Gayathri Shukla

People-Focused Leader | Founder, Campfire Kinship

Leadership Business Leaders Diverse Voices Entrepreneurs

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Topics

Business Strategy Change Management Communication Diversity Equity & Inclusion Fresh Perspectives Future of Work Motivation & Inspiration Teamwork & Collaboration Workforce + HR

Types

Female Business Leaders Female Speakers Fresh Perspectives Motivational Speakers

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About This Speaker

Gayathri Shukla is a people-focused leader, speaker, author, Professional Engineer, and founder of Campfire Kinship, a social enterprise that helps organizations build belonging through the power of storytelling. Her work sits at the intersection of leadership, inclusion, innovation, and story-based change, helping teams better understand themselves and each other so they can work with more trust, empathy, and purpose.

With more than 17 years of experience in the energy sector, Gayathri began her career in Fort McMurray, Alberta, where she was one of the few Indo-Canadian women working in an industrial environment. She later moved into project management and led schedule integration efforts for Fort Hills, a $17B greenfield oil sands facility known for its safe and timely start-up. She also holds an Executive MBA from Queen’s University, where her work explored how organizations can unlock innovation by drawing on the lived experiences and stories of their people.

Through Campfire Kinship, Gayathri has worked with leaders, teams, and communities to turn storytelling into a practical tool for inclusion, communication, and transformation. She served as a Fellow for Financial and Economic Inclusion at the Public Policy Forum, where she designed a storytelling process for youth in Canada to share their experiences and inform policy solutions. She also hosts the Hearth 2 Heart podcast on CJSW 90.9.

Gayathri is the project lead behind Landed: Transformative Stories of Canadian Immigrant Women, a bestselling book that was nominated twice for the Calgary Awards and contributed to her receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2023. Her work has continued to evolve in recent years, including the start of her PhD studies and the development of her second book, The Fires We Lit, launching this fall through Campfire Kinship. The book explores themes of AI, reimagination, leadership, and the role of story in creating meaningful change.

On stage, Gayathri brings warmth, clarity, and practical insight to topics such as inclusive leadership, communication, organizational transformation, and what human connection means in an age increasingly shaped by AI.

Videos

Speaking Topics: Gayathri Shukla

Art of Inclusive Leadership

Leveraging the power of stories, this keynote is an inspiring message on building a culture of belonging through inclusive leadership. Successful leaders understand that in today’s increasingly diverse workplaces, a culture of trust is necessary for companies to thrive. The need to be seen, heard and valued is universal. Learning how to communicate authentically, understand, and listen to employees is thus a critical leadership capability. Ultimately, it shapes a sense of belonging in which all levels of the org chart are empowered to make meaningful contributions. Target audience: Anybody who is part of a diverse team, with or without a formal leadership title. Key Takeaways: Build awareness of the role of empathy in creating trust and belonging. Learn how to authentically engage with people of different backgrounds, through the medium of stories. Gain tangible tips for self-reflection to strengthen personal leadership styles.

Leave a Mark with Your Message

In a world of constant distractions, cutting through the noise to deliver a relevant and persuasive message can be a challenge for many. Individuals can often get stuck in the self-doubt of “I don’t have anything worthy to say,” or “I don’t want to rock the boat.” In this keynote, Gayathri demonstrates storytelling in action by drawing from her own stories, while offering tangible tips to help you distill your authentic stories. She offers a unique perspective on how you can harness the timeless art of storytelling to connect hearts and minds and bolster your communication skills. Target audience: Anyone looking to share a message with impact, authenticity, and creativity. Key Takeaways: Learn how to leverage storytelling to deliver memorable messages that balance logic and emotion. Discuss the role authenticity plays in increasing trust. Gain practical takeaways, rooted in your own life experiences, to help you distill and share the wisdom you’ve gained from life experiences while remaining humble enough to learn from others.

Inside-Out Transformation

This keynote supports an organization’s EDI transformation goals by inspiring teams to move from awareness to action. It is no secret that change is difficult, yet employees at every level are having to build up their capacity for change. In this keynote, Gayathri shares examples of common pitfalls that impede the adoption of EDI approaches for employees. She will share tangible methods employees can implement immediately from the “inside-out” – a learning mindset, and practices rooted in empathy to build their resilience. Based on the proven application of human-centered design, this keynote enables employees to reflect on how they can connect the dots between their core values and that of their organization. Target audience: Anybody who is on a journey of personal or organizational change in their EDI goals. Key Takeaways: Build awareness on the role of learning mindset to build capacity for transformation. Share examples of how empathy unlocks innovation and inclusion. Learn tangible ways to build the skills necessary to create meaningful and lasting change.

The One Thing AI Can't Replace

This talk explores authentic interaction in the age of AI, and how story, presence, and being seen matter even more in a world increasingly shaped by efficiency and automation.