<p>Crystal Kadakia is a two-time TEDx speaker, bestselling author, and trusted advisor to mission-driven and STEM organizations navigating the complexities of culture change. </p><p>With over 15 years of experience partnering with private sector and nonprofit executive teams, Crystal brings a rare combination of systems thinking, strategic rigor and emotional intelligence —grounded in a cross-disciplinary education and a multidimensional identity. As a South Asian woman raised in Texas, and as someone who bridges right-brain empathy with left-brain logic through her background in chemical engineering and organization development, Crystal draws on the tensions and wisdom of both worlds. These lived and learned perspectives have driven her success in helping legacy organizations modernize their cultures, speak truth to power, and redesign status quo systems that stand in the way of today’s work.</p><p>Through her bestselling book, <em>The Millennial Myth</em>, she began her work by debunking generational change and instead, doubling down on integrating digital ways of working. She advised C-suite leaders across a wide range of industries on how to build a resilient & relevant company culture for the digital age. She continued to deepen her work as a consultant in driving organization transformation, by especially helping to evolve power and structure. Recently, she led the Sierra Club’s most expansive stakeholder engagement process to date for a new structural vision, resulting in ten unanimously approved board resolutions. Today, her consulting work is focused on empowering healthy & resilient org capacity and culture in the sustainability sector.</p><p>Crystal’s talks draw from her consulting experience and drive culture-forward transformation by growing audiences’ capability to work together.</p><p><br></p>
Organizational Change Leader; Two-Time TEDx Speaker and Author of <i>Social Equations</i>
<ul><li><strong>Social Equations: Cracking the Code of People, Teams, and Influence for STEM Professionals</strong></li><li>Technical brilliance may get you in the door—but the next great challenge is navigating people. STEM professionals are trained for precision, analysis, and problem-solving. But when it comes to working across teams, managing conflict, or influencing change, most are left to figure it out on their own. That’s where Social Equations comes in.</li><li>In this interactive keynote, we’ll explore what it takes to build high-performing, teams in STEM environments. This session demystifies the “soft” side of work by treating social dynamics like any other system—something you can understand, predict, and improve. Through simple, powerful frameworks grounded in Crystal Kadakia’s bestselling book, you’ll learn how to build trust, strengthen team collaboration, and lead with clarity—even when emotions and egos are in the mix.</li><li>You don’t have to become someone you’re not—you just need the right tools to make relationships feel less like friction and more like momentum.</li><li><strong>Beyond Diversity: Building Inclusive and Psychologically Safe Cultures</strong></li><li>The diversity movement fails when it stops at the diversity scorecard. While diversity and inclusion are frequently lumped together, they are fundamentally different challenges—with distinct goals, strategies, and measures of success. Diversity focuses on who is present; inclusion focuses on how people experience belonging, safety, and participation once they’re there.</li><li>To move beyond surface-level metrics, we must shift our thinking. Inclusion isn’t just about redesigning the systems that keep people out and inviting people in the door. It’s about each individual building daily practices of belonging and safety. It’s about each individual tapping into their personal power of human connection to invite relationships. The truth is, we already know how to include others—through moments of empathy, openness, and shared purpose. The challenge is making those moments intentional and systemic. </li><li><strong>Insights from the Frontlines of Culture Transformation in Complex, Passion-Driven Organizations</strong></li><li>Transforming organizational culture isn’t about quick fixes or one-size-fits-all solutions. In fact, it often requires holding space for deep complexity—where passion runs high, diverse perspectives clash, and motivation to collaborate feels elusive.</li><li>This session is for leaders who are faced with getting a culture to move from A to B in order to help their organization speak to today’s audiences, maximize workforce engagement and drive wins for their mission. Through stories and lessons drawn from diverse sectors, discover how true culture change depends on more than just inspiring language or having good ideas. It requires designing pathways and containers that practice the change while it's being built. </li><li>Sometimes, the deepest changes happen because you built the plane while you were flying it.</li><li><strong>Working with Emotion: The Missing Skill for Workplace Wellbeing and Leadership</strong></li><li>Every day at work, emotions are present—whether we acknowledge them or not. From stress in high-stakes meetings to joy in a team win, or frustration when things don’t go as planned, our emotional landscape deeply shapes how we show up, how we relate to others, and how well we work together.</li><li>That’s why it’s vital to tap into the emotional currents driving our workplaces, especially in mission driven work. The most skilled leaders are able to work with – not around – emotions to drive progress. Crystal suggests that your success requires seeing beyond the tasks at hand -- it’s about understanding and addressing the emotions that come with the moment. This insightful and energizing keynote will uncover how key emotions such as the search for meaning, fear, love, grief, and power can elevate workplace wellbeing and team performance. </li></ul>