
Why stepping outside a busy, reactive world is a radical act of climate leadership.
The mental loops we get stuck in unless we pay attention, and how they harm our ability to radically change the future.
Techniques to envision positive futures and translate them into actionable steps.
How storytelling and imaginative exercises can inspire collaboration and collective impact.
The role of curiosity, courage, and hope in shaping a better, possible future.
Practical tools for embedding imagination and optimism into leadership, teams, and daily life.
Rewriting the Climate Story: Three Narrative Shifts to Unlock Change
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The narratives we hold—individually and collectively—guide how we meet this moment. Are they clouded by doom and fear, or alive with possibility and curiosity for what’s possible next?
In this keynote, I break down three essential narrative shifts that move us away from fear-based urgency and into a mindset grounded in agency, creativity, and opportunity for our future. When we change the story, we change the culture — and when we change the culture, real transformation becomes possible.
Drawing from the principles of Climate Optimism, the Inner Development Goals, and the emerging research on narrative psychology, I show how organizations, teams, and leaders can use storytelling to spark engagement, inspire action, and build momentum from within.
Audiences will leave with a clearer understanding of how language influences behavior, and with concrete tools for communicating climate in ways that motivate, unite, and unlock meaningful change.
In this keynote, I explore:
Why fear-driven narratives stall action and how to reframe them for impact.
Three actionable narrative shifts that inspire connection, curiosity, and forward movement.
How to communicate climate goals in ways that energize rather than overwhelm.
Tools for reframing internal and external messaging to engage teams and stakeholders.
How storytelling becomes a strategic lever for driving culture change and meaningful climate action.
Growing Up With Climate Change: Leading Change for a New Generation
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I know what it feels like to carry climate anxiety. That heavy mix of fear, frustration, and urgency about the future. But what does it mean to live with climate 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 keynote will cover what it means to grow emotional resilience in the face of climate change, offer tips for nurturing optimism that sustains, and explore the mental blocks that prevent us from taking action.
Focusing on the youth and the challenging reality of growing up in these times, I’ll invite students to transform those emotions into curiosity, creativity, and action. By combining emotional resilience with the power of imagination, we’ll explore how envisioning positive futures can help us navigate uncertainty and take meaningful steps toward the world we want to create.
This keynote can be tailored to the youth directly or designed to equip teachers and other youth leaders with the tools to guide conversations about climate change with grounded optimism, agency, and curiosity for change. Grounded in both Climate Optimism and the Inner Development Goals, we’ll explore ways to cultivate inner leadership and become stewards of the future.
In this keynote, I explore:
How to acknowledge and work with climate anxiety instead of being paralyzed by it.
Why emotional resilience is essential for leadership and meaningful action.
How imagination and “what if…” thinking create possibilities and inspire creativity.
Tools for turning ideas and visions into tangible action in school, community, and everyday life.
Understanding that courage, curiosity, and collaboration are the foundation for leading change.
The practice of (climate) optimism and the understanding that narratives shape attitudes, culture, and ultimately – action.
Who is climate optimism 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
Leaders looking to engage their members with optimism and possibility. How do we shift the narrative? How do we communicate that to others?
Let’s get into it!
Sofi Papamarko, Director of Communications and Events, Green Economy Canada
“Anne Therese spoke at our event made up of people working at the intersection of business and sustainability and we hung on every word. She balances calm and rational grounding and ways of thinking about the current political landscape with truly inspiring ways to commit to climate action. We'd love to have her speak to us again. Highly recommended.”
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 change, not just 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.
Keynotes, workshops, hosting, moderating?
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
