STEM Keynote Speaker

“Heidi Olinger, STEM keynote speaker, delivers the insight and direction every girl and adult — whether parent, educator or mentor — needs to hear. What she teaches inspires action and places girls on the road to achieving their goals and leading their best lives.”
— Debra Benton, keynote speaker, executive coach, and New York Times best-selling author

Heidi Olinger – STEM Keynote Speaker

Passionate about inspiring women and girls in science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) , among other things, Heidi Olinger is a fabulous STEAM and STEM keynote speaker. She founded Pretty Brainy in 2008. The Colorado-based company specializes in project-based STEAM/STEM learning (science-technology-engineering-art-math) to help educators excite students about learning and prepare them — especially girls — to pursue the broadest of career options.

Heidi’s intelligence coupled with her charm and wit make her a fantastic speaker. Her array of keynote topics and the flair she brings to her public speaking will have your audience hanging on every word.

Olinger began her work as an educator in 1990, focusing on students provisionally admitted to the University of Colorado. With a devotion to experimental pedagogy, she developed practices in student-centered teaching and over the next 10 years received multiple awards for teaching excellence, including the Boettcher Foundation Award.

“Heidi is not only a successful business woman but a high-content speaker. She connects with any audience on many levels. In both areas, she backs her presentations with solid research and factual analysis. This quiet, elegant woman is very comfortable in front of an audience of any size, and she presents her material with energy in a very entertaining way which has her audiences taking notes furiously as they hang on her every word.”
— Ann Clarke, CEO & Founder, Colorado Women of Influence

Drawn to social entrepreneurship, she became a communications strategist in 2000 and senior writer for Colorado’s leading magazine on women in business. Also in 2000, however, she developed a close relationship with a niece who inspired her to form Pretty Brainy.

To fulfill her own heroic mission, Olinger launched Pretty Brainy, Smart Goods for Smart Girls, in 2008 and in 2010 Pretty Brainy girls’ T-shirts won the highest honor from the Mom’s Choice Awards. In 2012 the World Trade Center-Denver selected Olinger and Pretty Brainy to be among the featured designers of its gala event, “A World of Fashion.” And in 2012 Olinger introduced Fashionably Mashed, an interdisciplinary program of fashion design and STEAM for schools and nonprofit organizations.

Inside and outside of Pretty Brainy she speaks on the success of girls and women in science and math. Contact her at heidi@prettybrainy.com.

STEM Keynote Speaker Topics

STEM Learning for All.

What does it take to retain females in STEM studies? What options do educators have to make science, technology, engineering and math/STEM appealing to girls and young women? Success comes, Heidi argues, when we unlock two things: the lens through which girls view the world and what they value most. Heidi presents compelling evidence and practical insight that lend meaning and real learning to the learning environment — for students and for educators. Read More

Heidi presents authoritative research from a wide variety of sources, including her own research, classroom knowledge, and empirical information. She cuts through the plethora of educational trends and zeroes in on a key reality of the classroom environment: the hard line that exists between how we teach and how we learn.

My Boyfriend Ate My Homework.^TM

Against common sense and the advice of real friends, a girl will sabotage herself to be with the boy she “loves” — even when “love” is ruining her life. What are the real costs of puppy love and dating? Is it possible for a girl to deflect her own worst enemy when, in fact, the enemy is she? In this lively yet practical presentation, Heidi reveals the math and science girls can take in hand to understand the dynamics — and collateral damage — when life is dominated by boys. Read More

Heidi engages girls in the physics, human behavior and practical math that shine a bright light on the choices we make in our teen and ΄tween years. Part personal insight, part math and science beyond the classroom and into the world in which girls live, Heidi’s award-winning approach emphasizes girls, what they value, and the significance of their world view.

Live Your Heroic Mission.

How to Stand Steady, Successful + Strong
Is it shallow to think that a woman’s appearance affects her day-to-day success? Women now earn a majority of college degrees and command positions and salaries above male counterparts and spouses. So aren’t a woman’s appearance and physical presence minor points? No, Heidi argues, and she wants every woman and girl to have the insight and practices that draw the line between successful and stalled. Read More

No matter your passion, no matter your path, there are physical moves and attitudes that position you to be and act from your best self. Working from the foundation that everyone has a heroic mission, Heidi applies her deep research into American language and experiences to give audiences the key practices to move with a spirit and self-respect that produce immediate results. Audience members come away knowing how to communicate, physically and verbally, with increased influence, presence, self-confidence, and effectiveness toward meeting their greatest goals and ambitions.