Julianne Ankley

The flagship Keynote Concert. Julianne shares her personal journey of starting over at 40 — through illness, divorce, single motherhood, and an industry that didn’t take her seriously — and arriving at a career defined by 14 Detroit Music Awards and national recognition. This is not a talk about surviving adversity. It is a lived demonstration that it is never too late to overcome it and begin again. Delivered with 2–3 live original songs woven throughout.

The Unconventional Path: Why Different Is Your Advantage When there is no roadmap, build your own Julianne’s career did not follow the traditional path — because there was no traditional path for a 40-year-old single mother entering the music industry. This talk reframes the unconventional journey as a competitive advantage, showing audiences why those who forge their own way often arrive somewhere no map could have shown them. Ideal for entrepreneurs, career changers, and anyone who has ever felt behind.

Turn your ‘one day’ list into a today list Most people have a list of things they say they will do one day. Julianne had one too — and the day she nearly lost her health was the day she started checking things off. This talk challenges audiences to stop waiting and start creating, using vivid storytelling, live music, and a simple framework for turning deferred dreams into active decisions.