Laurie Carey

Keynote Speaker • CEO & Founder • Neuroscience-Based Coach-Facilitator • Technologist

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Laurie Carey helps audiences navigate nonstop change with one core message: resilience is a trainable system, not a personality trait. Drawing on 40+ years in technology, workforce development, and neuroscience-based coaching, she shows leaders, teams, and communities how to stay steady, employable, and effective in a world that will never slow down.

Perfect for conferences and events focused on leadership, AI and the future of work, workforce development, education, mental health & wellbeing at work, women in leadership, and organizational change.

Meet Laurie Carey

Laurie Carey is a CEO, educator, resilience coach, and technologist whose career has spanned every major wave of technological disruption—from mainframes and early networking to the internet, cybersecurity, and now the era of artificial intelligence. About the Author

She is the Founder & CEO of Nebula Professional Development Academy (Nebula Academy) and Founder of We Connect The Dots, Inc., a nonprofit focused on career readiness, pre-apprenticeships, and workforce pathways for young people and adults who’ve been historically shut out of opportunity.

Laurie’s work sits at the intersection of:

  • Cognitive neuroscience – how the brain responds to pressure, overload, and change

  • Psychological safety & emotional regulation – how people stay functional in uncertainty

  • Real-world skills – software development, automation, AI readiness, and communication under stress About the Author

Her background includes:

  • 40+ years in technology and business, including a decade at Microsoft

  • CEO of an international company and Harvard Business School alumna

  • Certified neuroscience-based coach working with thousands of learners—from teens and career-changers to executives and emerging leaders

  • Vistage Executive Coach/Chair and member of the National Speakers Association

Laurie doesn’t speak from theory alone. She has raised four children while building companies, led teams through acquisitions and reorganizations, carried personal loss and financial pressure, and still shown up as the steady person in the room when others needed it most.

Signature Keynote Topics

You can tailor a keynote around your audience, but common themes include:

  1. Resilience Is a Muscle: Thriving in an AI-Driven World
    How individuals and organizations can build resilience as a trainable system—combining neuroscience, emotional regulation, and practical tools to handle nonstop change.

  2. Psychological Safety in High-Pressure Environments
    What actually happens in the brain under stress, and how leaders can communicate and design work so teams stay engaged instead of shutting down.

  3. From Online Learning to Real-World Outcomes
    Why content alone isn’t enough—and how coaching, community, and resilience training turn learning into employability and advancement.

  4. Rebuilding the Workforce Pipeline: From At-Risk Youth to High-Demand Careers
    Lessons from running pre-apprenticeships, workforce training, and resilience programs for teens, adults in transition, and historically underserved communities.

  5. Leading Through Disruption: A Playbook for Executives
    How to stabilize teams during layoffs, restructuring, and rapid technological shifts—without sacrificing performance or humanity.

  6. Women, Leadership, and the Reality of Modern Work
    A candid, research-informed keynote on the lived reality of women in leadership roles and how to build workplaces where they can truly thrive.

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Why Audiences Connect with Laurie

Event organizers choose Laurie because she:

  • Blends science with story. She translates complex neuroscience into simple, memorable tools people can use immediately.

  • Understands real-world pressure. Her programs have supported at-risk youth, returning citizens, military spouses, displaced workers, and executives leading through chaos.

  • Bridges education, workforce, and technology. She designs programs that connect learning directly to economic opportunity and career mobility.

  • Makes resilience practical. For Laurie, resilience is not a slogan—it’s a set of skills, habits, and systems that can be taught, measured, and strengthened over time.

Ideal Audiences & Events

Laurie’s keynotes are a strong fit for:

  • Leadership and executive summits

  • Conferences on AI, future of work, and digital transformation

  • HR, L&D, and organizational development events

  • Workforce boards and government workforce initiatives

  • Education conventions (K–12, higher ed, CTE, adult education)

  • Women in leadership forums and affinity groups

  • Nonprofit and community impact events

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Outcomes & Takeaways

Depending on the topic you choose, audiences will leave with:

  • A clearer understanding of how stress and uncertainty affect the brain

  • Practical tools to regulate their nervous system in the moment

  • Strategies for building psychologically safe teams and classrooms

  • A framework for connecting learning to real economic outcomes

  • Renewed confidence that they can adapt, reinvent, and lead through change

(All grounded in the models Laurie has developed and delivered through Nebula Academy and We Connect The Dots, Inc.)

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Booking & Contact

To inquire about booking Laurie Carey as a keynote speaker or panelist:

  • Email: keynote@nebulaacademy.com

  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lauriecarey

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Credentials

  • Founder & CEO – Nebula Professional Development Academy / Nebula Academy

  • Founder & Executive Director – We Connect The Dots, Inc.

  • 40+ years in the technology industry, including 10 years at Microsoft

  • Alumni – Harvard Business School

  • Certified in cognitive neuroscience–based coaching

  • Vistage Executive Coach/Chair; Member, National Speakers Association