Karen McCullough

I have worked with a variety of speakers over the course of my career. Karen is a standout! From our first communication to her keynote speech at Rhode Island Manufacturers’ (RIMA) Annual Breakfast and Meeting this May, Karen was a true professional! Over the course of 6 months, she was always available to discuss and refine the topic, answer questions, gain feedback, tweak, and re-tweak as needed. She was engaged in our event every step of the way. Even a few days before her presentation on “Bridging Generational Gaps in the Workplace”, an essential topic for all businesses dealing with multiple generations in the workplace, Karen made herself available. She reviewed the draft presentation with us, solicited our comments, accepted our thoughts, and even traveled early to meet with us the day before. But what impressed me the most was her enthusiasm, ownership of her part in transforming our event, and her genuineness. On the morning of the event, Karen was there early, assessing the crowd and making some last-minute changes to her keynote to optimize the crowd’s engagement. The result was an outstanding event with numerous attendees posting and praising her speech, as well as the event and the engagement with fellow attendees. Over a week later, people are still commenting on the posts related to the event, calling and texting us, all with high praise for our keynote speaker, Karen McCullough! Call Karen if you want to elevate your next event and engage your audience!

We were honored to have Karen as our keynote speaker at our annual conference. Her presentation on navigating and leading through change was both inspiring and practical, leaving the audience with valuable insights and strategies they can put into action. Karen is insightful but also uplifting, giving the tools and encouragement to think differently and move forward with confidence. The energy and authenticity she brought to the stage truly resonated with everyone in the room. A true thought leader and engaging presenter!

Karen was our opening keynote speaker and absolutely set the tone for Summit. Her session was fun, high-energy, and refreshingly different from the typical “generational statistics and horror stories” we’ve all heard a thousand times. She brought real insight with a style that kept everyone fully engaged and left us talking about her message long after she walked off stage. If you’re looking for a keynote who connects with the room, brings immediate value, and makes learning feel exciting, I confidently recommend her. She was a standout.

"Our conference wouldn't have been the same without Karen McCullough. She researched our industry, understood the challenges facing our attendees and provided one of the best programs we've ever seen. It was educational, insightful, timely, and fun! We rarely if ever repeat speakers, but Karen is the exception. We want to book her for next year's conference too!"

Each January, the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association holds a week-long training event for hospitality personnel across the State of Texas, which we call the Annual Short Course. Speakers for the Annual Short Course include hospitality figures of international reputation. For several years, we have had the good fortune of including Karen McCullough among our speakers. I note that she has participated in this program for years because it is only through attendee evaluations that a speaker is invited back to present at future events. I can enthusiastically recommend that you use Karen for absolutely any training purpose. She is well-versed, experienced, interactive, and tremendously entertaining to an audience. In fact, Karen has consistently ranked at the top of student evaluations each year that she has provided training to our group. You cannot go wrong by giving her the opportunity to speak to your group.

We had Karen give her keynote "Managing Your Energy, Not Your Time" for one of the larger events the North Dakota CPA Society plans. Even though it was virtual there was still the same amazing engagement and excitement as if we were in the same room. Our attendees loved her high energy for our closing keynote session for day one of the conference. She was very easy to work with and went out of her way to make sure she could relate to the audience with her material but also get her message across to them. The interactive portions of the session were also a hit and I have been listening to the playlist since the event!

"Our healthcare leaders had great reviews about Karen! She was an excellent presenter to our leadership team of 100+ members. We loved her energy, content, and interactions through this virtual setting! We integrated music, breakrooms, and intentional interactive discussions through the session to ensure that participants felt connected. Karen was intentional in customizing her topic to our needs. The leadership team shared that our session was timely and relevant. They appreciated the concepts around setting boundaries, taking time to recharge, and ensuring that self-care is a priority. Thank you, Karen!"

I became aware of Karen through her "Lessons from the Road" video blogs a colleague forwarded to me. I then registered to receive her blogs myself and I also passed them along to others. When our OD area determined that we needed to offer a class about working with a multi-generational workforce, I knew that Karen would be a great choice to deliver training on that topic. I could tell that Karen knew her stuff - she's nationally known for her insight on millennials. Plus, she was passionate about the topic. You can never go wrong with the combination of passion and expertise! Through Karen's energetic and involving communication style, along with the perfectly spaced group activities, she kept the participants both interested and engaged from start to finish. We could have probably gone another hour with all the questions the participants wanted to ask her! She'll be coming back to do classes in her other areas of expertise: personal branding and resilience to change. I would highly recommend Karen to lead a training session, either virtually or in person.

"Karen McCullough's Bridging the Generations Remotely, was great! She is engaging, informative, and lots of fun. Although our group didn't get to experience her in person due to the pandemic restrictions, she made our webinar SO interactive and fun! I cannot say enough good things about her! We have been getting emails and phone calls from our clients nonstop raving about their experience listening to Karen."

"From the start, our initial call six months prior to our event, Karen was phenomenal…easy to work with, friendly, open-minded and professional. Booking her and setting up the program as our keynote speaker was 'low-maintenance'; which I truly appreciated since I was dealing with 30 other outside speakers. And she delivered…she opened it and WOWED our audience and provided a buzz that carried on throughout our 3-day event. A VP in our organization, with 25 years of experience here, labeled her 'easily one of the top 3 keynote speakers we have ever have.' Well done, Karen! I would hire her again in a heartbeat." 5/4/17

"Karen's ability to connect, entertain, and hold an audience's attention is truly unique. She has spoken to our clients on two different occasions and both times we received excellent feedback. Her energy is infectious, and her authentic style really resonates with her audience. Karen is absolutely someone we'd welcome back any time to speak to our group!"

Karen delivered one of the most interactive and engaging virtual programs we've seen! From the breakout rooms to her fun quizzes and games, she captured our attention and gave us a truly memorable experience. Karen's presentation was a great respite to the doldrums of coronavirus and would be a benefit to any organization at any time!!

You Rocked It- as always!! The audience was really in-tune with your message and had plenty of take-aways to think about, especially the 'kindness' aspect of your talk. We look forward to working with you again in the future.

"Karen is smart and laugh out loud funny! She knows branding! Saying she was a pleasure to work with is an understatement. She took the time to get to know the Iowa Department of Transportation and crafted her message to reinforce the goals we had for our leadership conference. The conference theme was Momentum, so we worked with Karen to tailor her Beyond the Brand presentation to compliment the theme of the conference. Karen took that concept one step further and helped the group think beyond the company brand and understand their own "personal brand" and the effect it has on the work we do and the people we serve. Her 90 minute keynote had the audience engaged the entire time through humor and interacting with one another. What a refreshing way to end the conference."

Well, I'd say you knocked it out of the park this morning! The Professional Group of Houston loves you! Your presentation was just great - loved the format, your visuals were good and the break-out groups, really great fun! I've heard so many raves about what a great program we had. I picked up several great ideas that I want to work into my routine and my mindset.!

"We were hooked the minute we viewed Karen's video library. We invited Karen to speak to nearly 200 Hawaii small business owners on the topic "Building the Customer-Employee Relationship". Karen arrived on Maui and spent time getting to know the culture and businesses in our community prior to the conference. On an island, having engaged employees is critical to a small business's success, and Karen showed us how employees who are performing at high levels and creating emotional engagements with the customer create an environment that allows a business to go far beyond the brand. Karen's positive energy and enthusiasm had everyone in the room engaged during her keynote and workshop. Mahalo Karen for bringing such a WOW! experience to small businesses in Hawaii!"

What a joy it was to have Karen McCullough speak at our Southeast Credit Union Conference & Exposition in Orlando! Not only is she a bundle of energy, she is a fiery Millennial Evangelist who truly inspires, challenges and provokes (in a good way!) change! Booking and working with Karen was easy…she listened to my requests, vision and desires for our program and she totally delivered through 3 days….3 sessions! Attendees poured out of her sessions energized, with concrete take-a-ways; exactly what I had hoped for. Not only does Karen bring branding, social media and futuristic ideas to each session….she lives it and it is evident the moment she steps foot onto the property! Thank you Karen….you helped make our conference a huge success!

It was truly a pleasure to work with Karen as a general session keynote speaker for our conference. The time that she took getting to know our organization in advance and customizing her presentation was evidenced by the tremendous engagement in the room with our attendees. The audience response was immediate. Even our most hesitant stakeholders made a point of sharing their elation with me after the session. Most importantly, everyone in the session left the room with tangible takeaways. Thank you, Karen, for helping us to take our general session from credible, to INCREDIBLE!

Karen was an amazing speaker and was very engaging. Her speaking style relates to every person in the audience, whether they are younger or older, female or male. She is not just funny, but she is informative, knowledgeable, and inspiring. When speaking, she captures the room and not only gets people excited to hear about what she needs to say, but encourages people to continue the conversation. We have had Karen as a guest speaker multiple times, and look forward to asking her to come back again soon!

"The customer comments have been pouring in. We held our bi-annual distributor's meeting with customers representing more than 30 countries in attendance. Karen's presentation on working in and selling to a multi-generational society was outstanding. Karen really took the time to do her homework and understand our 130 year old industry. She kept the energy level high and interactive. Within days after the event I had co-workers and customers tell me that they had already applied the information they took away from Karen's presentation. They were able to relate generational differences to both their work and personal lives. Karen was gracious enough to share her PowerPoint presentation so that I could send it out to the many that requested a copy. Good communication is the key to success and Karen helped us understand how to best give and receive communication!"

"Karen was fantastic; a great fit for our audience! She was able to communicate the importance of understanding the different generations in the workplace in an engaging, informative, and fun way. I would highly recommend Karen for any company or association who is looking to bring instant relevance to attendees."

Karen was an absolute joy to have at our conference! Her presentations on What Motivates You? and Employee Engagement showed high energy, charisma, and passion. She really engaged our attendees and was a great way to begin our sessions for the week. Based on the feedback received after the conference, Karen’s two presentations were overwhelmingly rated as Excellent, and in the words of one attendee, “I loved her. Energetic and great insight to the ages of our employees.”

The feedback and evaluations of your two sessions were overwhelmingly positive and yes, you rocked! You struck the perfect balance of high energy, humor and insightful, applicable content. Your detailed and thorough research was obvious but most importantly our attendees had a great time and left with tools they could use on a daily basis. It is such a pleasure to work with someone who holds themselves to such high standards. Once I provide you with the basic information, I step back and am confident that you will deliver. We will certainly recommend your presentation to others and look forward to working with you again in the future. Again, many thanks.

"Karen McCullough did an outstanding job at our 2014 convention. Attendees ranged in age from 18 to 85, and they all took something away. Change is Good - You Go First! People took selfies, interacted with each other, which is not the norm for our people. Not a negative word about Karen's keynote - I sent her name across the country to all of my counterparts in the credit union industry - Karen is a Home Run!"

Karen's energy and enthusiasm is amazing! She always incorporates the audience from a personal stand point, doing much research even before arriving on site to give them the best experience possible. We always love having her at our events, and our attendees do too!

"I've been working with Karen for over 15 years and she has spoken to my team 6 times. She always shakes things up (in a really good way). Her sessions with our managers have been educational, motivational and eye-opening. I can count on her to leave my leaders engaged and enthusiastic with a clear vision of what needs to be done. She has proven herself time and time again, always delivering the right messages at the right time. This past month I had her speak to my management team, as well as the entire company and the satellite teams. Her Change is Good presentation is serious business, but delivered with humor and energy. She always connects!" maryann@mckenzieair.com www.mckenzieair.com

Karen's support at our conference is unmatched. She showed such genuine care for our effort and objectives that she attended the first day of our conference to become intimately familiar with our audience. She then delivered the most engaging Keynote I have heard in a very long time. She captured the audience, made learning fun and assisted the HR Oil & Gas community to uncover solutions related to bridging the generations in today's environment. We can't wait to have her return!

Karen did an amazing job with our unique group of women from Executive Women International (EWI), her preparation and communication skills are the best. Her commitment to providing us with quality presentations was evident from the very beginning: from the contracting process to the end of her last presentation. She was professional, knowledgeable and entertaining.

"Karen not only provided important information but was very engaging and, most importantly,relateable! The Texas Executive Officers Council of the Texas Association of Builders consists of leaders who range in age from their mid-20s to almost 70 - like our membership - and each of these individuals came away from Karen's presentation with new and relevant information and ideas to take back to their local association chapters. This was an entertaining and informational two hours! Thanks, Karen."

Karen provided our family business owners with the perfect mix of content and comedy during her lively presentation on generations in the workplace. She was a joy to work with from start to finish. She is a true professional. Our family business owners have been raving about Karen's event for weeks. She truly hit the mark with her presentation about generations in the workplace.

It is a pleasure to highly recommend Karen. Karen McCullough brings energy, enthusiasm and insight to every gathering. Hearing Karen once is not enough - her presentations are varied, entertaining and informative! One indication of her positive impact comes from the takeaways shared days later by grateful attendees.

I have had the pleasure of experiencing Karen's high energy presentations on several occasions and have recommended her to several groups. She takes messages we need to hear and delivers them in an entertaining and educational way so that the message sticks. And it is fun!

Thank you, Karen, for a terrific presentation at Nationwide Marketing Group's PrimeTime! University in Dallas. Even though your class was one of the last ones offered, it was well attended because the topic, Generations Today: New Rules, New Tools, was right on target. Yours was one of the highest rated courses among the nearly 30 offered to our members. Attendees loved your enthusiasm and your "change the angle" message.

Karen recently spoke at our Houston Tri Delta Mothers' Club luncheon to moms and our college age daughters. She was fun, lively, entertaining and interactive, which our girls really enjoyed. She helped us understand the differences in the way each of our generations communicate. In an entertaining way she helped our daughters understand how to be more successful when speaking to others. This was so important because they will be graduating soon and getting jobs- this skill will be invaluable. As for the moms, it helped us understand why they don't do things the way we do! Most of the audience were working women, but this talk applies to anyone who has to communicate in today's world.

"Karen did a fantastic job tying all of the generations into her presentation. She made the audience feel engaged and they had many questions throughout her presentation. She allowed the audience to speak and she was very open to learning and understanding what the audience had to say. An extremely well-spoken individual who did a great job presenting on how to sell to the different generations. I learned a great amount from her presentation. She was very professional and you could tell that she has a wealth of knowledge of the different generations and how to engage them."

"Karen absolutely left our membership & guest wanting more! She knocked her Keynote on Bridging the Generational Gap out of the park. Two weeks after the event, I continue to hear from guests how much they enjoyed Karen's presentation. She not only hit a cord with her message, but had the audience totally engaged and participating throughout the presentation

As someone who manages all 4 generations (Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z) it was critical to see how each of them bring something to the table and by embracing the differences rather than trying to make them see things from my point of view makes for a better organization. While the insight that she shared about the differences in generations was very helpful and insightful, what I felt was most compelling was how Karen wove her own story throughout her presentation. She is gives you not just research but the benefit of her personal experiences. Karen is a wonderful blend of entertaining content and pertinent, actionable advice on dealing with differing generations in the workplace. I highly recommend her!

The NonProfit CouncilKaren absolutely left our membership & guest wanting more! She knocked her Keynote on Bridging the Generational Gap out of the park. Two weeks after the event, I continue to hear from guests how much they enjoyed Karen's presentation. She not only hit a cord with her message, but had the audience totally engaged and participating throughout the presentation

"Karen absolutely left our membership & guest wanting more! She knocked her Keynote on Bridging the Generational Gap out of the park. Two weeks after the event, I continue to hear from guests how much they enjoyed Karen's presentation. She not only hit a cord with her message, but had the audience totally engaged and participating throughout the presentation."

Karen provided a unique and powerful message of self-reflection and challenged us to influence the strengths of our inner female personalities and enhance our relationships with others. She emphasized that as females we can leverage our unique personalities to become stronger leaders!

"Everybody at Southwest is still talking about YOU! Thank you again for the marvelous job you did. You created such impact here. You helped reinforce the power of inclusion and mirrored our strong Culture that has People at its core. Thanks again for a job well done, Karen!"

Karen McCullough was a true inspiration to the women and men at the Bay Area Go Red (American Heart Association For Women Luncheon. She left our audience inspired, empowered and motivated to go out into the world and be true to themselves. The Seven Women Project even continued to inspire women afterwards our committee put the book to good use and all read it together! Karen really kept the energy in our room going with her witty sense of humor and big smile. I would highly recommend her for any Go Red speaking engagement.

"Karen's presentation 'Change is Good - You Go First' was spot on with our members. She made our delegates feel more comfortable with change and embrace the opportunities that change presents to us each day. She was humorous and connected with our participants immediately when she came floor level and involved members of the audience. She even had one member literally 'dancing in the aisle.' Great speaker, great message, great results."

Despite the current climate at our organization, we received extremely positive feedback regarding Karen's presentation and had a great turnout for this event. Our colleagues thoroughly enjoyed her presentation and sense of humor. Her style was exactly what we needed during this difficult time.

Navigating The Generational Waters - Millennials to Get Z In one word, I describe Karen's performance as Outstanding! While the insight that she shared about the differences in generations was very helpful and insightful, what I felt was most compelling was how Karen wove her own story throughout her presentation. Karen gives you not just research but the benefit of her personal experiences. As someone who manages all people in all 4 generations (Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z) it was critical to see how each of them bring something to the table and by embracing the differences rather than trying to make them see things from my point of view makes for a better organization. Karen is a wonderful blend of entertaining content and pertinent, actionable advice on dealing with differing generations in the workplace. I highly recommend her! Glenn Loughridge Director of Dining Services at Auburn University Auburn, Alabama

"Thank you Karen, or breathing the life, energy, and the humor into our annual employee's event at Prudential. We couldn't have pulled it off with you. People are LOVING the conversation around the event theme. Thank you for doing what you do!" Audrey Foster Polonitza. Senior Associate, Prudential Advis

Karen presented for our organization on two different occasions and was an absolute hit with our audience both times. In her webinar on Reinventing Yourself and Your Career, Karen kept our attention by telling compelling stories that kept the audience engaged throughout. I received fantastic feedback following Karen's presentation. I would highly recommend her to anyone who is looking to blow their audience away. She absolutely delivers - whether it's in person or online.