Katie Hilborn turned personal adversity into global impact, earning recognition alongside the Dalai Lama and Jane Goodall as a 7x award-winning humanitarian, social entrepreneur, and keynote speaker. A master story weaver, she blends lived experience with actionable insight to shift paradigms and move audiences to meaningful change. Her heart-led initiatives... Read more
Katie Hilborn turned personal adversity into global impact, earning recognition alongside the Dalai Lama and Jane Goodall as a 7x award-winning humanitarian, social entrepreneur, and keynote speaker. A master story weaver, she blends lived experience with actionable insight to shift paradigms and move audiences to meaningful change. Her heart-led initiatives have raised millions and inspired over 100,000 volunteer hours.
Her defining moment came in March 2015, when a massive earthquake flattened Nepal. Living in Australia at the time, Katie watched villages vanish, temples crumble, and children become orphaned overnight.
As an orphan herself, she couldn’t look away. She flew to Nepal with no plan and led 13 missions delivering aid to remote villages—where she uncovered a child trafficking ring. It wasn’t just disaster relief—it was about saving lives in more ways than one. That experience taught her: fear isn’t something you wait to overcome. You move forward with it.
It also taught her something deeper—how to lead teams with purpose and heart, even in crisis. True impact doesn’t come from control, but from creating trust, vision, and meaning in the chaos.
Born to a mother with mental illness and abandoned at birth, she was adopted into a loving Chicago family whose legacy shaped her future. At 20, witnessing her birth mother’s death from multiple sclerosis forced her to confront mortality, privilege, and purpose—igniting a lifelong quest to explore, grow, and give back.
Her journey has taken her from funding her first school in Uganda with coffeehouse tips to walking pumas in the Bolivian jungle, living with the Maasai, and helping communities rise after loss. These extraordinary chapters shape a keynote platform that is impactful and memorable.
As founder and CEO of Compass Rose International, a nonprofit advancing mental wellness and education for girls, Katie introduces the concept of “following the breadcrumbs” of intuition—trusting your inner compass to make bold, heart-led decisions that transform careers, cultures, and communities.
Her message resonates with leaders and teams seeking more than motivation. Audiences leave with frameworks to build purpose-driven workplaces, boost engagement, retention, productivity, and navigate uncertainty.
She has spoken at 15 major events—including the Global Family Office Investment Summit, The CE Shop, and Northern Illinois University—and has been featured in New York Magazine, NBC Denver, and ABC Chicago. Her accolades include a Silver Anthem Award Leader of the Year, multiple Telly Awards, The President’s Call to Service Award, and membership in the Forbes Nonprofit Council.
Her keynotes don’t just inspire—they awaken something deeper. With humor, humanity, and heart, she delivers experiences that leave audiences forever inspired.
The workplace is in flux. Between AI disruption, remote work, and cultural shifts like quiet quitting and The Great Resignation, one truth has emerged: employees are no longer satisfied with checking boxes—they want meaning.
Nearly 40% of workers are considering leaving their jobs due to a lack of purpose (Gallup)....
From shifting job roles to sweeping industry changes, today’s workplace has never felt more uncertain. Change fatigue has surged by 170%, and only one-third of employees feel equipped to manage what’s coming next (Harvard Business Review). We’re not just burned out—we’re directionless.
In this keynote, Katie introduces a transformational model...