Mary Messner
Inspiring leaders to lead with connection, courage, and creativity.
Topic Categories:
Fee Range: Contact Speaker Exchange Agency
- Keynote speaker helping leaders break out of conformity and lead with connection, courage, and creativity
- Blends storytelling, audience interaction, and practical frameworks
- Creates keynotes that feel more like an experience than a presentation
- Ideal for leadership teams, women’s conferences, and culture-focused events
- TEDx Speaker 2025
*Fee ranges are presented as a guideline only. Speaker fees are subject to change without notice. For an exact quote, please contact your Speaker Exchange Agency representative.
Mary Messner is a keynote speaker and creativity strategist who helps leaders and teams break free from default thinking and lead with greater connection, courage, and creativity. Her work focuses on the human side of work: how people think, collaborate, and navigate environments that often reward conformity over innovation. Mary’s keynotes are designed to open conferences in a way that immediately engages the room and establishes a shared tone of connection, curiosity, and courage.
Through interactive, experience-driven keynotes, Mary engages audiences from the first moment, creating shared language and energy that carries throughout the remainder of the conference. Her sessions blend storytelling, audience participation, and practical frameworks that make creativity accessible, actionable, and relevant across roles and industries.
Event organizers value Mary’s ability to set the tone for meaningful connection, openness, and engagement… helping audiences feel grounded, energized, and aligned.
Ideal audiences include:
- Corporate conferences and leadership events
- Women’s conferences and professional associations
- Organizations focused on culture, engagement, and change
This keynote is designed for women who are ready to trust themselves, embrace creativity, and show up fully… at work and in life. Mary Messner invites audiences to rethink creativity not as a talent, but as a daily practice rooted in courage, confidence, and connection.
Through storytelling and interactive moments, Mary creates an environment where women feel seen, affirmed, and encouraged to use their voice. Rather than focusing on performance or perfection, the keynote emphasizes connection that feels authentic, not forced.
Often selected as an opening keynote, this session sets the tone for the remainder of the conference by establishing openness, energy, and a willingness to participate fully throughout the event.
Ideal For
Women’s conferences
Women’s leadership summits
Events centered on empowerment, growth, and connection
Audiences Leave With
A renewed sense of confidence and permission to be seen and heard
Stronger, more authentic connections with others in the room
Greater willingness to take up space, share ideas, and engage throughout the conference
A clear concept, a memorable phrase, and a practical framework ready to use immediately
This keynote helps leaders and teams break out of default thinking and approach work with greater connection, courage, and creativity. Mary Messner reframes creativity not as an exercise, but as a daily leadership skill that shapes how people think, collaborate, and navigate change.
Through stories, practical insight, and interactive moments, Mary challenges conformity without alienating… creating space for new ideas, perspectives, and conversations to emerge. Her approach invites participation and collaboration, helping audiences move beyond surface-level engagement.
Often selected as an opening or early-session keynote, Creativity Unscripted establishes a shared mindset and language that audiences can reference throughout the remainder of the conference supporting deeper engagement across sessions and conversations.
Ideal For
Leadership conferences and leadership summits
Corporate events and industry gatherings
Organizations navigating change, growth, or transformation
Audiences Leave With
A fresh reframe of creativity as an innate ability
Language and stories that challenge conformity while fostering connection
Greater openness to ideas, perspectives, and collaboration
A shared mindset teams can reference throughout the day
Momentum to turn “what if” into meaningful action
Want to bring Mary Messner to your next event? Please tell us a little about your event, and we will get back to you shortly!