Badass: Black Female Motivational Speakers

Badass, brilliant and ready to change the room. This line-up of black female motivational speakers shows what leadership, resilience and reinvention look like in practice. From football pitches and newsrooms to boardrooms, cockpits and Olympic finals, each one brings hard-won experience and a platform they use to open doors for the people coming up behind them. We've split the list by region, with the UK-based speakers first and the US after that. Explore our full roster of female motivational speakers, or read on to meet the black women speakers ready to bring their voice to your next event.

Black Female Motivational Speakers in the UK

These UK-based speakers span elite sport, psychology, technology, broadcasting, personal finance and cultural history. All are based in Britain, which keeps travel and accommodation costs down for UK and European events, and several are regular faces on national television. Looking for more inspiration first? Our piece on keynote speakers for women's leadership development is a good companion read alongside this list.

Eniola Aluko

Eniola Aluko is a trailblazer on and off the pitch. As a former Juventus, Chelsea and England footballer she won major titles and earned over 100 international caps, and she is a qualified solicitor who became the first woman to work as a pundit on the BBC's Match of the Day. Her leadership and her advocacy against discrimination in football give audiences a direct route into team dynamics, winning mindsets and fostering inclusive environments.

PepTalk Fact: Eniola was the first woman to appear as a pundit on Match of the Day, back in 2014 ⚽

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Dame Denise Lewis DBE

Dame Denise Lewis DBE won heptathlon gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and has built an equally respected second career in broadcasting. She is President of Commonwealth Games England and a familiar presence across the BBC's athletics coverage. Audiences book her for resilience, performing under pressure and what it takes to keep raising your own standard.

PepTalk Fact: Denise added a lighter side to her public profile with a memorable stint on ITV's The Masked Dancer 🎭

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Kimberley Wilson

Kimberley Wilson is a Chartered Psychologist and the author of How to Build a Healthy Brain, known for bringing nutrition and lifestyle into mainstream mental health practice. A former Governor of the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust, she has worked in prisons and appears regularly on podcasts, television and expert panels. She gives teams the science behind burnout, cognitive performance and psychological wellness.

PepTalk Fact: Kimberley was a finalist on The Great British Bake Off, a multi-talented speaker if ever there was one 🍰

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Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE is a mathematician, computer scientist and a co-founder of Stemettes, the social initiative opening technology careers to young women. It has now reached more than 60,000 young people. She speaks on STEM, digital skills and how to spot technical talent that a standard hiring process walks past, which makes her a strong fit for organisations rethinking how they hire and promote.

PepTalk Fact: Anne-Marie holds multiple honorary doctorates for her work on diversity in STEM 🎓

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June Sarpong OBE

June Sarpong OBE spent more than 20 years in broadcasting before becoming the BBC's first Director of Creative Diversity, a role in which she reshaped how one of the world's largest broadcasters commissions and hires. She is the author of Diversify and a co-founder of the Women: Inspiration & Enterprise network. She speaks on inclusive leadership, cultural change and the commercial case for getting representation right.

PepTalk Fact: June was appointed OBE for services to broadcasting and charity 🎬

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Makala Green

Makala Green is Britain's first Black female chartered financial planner and the author of The Money Edit. She started out as a bank cashier, and now advises A-list clients and multi-million-pound businesses while making the same financial planning accessible to everyone else. She speaks on financial literacy, building wealth and taking the jargon out of money.

PepTalk Fact: Makala was named Financial Adviser of the Year for the South East 💷

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Emma Dabiri

Emma Dabiri is a historian, broadcaster and the author of Don't Touch My Hair and What White People Can Do Next, both bestsellers. Her Channel 4 documentary Hair Power: Me and My Afro won a Silver Cannes Lion, and she has presented for BBC2 and BBC4 and appeared on Question Time. She speaks on identity, race, history and culture, which makes her a natural fit for Black History Month programming.

PepTalk Fact: Don't Touch My Hair fed into changes to school uniform rules and British Army dress regulations 📚

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Black Female Motivational Speakers in the US

These US-based speakers cover corporate leadership, media, the military, elite sport and humanitarian work. If you are searching for African American female speakers for a conference, a leadership summit or a Black History Month programme, this is where to start. Each is available across North America, and several travel internationally for the right brief.

Carla Harris

Carla Harris is a Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley and one of the most in-demand voices in American business. She was appointed by President Obama to chair the National Women's Business Council, and her books Expect to Win and Strategize to Win are staples on corporate reading lists. She speaks on career strategy, sponsorship and performing when the stakes are high.

PepTalk Fact: Carla is also a gospel singer who has sold out Carnegie Hall five times 🎤

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Cynt Marshall

Cynt Marshall became the NBA's first Black woman CEO when she took over the Dallas Mavericks in 2018, hired to rebuild a workplace culture in crisis. She spent 36 years at AT&T before that, rising to Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer. She speaks on cultural transformation, inclusive leadership and turning an organisation around in full public view.

PepTalk Fact: Cynt's turnaround at the Mavericks earned the franchise the NBA's Inclusion Leadership Award 🏀

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Vernice ‘FlyGirl’ Armour

Vernice ‘FlyGirl’ Armour became America's first Black female combat pilot, flying two tours in Iraq with the US Marine Corps. Her Zero to Breakthrough model turns that experience into a method teams can actually use, and she has taken it into Fortune 500 boardrooms and government agencies. She speaks on decisive action, resilience and moving when the picture is still incomplete.

PepTalk Fact: Before the Marines, Vernice was the first African American woman on Nashville police department's motorcycle squad 🏍️

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Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones was President of MSNBC, the first Black woman to lead a major American cable news network. She took the job during a period of upheaval across the news industry and steered a newsroom of thousands through it. She speaks on leading through crisis, digital transformation and what inclusive leadership looks like when the pressure is on.

PepTalk Fact: Rashida sits on the Paley Center for Media's Media Council 📺

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Dominique Dawes

Dominique Dawes was part of the 1996 Magnificent Seven, the US gymnastics team that took Olympic gold, and became the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics. She went on to co-chair the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition under the Obama administration, and now runs her own gymnastics academy. She speaks on resilience, healthy high performance and building teams that last.

PepTalk Fact: Dominique competed at three consecutive Olympic Games, in 1992, 1996 and 2000 🥇

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Chaunté Lowe

Chaunté Lowe is a four-time Olympic high jumper who competed at the elite level while raising a family, then kept training through a breast cancer diagnosis and returned to competition afterwards. Her TEDx talks have reached audiences across several continents. She speaks on performance under pressure, resilience and reframing a setback as information you can act on.

PepTalk Fact: Chaunté was world indoor high jump champion in 2012 🥇

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Princess Sarah Culberson

Princess Sarah Culberson was born in West Virginia and adopted into a white family, then hired a private investigator to trace her roots and found that her biological grandfather was a Paramount Chief in Sierra Leone. She wrote about it in A Princess Found, now being adapted into a Disney live-action film, and co-founded Sierra Leone Rising to fund wells, schools and girls' education. She speaks on identity, belonging and leading across cultures.

PepTalk Fact: Sarah hosts the Modern Royalty podcast, on leadership, service and responsibility 👑

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the best black female motivational speakers to book?

In the UK, PepTalk's most-requested black female motivational speakers are Eniola Aluko, Dame Denise Lewis DBE, Kimberley Wilson, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, June Sarpong OBE, Makala Green and Emma Dabiri. In the US, they are Carla Harris, Cynt Marshall, Vernice ‘FlyGirl’ Armour, Rashida Jones, Dominique Dawes, Chaunté Lowe and Princess Sarah Culberson. The right choice depends on your brief: sport and performance, corporate leadership, psychology, technology, finance, media or cultural history.

How much does it cost to book a black female motivational speaker?

PepTalk fees for in-person keynotes start at $2,000. The final figure depends on the speaker's profile, the format you need, the length of the session and where the event is held. Virtual sessions usually cost less than in-person ones, and travel and accommodation sit on top for speakers travelling to you.

Should I book a UK or US speaker for my event?

Book locally where you can, because travel and accommodation are usually the largest add-on to a speaker fee. A UK-based speaker is the cheaper option for events in Britain and Europe, and a US-based speaker for events across North America. Most speakers on this list also deliver virtual keynotes, which removes travel costs entirely.

Can a black female keynote speaker tailor their talk to my audience?

Yes. Every speaker on this list adapts their content to the audience, the sector and the outcome you want from the session. Share your brief when you enquire, including audience size, seniority and the theme of the wider event, and PepTalk will brief the speaker before the call so the first conversation is already specific to you.

How far in advance should I book?

Three to six months is comfortable for most events. Black History Month in October in the UK and February in the US is the tightest window of the year for these speakers, and the best-known names go early, so start six to nine months out if your date falls in either month.

How do I book a speaker from this list?

Email hello@getapeptalk.com or send a message through the chat with your date, audience size and budget, and the PepTalk team will come back with availability and a quote. If you're still deciding, tell us the outcome you want from the session and we'll shortlist speakers who fit.

💡 Looking to book a badass black woman as your next motivational speaker? Let us know, and we'll find the perfect PepTalk expert for your organisation. For more on why representation like this matters, see our piece on US Black History Month search trends, or browse the full Black History Month speakers roster. Email us at hello@getapeptalk.com or send us a message via chat. You can also call us on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US). Remember, it's always a good time to get a PepTalk!