A woman with curly gray hair, wearing black glasses, a gold necklace, a brown top, and a gray cardigan, smiling outdoors with green plants and white flowers in the background.

Sessions that help leaders understand how burnout develops and what to do before everyone quietly disengages.

Keynotes & Workshops

Inquire About Speaking

Core Topics

  • How unclear communication and avoidant leadership create strain long before anyone names it

  • Supporting neurodivergent employees without overcorrecting, tiptoeing, or pretending it's simple

  • Making decisions under pressure when there's no right answer and everyone's already exhausted

  • Designing work people can truly sustain, not just survive

Signature Programs

Turning Scars Into Stories

How Managers Build Cultures of Compassion and Courage

Mental health awareness isn't the problem anymore. Most organizations have policies, programs, and checklists. What's missing is leadership that knows how to show up when things get uncomfortable.

In this grounded and often unexpectedly funny keynote, mental health advocate and storyteller Kat Atwell invites leaders to move past quick fixes and into real connection. Drawing from lived experience and workplace insight, Kat helps managers and HR leaders understand how their responses, language, and presence shape whether people feel safe or shut down at work.

Your people don't need a hero. They need someone who actually listens.

  • Why owning your story can make it safer for others to share theirs, and how trying to "fix" someone else's mental health experience usually backfires

  • What to do when an employee opens up about mental health (and what absolutely not to do)

  • Three communication shifts that let leaders show up with presence instead of performance

Takeaways

From Awareness to Action

Building Team Cultures Grounded in Compassion and Clarity

Mental health at work isn't a side conversation anymore. Most organizations are aware of the issue. What they're figuring out is how to respond when it shows up in real time, with real people and real stakes.

In this interactive workshop, mental health advocate and storyteller Kat Atwell works with HR leaders, managers, and people-first professionals to build the skills that matter most and often get overlooked. Using story, humor, and research-backed tools, participants practice how to respond to disclosures, navigate emotionally charged moments, and shape team cultures grounded in presence, empathy, and clarity.

Because when people feel safe to show up as they are, they don't just feel better. They work better.

  • Shift from fix-it mode to listening with presence and intention

  • Respond to mental health disclosures with empathy, boundaries, and confidence

  • Avoid unintentionally silencing or editing someone's story, and why that matters

  • Practice three conversation techniques that build trust and psychological safety

  • Model vulnerability in ways that strengthen leadership instead of undermining it

Participants will learn how to:

  • HR teams

  • Managers and emerging leaders

  • Leadership retreats and offsites

  • Organizations focused on retention, culture, and sustainable performance

Ideal For:

Optional add-on: This workshop can include a live Q&A or coaching segment where participants explore real scenarios in a confidential, supportive space.

Available in 90-minute, half-day, and full-day formats. Companion sessions for frontline teams available upon request.

Emcee & Event Host

Kat Atwell brings over a decade of emcee experience to stages ranging from Ignite Denver's fast-paced talks to nonprofit galas and corporate conferences. As a longtime organizing committee member for Ignite Denver, she's known for warm presence, strong audience connection, and keeping events running smoothly without stealing the spotlight.

She highlights sponsors, celebrates volunteers, and adapts in real time, bringing both heart and professionalism to the mic. Whether it's a high-energy showcase or a mission-driven fundraiser, Kat creates a welcoming, well-paced atmosphere that makes the event better, not longer.

Easy to work with and audience-focused.

Panelist

Looking to build a panel on mental health at work that goes beyond surface level talking points?

Kat Atwell brings a grounded perspective shaped by lived experience, workplace insight, and a calm, steady presence. She contributes thoughtfully, listens closely, and helps panels move from abstract discussion into conversation people can use. She won't derail the panel to tell her entire life story.

Whether on stage or virtual, Kat shows up prepared, engaged, and collaborative. She brings empathy, candor, and a focus on what audiences can take with them.

If your panel needs a voice that keeps the conversation human, honest, and useful, Kat is a strong fit.