Leadership for purpose-led organizations.
What once mobilized can now demoralize.
We need a story big enough to sustain us now.
Purpose-led work begins with caring deeply. But when we encounter setback after setback, and our ability to make a difference feels increasingly limited, the story we carry about what our mission asks of us can weigh us down. We need a bigger way to hold the work, one that sustains both purpose and possibility.
Hi. I’m Lisa. Author. Speaker. Facilitator. Leader. Award-winning journalist. Also, unofficially Chief Inspiration Officer.
For decades, I’ve been chasing an answer to one burning question: How do we rise to times like these without them flattening us?
The answers I have found have come from:
Collaborating with CEOs, executive directors, university presidents, and other accomplished leaders
Serving in leadership roles from communications to organizational strategy
Reporting on people creating change at every scale, in communities, organizations, and public life
Interviewing hundreds of experts across psychology, neuroscience, education, leadership, and other fields.
Today, I help purpose-led organizations find a bigger way to hold their vital work in challenging times by reconnecting mission, people, and resources. The work helps leaders and teams see more clearly where to focus, stay grounded through setbacks, and move forward with a stronger sense of agency and possibility.
What People Say
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"Lisa is a great collaborator."
DANIEL GOLEMAN, NYT bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence
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"Powerful and persuasive."
SIR KEN ROBINSON, Creativity expert and #1-watched speaker on TED. (On Ecoliterate)
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"Lisa is the calm in every cultural storm."
ELIZABETH BIRCH, Former Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign
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Lisa has an incredible talent for guiding conversations in a positive, forward-looking direction while ensuring everyone feels heard.
ANACRON ALLEN, People and Culture, California Academy of Sciences
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“Lisa is able to create completely new ways to engage audiences such that they can listen, hear and then internalize.”
LISA RENSTROM, Cofounder of Values Advisor. Former Confluence Philanthropy board chair and Sierra Club president.
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“Highly recommended!”
JULIE SWEETLAND, Senior Advisor, the MacArthur Award-winning FrameWorks Institute
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“Facilitation is an art and science and Lisa has both elements in abundance.”
CHRIS SPENCE, Former Executive Vice President of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
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“Lisa understands that working with challenging topics requires meeting people where they are and helping them move forward in small, genuine steps.”
ANDREW LEIDER, Managing Director, Potrero Group
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She is a talent - and a delight to work with.
KAREN BRESLAU, Bloomberg News California Bureau Chief
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"Lisa combines a sharp, analytical mind with passionate commitment."
JEREMY SMITH, Editor, Greater Good Magazine at UC Berkeley
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"Lisa is an excellent public speaker. And she is a pleasure to work with."
KIM MILLS, Sr. Director, Strategic Communications & Public Affairs, American Psychological Association
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"Lisa's thoughtful perspectives about climate change and future generations is cutting-edge."
CAROLIE SLY, Executive Director at Refugee Education and Learning International
Selected Clients & Partners
The American Psychological Association
Brown University
California Academy of Sciences
Conferences for Women
Cornell University
Earth Knowledge
The FrameWorks Institute
Human Rights Campaign
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
Southern Poverty Law Center
Woodwell Climate Research Center
Lisa Bennett
Lisa Bennett has spent decades exploring one question: How do we rise to times like these without them flattening us?
She is the author of the forthcoming Savor the World: How to Stay Connected to What We Love in a World That Gives Us Too Much to Worry About and co-author of Ecoliterate with emotional intelligence pioneer Daniel Goleman.
A speaker, facilitator, advisor, and award-winning journalist, Lisa helps purpose-led organizations find a bigger way to hold their vital work in challenging times, reconnecting mission, people, and resources. Her work helps leaders and teams see more clearly where to focus, stay grounded through setbacks, and recognize where their efforts can make a difference.
Lisa’s career has included leadership roles across education, communications, editorial work, and organizational strategy. A former fellow at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, she has written for The New York Times, Forbes, Big Think, Vox, and numerous other publications.
Selected speaking & media: National Press Club • California Academy of Sciences • Packard Foundation • Human Rights Campaign National Dinner • BBC • NPR • C-SPAN
Ways to Work Together
A Day of Inspiration
An experiential day that helps leaders and teams reconnect with what first drew them to the work, rediscover the experiences that sustain them now, and carry that renewed connection into how they lead and contribute together. Drawing on emerging research on savoring interventions for navigating stress and adversity, the day culminates in a deeper sense of connection to one another, their shared purpose, and the larger world their work serves.
Savor the World Keynote
We spend so much of our lives trying to protect, improve, or hold onto what we love. But what happens when the effort itself begins to distance us from the very things that made us care? An inspiring talk about how savoring can help us stay connected to what we love, even in difficult times, and carry that connection forward into how we live, lead, and contribute.
Purpose Under Pressure Workshops
Highly interactive workshops that help leaders and teams see more clearly where to focus, stay grounded through setbacks, and strengthen their ability to act amid uncertainty.
Finding Your Throughline: Connecting Mission, People, and Resources
A facilitated small-group workshop that helps leaders reconnect with what the organization is here to do, the people who make it possible, and the resources needed to carry the work forward.
Advisory Relationships
An embedded, ongoing partnership for purpose-led organizations navigating change, pressure, or a pivotal moment. Together, we reconnect mission, people, and resources and find a more sustaining way forward.
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