laurie hernandez for international women’s day.
Question: How do you choose a keynote speaker to compliment a month’s worth of University-wide programming without being redundant?
Answer: You apply your understanding of your market and select someone who embodies authenticity and intersectionality. Bonus points if you have a long standing relationship with Keppler Speakers that allows you to secure an in-demand Olympian.
“This was truly a dream... Sydney saw my excitement for this particular speaker and allowed me to have amazing interactions with Laurie!
But with the amazing reception from students, being able to host and moderate was just the cherry on top.”
- Olivia, Student Life Graduate Assistant
About Laurie
Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist, advocate for positive body image.
Since bringing home the Gold and Silver medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Laurie has gone on to win the coveted Mirror ball trophy on Dancing with the Stars Season 23 and wrote her first book titled I Got This: To Gold and Beyond published in 2017, hitting the New York Times Best Sellers list. In 2018, she released a children’s picture book She’s Got This with Harper Collins Children's Books, also a NYT Best Seller, while serving as a Literacy Champion to promote readership as a path to leadership; and Mattel created a Laurie Hernandez “Shero” Barbie to honor her.
She is a second generation American, as her grandparents are from Puerto Rico, making her the first U.S. born Latina to make the U.S. team since 1984. Laurie is currently the Gymnastics analyst for Peacock and the Olympic Channel for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
