Workshops + Events

Kara Richardson Whitely is an award-winning keynote speaker, author and inclusion strategist who inspires audiences to confront barriers, build resilience, and keep climbing on their own terms.

Best known for her powerful Moving Mountains keynote, Kara draws from her experience summiting Mount Kilimanjaro three times while navigating life in a larger body and recovering from binge eating disorder. Her talks resonate deeply with corporate audiences, conferences, and college campuses seeking meaningful conversations about resilience, body image, mental health, and human potential.

The New York Times

Weight Watchers

Backpacker

Good Housekeeping

People

Kara Richardson Whitely has been on The Today Show, Good Morning America and Oprah’s Lifeclass, and her story has been featured here:

CNN

Bustle

Modern Hiker

The Star-Ledger

Inside Jersey

She Knows

Library Journal

The Rumpus

Huffington Post

Good Day NY

Workshops + Presentations

The Gorgeous Agency’s presentations and workshops are designed to inspire and can be customized for your event goals. In addition to book readings and signings with Kara Richardson Whitely, here is one of our most popular programs: 

For Conferences & Organizations

Moving Mountains: A Journey of Resilience and Triumph

Join Kara Richardson Whitely as she shares her extraordinary journey of summiting Mount Kilimanjaro three times while navigating life in a larger body and battling stigma. Through powerful storytelling from the world's highest peaks, Kara illustrates how we all face our own mountains—whether they're personal struggles, professional challenges, or societal barriers.

This inspirational keynote explores the universal themes of perseverance, self-acceptance, and the courage to keep climbing even when the path seems impossible. Kara's authentic narrative demonstrates that our greatest obstacles often become our most profound teachers, and that transformation happens one step at a time.

Audiences will leave motivated to:

  • Embrace their own challenging journeys with renewed determination

  • Reframe setbacks as opportunities for growth

  • Find strength in vulnerability and authenticity

  • Take the next step toward their personal summit, whatever it may be

Ideal for: Corporate events, leadership conferences, DEI initiatives, women's conferences, wellness programs, and professional associations.

Meeting planner note: This keynote works beautifully as an opening or closing session and consistently receives high audience engagement scores.

Big Ideas, Real Impact.

Driven by curiosity and built on purpose, this is where bold thinking meets thoughtful execution. Let’s create something meaningful together.

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Customer Journey Workshop by Kara Richardson

  • The Rise of the Body-Inclusive Economy: The $40 Billion Buying Power You May Be Missing

    Learn how you can tap into the soon-to-be $1 trillion plus-size industry with authentic connection and welcome more folks into your brand through understanding what your plus-size audience is seeing, feeling, experiencing and sharing.

  • All Bodies Corporate Training

    Discover how to create genuine connection with an entirely new demographic so you can attract and retain the best talent.

  • Your Plus-Size Customer Journey

    Discover how to optimize your plus-size customer journey in this interactive workshop, where you will learn the most common mistakes brands make when attempting to engage this market, and how your brand can lead the way to body appreciation.

  • Moving Mountains

    Empower your team to conquer any obstacle by embracing the power of living in the now and finding joy in the journey, instead of waiting for the “perfect” time to take action.

See the Case Study

Making a fitness brand welcoming to every body.

Discover how The Gorgeous Agency helped Peloton further their authentic connection with people in larger bodies and facilitate meaningful dialogue within their team, making Peloton truly welcoming for any body, anywhere.

Testimonials

  • Following our working session, the entire team was newly equipped with awareness, confidence, and the tools to authentically connect with folks and ensure they feel seen, appreciated and welcome. Kara’s humility, humor, and tenacity in addressing weight stigma and body inclusivity turned what can be a challenging topic into an easy-to-embrace journey that fosters growth on both individual and organizational levels.

    Ben Boyd , Peloton Interactive

  • Kara spoke to our executive members in travel and hospitality for one of our events and was the perfect fit. Kara touched on a topic of inclusivity that so many have not even considered. She was insightful, educational, honest, and authentic. She had the entire room of leaders captive during her keynote and gave every attendee something to think about and take back to their teams, no matter what department they lead. Kara is so wonderful to work with from start to end.

    Hannah DeMaio, Women Leading Travel & Hospitality

  • Kara provided a poignant and meaningful presentation to more than 350 female business professionals at our recent conference. Her delivery was hard-hitting yet laced with humor. A definite audience favorite!

    Stacey Bruzzese, Wow Conference

  • An amazing and inspiring reminder to set our sights high and tackle that big goal you have been wanting to accomplish, ignore any self doubt, and, as Kara said, “bet on your own success!”

    Sheryl Weaver Brenna, Uber

  • Kara Richardson Whitely takes us where few have dared to go before: thrillingly up to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro and profoundly down to the darkest depths of [binge eating]. Kara is fearlessly honest and powerfully intelligent.

    Cheryl Strayed, Author of Wild: From lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

  • [Kara Richardson Whitely’s] travails will give confidence not only to hesitant would-be mountaineers but to those, like her, whose biggest hurdle is ‘to learn to be O.K. with who I was.

    The New York Times

  • Kara's presentation at our Women in Retail: On the Road event in New York City in October was a highlight of the event. Kara's content about the plus-size market and her experience as a plus-size adventurer, influencer and CEO of The Gorgeous Agency was relevant, actionable, and timely. In addition, she delivered it in a fun, fresh, and authentic style that kept the audience engaged and entertained. We loved working with Kara and hope to work with her again!

    Melissa Campanelli
    Women in Retail Leadership Circle, Co-Founder and Content Director

Size Discrimination Law

As of November 2023, NYC mandated strict adherence to laws banning size discrimination, and many other cities and states are following suit — but most people are unaware of their own biases against people in diverse bodies, making it difficult to know what changes must be made to prevent discrimination.

The Gorgeous Agency offers industry-specific workshops designed to help you protect your company and create a brand where all bodies are welcome.

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Retail
Travel
HR