A SPEAKER YOUR AUDIENCE WILL NEVER FORGET
Global advocate and social-impact entrepreneur Kristin Smedley delivers powerful storytelling, actionable strategies, and mindset-shifting talks that help educators and leaders unlock the potential in every person and every challenge.
K
ristin Smedley: The expert who cracked the code on adversity.
I raised two blind sons who defied every grim prediction and crushed the national 70% unachievement statistic, proving that thriving through life’s curveballs is NOT about waiting for perfect circumstances to arrive.
It's 100% about activating the THRIVE Code to unlock perspective, purpose and possibility right now.
"She just changed my life."
— ACRP Annual Conference Attendee
Featured Talk
How I learned to see through the eyes of my sons.
TEDxLincolnSquare
In Their Own Words
What people are saying about Kristin Smedley
What people are saying about Kristin Smedley
Can 1300 #educators be convinced that all #students can #thrive in #school?
Kristin Smedley #Speaker Bucks County Businesswoman's Alliance Review
From Curveball to Competitive Advantage:
The Transformation Starts Now
Kristin Smedley is not just a master storyteller; she is an award-winning CEO, author, TEDx speaker, and single mother who raised three thriving children, two of which were born blind and out-achieved their peers.
Kristin, who was an elementary school teacher, left the classroom to teach her sons the skills of blindness and founded an organization where she took her sons’ rare eye disease from never heard to the floor of the FDA and United States Congress in less than six years.
Her work is rooted in seeing advantage in adversity and harnessing the skills challenges bring.
Award-Winning Author
Thriving Blind
"The only disability in life is a bad attitude."
— Scott Hamilton
Stories of Real People Succeeding Without Sight
What happens when you refuse to accept the impossible? Two blind sons. Zero limits. This book chronicles the extraordinary journeys of people who didn’t just cope with blindness—they conquered life because of it.
The THRIVE Code: Your Six-Step Formula for Resilience
At the heart of Kristin’s transformative message is The THRIVE Code. This proprietary six-step formula is the foundation for her presentations and workshops, helping anyone, at any age, move from frustration to flourishing. It is a scalable model for resilience and belonging that is not theory, but a mindset shift that ignites the Thriver in all of us.
Kristin’s methodologies are designed to deliver transformation, not just inspiration. Her signature strategies—developed in the face of the impossible—now fuel Fortune 500 companies, universities, school districts, and global conferences.
Your Audience Benefits:
They don’t just leave inspired—they leave equipped to transform setbacks into breakthroughs and achieve extraordinary success. Kristin provides real tools to thrive.
Your Event Benefits:
She turns your stage into a standing-ovation moment, leaving your audience equipped to thrive and making your event the one everyone talks about.
Kristin Smedley is on a mission to impact 1 Million People to THRIVE through life's curveballs.
Her keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, and virtual events leave audiences around the world equipped to change how they see challenges.
Here are a few of Kristin’s most requested topics:
Speaking Topics
EDUCATORS
From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Unlocking the Full Potential in Every Child.
What if the very thing that’s been holding students back… was actually the key to unlocking their greatest potential?
In this powerful, storytelling session, Kristin Smedley takes educators on an unforgettable journey on how they cultivate resilience, confidence and joy in every child, while reigniting their own sense of purpose in the process.
Drawing from her extraordinary experience of raising two blind sons who excelled in public schools and are now thriving, high-achieving adults, Kristin reveals how every so-called disadvantage hides the seeds of strength, creativity, and purpose.
Or to put it differently, Kristin shows how thriving is LESS about finding the perfect circumstances, and MORE about finding the perspective, purpose and possibility in the situation you’re currently facing.
During this fast-paced, highly interactive session participants will learn:
- 3 Practical Strategies designed to cultivate hope, confidence and resilience in students of all ages…so they can rise above adversity, transcend self-limiting beliefs, and step into the true potential of who they were meant to be.
- 2 Common Mistakes most educators make when trying to create an empowering, thriving classroom culture…and how they can best avoid them.
- 1 Simple Mindset Shift that enables teachers rediscover their purpose, rise above burnout, and confidently create classrooms that encourage thriving, resilient students…regardless of external circumstances.
ERG BRG LEADERS
My Curveball, My Credential: Turning Adversity into a Competitive Advantage
ERG leaders know that negative bias about disability and difference often becomes the biggest barrier to thriving, contributing to a default expectation of limitation, not leadership.
Bestselling author and TEDx Speaker Kristin Smedley flips this script entirely, offering a high-energy keynote based on her THRIVE Code™.
Drawing from her personal experience raising two blind sons who achieved extraordinary success, and leading a patient organization from never heard of to the floor of the FDA and US Congress in less than 6 years, Kristin shows corporate teams how to transform their organization’s perceived challenges, or “curveballs,” into a tangible competitive advantage.
This is not just a speech; it’s an unforgettable experience that leaves audiences equipped to transform setbacks into breakthroughs and reframe challenges and setbacks into powerful catalysts for growth.
Kristin delivers a repeatable, scalable formula designed to reignite purpose and unleash potential across the organization. She empowers attendees to Set Extraordinary Expectations—moving past limiting “ordinary stories”—to cause positive outcomes.
She provides practical tools rooted in the “Value (V)” element of the THRIVE Code. This approach helps leaders counteract implicit bias by intentionally building value into every employee’s story, proving that skills learned through adversity naturally give individuals and teams a competitive edge. Attendees will learn exactly how to own their unique experiences as professional assets.
This customized keynote provides a roadmap to integrate resilience, belonging, and high expectations into daily practice. Your ERG members will leave empowered and inspired with actionable steps to drive innovation and leadership from every level.
CORPORATIONS & ASSOCIATIONS
From Capitol Hill to the C-Suite: Leading Massive Change with the THRIVE Code.
Kristin Smedley’s keynote experience offers corporate and association event planners a guaranteed standing-ovation moment that transforms attendees’ perspectives on adversity and potential.
Planners seek high-impact speakers who deliver actionable tools, and Kristin provides this through powerful storytelling rooted in her journey of raising two blind sons to achieve extraordinary success.
Kristin ensures that audiences don’t just leave inspired; they leave equipped to transform setbacks into breakthroughs and know exactly how to Turn Life’s Curveballs Into Your Competitive Advantage.
She introduces her signature THRIVE Code™—a reliable, scalable six-step formula that guides participants to move from frustration to flourishing. Attendees are challenged to replace the limiting “ordinary story” in their professional and personal lives with a mindset that embraces Extraordinary Expectations.
Kristin’s journey is a real life case study for her message: After her two sons were diagnosed with the rare eye disease CRB1-LCA, Kristin launched the Curing Retinal Blindness Foundation, the only patient organization in the world for CRB1 LCA/RP. In less than six years, she took this rare eye disease from never heard of to the floor of the FDA and United States Congress. Raising over $4 million, being featured on C-Span and helping to achieve the first ever FDA approved gene therapy to treat an inherited disease in the United States showcases the ultimate outcome of Kristin’s THRIVE Code.
The long-term impact of Kristin’s message stems from the powerful mindset shift and the practical, customized, and actionable tools she provides. Kristin’s engaging style ensures that the message is retained, leaving attendees with the immediate thought: “You just changed my life”.
What people are saying
It was amazing having Kristin here speaking tonight. She is energetic and witty. Make sure if you need someone to speak at your event, you get her!
Kristin Smedley’s presentation, “SEE: Set Extraordinary Expectations How to Reframe Challenges and Setbacks and Adopt a Thriving Mindset,” was both engaging and inspiring to our 300+ conference attendees. Ms. Smedley’s own life journey provides a message of how perception of our experiences can impact the way we deal with circumstances and affects the final outcomes in all aspects of life. This was a great lesson for all our conference attendees.
Kristin’s participation in ACRP’s 2023 diversity, equity, and inclusion panel fundamentally shifted and expanded the discussion to be more inclusive than in years past. Her contribution to the panel discussion opened the minds and hearts of our members and conference attendees. She helped to raise awareness for the critical topic of accessibility and was able to make a direct connection between her advocacy for disabilities and our industry’s opportunity—and need—to be more inclusive.
Kristin Smedley’s visit to Welch Elementary School was an incredible experience!
Thank you so much. You so inspired my students! Your message is incredible!
You just changed my life.
Interested in bringing Kristin to your organization?
Kristin’s inspirational and funloving style leaves audiences cheering. Kristin is available for in person or virtual Keynote Speaker, Breakout Session Leader, Panelist, Moderator, and Emcee.