Speaker
As a speaker and edutainer, Heather is known for her engaging and informative presentations. She uses her humor, storytelling skills and deep knowledge of the entertainment industry to inspire and motivate her audiences through keynote addresses, emceeing and moderating to facilitating workshops and week-long intensives to audiences of all kinds all around the world – from small, intimate groups to huge conferences of professionals, aspirants and college students.
“I love to teach. It is perhaps my favorite thing to do. “Edutaining” means to educate while entertaining. I love to make audiences laugh and cry, think and do. Emotional engagement, intellectual stimulation and actively interacting with new skills are the most fun, effective and memorable ways to learn. I strive to inspire professionals and aspirants alike to be the heroes of their own stories and proactively produce their own careers to make their own dreams come true.”
Educator + Entertainer + Edutainer
I’ve been blessed that my popular motivational and empowering speaking has allowed me to travel all over the world including: Kowloon, Hong Kong; Kobe, Japan; Barcelona, Spain; London, England; Dublin, Ireland; Sydney, Australia, Vancouver, Canada – and all over the US.
I’ve been an entertainment industry Judge in Genoa, Italy; Marseille, France; Los Angeles, Arizona and Georgia. I’ve spoken to colleges and universities, corporations, Chambers of Commerce and non-profits on all aspects of the entertainment industry, Artrepreneurship and a variety of other local, micro to macroeconomic and social issues.
I teach cutting-edge, relevant, practical and motivating classes and customize retreats, develop curriculum for workshops and embedded events on everything from PowerNetworking and goal achievement to film and television screenwriting, directing, producing, to writing and acting improv games, to careers in the entertainment industry, to investing in independent films, to blueprinting (and actualizing) dream careers in any industry, business or field as well as entrepreneurial skills including leadership, ethics, event planning, publicity, time and contact management and – inevitably – for everything: sales and marketing.
Most Recent Speaking Engagements
Partial List of Past Speaking Engagements
- Columbia College Chicago (LA Residential Program)
- Producers’ Guild of America West – How to Work the Film & TV Markets Panels 9/15 CBS Studio City
- Burbank Comedy Fest – PowerNetworking for Comedians – Flappers Comedy Club
- Dallas Screenwriters Association
- Austin Entertainment Business
- The Tucson Festival of Books – University of Arizona
- Screenwriting Panel
- How to Work the Film & TV Markets Workshop
Corporations & Non-Profits
- ABC Drama Department (Custom Executive Pitch Workshop)
- AEON Corporation, Kobe, Japan
- Allstate Market Research Department
- American Savings Bank
- Comedy Store, The (Stand-Up in the Main Room and Belly Room on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood)
- GE Capital
- Great Western Savings & Loan
- Mazda
- PMI Mortgage Insurance Company
- Reebok
- Sony
- Washington Mutual Bank
Non-Profit Organizations
- The California Main Street Program
- The Century City Chamber of Commerce
- Kids Making Movies (Homeschool Program)
- The La Mesa Chamber of Commerce
- Legal Aid Services of Orange County
- Meeting Professionals International (MPI)
- MENSA International
- MENSA’s Regional Gathering: GLAAM StarGazing (Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa) 2012 – 2013
- The Modesto Chamber of Commerce
- National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE)
- NATPE Educational Foundation
- The Orange County Professional Speakers Bureau
- The San Juan Capistrano Chamber of Commerce
- The Santee Chamber of Commerce
- State of California Small Claims Federal Court System
- The Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau
- Various Economic and Redevelopment Agencies and DownTown Merchant Associations
Film, TV , Festivals and Writers Workshops
- Arizona Mystery Writers
- The Austin Film Festival
- Australian Hollywood Intensive Retreat (2010)
- The Big Bear Film Festival
- Cinema Arts Tech
- ENDAS International Screenplay Competition, Genoa Italy (Judge)
- The Friar’s Club
- The Great American Pitch Fest
- The Great Canadian Pitch Fest
- The Hartley-Merrill International Screenplay Competition (Judge) 2005 – 2010
- The Hollywood Black Film Festival
- Hollywood by the Bay (A-List Interviews)
- I Have A Dream / The Story Project (2005 – 2010)
- Kids Making Movies (Home School Program) (2005-2010)
- The LA TV Fest
- LaFemme Film Festival (2011 – 2013)
- The Los Angeles Film School
- The Marseille WebFest 2012 (Judge)
- Moondance International Film Festival (Emcee’d 1st 7 years)
- NATPE Educational Foundation
- National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE)
- NATPE 2016
- NATPE‘s LA TV Fest 2007 – 2011
- NATPE‘s PitchCon (2012 – 2013)
- NATPE‘s TV Producer’s Boot Camp (2004 – 2009)
- The NorthWest Screenwriters Guild
- Prescott Film Festival 2014 (Judge)
- Screenwriters Expo, The (STAR Speaker)
- The ScriptWriters Network
- Selling to Hollywood
- Sherwood Oaks Experimental College
- Slamdance
- The Temecula Valley Int’l Film and Music Festival
- The 2014 Tucson Festival of Books
- USC Film School Summer Shorts Producing Program (2012 – 2013)
- The Vail Film Festival
- The Vancouver Film and Television Expo
- WestDoc 2012
- The Willamette Writers Conference
Universities, Colleges and Trade Schools
- Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA) National Conferences Showcases and Educational Sessions
- California State University at Northridge
- Chapman University
- Cinema Arts Tech (Writing Business Plans for Independent Films)
- Columbia College Chicago (LA Residential Program)
- Dream Careers International Internship Program
- Emerson University
- George Washington University (Washington, D.C.)
- The Los Angeles Film School
- The Los Angeles Recording School
- The Learning Annex
- Learning Tree University
- Mortar Board Annual Conference
- National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) National and Regional Convention Showcases
- National University (MFA in Screenwriting’s LA Week Residency Program)
- New York University (2007 – 2013)
- PolyTechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong (2014)
- San Francisco State University (2007 – 2013)
- Scottsdale Community College Film School (2014)
- Sherwood Oaks Experimental College
- Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (2007-2012)
- University College, Dublin, Ireland (2011)
- University College, London, England (2011)
- University of California at Los Angeles (2007 – 2013)
- University of California at Riverside
- University of Chicago
- University of Nevada at Las Vegas
- University of Southern California’s Summer School Shorts Program
- Yale University
“I love to teach. It is perhaps my favorite thing to do. Edutaining” means to educate while entertaining. I love to make audiences laugh and cry, think and do. Emotional engagement, intellectual stimulation and actively interacting with new skills are the most fun, effective and memorable ways to learn. I strive to inspire professionals, aspirants and students alike to proactively make their own dreams come true.”