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Women’s Empowerment
A beloved speaker at women’s conferences and gatherings, ASHLEY JUDD’s honesty and authenticity make a major impact on every audience. In this highly customizable talk, Ashley shares her insights and expertise on a wide range of topics, from her own personal story of surviving sexual abuse, to her work around the world to end sex trafficking and gender-based violence, to her leadership at the forefront of the #MeToo/Times Up movement.
Whether your group is looking for an informative session focused on evidence-backed tools for healing and resilience, or a motivational keynote about the impact we can all have when we heal ourselves and share our passion and advocacy with the world, Ashley gives voice to the power women have when their stories are heard.
Mental Health & Wellness: Trauma That We Don’t Transform, We Transfer
Acclaimed actor, activist, and author ASHLEY JUDD is a powerful advocate for mental health and wellness, and her expertise ranges from the personal to the global. Growing up, mental illness, and addiction were a part of Ashley’s family story, and she experienced childhood trauma, grief, and abuse. Through her own healing journey, Ashley became an authority on the topic of the mental illness epidemic in our society, the evidence-based methods of treatment, and how to reduce stigma and enable healing for ourselves, our families, and our communities. Ashley shares her wisdom, resilience, and a message of hope that resonates with any audience.
Authentic Leadership
In this motivational talk, global humanitarian ASHLEY JUDD shares her journey to becoming a highly regarded activist and advocate for causes that matter most to her. While Ashley has experienced significant challenges in her life, she has strengthened her resilience and worked toward healing herself so she could continue to make a profound impact on the world around her. In this candid and compassionate talk, Ashley dispels the myth that you need to ‘finish’ healing before you are ready to help others and demonstrates how authentic leadership can make a meaningful difference in our families, workplaces, and communities.
Advocating for Children
Activist, actress, and author ASHLEY JUDD speaks expertly about the role that individuals, families, communities, organizations, and governments play in keeping children safe and allowing them to flourish. Having experienced childhood sexual abuse, neglect, and abandonment, Ashley openly shares the story of her family where love was present, but abuse occurred. Having spoken for numerous benefits, panels, and groups across industries, Ashley shares a story of hope, survival, and ultimately personal triumph.
The Environment: We Are All Connected
Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains in a family affected by strip mining, ASHLEY JUDD saw from a young age the catastrophic effects of coal mining on the physical environment and surrounding communities struggling with poverty and poor health outcomes. Ashley is also an advocate for wildlife, having served on the board of Defenders of Wildlife and followed bonobos from “nest to nest” in the Congo. Connecting these diverse strands, Ashley addresses the urgent need to transition to sustainable energy sources and the interconnected welfare of human, animal, and plant life across the planet.
The Connection Between Art & Activism
Actor, activist, and author ASHLEY JUDD addresses how to both find our passion and make a sustainable difference in this empowering talk. Renowned for both her acting career as well as her global humanitarian efforts and political activism, Ashley shares her perspective about the connection between art and activism. Through powerful stories, Ashley inspires audiences to pursue all their passions, and make an impact in whatever they do.
Tell Their Stories: Prioritizing Women & Girls in Humanitarian Action
In this uplifting talk that both educates and stirs the spirit, acclaimed actress, activist, and author ASHLEY JUDD shares lessons from her global travels in service of humanitarian work. Ashley has dedicated her life to connecting with women and children across the world, telling the stories of people she has met in Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, Cambodia, The Congo, India, and beyond. A Global Goodwill Ambassador for UNFPA, Ashley makes a powerful case for prioritizing the wellbeing and flourishing of women and girls in humanitarian efforts.
Ashley Judd helps the White House unveil a national suicide prevention strategy
Actor and humanitarian ASHLEY JUDD, who lost her beloved mother to suicide, recently spoke at the White House to help the Biden administration launch its national suicide prevention strategy. Judd has worked with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (which recognized her with their Life Saver Honor in 2023), wrote on the need for improved privacy laws in death by suicide in the New York Times, and spoke at SXSW on the need for responsible reporting on suicide and prevention resources. Ashley also spoke about the First Amendment and privacy as the Keynote Speaker at the National Media Lawyer’s Conference. As reported by AP News, Judd said, “I carry a message of hope.”
Renowned humanitarian Ashley Judd receives glowing reviews as a sought-after speaker on mental health awareness
Celebrated actress and renowned global humanitarian ASHLEY JUDD is in-demand as a speaker on mental health awareness, sought after for events with corporations, annual conferences, and on the world’s stage. A highly-regarded advocate and activist for decades, Judd uses her gift for storytelling to share her experiences working in communities across the globe, and regularly receives glowing reviews, such as: "Ashley was an absolutely fabulous speaker. She was poised, serene, generous, and funny! She spoke honestly and from the heart about her experience with and recovery from major depression. (..) She shared how she has overcome suicidal depression and not only learned to survive but to thrive. Many people in the audience were moved to tears and she received a standing ovation." (Hope for Depression Research Foundation)
Judd, who is heralded for starring roles in box office hits and award-winning independent films, has been a vocal advocate for those without a voice from an early age, and has shared her personal experiences with mental illness and recovery. She even penned an Op-Ed for the New York Times about improving the way law enforcement and the government responds to mental health emergencies. In a recent profile also in the New York Times, Ashley reflected on a year of grief.
Speaking from the heart, she weaves together personal and universal stories of resiliency, courage, and the power of vulnerability for growth, sharing what it takes to overcome one’s trauma to live a fulfilling life. Hosts and audiences alike are deeply moved by her presentations, and the praise is consistent: “Ashley Judd walked onto the Ford Hall Forum stage and hit it straight out of the park from her first word to her last. She is not only incredibly intelligent and a top-notch presenter, but also thoroughly knowledgeable and committed... It was clear that the audience found Judd completely captivating and a true inspiration.” (Ford Hall)
Ashley Judd shares powerful remarks on Time's Up at Embrace Ambition Summit
Renowned actress and activist ASHLEY JUDD was sought-out to speak at the Tory Burch Foundation's International Women's Day event, the Embrace Ambition Summit. Participating in a crucial and passionate conversation on the Time's Up movement and the summit's theme, "Challenging Stereotypes and Creating New Norms," Judd opened up about coming forward with her own story and her continued advocacy work on behalf of women. Powerful, candid, and illuminating, the conversation was live-streamed, and made headlines in Fast Company, Refinery29, PureWow, and more. Judd and the panel also garnered tweets of praise, such as: "This #TimesUp panel with @TinaTchen, @GretchenCarlson, & @AshleyJudd was so inspiring, I think it shifted the paradigm in real time."
Heralded for bringing her remarkable life experiences and passionate activism to life at each and every engagement, Judd shares insights on issues ranging from women's health, to mental health, to global citizenship, to the environment. Rave reviews from past events include: "Awesome doesn't begin to describe it. You would have been proud, moved and inspired. It could not have been a better evening... The theater was sold out and overflowing with 2800 people. Ashley was wonderful from start to finish in every way and she was so warm and gracious with everyone she met." (The Connecticut Forum)
Ashley is a Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actress who adroitly stars in both indie gems and box office hits. A feminist and social justice humanitarian, she is the UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, advocating for the sexual and reproductive rights and health for girls and women worldwide. She has traveled to 22 countries, spending time in brothels, refugee camps, hospices, and slums, learning directly from the vulnerable and resilient about male sexual violence and how to overcome gender inequality. Her New York Times bestselling book, All That Is Bitter & Sweet, chronicles these journeys. Her forthcoming travels summer 2023 are to Slovakia, Ukraine, and the Sahel.
Ashley graduated from the Honors Program at the University of Kentucky and earned an MPA from Harvard`s John F. Kennedy's School of Government. Her paper, Gender Violence: Law and Social Justice, was awarded the Dean’s Scholar Award at Harvard Law School. She has been Leader in Residence at the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard`s Kennedy School.
She serves on several boards, including the International Center for Research on Women, the Rape and Incest National Network, Demand Abolition, the Gloria Steinem Sex Equality Fund to End Trafficking in Women, and is Ambassador for Culture Reframed (focusing on the public health crisis of pornography). She is Chairperson of the Women’s Media Center Speak Project: Curbing Abuse, Expanding Freedom. Her TED Talk about online misogyny has over two million views.
She is a sought after public speaker and frequent OpEd author on topics as diverse as conflict mineral mineral mining and child marriage. Recently, she wrote in the New York Times about her beloved mother`s death by suicide and the need for privacy laws in such tragedies.
Ashley was Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2017 as one of the Silence Breakers. In 2019, the United Nations honored her as Global Advocate of the Year.
Ashley lives part of each year in the Central African rain forest in Democratic Republic of the Congo, where her partner has a bonobo research camp. Bonobos, our closest living relatives, are egalitarian, matriarchal, and free from male sexual violence. Their stable and peaceful societies are undergirded by female coalitions. They give her hope.
My Speaker List
