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Amy DuBois Barnett  

Chief Content Officer, theGrio.com & EVP Digital, Entertainment Studios

Amy DuBois Barnett is an American magazine editor. She was formerly editor-in-chief of Ebony magazine. Barnett was also the editor-in-chief of Honey and Teen People magazines, and the deputy editor of Harper's Bazaar. She was the first African-American woman to run a major mainstream magazine in the United States. Barnett is also an award-winning fiction writer with several published short stories. In 2008, she published an NAACP Image Award-nominated advice book for women: "Get Yours! How to Have Everything You Ever Dreamed of and More".

An award-winning content and branding expert, Amy DuBois Barnett has held senior leadership roles at ESPN, Ebony, Harper's Bazaar, Teen People, Essence and Honey magazine. She is currently the Chief Content Officer for theGrio, a leading digital media brand that serves the African-American audience, and EVP, Digital for Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios, theGrio’s parent company.

Speech Topics


Developing Strong, Smart & Independent Young Women

As editor-in-chief of both Honey and Teen People magazines, Amy DuBois Barnett spoke to millions of young women every month. Her personal philosophy of living for your passion, remaining independent, and having a full life resonated throughout the magazines and contributed to their exponential growth. In this revealing and inspiring speech, Barnett shares her own rocky path to personal growth and offers both young women and educators the valuable lessons she learned along the way.

Barnett counsels women on: financial responsibility; self-esteem and confidence; pushing past fear; having adventures; setting and achieving goals; and healthy living.

You Can Have the Career You've Always Dreamed Of

Amy DuBois Barnett spent the first several years of her professional life allowing other people to dictate her career goals. She spent many unhappy years attempting to climb the ladder in industries that she did not enjoy. However, after learning to follow her passion and working more strategically on her goals, Amy achieved her dream to be an editor-in-chief of a major national magazine.

In this illuminating speech, Amy elaborates on seven principles that will make all the difference in your career:

Stop listening to others and design your own professional life Make connections before you need them Do an attitude check Don't wait to be noticed Ask questions Understand that perception is reality Don't put work ahead of your personal life Live Your Passion: Be Happy by Being Yourself

Happiness is hard to achieve, especially because most of us have the voices of family, friends and society in our ears telling us what our lives should look like, what our goals should be and even who to love. Even if we do achieve our goals, the most highly capable people can be the quickest to let their happiness go as they are the go-to folks who get overloaded with assignments and forget to focus on their own objectives. In this powerful keynote speech, Amy DuBois Barnett shares her personal path toward an authentic and passionate existence. She will also offer insightful advice and tools for finding your own passion and setting your individual path.

Amy will share her seven "rules" for getting yours:

Embrace fear as growth Be true to yourself Realize your value and demand the best Put into the universe what you want to get back Have integrity Stay independent Do something meaningful every day Laws of Leadership for Women

In this illuminating speech, Amy DuBois Barnett shares how she rose to the top of the ladder in her industry and offers insight into how all women can reach their leadership goals. Among the "laws" of leadership, Barnett will discuss: effective communication, embracing fear as growth, projecting self-confidence, productive collaboration, graceful self-promotion, and networking.

She also addresses the issues of trying to juggle a career, manage a home, and raise a healthy, happy child. She shares her own humorous stories of trying to balance raising her son and furthering her career as a single mother. She also offers helpful advice on: how to prioritize, organizational tools that work; how to create an environment of fun and forgiveness in your house; how to talk to your mate about dividing responsibility; how to raise your children with a solid work ethic; and how to take care of your health and grooming.

Get Yours! How to Have Everything You Ever Dreamed Of

Do you want more from your job, your loved ones, your life? In this powerful keynote speech, Amy DuBois Barnett shows you how to "Get Yours" by giving you the insight and encouragement to: Identify and pursue your true passions; achieve your professional goals and accumulate real wealth; form unbreakable bonds with your family, friends, and mate; and let go of any negativity that may be holding you back.

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