Allison Shapira She/Her
Expert Speaker, Driven Entrepreneur, Best-Selling Author, Former opera singer
Fields of expertise:
Allison is one of the world’s foremost experts on public speaking and presentation skills. She is the Founder/CEO of Global Public Speaking LLC, a communication training firm that works with emerging and established leaders to help them speak clearly, concisely, and confidently. She is an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School and has spent over 15 years working with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations around the world.
Allison studied classical voice at Boston University. After becoming disillusioned with the field of opera, she moved into public diplomacy, where her operatic training made her a powerful speaker and coach. Allison started her own communication business in Boston, MA, and consulted with presidential advisor David Gergen when he taught the Arts of Communication at the Harvard Kennedy School. Over ten years later, she would teach that same course.
In 2012, Allison took a leap of faith and moved the company to Washington, DC. She engaged other trainers and coaches and published Speak With Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence Others with HarperCollins Leadership, making her teaching and philosophy available to people around the world.
Allison is passionate about empowering women, and she travels with the nonprofit Vital Voices Global Partnership, helping women leaders worldwide grow their business, run for office, or launch a non-profit organization. She has spoken at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit, the Most Powerful Women in Banking LEAD Conference, and was a finalist for 2017 Woman Business Owner of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners, San Diego Chapter.
Allison is also an internationally-renowned singer/songwriter who uses music to help others find their voice. She has performed at legendary folk venues such as Club Passim and Caffè Lena, and she is a member of the two-woman band Joan & Joni, a tribute to Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, which she performs with fellow musician Kipyn Martin.
