Keynote and Fireside Chat FAQ and Resources

I want to make sure I’m pronouncing Elena’s name correctly, can you share how she pronounces it?
Do you have a bio for Elena we can share with participants?

Of course! We have both a long and short version. Please use whichever best fits your needs:

Short version:
Elena Aguilar is a writer, leader, teacher, coach and podcaster. She is the author of seven highly acclaimed books including The Art of Coaching, (2013) Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators (2018), Coaching for Equity (2020), and The PD Book: 7 Habits that Transform Professional Development (2022). Elena has taught tens of thousands of folks how to have conversations that build a more just and equitable world. She is the founder and president of Bright Morning Consulting, and she lives in Oakland, CA, with her husband, son, and two cats.

Long version:
Elena Aguilar is a writer, leader, teacher, coach and podcaster. She is the author of seven highly acclaimed books: The Art of Coaching, (2013) The Art of Coaching Teams (2016), Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators (2018) and The Onward Workbook (2018), Coaching for Equity (2020), and The Art of Coaching Workbook (2020). Her seventh title The PD Book: 7 Habits that Transform Professional Development was released in May 2022. She has also been a frequent contributor to Edutopia, ASCD’s Educational Leadership, and EdWeek Teacher. She is the founder and president of Bright Morning Consulting, an organization committed to helping individuals and organizations create the conditions for transformation. Elena has taught tens of thousands of folks how to have conversations that build a more just and equitable world. Elena can be heard demonstrating these conversations on the Bright Morning Podcast. Elena is also the co-founder of Kenya Big Picture Learning, she’s on the advisory board of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and she is a certified mindfulness meditation teacher. She lives in Oakland, CA, with her husband, son, and two cats. When she’s not coaching or writing she enjoys traveling abroad, photographing birds, hiking, drinking coffee and reading fiction.

What picture would be good to use of Elena in our materials to market this event?

Please use this headshot.

Do you have any advice on how to introduce Elena?

The very best introductions are ones where the person doing so is able to speak concretely as to why Elena is there to speak to the group. For example, sharing what impact Elena’s work had on the individual, what they have learned and how their own practice has been transformed. Oftentimes people assume the “highest ranking” person in attendance should also be the one to do the intro but we’d encourage you to ask the person who is best able to speak from their heart and experience to do so. This combined with the short bio works wonderfully!

Where should we direct people who are interested in continuing to learn from Elena?

We’ll share a guide with you for your participants, but we always recommend these ways to stay connected to Bright Morning! The two very best ways to continue learning with Elena are to 1) sign-up for our newsletter and exclusive weekly resources, and 2) subscribe to the Bright Morning Podcast.

Additionally, we encourage all of our community members to follow along on their favorite social media channels: