Widely regarded as one of the most empowering voices in motivational speaking today, Shayla Atkins is a highly sought-after keynote speaker; global diversity, equity, and inclusion strategist; and leadership expert. Leveraging nearly 20 years of professional experience as a human resource leader, Shayla is on a mission to impact audiences and provide sustainable strategies that stick to enable organizations and leaders in enhancing inclusive leadership capabilities, cultivating equitable workplace cultures and building DEI strategies that accelerate diverse representation in leadership, specifically women and people of color.
Shayla’s extensive leadership expertise has earned her invitations to speak on some of the largest corporate stages across the United States. And her exceptional skills have allowed him to deliver thought-provoking keynotes to some of the industry's most prominent corporations, including Kimberly Clark Corporation, Cox Enterprises, and Entergy Corporation, to name a few. Shayla has delivered dynamic speeches on live and virtual global stages, including Shawn Fair’s Leadership Experience Tour aired to millions of viewers on the Onstage Plus global network.
Shayla has become the leading authority in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategies and programs. She is a compelling thought leader dedicated to supporting mid-level and senior leaders to learn and apply inclusive and human-centric leadership principles. She facilitates sustainable training that helps organizations maximize diversity as a business imperative resulting in increased employee engagement, productivity, and retention. With over 15 years of strategic HR leadership experience in Fortune 500 companies and leading consulting firms, a Lean Six Sigma black belt and a certified business coach, Shayla understands the intersectionality of HR, Business Strategies and People.
In line with her unyielding passion for helping others succeed, Shayla is the CEO and Founder of The Atkins Impact Consulting Firm, a global company that accelerates racial and gender equity. She is the creator of it's signature professional and personal development program, Lead with S.P.I.C.E., whose mission is to engage, empower and equip black and brown women leaders to stop codeswitching, ditch perfectionism and other -isms to begin leading with authenticity to deliver results and leverage it as their competitive advantage in their career.
As a recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded by President Joseph R. Biden, Shayla is also a visionary who has been recognized for her leadership, commitment, and contributions to her community and the next generation. Her work has been featured on over 100 prominent media platforms such as ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and USA Today and in leading talk shows, radio segments, podcasts, newspapers, and magazines.