Skip to content
Blake Bolden.
Book Blake

Speaking

Women's Leadership Keynote Speaker: Blake Bolden

Blake Bolden captained Boston College, won two professional championships, and in 2020 became the second woman to scout in the NHL with the LA Kings. Today she is a lead analyst on Amazon Prime's Wednesday Night Hockey and for the PWHL.

Her women's leadership keynote is about leading from rooms that were not built for you: how to earn a seat, how to use it, and how to hold the door for the next person.

Check availabilityDownload speaker one-sheet (PDF)(opens in a new tab)

Leadership learned in three careers

Each of Blake's careers asked her to lead in a different way. As a captain she led peers through a season. As a scout and Growth and Inclusion Specialist with the Kings she worked inside an NHL organization where women were rare. In broadcasting she leads on air, live, with no second take.

That range lands with a women's network or an ERG event. People in the room are working through promotions, career changes and first-of-their-kind roles, and Blake has made all three moves in public.

She is also honest about the parts that hurt. In her talks she describes being told she was not good enough and that she was uncoachable, and she says it is important to be sad about the noes before you learn from them. Leaders tend to remember that part.

Mentorship runs through all of it. Blake has mentored young athletes since her own playing days, first through EmBolden Her and now through Athlete Mentorships, an online program she runs with pro Marah Wagner. When she tells women leaders to bring the next person along, she is describing work she still does. She also played professionally in Switzerland, so she has also started over in a new country.

Blake Bolden on stage in a black silk shirt, hands open, mid-sentence

Topics

Her topics, framed for women's leadership

Her six themes, aimed at women leading teams, projects and careers.

  1. 01

    Facing Adversity

    Carrying the weight of being the first or the only one, without letting it set your ceiling.

  2. 02

    Using Failure as a Tool

    Treating a rejection or a missed promotion as information. What to do in the week after a no.

  3. 03

    Getting Used to Being Uncomfortable

    Every career move she made started in a room where she was new. How to get good at that feeling.

  4. 04

    Trusting the Process

    Doing the daily work for years before anyone notices. What kept her going between championships.

  5. 05

    Following Intuition

    How she decided to leave the ice for scouting, then scouting for broadcasting, with no template.

  6. 06

    Taking Advantage of Your Current Situation

    Using the role you have now to build the one you want next.

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

Can Blake speak at a women's network or ERG event?

Yes. Women's networks and ERGs are among the groups that book her. A keynote with a Q&A, or a smaller conversation over lunch, both work.

Is this a talk about hockey?

Hockey is where her stories happen. The lessons are about leadership, and audiences who have never watched a game follow along fine.

Can we add a fireside chat or panel?

Yes. Q&A and moderated conversations can run after the talk or on their own. Mention it in your inquiry.

What does a women's leadership keynote cost?

Speaking fees start at $7,500 for a keynote. Travel outside Southern California is quoted separately.

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.

Start an inquiry