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DEI and Inclusion Speaker: Blake Bolden

In 2020 Blake Bolden joined the Los Angeles Kings as a Growth and Inclusion Specialist and Pro Scout. Before that she was the first Black player in the NWHL and the first Black player taken in the first round of the CWHL draft. She is now a lead analyst for the PWHL and on Amazon Prime's Wednesday Night Hockey.

As a diversity and inclusion keynote speaker, she brings both sides: what it is like to be the person a sport was not built for, and what it looks like to do inclusion work from inside an organization.

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Inclusion and belonging, from the inside

Many companies now call this work inclusion and belonging rather than DEI. Blake speaks to both, because the subject is the same: who gets in the door, who stays, and who feels they belong once they are there.

Her own story covers each part. She got in the door early, in youth hockey in Cleveland. She stayed, through Northwood, Boston College and seven professional seasons. And she says what belonging meant when she met a young Black girl who had started playing because of her.

For an ERG event speaker, Blake can open a heritage-month program, speak at an all-hands, or sit with an employee resource group for a smaller conversation. She keeps it human. People hear a story about someone who was first. She does not lecture.

She has been on every side of this subject: the player who was the only one, the Kings staffer whose job title included inclusion, and now the analyst whose face on a national broadcast tells a young viewer the sport is hers too. Each side gives the talk a different set of stories, and she picks the ones that fit your room.

Blake Bolden on the ice in an NHL Player Inclusion Coalition jersey, speaking into a microphone

Topics

Her topics, framed for inclusion and belonging

Her six themes, aimed at teams and organizations working on who belongs.

  1. 01

    Facing Adversity

    What being the only one does to a person, and what colleagues can do about it.

  2. 02

    Using Failure as a Tool

    Being called uncoachable early in her career, and how labels like that stick to people who are already outsiders.

  3. 03

    Getting Used to Being Uncomfortable

    Belonging work asks everyone to get uncomfortable. She talks about doing it on purpose.

  4. 04

    Trusting the Process

    Inclusion takes years, like a career does. What steady, unglamorous effort looks like.

  5. 05

    Following Intuition

    Taking a job in an NHL front office when she could not name another woman doing it.

  6. 06

    Taking Advantage of Your Current Situation

    Every manager and teammate already has a team. How to make it a place people want to stay.

Speaker reel

Watch Blake speak

Two and a half minutes from one of her talks: learning to skate pushing a chair, being cut and called uncoachable, the call that brought her to the Boston Blades, and the young girl who told Blake she started playing because of her.

From an organizer

Blake's visit was a total hit with our community, and the kids especially got so much out of her talks. She's amazing in the way that she can command a full room and then also connect so deeply with a small group of kids around a lunch table. I really appreciate the time and effort she put into tailoring the message for different audiences; they'll take her advice into all the spaces they go, both in sports and in life.

Carly Rodriguez

Director of Communications, The Thacher School

Speaking fees start at $7,500

Travel outside Southern California is quoted separately. Multi-session visits are packaged on request.

Check availability

Questions organizers ask

Does Blake run DEI training?

Blake gives talks and leads conversations. She is a speaker, not a trainer, and pairs well with a training program you already run.

Can she speak to an ERG or an affinity group?

Yes. A keynote for the whole company and a smaller session with an employee resource group is a common pairing.

Can she speak at a company-wide event?

Yes. Corporate keynotes are one of the formats organizers book her for. Tell us the size of the room and the theme of the event.

What does an inclusion keynote cost?

Speaking fees start at $7,500. Travel outside Southern California is quoted separately. If you want a keynote and an ERG session on the same visit, say so in your inquiry and the team will quote both together.

More ways Blake speaks

All speaking topics and formats

Bring Blake to your event

Tell us the date, the place and who will be in the room. Blake and her team read every inquiry.

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