Keynote Speaker Allison Massari - WGU 2025 Chicago Commencement

Описание: WGU Commencement held in Chicago, Illinois on September 26, 2025.

Voted one of the top ten best motivational speakers in North America for the past three consecutive years by Meetings and Conventions Magazine, Allison Massari’s quintessential story of courage and perseverance resonates with audiences long after an event has finished Hailed as “life-changing” “riveting” “authentic” “bold” and “deeply moving” Allison instills the essential tools of self-mastery, and teaches how to quickly access grace and resilience in the face of challenges. Through her unified work as an international keynote speaker, executive coach, and acclaimed visual artist, Allison provides an exceptional blend of business acuity, creative perspective, and genuine care - profoundly affecting audiences worldwide.

Allison Massari has been recognized with esteemed speaking engagements including a main platform keynote at 2013’s Million Dollar Round Table conference (audience of 8,600 from 75 countries), and a TedX event in Spain. She has been featured on ABC News, NBC, and FOX and stars in the award-winning international documentary, Resolve (2015), hosted by the Head of Special Forces for the US Military in Afghanistan, where she teaches solutions to overcome adversity and PTSD. Her diverse client list includes: GE Healthcare IT, LPL Financial, Eli Lilly and Co., HIMSS/CHIME, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Allscripts, and Siemens Healthcare. In 2011, she was voted “#1 Rising Star” by the National Speakers Association based upon her stunning, authentic, and emotional presentations.


Allison found remarkable success, happiness, and an undeniable “fire’ within after overcoming two horrific car accidents that nearly took her life. In one, she was hit at 60 mph, burned alive, conscious the entire time, and sustained severe burns on over 50% of her body. She spent over 400 days in hospitals, doctors offices, and physical therapy centers, and learned to navigate her way to true healing, eventually creating an extraordinary life beyond anything she had dreamed possible. Amazingly, Allison views her experiences as a tremendous gift, one that gave her tools and understanding to share with others. Her breathtaking keynote blends powerful life lessons with compelling, insightful, and humorous stories, and offers actionable tools for people to immediately transform and manage their lives. “The truth is that the same internal fire and ‘command of self’ that I needed to heal my life is exactly what has given me success professionally.”

Allison’s vision and clarity, her honest and encouraging communication, and her gift in actuating the steps towards her clients’ success, make her an invaluable asset to any organization. She adapts her message to address the individual issues affecting each market and has worked with diverse industries including Finance, Insurance, Sales, IT, Healthcare, and Non-profits. In Healthcare, Allison has quickly become a leading educator - helping to heal burnout, offering support for compassion fatigue, and providing a preeminent program on patient-centered care for Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Education Units (CEU). As Allison states, “Compassion heals the places that medicine cannot touch.”


A diversified entrepreneur, Ms. Massari has built four enterprising businesses in the past 25 years. In addition to her success as a professional speaker and executive coach, her thriving fine arts business and jewelry line, Massari Fine Arts, LLC, has received commissions from prominent Fortune 500 companies including General Mills, Lockheed Martin, and US Airways. Her sublime and dynamic visual art serves as a breathtaking backdrop to her inspiring keynotes.


Allison believes deeply in the power of community and compassion. On the advent of her own recovery, she began helping children and teens with severe burn injuries. Her revolutionary and innovative outdoor sports programs, founded in 1998, continue to transform young people’s lives at the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte, Colorado.