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The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau

A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.

Denise Hamilton

To lead in today’s changing world, your teams can’t just be inclusive—they need to be indivisible.

Author of Indivisible: How to Forge Our Differences into a Stronger Future | Founder and CEO of WatchHerWork

Now Playing

Are You Inclusive or Not Inclusive? (This Is a Trick Question) (2:09)

Now Playing

Be an Owner—Not a Renter—of Your Experience at Work (3:52)

Now Playing

DEI Is Big. Focus on the 5 Feet Around You (2:30)

Lavin Exclusive Speaker

For your company to thrive in a dauntingly complex world, you’ll need to aim for something higher than inclusivity: the goal of indivisibility. Imagine a work culture where every part of the organization, and everyone in it, contributes to the overall mission. Denise Hamilton shows you how to get there. She’s the founder and CEO of WatchHerWork, where she consults for organizations from Apple to the United Nations, and the author of Indivisible: How to Forge Our Differences into a Stronger Future, a 2024 Next Big Idea Book Club pick. “In a world dominated by division, this book is a force for unity,” writes bestselling business author Adam Grant, who calls Denise “a master of injecting complexity into oversimplified issues and shifting the diversity and inclusion conversation from outrage to insight. Indivisible is an extremely powerful, surprisingly practical read.”

“Denise Hamilton arms us with the tools to be successful as we move into a more prosperous future. She couples what to do with how to do it.”—CNN’s Van Jones

Denise Hamilton is an author, speaker and consultant who focuses on the people side of change. Whether today’s leaders are facing the future of work, AI, or a diversifying workforce, they’ll need new skills to navigate our rapidly changing world. Denise helps them unpack what it really looks like to be not only inclusive, but indivisible. She leverages her 25 years of executive experience with Fortune 500 organizations like AOL and CBRE to provide solutions that support employees and the bottom line.

Denise is the author of Indivisible: How to Forge Our Differences into a Stronger Future, which was named a 2024 Next Big Idea Club must-read. In this vital debut, she translates the ideals of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging into relatable language and actionable strategies, challenging us to build a culture that’s better than just inclusive. She offers simple strategies that you can put into practice today: from getting curious about other people’s stories, to avoiding burnout by focusing on the five-foot radius around you. Bestselling author Eric Ries calls it “a masterclass in creating powerful organizations where everyone has a sense of belonging.”

As founder and CEO of WatchHerWork, a consultancy and digital learning platform, Denise aims to empower individuals and teams to understand differences, resolve conflict, and become better allies. Her clients include household names like Meta, ExxonMobil, Hines, Amazon, Shell, the United Nations, and the WNBA. Clients have said Denise’s superpower is the ability to have the most challenging discussions and come out the other side with solutions and a positive direction.

Denise was featured by The New York Times as a nationally recognized expert in social audio and has been featured on the Apple Store, Harvard Business Review, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, MIT Sloan Management Review, FOX, CBS, NBC, Newsweek and many other outlets. She serves on the board of EMERGE and is the Chair of the Business Subcommittee for the 2020 Census for the City of Houston. She has served on the board for the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce, the RISE School and Avenue Community Development Corp. She received her Master’s in Communication and her BSW in Social Work from Abilene Christian University.

Testimonials

Denise has been one of the best reviewed speakers of all time. We have employees all over the world, and she was able to engage them at all levels. She is a master at what she does.

IBM

Testimonials

Denise was by far one of the best speakers we have ever had—you could feel the energy throughout the room. She made our teammates feel seen, heard, understood, and appreciated. She took the time to talk to them individually after, to the point that I had to move her into the foyer due to the long lines of people wanting to speak with her. Her presence was necessary and I cannot thank her enough for being a part of our event. I appreciate you for recommending her!

Action Behavior Centers

Testimonials

Denise delivered a great message filled with tips, personal stories, and heartfelt care for wanting us to advance diversity and inclusion inside and outside our organization. She was able to connect with our employees through her genuineness and optimistic approach.

Chevron Phillips Chemical

Testimonials

Denise Hamilton is one of the best speakers I have ever seen. She was our keynote speaker for International Women's Day and was beyond amazing. She was engaging, motivational and provided real-life examples.

McKesson

Testimonials

Denise took so many common issues we experience and helped everyone think about what we can do for ourselves, with real examples that instantly hit home for many of our employees. It's the start to helping us understand what else we can do to help all employees feel included in the organization.

Onesource Virtual

Lavin Exclusive Speakers

Angela Duckworth

Author of Grit, the #1 New York Times Bestseller | Pioneering Researcher on Grit, Perseverance, and the Science of Success

Daron Acemoglu

2024 Nobel Prize Winner | 3rd Most Cited Economist in the World | MIT Institute Professor | Bestselling Co-Author of Why Nations Fail and Power and Progress

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Creator of The 1619 Project | Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-Winning 1619 Project Hulu Docuseries | MacArthur Genius

Greg Hoffman

Nike's Former Chief Marketing Officer | Author of Emotion by Design

Nicholas Thompson

CEO of The Atlantic | Former Editor-in-Chief of WIRED

Speech Topics

Inclusion

The Challenges of DiversityAnd How to Overcome Them

We talk a great deal about the advantages of diversity, but rarely are we honest enough to admit that diversity is hard! In this thoughtful, honest presentation, Denise Hamilton helps us get back to basics to assess what the real challenges to Diversity and Inclusion are, and how we can overcome those challenges to unlock the power of our teams.

With her trademark charisma and optimism, Denise discusses the barriers that make allyship difficult, and how we can actively create inclusive work environments. For those of us who come from marginalized backgrounds, Denise offers strategies for communicating powerfully and changing the culture—not only for ourselves, but for everyone. She draws on her book, Indivisible, and her 25 years of executive experience with Fortune 500 companies—often as the only marginalized person in the room—to give everyone the tools to speak up for others, create an environment of inclusiveness and indivisibility, and thrive together. “Inclusion is tiring, expensive, and hard,” she says. “But if we do it, we’ll have a better world.”

Leadership

Building Indivisible TeamsHow Leaders Can Help Teams Reach Their Full Potential

Leadership is changing. Are you changing with it?

The last few years have brought new challenges and conflicts for leaders at all levels. But Denise Hamilton says you are more than capable of managing those challenges—and of helping your teams thrive under your leadership. In this inspiring session, the author of Indivisible helps leaders learn the causes of interpersonal conflict and the tools necessary to successfully navigate differences in the workplace.

An in-demand speaker and consultant for numerous Fortune 500 companies—as well as a founder and CEO herself—Denise reveals the surprisingly simple strategies that you can use to build indivisible teams. She shows you how to learn with “humble curiosity” and make room for different perspectives, prioritize effective communication over escalation, and avoid burnout by making consistent small contributions rather than shooting for the stars. Audiences walk away with new optimism, motivated to make a change in their organizations and teams today.