Rebellious Curiosity disrupts status quo, evoking radical change.
Dr Yemi Penn is a globally recognized global keynote speaker, thought leader, engineer, and PhD researcher awarded the prestigious Nancy Millis Medal for research excellence, placing her doctorate in the top 5% nationally.
A systems thinker with a rebelliously curious spirit, Yemi is the founder of Rebellious Curiosity and Cultural Peace Brokering - two practical, evidence-based frameworks that empower leaders to challenge inherited narratives, navigate discomfort, and lead meaningful cultural transformation. Her work is rooted in one belief: transformation isn’t just personal - it’s collective, and it’s a leadership imperative.
From London to Lagos, Sydney to Seattle, Yemi brings lived experience, social scientific rigour, and deep empathy to every stage and boardroom she enters. She has helped global companies, schools, governments, and communities shift how they lead, connect, and transform - not by avoiding discomfort, but by moving through it, together.
Whether she’s facilitating cultural repair within organizations or helping CEOs build inclusive, trauma-informed workplaces, her approach is as bold as it is human. Her award-winning research explores how curiosity can disrupt inherited rupture’s, transform identity, and unlock powerful new pathways for leadership and liberation.
Her signature question - “What would shift if we made peace with our pain and used it to lead?” is a call to action for every leader, team, and system ready to evolve.
Yemi is the author of Did You Get the Memo?, the producer of multiple documentaries, and a trusted advisor to purpose- driven leaders across sectors. If you’re building human-first systems, ready for real change, and willing to learn how to lead in solidarity, Yemi is who you call.
Talking Points
Building a Thriving Culture
We are living in fragmented times, where the very mention of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion often feels divisive. Yet beneath the tension lies a universal truth: every individual desires and has the right to belong. Through her research and lived experience, Yemi Penn reveals how our bodies carry the scars of exclusion and oppression, shaping unconscious biases in both the marginalised and the privileged.Building a Thriving Culture
In her keynotes and workshops, Yemi creates space for the uncomfortable yet necessary conversations we often avoid because they feel “too hard.” As Yemi says, “Nobody is coming to save us, so we must be bold enough to save ourselves and build thriving cultures.”
These conversations are the catalyst for transformation, allowing organisations to shift from a culture of disconnection and survival to one of collaboration and thriving. At the heart of this transformation is something new, bold, and deeply needed: what Yemi calls “Cultural Peace Brokering.”
Why This Keynote Matters
1. Organisations Can’t Afford Toxicity: Toxic cultures impact employee retention, creativity, and bottom-line performance. Ignoring these issues is no longer an option. This keynote addresses the root causes of cultural dysfunction and provides a roadmap for transformation.
2. Beyond Surface Solutions: Many organisations focus on diversity metrics or one-off inclusion efforts, but real change requires deeper work, transforming systems, behaviours, and mindsets that perpetuate exclusion and inequity.
3. Belonging Is Good for Business: Research shows that psychologically safe and inclusive workplaces lead to higher engagement, innovation, and resilience. Thriving cultures aren’t just about “feeling good” they drive measurable results.
Key Takeaways
· The Pillars of a Thriving Culture: Learn how to build cultures that prioritize emotional safety, equity, learning, and inclusion.
· Cultural Peace Brokering: Discover the art of bridging cultural divides and healing disconnection through empathy and shared accountability.
· From Surviving to Thriving: Move from survival mode to spaces where people feel empowered to grow and contribute fully.
· Power With, Not Power Over: Transform hierarchies into systems of shared power and co-creation.
· Challenge the Status Quo: Embrace “rebellious curiosity” to spark meaningful, systemic change.
· Practical Transformation Strategies: Gain actionable tools to conduct culture audits and implement changes that last.
WHO THIS IS FOR:
All levels in business, Senior Managers, Business Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Executives, Small & Medium sized business owners
Cultural Peace Broking: How to lead through discomfort & difference
Too often, inclusion and diversity are reduced to tick-box exercises. Dr. Yemi Penn’s Cultural Peace Brokering shifts the conversation from performative action to embodied solidarity.Cultural Peace Broking: How to lead through discomfort & difference
Based on her PhD research and real-world facilitation experience, this keynote gives leaders a practical roadmap to navigate collective wounds, bridge cultural divides, and build workplaces where people don’t just belong - they thrive.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS:
· Understand how to identify and address the “invisible fractures” in workplace culture
· Learn Dr. Yemi’s 4-phase model for building solidarity, not just surface-level inclusion
· Be inspired to lead conversations that heal, not just manage difference
Psychosocial Safety: The Art of Radical Responsibility
Psychosocial safety is no longer optional. With new workplace hazard laws placing mental, emotional, and cultural wellbeing alongside physical safety, organisations must evolve beyond compliance into conscious, compassionate leadership.Psychosocial Safety: The Art of Radical Responsibility
Dr Yemi Joy Penn invites audiences to explore psychosocial safety as a shared responsibility; one that lives both within individuals and within the systems that hold them. Through her signature blend of research, storytelling, and rebellious curiosity, she shows how the most innovative, resilient cultures are those that pair radical self-awareness with structural accountability.
She helps audiences understand that psychosocial safety begins when each individual takes radical responsibility for their internal state, learning to regulate their nervous system, meet their own needs, and hold compassion for others doing the same. Yet, true safety cannot rest on individual effort alone. Organisations, leaders, and communities must build the infrastructure of care that allows this inner work to flourish: policies that minimise harm, leadership practices that model regulation, cultures that normalise brave conversations, and systems designed for fairness, inclusion, and rest. When the self and the system work in tandem, psychosocial safety becomes a collective reality that sustains wellbeing, trust, and belonging.
Key Takeaways
Participants will learn how to:
1. Understand psychosocial safety as cultural and relational responsibility.
2. Identify and regulate their nervous system to stay grounded under stress.
3. Observe their “thorns” , the triggers and unmet needs shaping behaviour.
4. Transform fear and silence into trust and agency through conscious dialogue.
5. Design organisational scaffolding that prevents harm and nurtures belonging
Ideal Audience:
Senior leaders and people managers, HR, Wellbeing, and Safety professionals, Change agents and DEI champions, Cross-cultural and hybrid teams navigating complexity
Liminal Thinking
Liminal means threshold. To solve problems, we will need to shift our perspectives and change the mindset in which these problems were created. This will require deconstruction of existing systems, requiring a bit of unreasonableness and the alchemy of bending reality. Yemi Penn will share her formula for bending reality, sharing how the boundaries that usually cage us can be used as props to bring about superior outcomes.Liminal Thinking
KEY TAKEAWAYS & IMMERSIONS:
· Understand the key principles of Liminal thinking
· That thinking outside the box is redundant because there is no box inc. practical examples
· That acknowledging the elephant in the room and Emotional Intelligence resolves conflict, implementing ‘how’ this is done
· How you can as a leader create better relationships within organisations and teams
· A higher sense of compassion and understanding of those around you
WHO THIS IS FOR:
Executives, Partners, Senior Leaders, Middle Management, Aspiring Leaders
Deep Dives
This offering works well they have no structure but are designed for Yemi to guide the conversation with deep listening following my keynote. We go deeper into the tools and concepts Yemi shares and create a safe space for the smaller group to participate. These deep dives are more intense than a keynote as it is emotional housekeeping and deeper integrated neurolinguistic programming.
Deep Dives
Round Table Discussions
In these discussions with the Senior Leadership teams, Yemi designs and facilitates difficult conversations in the workplace on topics such as race, gender, consent and allyship. These sessions are designed for small groups to begin with with the potential to extend the discussion into a Keynote for wider audiences.
Round Table Discussions
Video
Yemi Penn | Speaker Reel | Saxton Speakers
Dr Yemi Penn is a global thought leader on trauma, identity, and conscious leadership. In this reel, Yemi challenges limiting beliefs and invites audiences to rewrite their personal and professional narratives. With a background in engineering and entrepreneurship, she bridges logic and emotion to drive sustainable change. Her approach empowers leaders to transform trauma, embrace radical honesty, and ignite their rebellious curiosity for growth and impact.Yemi Penn - Mindset Transformation Coach | Saxton Speakers
Yemi Penn is a global thought leader on empowerment and resilience. An Engineer by proYemi Penn is a global thought leader on empowerment and resilience. An Engineer by profession, Yemi is a champion and tireless advocate for equality and equity in STEM fields. As an Entrepreneur and Mindset Coach, she is an advocate for self-empowerment and resilience as tools to get organisations back on track with wellness and productivity. Yemi is a force to be reckoned with and has inspired audiences across Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, where she recently delivered her first TED talk at TEDxOcala in Florida.F45 Global Leadership Conference | Yemi Penn | Saxton Speakers
Yemi Penn is a global thought leader on empowerment and resilience. An Engineer by profession, Yemi is a champion and tireless advocate for equality and equity in STEM fields. As an Entrepreneur and Mindset Coach, she is an advocate for self-empowerment and resilience as tools to get organisations back on track with wellness and productivity. Yemi is a force to be reckoned with and has inspired audiences across Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, where she recently delivered her first TED talk at TEDxOcala in Florida.Do we choose the experience our trauma teaches us? | Yemi Penn | TEDxOcala
This talk dares humanity to acknowledge its individual trauma at the same time, detaching itself from a victim story. Guiding the collective to transmute its pain to power and be the change the world so desperately needs. Born in the UK, childhood in Nigeria, stint in Okinawa Japan and now living in Sydney, Australia, Yemi can be described as a citizen of the world! She is an Engineer by profession, an Entrepreneur by Passion and a Transformation Mindset Coach by mission; Yemi is dedicated to guiding others in unlocking their untapped potential. An introvert at heart having only recently found her 'voice', she is making up for lost time! Having authored her first book and podcast titled, 'Did You Get the Memo?' Yemi has featured in numerous publications in the U.K, Africa and Australia. Yemi run's 3 businesses whilst parenting her two children in Sydney, Australia. One being her Engineering Management consultancy, an F45 Fitness studio in Brixton, London and her Transformation company under her brand of Yemi Penn. With qualifications ranging from project management to neurolinguistic programming, and methods taught to her personally by Jack Canfield and Tony Robbins, Yemi helps transmute pain to power.Yemi Penn interview with Jack Canfield | Saxton Speakers
As part of Jack Canfield's 'Talking About Success' series, he interviews Yemi Penn. Discussing her journey and dedication to raise the vibration around trauma and the healing of it.Audio
Yemi is an engaging and authentic presenter. Her energy and connectedness invites her audience to journey with her through her presentation. Highly recommended! ... keep reading Lifeline
Yemi is an impeccable speaker with an impressive ability to connect and draw in the audience through her authentic, unapologetic yet graceful manner. Yemi’s knowledge and inspiring perspectives had all of us highly engaged and reflecting on our own stories, challenges and experience to make positive impacts. Yemi’s personable nature built trust and opportunity for open conversations among the group. We would highly recommend Yemi for any speaking engagement.
Yemi was a fabulous opening keynote. She is inspiring.
Yemi facilitated an extremely complex and challenging symposium over 2 days of multiple sessions with several stakeholders to help us achieve concrete outcomes and action plans that we wanted. It was an immense task and Yemi was beyond excellent in keeping people engaged, active and in good humour to work collaboratively and effectively.
