Main Quest: Professional Public Speaker

My main quest is to build a sustainable business where I make my living as a public speaker and consultant on neurodiversity, mental health recovery, disability inclusion, and gamification.

None of this is possible without the organizers, event planners, audience members, and supporters who make space for this work. Thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to go on this quest, share my story, or provide education about the topics I care so deeply about.

Here is a round-up of my April and May speaking events — quests I am incredibly proud of. I’ve also included one from earlier in the year that deserves a belated shout-out!

• NAMICon26 — May 29, 2026. I flew to Atlanta for this year's NAMICon, where I joined fellow executive team members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness’s (NAMI's) Peer Leadership Council to present From Lived Experience to Leadership: Cultivating Sustainable Peer Leadership. We explored what it means to show up for your community using your own lived experience as a foundation.

• NEWH North Central (The Hospitality Network) — May 19, 2026. I had the privilege of teaching hospitality designers about neurodiversity in a customized session called Stronger Teams, Better Guest Experiences: Understanding Neurodiversity. The conversations that followed were fantastic. Including a lively debate about whether hotels should have signature scents (probably not; more likely to drive people away than draw them in), the rise of quiet spaces, and the importance of self-advocacy in the workplace.

• Crisis Intervention Training in Cottage Grove, MN — May 18, 2026. I've lost count of how many times I've shared my mental health recovery story through NAMI Minnesota's In Our Own Voice program, and I am grateful every single time. I show up to these Crisis Intervention Trainings to remind first responders that they see the rock bottom of someone's story, and that with their compassion, the people they help may find a second chance and someday begin their recovery journey.

• SE Regional Mental Health Conference — May 7, 2026. After tabling for the day (teal tablecloth and fun business cards, naturally), I served as the closing keynote presenter. My talk, Mental Health Recovery: Leading From Lived Experience, explored SAMHSA's working definition of recovery, “a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential,” alongside my own stories of living with a serious mental health condition and other disabilities and the systems and people that got me to where I am today.

• Minnesota Cycling Association’s 2026 Coaching Summit — April 25, 2026. I presented the Minnesota Department of Human Services' Changing the Narrative on Suicide and Mental Health training. I've been certified in this presentation for a while but don't get to deliver it often, so it was wonderful to return to it and have such rich conversations during the Q&A.

• Minnesota’s Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, 2026 Stepping Up Breakfast — April 23rd. Alongside two other panelists and with the wonderful Judge Frank facilitating, I shared my mental health recovery journey and how working in the legal field shaped it. All part of a panel called Stories of Recovery.

  

• Spring Legal Well-Being Summit for the Colorado Office of Attorney Professional Excellence — April 14, 2026. I flew to Colorado for an amazing opportunity to teach about Neurodiversity in the Legal Field to a room full of legal professionals who care as deeply about well-being in the legal field as I do.

• Faculty Workshop at Mitchell Hamline Law School — April 10, 2026. I taught faculty about neurodiversity in a two-part session: a 30-minute Neurodiversity 101 to establish shared language and definitions, followed by a panel called Neurodiversity in Law School featuring a neurodivergent faculty member, a student, and local neurodivergent legal professionals.

• Understanding Minds, Transforming Care: A Mental Health and Neurodiversity Conference at Southwest Minnesota State University — April 9, 2026. This was NAMI Minnesota's first conference to blend neurodiversity and mental health conversations, so I did the same in my breakout session, A Journey of Mental Health Recovery and Neurodivergence. I combined the most requested elements of my Neurodiversity in the Workplace presentation with my Mental Health Recovery presentation, shaped for that audience.

• Ogletree Deakins — February & March 2026. I did not post enough about this while it was happening, so I am rectifying that now. I had the wonderful opportunity to provide neurodiversity workshops to this law firm across two months. It began with a firm-wide presentation on Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Strategies for Effective Collaboration and Success, followed the next month by two separate 60-minute informal Q&A-style conversations — one for attorneys and leadership, and one for business professionals and staff. Huge thanks to the event planner who helped make it all happen.

Sometimes I feel like I am not making enough progress on my main quest. But taking inventory of the opportunities I’ve had helps me take the time to be grateful for what I have and who I have had the opportunity to help. I am working on balancing my main quest with my Dragon Quests (more on those in this article), and various side quests: building my Guild, launching my Gamified Group Coaching program, going to clown camp, and so much more.

If you would like to support my main quest or learn more about one of the topics I speak on, feel free to comment below. And if you or someone you know is looking for a speaker, I would love to be considered. You can find more information and reach me at SierraGrandy.com.

And whatever quest you are on, I am proud of you for going on it.

With gratitude,

Sierra

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