Changemaker Talent

We’re excited to welcome Melanie Curtis (Melanie Curtis) to the Changemaker Talent speaker community.

What if the biggest barrier to your next level isn’t talent or ambition, but the way you’re approaching opportunity?

A world-record professional skydiver, peak performance coach, and author, Melanie helps leaders and high performers close the gap between where they are and where they’re capable of going.

Blending science-backed insights, stories from more than 12,000 jumps, and plenty of humor, her presentations challenge audiences to rethink fear, take smart risks, and unlock more of their potential. Attendees leave with practical tools to lead with greater confidence and create results that match their ambition.

🎥 Melanie recorded this message to introduce herself. Take a moment to watch, get to know her, and join us in welcoming her to the lineup.

🎟️ Free Community Event on July 2!

A single photograph has the power to shape how we remember history.

Join Pulitzer Prize–winning photojournalist Deanne Fitzmaurice for A250: Portrait of a Nation, an illustrated talk exploring nearly four decades of visual storytelling through some of America’s defining moments. From sporting events and social movements to everyday acts of resilience, Deanne’s work offers a powerful look at the people and events that have shaped our collective story.

As part of the Wheeler Opera House’s Changemaker Speaker Series, this special presentation celebrates the power of storytelling to spark reflection, conversation, and connection as we approach America’s 250th anniversary and Colorado’s 150th.

📍 Wheeler Opera House, Aspen CO
🗓️ July 2
🕖 7:00 PM

This event is FREE and open to the public, but advance RSVP is required through the Wheeler Opera House website. Reserve your seat today—we hope to see you there!

We’re excited to welcome business theorist, reinvention expert, and author Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva (.nadyazhexembayeva) to the Changemaker Talent speaker community.

Known as “The Reinvention Guru,” Nadya helps leaders and organizations turn disruption into opportunity, building the capacity to adapt, evolve, and reinvent again and again.

From growing up in Kazakhstan during the final years of the Soviet Union to advising global organizations including Coca-Cola, IBM, Cisco, and L’Oréal, Nadya’s work is grounded in resilience, transformation, and the belief that change can become a competitive advantage.

Through her talks, teaching, and bestselling books, Nadya equips audiences with practical tools to navigate uncertainty, lead through complexity, and rethink what’s possible in times of rapid change.

We’re proud to bring Nadya’s voice to the Changemaker lineup. Learn more at the link in bio.

We’re honored to welcome fine art photographer, mixed media artist, and writer Brooke Shaden (Brooke Shaden) to the Changemaker Talent speaker community.

Through hauntingly cinematic self-portraiture and deeply personal storytelling, Brooke explores vulnerability, resilience, grief, and the complexities of being human. Her work invites audiences to confront darkness with curiosity and compassion, revealing how creativity can transform inner struggle into meaning, connection, and hope.

For more than fifteen years, Brooke has built a global community around art, reflection, and personal growth — inspiring hundreds of thousands of artists through her photography, writing, teaching, and speaking.

In her talks, Brooke encourages audiences to embrace creativity not just as expression, but as a pathway toward healing, purpose, and deeper understanding.

We’re proud to bring Brooke’s voice to the Changemaker lineup.
Learn more at the link in bio.
Sony - Alpha Universe

We’re honored to welcome Paul Nicklen () to the Changemaker Talent family.

Raised in the Canadian Arctic and guided by Inuit knowledge, he learned early that nothing in nature exists alone. That belief has fueled more than three decades of work at the frontlines of our planet’s most fragile ecosystems, from melting polar ice to the wilds of Africa.

His images don’t just show beauty.
They remind us how all living things are connected.
They spark responsibility.

Because the natural world isn’t separate from us—it is us.

On stage, Paul blends breathtaking visuals, expert storytelling, and humor to leave audiences not just moved but mobilized.

This summer, will publish Reverence, his magnum opus and the most important project of his life.

Now booking for solo keynote talks and a powerful collaborative show with his partner in life and impact, Cristina Mittermeier ().

🔗 Link in bio.