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Dr. Rebecca  Heiss

Dr. Rebecca Heiss

Biologist & Stress Expert, Author

Dr. Rebecca Heiss

Biologist & Stress Expert, Author

Biography

“Rebecca’s keynote was dynamic, thought-provoking and action inspiring. It resonated with me and our team in such positive ways, causing us to really look at the blind spots and specific ways to create behavior change in both our lives and businesses. We received more positive feedback from her talk and requests for a copy of her talk than any of the other speakers.”-Director of Business Affairs, Consolidated Assurance


Called “transformative” by the National Science Foundation, evolutionary biologist Dr. Rebecca Heiss’s breakthrough research examines the prehistoric fears and primitive instincts that our human brains have subconsciously carried forward into our complex, modern world. Sharing science-backed explanations and thought-provoking storytelling, she shows us how to overcome the reflexes that served us well 20,000 years ago but sabotage us today. Whether you are a corporate leader looking to build and lead stronger teams, an organization seeking to understand the ingrained instincts behind unconscious bias, or simply wishing to manage stress and anxiety and adopt a more successful, positive mindset, Dr. Heiss’s highly interactive talks will rock your perceptions about how people universally think, behave, and interact.

Dr. Heiss is the author of the book, Instinct: Rewire Your Brain with Science-Backed Solutions to Increase Productivity and Achieve Success, which has been described as “a revolutionary approach to unlocking your innate ability to achieve success in business and in life.” She is also the founder and CEO of icueity, a continuous 360 review app that provides users with ongoing “fearless feedback” and challenges them to grow in self-awareness. She taught at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics and later was recruited to be among the founding faculty members to develop a startup school to nurture entrepreneurial minds and approach learning through impact. Dr. Heiss holds a BS and MS in Biology from Binghamton University and a PhD in stress physiology from University of Memphis.

Her talks have inspired audiences around the world, including organizations such as Charles Schwab, ADP, SHRM, and Case Western Reserve University. Believing that “the scariest thing is living a life governed by fear,” Dr. Heiss challenges us to BECOME FEAR(LESS)™ while providing the tools to achieve it.

While she incorporates fascinating scientific research, make no mistake — this is no boring academic lecture. Audiences are immediately won over with Rebecca's warmth, surprising humor and palpable energy that brings crowds to their feet. Through storytelling and interactive interludes, Rebecca's "fearless" message inspires hope and actionable insights to train our brains to work for us, rather than against us in times of uncertainty. Audiences leave with actionable takeaways on how to overcome their own biology, take control of stress and anxiety, be more effective and productive, break through the barriers to optimal performance — and live happier, fear(less) lives.

Speaker Videos

Sizzle Reel

Speaker Reel Fear(less) & Lead with Awe

Why Book Dr. Rebecca Heiss

Overview

Fearless Diversity

Blind Spots to Breakthrough

Fearless Mindset: What’s Your Story?

Fearless Leadership

Fearless Mindset

Speech Topics

THE ALL-IN EFFECT: Leading Teams to Excel Through Change

The past years have brought increased stress, challenge, and unpredictable change to all industries, resulting in a confidence gap with leaders – afraid to step up, afraid to be vulnerable, afraid that they will flounder.

Imagine if you could instead lead from a space that allows you to go ALL-IN, transforming fear into fuel, and allowing you to enhance productivity by more than 25%, stay more focused, more creative, more motivated, and more engaged … all by fearing less. That’s the ALL-IN Effect.

Keynote audiences will leave with tools that enable them to:

  1. Utilize a 3-step science-backed strategy to recalibrate the stress response to work to your advantage immediately, rather than working against you.
  2. Discover a key method for harnessing an adventure mindset to become more resilient in high-pressure situations.
  3. Experience an inspired ability to link the challenge of change, to purpose and connection in order to increase engagement across your organization.

FEAR(LESS) MINDSET: Finding Adventure in Ambiguity

Our brains aren’t built for this rapidly changing world… But they are adaptable.

By consciously crafting a mindset that helps us lean into these challenges rather than treat them as threats, we’ll be able to avoid the burnout, frustration, and turnover that might otherwise plague us and our clients. And, perhaps most importantly, we can deepen the connections we had to the purpose and people that drew us into this industry we love to begin with.

Keynote audiences will leave with tools that enable them to:

  1. Re-categorize stress as a strength that can drive performance
  2. Utilize a 3-step scientific technique to shift stress mindsets from ordeal to adventure
  3. Enable positive communication, ideation, and creative collaborations to lead through ambiguity with a beginner’s mind

THE STRESS SOLUTION: Transforming Fear into Rocket Fuel to Supercharge Performance

Stress isn’t inherently bad. In fact, the highest-performing athletes and leaders have learned the secrets to the upside of stress, using it to fuel their performance rather than hinder it.

Rather than allowing our environments and our natural biological tendencies toward anxiety to hold us back, we can use the same energy to work with us, unlocking our highest potential and learning that when we fear(less), we make room for so much more.

Keynote audiences will leave with tools that enable them to:

  1. Understand the root of our stress response and recalibrate it to work with us in the modern world.
  2. Engage with our fears to reframe them as energy that can optimize performance.
  3. Adopt a simple plan for rewiring our brains to respond differently to threats as challenges, to reduce burnout and restore purpose and fulfillment to our work.

Testimonials