Felicia Pecora

Felicia is not your average speaker. She is an Army combat veteran and seasoned police officer who makes leading through crisis fun and exciting! She brings unique perspectives gained from the battlefield and the American street that challenge audiences to see their purpose and potential within your organization and then determine a path to achieve both!

She is an award-winning entrepreneur who is frequently sought after to help organizations build a culture of safety that solidifies their foundation through relationship-building. She has been training adults in soft and combat skills for almost three decades. Felicia knows how to rock a platform, connect with a crowd and provide training so that others can effectively do the same.

Whether you are leading your team through a new software change or saving a hostage in an active shooting, Felicia will inspire you with humor, science, and a few pushups here and there. By the time it's over, you too will be anything but average!

I remember when I was growing up, I was very shy and soft spoken and I wasn’t very comfortable talking to people. I was a bundle of anxiety and teenage angst and did my best to never be noticed. This was my adaptation to the violent home I grew up in where women were encouraged to serve and kids were encouraged to keep quiet.

I joined the Army to get away from that house and find some way to eke out a living. In the first week of Basic Training, although my drill Sergeant was scary, it was the first time I ever heard a person say something so motivating that it made me want to come out of my shell. It made me want to grow, take risks, and be heard. The growth I experienced in my confidence and self-esteem was incredible. I was let out of a box and I was never going back in. That Sergeant’s power of motivational speech propelled me! I knew then that I wanted to do that for others, for the rest of my life.

In my law enforcement career, I became a trainer early. I pushed myself to excel in the most challenging areas: undercover work, the bomb squad, management. Each step afforded opportunities for me to motivate others to reach and exceed these challenges. This culminated in the most important moment I ever had as a leader. In 2020, officers everywhere faced serving our communities during a pandemic. We were also vilified after the murder of George Floyd in areas that we spent most of our adult lives serving. Civil unrest ignited in my city and officers had bullets and bottle rockets shot at them. Disillusioned, this sparked an exodus of people leaving the police field altogether which then hurled agencies into dangerously low levels of personnel.

That year, I made it my mission to re-invigorate my fellow leaders and officers and motivate them to stay committed to why they became officers in the first place. I met with groups frequently and used my power of speech. The enthusiasm of my old Drill Sergeant about why I should care about being the best soldier I could be became the enthusiasm I displayed in motivating my fellow officers to care about staying the best guardians of the constitution and American law that they could be. And many stayed.

I have a passion for speaking because words can change the course of history.