Select a popular keynote below or choose from Amy’s topic list.
She will tailor her stories and content to fit your specific needs.
Adversity, Change, Emotional Intelligence, Life Balance, Mental Health, Nurse Appreciation, Resilience, Stress
American Nurses Association-New York (ANA-NY)
Thank you for your outstanding presentation on Resilience: Thriving through Change and Challenge at the 2025 ANA-NY Conference at the TWA Hotel in Queens, NY. Your talk was exceptionally well received by attendees. Based on the participant evaluations, the program earned consistently excellent ratings across key measures, including depth of subject matter knowledge, organization and clarity of…
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Motivational Speaker Amy Dee presents at the 2025 Step by Step Conference
Amy: All I can say is WOW! You brought everything and more of what I had wanted to help make our Celebration of Direct Support Professionals Conference a success. I loved that you received a well deserved, standing ovation. I very much would like to keep you in mind for future events. Thank you. Warmest…
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Amy spoke at our recent nursing leadership conference. She was engaging, funny and expertly wove stories that helped cement the key points of her talk. She focused on change in her presentation with us, which is something we are constantly striving to adapt to, anticipate or lead. Her humorous approach to the subject was exactly…
MN Association of School Administrators
Amy had our audience laughing, crying and asking for more! She asked great questions about the needs of our members and tailored her message to accommodate our needs. She was easy to work with and if my audience changed annually, I’d invite her back every year! I am happy to serve as a reference for…
AZSHRM Closing Keynote
Amy spoke on “Resilience” at the 2022 Arizona SHRM Conference, and it was delightful! Amy was our last keynote speaker, and she really brought the house down with her energetic and humorous style. Her blend of storytelling, comedy and song were truly memorable and Amy gave us tools to manage our interactions in difficult and…
On behalf of WHIMA, THANK YOU for helping make the 2021 WHIMA Fall Conference a success! WHIMA appreciates your time, expertise, and flexibility in delivering the education virtually. Below is the feedback that WHIMA received for your sessions. · Absolutely wonderful! · Delightful! · Amazing!! I was laughing so much! · Funny, entertaining, seamless learning.…
HCAM 2021 Conference; Amy Dee was the best choice
HCAM Keynote Amy Dee was the best choice we could have made for our opening keynote for our first in-person conference since the start of the pandemic. Her engaging and humorous tone throughout the session kept the interest of everyone in the audience. I actually think she outshined every other speaker we had – which…
THCA 2021 Conference
Incredible Way to End our first-in-person-Convention-post-covid We are so delighted that Amy Dee closed our first in person Convention since COVID. We knew we needed an upbeat, uplifting presentation to send our attendees home with…and boy did she deliver! Amy’s presentation was nothing short of spectacular…and had all of us belly laughing through most…
WHIMA Conference; You Nailed IT
Amy; Thank You for speaking at our WHIMA Fall Conference. Your Sessions (Keynote & Breakout) captivated, energized, and empowered the attendees from start to finish. This is more challenging in a virtual format, but You nailed it !! You were the perfect start to our conference !! With Sincere Appreciation Teresa Pearson, WHIMA Executive Director…
American Association of Women
She is funny, dynamic and engaging! My name is Amber Fultz and I am the Vice President of the Summer Conference for the Oregon State Chapter of American Association for Women in Community Colleges. I am writing to recommend Amy Dee, an extremely inspirational keynote speaker that we were fortunate enough to be able…
AHCA 2020 Virtual Convention
Perfect Ending to our Virtual Event We are extremely grateful to Amy Dee for having been an integral part of our 2020 AHCA Convention. We strategically placed her as the closing speaker of our three-day virtual convention because we knew she would help us end our program with a bang. Amy’s presentation was inspirational, magical…
Iowa Hospital Association
“I will look for many more opportunities to use her” There are many words that would describe Amy Dee. She is funny, humble, smart, relatable, professional and kind. She moderated our day-long virtual education for behavioral health staff beautifully with her husband as her IT/camera man. Both did an outstanding job! The audience enjoyed her…
Testimonial for Funny Motivational Speaker Amy Dee; Thank you so much for speaking at our Fall Conference. Your presentation was motivational, engaging, relatable and you kept the crowd laughing! Everyone in the room left the session with new tools and perspectives to take on each day. We truly appreciate you sharing your time and helping…
NDSNA
Funny Motivational Speaker Amy Dee was Amazing Amy was amazing! She connected very well with our school nutrition professionals. She kept the audience engaged with great stories, singing, laughter and life lessons. She was also very professional to work with. I would recommend Amy Dee to anyone that is looking for a motivational speaker that…
Lorie Rhine MSN, RN, NE-BC
Vice-President/CNO
“Funny Motivational Dynamic Uplifting Empowering “ Each year for Nurses Week we attempt to have a dynamic, uplifting, motivating and empowering speaker present for our nurses and when we heard Amy Dee speak at an Ohio Nurses Event we knew we had found our speaker. Amy really knows how to reach each person in the…
Kenn M. Kirksey, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, FAAN
Director, Nursing Research & Sr. Nurse Scientist
INSPIRE 2019 Thank you again for serving so beautifully as our keynote speaker this year. Deven and I were just talking today…it’s going to be difficult to find someone as funny and inspiring for next year. So many of the participants have sent emails…and they ALL noted how much they loved having you join…
Lauren Manson, RHIA
Executive DirectorOhio Health Information Management Association
OHIMA Recommendation from the OHIMA 2019 conference: Our attendees LOVED Amy Dee! She was not only engaging the entire time – but she had the audience rolling with laughter. With an exceptional delivery, her energy, singing and message were a fantastic opening presentation for our conference. Lauren Manson, RHIA
Care Providers of Minnesota
Cheryl Smith
Director of Education
“LOVE HER!! SO FUNNY, great message” Dear Amy, Thank you for presenting a keynote at Care Providers Minnesota’s 2018 Convention Fresh Perspectives on 11/12/2018. Your keynote, From Zero to Everyday Hero; It’s all in your head – Remember your Power to Make a Difference, was amazing. Here are a few comments from our audience. *…
Jonathan Dolan
President & CEO
Health Care Association of New Jersey
“The compliments keep coming in long after the event” “Amy Dee was outstanding and really impressed our members. The compliments keep coming in long after the event. Her experience in healthcare and outlook on life combined for a great keynote at our annual convention. Thoroughly entertaining, very thoughtful and yet hilarious! All with an amazing…
April Hanson
Blytheco Co.
“Great attitude inspired to help others” Everything from engaging with Amy Dee in the beginning through her attending and speaking at our event was wonderful. Amy is a genuine human that uses her experiences and stories to move a crowd to think differently through laughter. There were times where I looked around the room and…
Jeff Harrold, CPCU, CLU, ChFC
Chairman and CEO, Auto-Owners Insurance
“Exceptional. Inspirational. Life changing.” It was pleasure meeting you our recent CSR convention. Without exception, the comments we received on your presentation were exceptional. Clearly, you were the highlight of the convention! To give you some idea on how you were received, the feedback ranged from “exceptional, inspirational, motivational” and to “life changing”. Virtually every evaluation form had…
Sanford Health
“Couldn’t have asked for a better presentation” I wanted to send you a note of gratitude for sharing your wisdom and spirit with the attendees of the Sanford Nursing Symposium. Your message was delivered with authenticity, laughter, and was the perfect end to the day. Evaluation comments from attendees show we couldn’t have asked for more from…
Tracy
Polk State College Foundation
“You are equally hilarious and moving!” Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for the absolutely amazing job that you did at Polk State College Foundation’s 12th Annual Wise & Witty Women and Many Magnificent Men Luncheons in celebration of Women’s History Month! You are equally hilarious and moving! I received innumerable positive comments about your presentation,…
Wendy J Ruud
VP, Independent Community Banks of North Dakota
“Everyone left with a smile on their face” Amy Dee was one of our speakers at this year’s Women in Community Banking Summit. She was amazing!! Amy combined her music, humor and knowledge to deliver an uplifting and thought-provoking keynote to all our attendees. . . she had our audience captivated and laughing, not only at her wonderful message…
North Central Health Care
“Amy brought the ‘WOW’ to our employee celebration week” Amy has a remarkable ability to captivate the audience through humor, story-telling, and music—providing a memorable experience that our employees are still raving about. She is truly a positive difference-maker!
Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Dakota
“A pure success” She knocked the socks off close to 600 attendees with her humor, music, and true life stories. She is an inspiration to us all and guides us to never give up on our dreams. Our event was a pure success thanks to her.
Wesley Bickler Pharm.D.
Minnesota Health System Pharmacists Association
Funny Motivational Speaker Amy Dee was a huge success Amy did an amazing job kicking off our conference with a unique blend of inspiration, information, and laughs! Her presentation was overwhelmingly well-received and it set the tone for the rest of the meeting. Thank you, Amy, we sincerely appreciated having you!
School Nutrition Association of South Dakota
“Amy challenged us to take ownership” Amy Dee was the keynote speaker at our 43rd Annual State Conference. She is a dynamic speaker who relates to diverse audiences with her real-life issues. Amy’s positive perspective showed us how to overcome our daily challenges [and] view and accept change for our own well-being and to make…
Iowa Health Care Association
“Connecting with many personalities, cultures, ages” Thank you for your help with our Assisted Living Nurses Conference. Your presentations were uplifting, entertaining and enlightening. What refreshing topics! You presented in a manner that was both humorous and entertaining, while still getting your message across to the entire audience. That’s a hard combination to achieve, but…
Reach Partners, Inc.
“One hilarious and poignant message” Amy Dee received a standing ovation for her opening keynote at the Women’s Health Conference in Fargo, ND. Amy took the time to understand what we were looking for and the result was a hilarious and poignant message about our everyday choices. It set the exact tone for the day.…
UPMC Altoona
“Appreciate your professionalism and flexibility” Thank you for bringing your beautiful smile and humor to our annual UPMC Altoona Women’s Night Out! Your “Bold Women Bliss” message was hilariously entertaining and thought provoking. I’d like to share with you a few quotes from the 380 women in attendance that I think nicely sum up the extraordinary…
Takeaways:
Change Your Story, Change Your Chemistry: Stress thrives on panic-driven thinking. Changing your inner script can change your body’s physical response.
Kill the Drama, Keep the Focus: Emotional drama paralyzes your productivity.
Switch to objective facts to keep your most important projects moving forward.
Accept the Chaos: expecting a perfectly calm and predictable life is like expecting a group of raccoons to quietly split a box of stolen donuts
Stress Management: The Stories We Tell—Change Your Story to Conquer Stress
It’s not your overflowing inbox or that never-ending to-do list that’s making you stressed. It’s the story your brain is spinning about it all.
When I moved to Norway, learned Norwegian, and started a business, I thought I’d seen every flavor of stress. Nope. Later, I returned to the USA as a single parent, attended nursing school, and became a psychiatric RN in my 40s.
Eventually my brain became an expert storyteller, mostly of the disaster variety. Thankfully, my time as a psychiatric RN taught me a clear truth: resilience to stress isn’t about reducing life’s difficulty; it’s about catching sneaky mental habits—like mind-reading, catastrophizing, or black-and-white thinking— that turn everyday stressors into epic dramas.
In this keynote, through relatable and funny stories, I’ll share mental tools you can use to spot mental loops that keep you stuck in stress.
My goal isn’t just to inspire you, but to send you home with a handful of practical tools you can actually use—so you can quiet the anxiety, work with your brain instead of against it, and maybe even laugh at yourself along the way.
Resilience: Mastering the Pivot
As a psychiatric nurse, I spent years caring for people on inpatient units and intensive therapy groups. I’ve seen what happens when people hit a wall. But even better, I’ve also seen how they bounce back. This engaging keynote swaps dry clinical theory for practical tools to build powerful resilience.
Nobody wants a boring academic lecture on resilience. Instead, I share the psychological skills I’ve found useful and tuck these strategies into hilarious, relatable stories from everyday life. By pairing stories with content, I make it fun and easier to remember. So you won’t just learn how to survive tough times; you’ll remember how to thrive through them.
You will walk away knowing how to recognize thinking traps that get you stuck and reframe them to strengthen your resilience. It doesn’t mean you feel no pain or never break; it means you’ll find a way to move forward not despite the challenge, but because of it.
You will laugh while learning real clinical strategies. You’ll leave energized, inspired, and empowered to bend without breaking during your next big shift at work or in life.
Takeaways:
The Brain Hijack: The Circuit Breaker (or Interrupting Panic Loops)
The Bounce-Back Reflex: The Reframing Strategy (or Cognitive Flexibility)
The Armor Routine: The Resilience Base (or Daily Preventive Habits)
The Sticky Fix: The Crisis Toolkit (or Applied Coping Tools)
Takeaways:
Change disrupts your comfort zone: Your brain craves predictability. Sudden changes like a move or a new job cause stress because they disrupt that safe routine.
Optimism is a skill: You do not need a special personality to handle change well. Anyone can practice and grow this ability over time.
Change your inner story: Shift how you explain hard events to yourself. This choice keeps you steady when life feels wobbly.
You can handle the unknown: Life transitions will always happen. You leave with practical tricks to stay brave and face them.
Navigating Change: Moving From Reaction to Response
You’ve finally gotten used to a new routine and BANG! Life shifts. It might be a move, a relationship change, or a new manager. If you find adjusting to change challenging, you’re not messed up; you are human.
Change disrupts your sense of predictability, and your brain loves predictability. So how is it that some people face these changes with optimism and strength instead of anxiety and fear? I’ll share what I learned about change from a lifetime of transitions: moving to Norway, co-founding a successful Scandinavian business, and returning to college as a single mother at age forty-three to become an inpatient psychiatric RN.
In this down-to-earth, laugh-out-loud funny, and inspiring keynote, I’ll show you that becoming a change optimist is not a personality trait; it is a skill anyone can build. I promise not to bore you with medical mumbo-jumbo or endless PowerPoint slides. Instead, through a mix of deeply relatable and always funny stories I’ll share some practical, down-to-earth strategies to keep your mind steady when life gets wobbly.
You’ll walk out feeling a little braver and a lot more hopeful, with some new tricks up your sleeve for handling whatever changes come your way.
Customer service: Smile, Breathe, and Connect: The Human Side of Support
Have you ever gone out of your way to help a customer for months, only to have them forget all your efforts the moment something goes wrong? That’s because service isn’t just a transaction. It feels personal.
In this session, you’ll learn practical tools through funny, relatable stories. These tips will help you make every customer interaction positive and memorable for both you and your customer.
Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about people as a business owner handling tough situations and as a psychiatric nurse working with patients on their hardest days. Empathy isn’t just a nice idea; it’s about real connection, and it’s good for business. I’ll show you how to focus less on the transaction and more on your customer’s experience. You’ll see why people react the way they do, especially when things go wrong.
We’ll look at the common thinking traps that can trip up not only your customers, but also you and me. I’ll introduce you to the Peak-End rule. This idea explains why people remember the best or worst part and the ending of any experience. Once you understand it, you can use it to make your interactions memorable in a positive way.
And the best part? You’ll leave with simple tools you can really use—no psychology degree needed. These will help you turn everyday moments into memories that make both you and your customers smile.
Takeaways:
Mental tools: Learn practical tips to make every customer interaction positive.
Peak-End Rule: Understand what people remember about an experience.
Thinking Traps: Learn about common biases that can derail connection between
You and your customers.
Memorable Moments: Turn everyday service into positive memories that make
everyone smile.
Takeaways:
Energy Speaks Louder Than Words: Teams read and mirror a leader’s emotional state during high-pressure situations.
Master Self-Regulation: True operational composure requires identifying and neutralizing hidden cognitive biases.
Apply CBT Techniques: Using the “Catch, Check, and Change” framework allows leaders to manage responses in real time.
Neutralize Cognitive Biases: Spot and disarm hidden mental shortcuts before they distort your choices under fire
Leadership: Manage Your Thoughts, Maximize Your Impact
When pressure hits, your team notices everything—not just what you say, but how you react. Keeping people focused and motivated requires strong self-regulation, but that is easier said than done.
This session skips the academic theory and focuses on practical tools from behavioral science.
We will look at how hidden biases mess with our decision-making, how simple cognitive behavioral tools (like Catch, Check, Change) can stop knee-jerk reactions, and how emotional intelligence actually works when things get chaotic.
Through real stories and practical examples, you will learn how to spot your own blind spots, handle your stress, and give your team the steady leadership they need.
