Julie Jungalwala, Keynote Speaker
Lead Yourself First: How To NavigAte Disruption and Become the Architect of What's Next
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We’ve been trained and educated for a stable, predictable world that doesn’t exist. To go forward, we need go back to what makes us human.
Most professionals were educated to thrive in a predictable world - a world that no longer exists. In this era of constant disruption, even the most capable leaders are being blindsided by layoffs, burnout, identity loss, and reinvention. The root challenge isn’t just change - it’s the outdated training that taught us to comply and consume, not create and lead.
Julie is the founder of Human Possibility and a Harvard instructor who has spent over two decades guiding individuals through disruption with clarity and courage. Her own journey - from a childhood shaped by the instability of the Troubles in Northern Ireland to decades of work at the intersection of human and organizational development -makes her a trusted guide through the messy middle of transition.
Through deeply human keynotes and frameworks like The Terrain of Transition, Julie equips audiences with practical tools to reclaim agency, make peace with uncertainty, and become architects of their future selves. This is more than resilience - it’s grounded leadership for today's world.
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Previous Audiences and Publications
The way we’re working…isn’t working.
Humans are brilliantly wired for growth, adaptation, and possibility. Yet, two-thirds of the world’s workforce is disengaged.*
That's over 2 billion people disengaged worldwide.
It’s a depressing waste of talent and human potential. It’s time for an internal recalibration of what’s humanly possible.
*Source: Gallup, 2024
Signature Keynote
Lead Yourself First: How to Navigate Disruption and Become the Architect of What’s Next
In a time when old maps no longer apply, the greatest skill any leader can develop is the ability to lead themselves first.
This keynote offers a transformational roadmap for professionals facing uncertainty, identity shifts, or unexpected change.
Through Julie’s research-backed frameworks and human-centered storytelling, audiences learn how to meet disruption not with panic or paralysis, but with grounded confidence and a clearer path forward.
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Learn the 3 core stages of The Terrain of Transition - and how to move from not-knowing to next steps with courage.
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Shift from reactive to responsive by understanding the nervous system's role in change.
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Reclaim agency in times of chaos using practical strategies to navigate personal and professional reinvention.
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Walk away with a personalized future-self roadmap—designed to unlock possibility and momentum.
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Leave with a more powerful question than “What should I do?”: Who am I becoming?
KEYNOTE TOPIC
The Promise of Human Possibility
Learn, adapt and grow amidst constant change
Our extraordinary capacity to continually learn, adapt, and evolve is the defining characteristic of the human experience. It’s an innate superpower that has driven humanity to forge new frontiers, overcome insurmountable odds, and create beauty from chaos.
This same drive for potential created our modern world’s organizational systems and structures, which have since become familiar and fixed, lulling us into a state of decreased self-efficacy and limiting beliefs. Now that the speed of change has outpaced the reliability of those frameworks, amidst the instability and uncertainty, we have the opportunity to rediscover our birthright of possibility.
In this stirring and masterfully brilliant keynote, Julie Jungalwala takes audiences on a research-based exploration of human adaptability and the possibilities that emerge when we follow our curiosity and ground ourselves in what’s truly meaningful.
Audiences learn how the workplace can facilitate this radical shift, leading to greater fulfillment and organizational impact—and leave inspired to become architects of their own futures.
This talk is available for tailored workshops.
Julie is the practical dreamer you’ve been looking for.
The grounded voice to inspire audiences to live the life they know they are here to live.
Michael Morabito
Sr. Sales Manager, Compass
"Julie speaks with such elegance and clarity, making complex concepts about employee motivation and technological advancement accessible and actionable. Our team left the session feeling inspired and equipped with practical strategies to not only contribute more effectively to our company but also to embrace innovation with confidence."
Kim Fry
Assistant Executive Director of Learning Innovation and AI, WASA
"Julie Jungalwala was the dynamic and engaging speaker we wanted at our Annual Women in Leadership Conference. Her ability to guide participants through meaningful self-reflection on their purpose and future selves left a profound impact. Attendees left the session with greater clarity, confidence, and actionable steps to foster stronger relationships and team performance within their organizational context. Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with many noting how her ideas sparked deep reflection and practical application in their leadership roles."
Thara Pillai
Director, Harvard Innovation Labs
“Thank you for another exceptional session, Julie! As we reflected on the two days with the founders, your name came up frequently as someone who truly shifted their thinking about where they are and where they want to go. Sharing the highs and lows of your own journey helped them connect with you on a deeper level and embrace the exercise wholeheartedly. We are so grateful for your work and for supporting our program.”
Teri Marcos, Ed.D.
Academic Program Director, Ed.D. in Organizational Innovation, National University
“"Julie Jungalwala is perhaps the finest facilitator of possibility thinking in groups I've participated in as she engages their thinking and energy over her time with them. She is a dynamic speaker who asks questions of her audiences while authentically cultivating and curating both the individual and collective knowledge in the room. It is a truly learningful experience while both grounding, and unforgettable"”
JULIE JUNGALWALA
Keynote Speaker, Workshop Leader, Author, Leadership Coach & Advisor
Julie Jungalwala’s journey from Northern Ireland to Massachusetts, working in various capacities in a range of organizational structures and cultures, brings a refreshingly honest and solutions-oriented approach to her keynote, “Lead Yourself First: How to Navigate Disruption and Become the Architect of What’s Next.”
With a specialized focus on adult development and behavioral change, Julie graduated with a Masters in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is the founder of the Institute for the Future of Learning and a co-founder of the Academic Leadership Group, Inc. Julie is an Instructor in Professional & Executive Development at the Harvard Division of Continuing Education, where she teaches courses on authentic leadership, strengths-based development, and building adaptability and resilience during times of disruption and change. She is a certified CliftonStrengths coach and the author of ‘The Human Side of Changing Education, published by Corwin Press.
What began as a curious exploration of her own human potential has evolved into a career-long quest to embolden leaders and their teams to lead and live from a place of purpose, choice, and growth. A place that awakens human potential at scale.
