.png "Leslie Riley photo")
Author, Speaker, Life Enthusiast
Lead Like a Girl
Leslie's done a little bit of everything. Her non-linear path gave her opportunities to travel the world, study human dynamics, and live life to the fullest every minute. She calls herself a “Life Enthusiast” because if there’s a challenge most people don’t want to tackle…she’ll give it a try. From running an ultra-marathon to lessons on the flying trapeze, Leslie doesn’t know the meaning of the words, “I can’t.”
She decided early on to take the road less traveled, which led her to West Point after high school. Leslie spent four years pursuing a degree in Portuguese (including a summer program in Brazil, which hooked her forever on international travel) before being commissioned in the Army. She spent seven years as an Aviation officer flying CH-47D Chinook helicopters, including tours in Kosovo & South Korea.
After leaving the Army, Leslie worked in a lot of organizations & roles from sales to project management. Some of her most unique (and favorite) jobs were as a professional organizer & TV news producer. Eventually she found her way into a role as an internal facilitator where she spent several years working & playing in a field she knew was meant for her! She also added the titles "trainer," "inspirational speaker," & "coach" to her resume before starting her own company, which focuses on inspiring groups & individuals to look for new perspectives when the ones they're stuck in just aren't working anymore. Her passion is helping teams use their own brilliance to improve communication and enhance success. A few of her clients include:
The World Bank • U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) • U.S. Customs & Border Protection • Veterans Administration (VA) • U.S. Army War College • USAA • VISA • Disney • Fidelity • Adobe • CapitalOne • Cisco • Raytheon • Procter & Gamble • Etsy • Honda • Haliburton • ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership • The United Way • Energetic Women • DiversityInc • National Australia Bank • Blue Cross Blue Shield • The City of Las Vegas
In her spare time (just kidding...she has a 4-year old, so “what spare time?!”), she loves to cook, ride her Peloton, and create adventures for her daughter! But her most infamous hobby is picking up pennies! She started The Penny Project as a way to pool found money for a bigger cause. With hundreds of people out there finding pennies with her, she’s collected & donated over $4,800! She even compiled all the great lessons she learned from the experience in a book, Penny Perspectives: Let Go of Happily Ever After & Invest in Happily Ever NOW! And you probably thought pennies weren’t all that interesting or valuable, eh?! Just like she will on most topics, Leslie will have you thinking twice about your old perspective on that!
Thursday, December 8, 2022
8:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Thursday, December 8, 2022
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM