About Amy

With over two decades of experience as a coach, speaker and facilitator, Amy's keynotes and programs blend inspiration, practical tools and the latest research to motivate women to rise and lead.  

Early in her career as a coach, Amy noticed a troubling pattern; women are being hijacked by their self-doubt. Women underestimate themselves, suffer from imposter syndrome, compare themselves to others and are chronically hard on themselves, regardless of the level of success they've achieved. Amy's made it her mission to create compelling keynotes, programs and books to address the "self-bullying" epidemic women face. 

With over two decades of experience as a coach, speaker and facilitator, Amy's keynotes and programs blend inspiration, practical tools and the latest research to motivate women to rise and lead. 

Early in her career as a coach, Amy noticed a troubling pattern; women are being hijacked by their self-doubt. Women underestimate themselves, suffer from imposter syndrome, compare themselves to others and are chronically hard on themselves, regardless of the level of success they've achieved. Amy's made it her mission to create compelling keynotes, programs and books to address the "self-bullying" epidemic women face. 

Book Amy for Your Next Event!

"Amy’s keynote was personable, informative, and practical. For weeks following, our members sang the praises of the hour she spent with us."

- Victoria Melucci, Co-Lead, Women’s Professional Network, CSAA Insurance Group

“Amy's sessions were eye opening! Amy has a unique ability to speak directly to each individual even as she addresses a full room.” 

-Natasha Allen, Counsel at Atrium  


Amy's Keynote Topics 

Amy's Keynote Topics 

All of Amy's keynotes and programs are customized for the audience and organization she's working with. 


Powerful Women and Self-Bullying: 3 Key Mistakes Holding Women Back

High achieving women are profoundly hard on themselves, hijacking their own happiness, balance and peace. Inner Critics, or ‘Inner Mean Girls' love to beat women up with Big Fat Lies like, “You’re not good enough” or “Don’t go for that promotion, they’ll find out what a fraud you are” or “You just don’t measure up.” Here’s the truth: no matter how successful you become, your Inner Mean Girl will relentlessly put pressure on you, leading you to self-sabotage and self-bully, UNLESS you reform her! This interactive keynote or on-going coaching program and training will support women to shine and rise to new levels of leadership. 

As a result of this program, attendees will:  

• Learn the science behind why women beat themselves up • Acknowledge how they are being hard on themselves, creating instant camaraderie  • Understand why self-bullying and underestimating themselves is getting in their way • Practice 3 powerful transformation tools to stop self-bullying in its tracks 


Overcoming Imposter Syndrome:
Break Free of Feeling Not Enough

Imposter Syndrome is one of the #1 things that holds brilliant women back from making their brightest contribution. If the women on your team are thinking about rising higher, but continue to sabotage themselves. Or if you notice women who should be more confident, especially given their level of experience. Or notice how women never quite feel enough and try to constantly prove themselves, this is the keynote for your group. 

As a result of this program, attendees will: 

  • Discover how insidious imposter syndrome is for even the most successful women
  • Learn how to stop imposter syndrome in its tracks with tangible tools
  • Begin to break free of the illusion of being a fraud ​

Empowering Women to Rise: How Women can Champion Women and Men can Become Better Allies

When women thrive inside organizations, the organizations thrive too. There is hard evidence to support how vital it is to the health of every organization to have women leaders. And yet, the statistics about how few women are in leadership positions is staggering. What is holding women back and how can women and men alike empower more women leaders to rise? This keynote, workshop and/or program addresses this issue and provides real, tangible solutions to inspire and empower women to rise so the organization thrives.

As a result of this program, attendees will:  

• Learn the truth about why having more women leaders positively impacts everyone and everything • Understand why women often report that women managers are the toughest on them • Practice tools that men and women can use in their daily lives to empower everyone


The Curse of Comparison: Boost Your Confidence and Own Your Authentic Power

Comparison is chronic, especially with social media use on the rise, where you can compare your worst to other people's curated best. Add in the pressure of competition in the workplace, and it's easy to become cursed with the "compare and despair" mindset. But what if, instead, your organization could create a culture where everyone thrives by being their authentic selves? That's exactly what happens with this powerful keynote, program and/or workshop. 

As a result of this program, attendees will:

• Wake up to the truth of their own comparison habits • Learn the shocking statistics on how comparison impacts confidence • Practice a 3-step process for stopping comparison in the moment


The Working Mom: Embracing the Motherhood Paradox

Specifically designed to support mothers in the workplace, this program, talk and/or workshop provides a sanctuary for mothers to truth tell and explore the realities of being a working mom. Learning how to embrace the messiness and magic of motherhood is key to creating more balance and peace and this interactive program enables moms, with children of all ages, to explore and resolve the inner conflicts of motherhood so they can increase confidence, morale and success.  

 As a result of this program, attendees will:  

• Learn how women's brains differ from men's and how to use that as an asset • Create bonding and community around the challenges and joys of motherhood • Discover ways to make their workdays more powerful and productive so they can excel


Powerful Women and Self-Bullying: How to Transform Your Inner Critic So You Can Experience More Happiness, Balance & Success

High achieving women are profoundly hard on themselves, hijacking their own happiness, balance and peace. Inner Critics, or ‘Inner Mean Girls' love to beat women up with Big Fat Lies like, “You’re not good enough” or “Don’t go for that promotion, they’ll find out what a fraud you are” or “You just don’t measure up.” Here’s the truth: no matter how successful you become, your Inner Mean Girl will relentlessly put pressure on you, leading you to self-sabotage and self-bully, UNLESS you reform her! This interactive keynote or on-going coaching program and training will support women to shine and rise to new levels of leadership. 

As a result of this program, attendees will:

  • Learn the science behind why women beat themselves up 
  • Acknowledge how they are being hard on themselves, creating instant comradery 
  • Understand why self-bullying and underestimating themselves is getting in their way  
  • Practice 3 powerful transformation tools to stop self-bullying in its tracks 

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome:
Break Free of Feeling Not Enough

Imposter Syndrome is one of the #1 things that holds brilliant women back from making their brightest contribution. If the women on your team are thinking about rising higher, but continue to sabotage themselves. Or if you notice women who should be more confident, especially given their level of experience. Or notice how women never quite feel enough and try to constantly prove themselves, this is the keynote for your group. 

As a result of this program, attendees will: 

  • Discover how insidious imposter syndrome is for even the most successful women
  • Learn how to stop imposter syndrome in its tracks with tangible tools
  • Begin to break free of the illusion of being a fraud ​

Empowering Women to Rise: How Women can Champion Women and Men can Become Better Allies

When women thrive inside organizations, the organizations thrive too. There is hard evidence to support how vital it is to the health of every organization to have women leaders. And yet, the statistics about how few women are in leadership positions is staggering. What is holding women back and how can women and men alike empower more women leaders to rise? This keynote, workshop and/or program addresses this issue and provides real, tangible solutions to inspire and empower women to rise so the organization thrives.

As a result of this program, attendees will:  

  • Learn the truth about why having more women leaders positively impacts everyone and everything
  • Understand why women often report that women managers are the toughest on them
  • Practice tools that men and women can use in their daily lives to empower everyone

The Curse of Comparison: Boost Your Confidence and Own Your Authentic Power

Comparison is chronic, especially with social media use on the rise, where you can compare your worst to other people's curated best. Add in the pressure of competition in the workplace, and it's easy to become cursed with the "compare and despair" mindset. But what if, instead, your organization could create a culture where everyone thrives by being their authentic selves? That's exactly what happens with this powerful keynote, program and/or workshop. 

As a result of this program, attendees will:

  • Wake up to the truth of their own comparison habits  
  • Learn the shocking statistics on how comparison impacts confidence  
  • Practice a 3-step process for stopping comparison in the moment

The Working Mom: Embracing the Motherhood Paradox

Specifically designed to support mothers in the workplace, this program, talk and/or workshop provides a sanctuary for mothers to truth tell and explore the realities of being a working mom. Learning how to embrace the messiness and magic of motherhood is key to creating more balance and peace and this interactive program enables moms, with children of all ages, to explore and resolve the inner conflicts of motherhood so they can increase confidence, morale and success. 

 As a result of this program, attendees will:

  • Learn how women's brains differ from men's and how to use that as an asset
  • Create bonding and community around the challenges and joys of motherhood
  • Discover ways to make their workdays more powerful and productive so they can excel

“Amy Ahlers did a phenomenal job, over-delivering with a dynamic and inspiring program with actionable takeaways. Amy was also the highest rated of our events, with a 98% approval rating...some reporting this was the best amongst our events they have attended to date. I highly recommend Amy Ahlers if you are seeking a relevant, dynamic, impactful speaker for your next event!”

-Amber Laurel, NorCal Event Programming Lead for Network of Executive Women  

“Amy Ahlers did a phenomenal job, over-delivering with a dynamic and inspiring program with actionable takeaways. Amy was also the highest rated of our events, with a 98% approval rating...some reporting this was the best amongst our events they have attended to date. I highly recommend Amy Ahlers if you are seeking a relevant, dynamic, impactful speaker for your next event!”

-Amber Laurel, NorCal Event Programming Lead for Network of Executive Women  

Executive Leadership Coaching

Amy is a results-driven coach. Her passion and experience is working especially with high achieving professional women who are in leadership positions or are rising or emerging leaders. Amy has a unique blend of unconditional empathy, enthusiasm, truth telling and directness.

Amy's approach to coaching is to:

  • Advocate for her clients to come from their Inner Wisdom and authentic truth
  • Collaborate with the organization to create happy, balanced and inspired leaders
  • Support her clients to make a difference and be a source of inspiration in the workplace
  • Uncover a path that balances both internal mindset shifts and mindfulness practices focused around “being” and external action oriented goals focused around “doing”
  • Assist her clients through transitions such as increasing team scope, new positions/promotions, and pandemic related challenges


Coaching Experience

Amy has over 21 years of coaching experience, speaking and workshop leading. She’s worked with a variety of clients from C-level executives to stay at home moms to artists and entrepreneurs. She also has experience with creating and developing curriculum for leaders to increase truth telling, authenticity and release imposter syndrome, self-criticism and self-sabotage.

Executive Leadership Coaching packages often include:

  • Intake and Discovery packet to prepare and align for the coaching engagement
  • Intake with the management and/or HR team and the client to agree upon goals for the coaching engagement
  • Deep Dive coaching session to set intentions and co-create agreements with the client
  • Two 45-minute coaching calls/month via video or phone with the client (the first month will have only one additional session to create space for the intake and deep dive session)
  • Access to Amy for the client via Voxer/WhatsApp, email and phone for occasional check ins
  • Two management/ HR 30-minute check-in calls, one at the mid-way point and one at the end of the engagement. 

About Amy

Amy Ahlers (she/her) is a celebrated women's leadership expert, executive coach, keynote speaker, and bestselling author with over two decades of experience. After a successful career as a top producing sales executive, she entered the world of coaching two decades ago and has touched the lives of over 150k people. Amy has been a featured keynote speaker on stages at places like Google, Charles Schwab, and Oracle and has appeared on countless TV and radio shows as a coach and expert.  

Her first book, Big Fat Lies Women Tell Themselves: Ditch your Inner Critic and Wake Up Your Inner Superstar (New World Library, 2011), shot up to #1 in several categories on Amazon, including Self-Help, Happiness and Self-Esteem. Her second bestselling book, Reform Your Inner Mean Girl: 7 Steps to Stop Bullying Yourself and Start Loving Yourself, (Beyond Words/Simon and Schuster, 2015), is based on the International online program, Inner Mean Girl Reform School, which has helped over 40,000 women around the world transform their Inner Critics.

Amy is passionate about the Bay Area and is also a licensed Realtor (DRE# 02190793) at Eastside West. She was born and raised in Alameda and currently resides with her family in the Glenview area of Oakland. Amy adores helping her clients achieve their goals and create the life of their dreams. She brings a unique blend of coaching and mentorship to every real estate transaction so that her clients feel their lives are made better in the process. She excels at working with her clients to ensure they stay aligned with their values and Inner Wisdom as she coaches them through one of the biggest transactions of their lives.

A 2010 recipient of the Women Who Dare Award from Girls Inc., she holds a BA from the University of California, earned the CPCC designation from The Coaches Training Institute and has done numerous advanced trainings to stay on the cutting edge.  

Amy resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her good humored husband, two amazing children and rescue mutts, Batman and Auggie.  

Read about Amy's social justice stand here.

About Amy

Amy Ahlers is a celebrated women's leadership expert, master coach, keynote speaker, and bestselling author. After a successful career as a top producing sales executive, she entered the world of coaching two decades ago and has touched the lives of over 150k people. Amy has been a featured keynote speaker on stages at places like Google, Charles Schwab, and Oracle and has appeared on countless TV and radio shows as a coach and expert.  

Her first book, Big Fat Lies Women Tell Themselves: Ditch your Inner Critic and Wake Up Your Inner Superstar (New World Library, 2011), shot up to #1 in several categories on Amazon, including Self-Help, Happiness and Self-Esteem. Her second bestselling book, Reform Your Inner Mean Girl: 7 Steps to Stop Bullying Yourself and Start Loving Yourself, (Beyond Words/Simon and Schuster, 2015), is based on the International online program, Inner Mean Girl Reform School, which has helped over 40,000 women around the world transform their Inner Critics.  

A 2010 recipient of the Women Who Dare Award from Girls Inc., she holds a BA from the University of California, earned the CPCC designation from The Coaches Training Institute and has done numerous advanced trainings to stay on the cutting edge.  

Amy leads a powerful women’s life and leadership incubator called Uprising to help women confidently rise to the impact, happiness and contribution they desire and deserve. Amy wholeheartedly believes it’s time for women to claim their seat at the leadership table.  

Amy resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two children, and rescue mutts, Batman and Auggie.  

“I would highly recommend Amy to any organization looking for an energetic and dynamic speaker.” 

-Carolyn Pon, Professional Business Women of California (PBWC)

“Amy’s keynote was the best session I’ve ever attended.”  

-Chris Spencer, Head of University Relations at Adobe Research