SPEAKING
“Julie made difficult conversations feel human and safe. She offered words we didn’t have, and made us feel less alone in them.”
Virgina T, CASA
I don’t give speeches.
I create experiences.
As a media psychologist, social gerontologist, and experience designer, I’ve spent over 25 years exploring how memory, story, and emotion shape identity and connection across the lifespan. My talks blend science and lived experience, reflection and practice, so audiences don’t just understand the ideas — they feel them.
Whether you’re hosting a keynote, workshop, or retreat, I design immersive sessions that leave people changed, connected, and more aware of what truly matters.
Featured Talks & Trainings
Storyfeeling: The Psychology of How We Remember
Why we remember what we feel — and how emotion becomes identity
Storyfeeling explores how memory is shaped by emotion, sensory experience, and attention. Audiences learn why certain moments stay with us, how the body becomes a site of memory, and how to design experiences that create connection, meaning, and lasting impact.
The Inheritance of Meaning: How Meaning Travels Across Generations
The emotional, sensory, and narrative threads we carry forward
Meaning doesn’t disappear — it moves. This talk reveals how stories, objects, gestures, and emotional patterns pass through families and communities. Participants learn how to recognize inherited meaning, reshape it, and consciously create the legacy they want to leave.
Remembering Together: The Emotional Life of Dementia
Connection beyond cognition
Dementia changes memory, but not emotional presence. This talk explores the science and lived experience of emotional memory, showing caregivers, families, and teams how to build connection through sensory cues, story, presence, and relational confidence even as cognitive memory shifts.
Designing for Emotional Legacy: How values, rituals, and sensory cues shape what we carry forward
Crafting meaning that lasts
Emotional legacy is built through the experiences we create and the memories we shape. This session offers a framework for designing values-based rituals, sensory environments, and meaningful interactions that strengthen identity, belonging, and intergenerational connection.
Neuroaesthetics: The Art and Science of How We Feel
How sensory environments shape emotion, memory, and wellbeing
What we see, hear, smell, and touch changes how we feel — and how we remember. This talk reveals how sensory design influences emotion, attention, empathy, and health, offering practical strategies for creating environments that support connection, comfort, and cognitive ease.
Empathy by Design: Psychology for Stronger Connections
Practical tools for building trust, belonging, and resilience
Empathy isn’t just a trait — it’s an experience shaped by story, memory, and environment. This session teaches how to design for emotional connection using insights from psychology, narrative, and sensory experience. Audiences leave with tools they can use immediately in teams, communities, and relationships.
I work with audiences in-person and virtually through:ngaging audiences both in-person and virtually through various formats.
- Keynotes
- 2-3 Hour Workshops
- Half-day Training
- Full-day Training
- Corporate Retreats & Offsites
- Community Programs
- Custom Events & Designed Experiences
What Audiences
Take Away
- New ways of understanding how memory and story shape identity
- Practical strategies for building empathy and emotional connection
- Tools for navigating change, loss, and legacy with resilience
- Inspiration to design meaningful experiences across generations
- A deeper appreciation for how the senses influence belonging
"Julie helped us reframe the entire experience through the lens of emotional impact. What we created were moments of real connection."
-Brian K, SFS Family Care
Let’s create an experience your audience won’t forget.
Whether you're planning a conference keynote, organizational training, or community gathering, I’d love to collaborate.
I encourage early bookings as soon as dates are known.