Book Keynote Speaker Khary Penebaker

Gun violence prevention

My mother Joyce completed suicide with a gun when I was 20 months old. I grew up carrying that loss without understanding it. For decades I did not talk about it publicly. When I finally did, I discovered something: people needed to hear from survivors, not just statistics.

I share the reality of growing up without a mother, the long silence that follows gun violence loss, and what it looks like when a survivor decides to fight for change. This is not a policy lecture. I bring the personal cost of gun violence into the room in a way that changes how people think about the issue.

I have spoken at the Democratic National Convention twice (2016 and 2020), appeared in national media including TIME Magazine and CBS News, and worked alongside organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety. My perspective bridges personal loss and public advocacy, giving audiences a framework for understanding why gun violence prevention is a human issue, not a political one.

Best for: Advocacy organizations, policy conferences, healthcare audiences, nonprofits, and any group working on public health or community safety.

From survivor to advocate

The journey from private grief to public advocacy is not linear. It took me years to speak publicly about my mother's death. When I finally did, at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, I learned that vulnerability is not weakness. It is strategy.

I talk about what it actually takes to turn personal pain into public purpose. Not the inspirational version. The real version: the fear of exposure, the pushback from people who want you to stay quiet, the exhaustion of being a public face for a private wound. And the moment when you realize that your story is not just yours. It belongs to every family that has been through the same silence.

This talk is built for people who want to use their platform for something larger but do not know how to start. I share tactical lessons from my own path: how to tell your story without being consumed by it, how to set boundaries while still being effective, and how to build a sustainable practice of advocacy that does not burn you out.

Best for: Survivor networks, nonprofit leaders, social workers, healthcare professionals, and anyone building a public voice around a personal experience.

Building resilient teams

I started Penebaker Enterprises with $1,500 and a used truck. Grew it to $15 million in annual revenue with 50 employees. Then I scaled Roofed Right America to over $35 million with 180 employees across five states. Both companies were built in the commercial roofing and construction industry, where the margin for error is tight and the labor market is unforgiving.

What I learned: teams do not become resilient because you tell them to. They become resilient because the systems you build reward accountability, the culture you create allows honest mistakes, and the leadership you model shows what it looks like to make hard decisions without hiding from them.

I share the frameworks I used to build high-performing teams in one of the toughest industries in the country. How to hire for character and train for skill. How to hold people accountable without creating fear. How to scale culture as headcount grows. And how to handle the moments when everything goes wrong and your team is watching.

Best for: Corporate leadership teams, industry conferences, entrepreneurs, construction and trades organizations, and any audience dealing with high-turnover, high-stakes operating environments.

The executive who advocates

When I spoke at the Democratic National Convention, I was also running a $35 million roofing company. Not everyone thought that was a good idea. Clients had opinions. Employees had questions. Partners pushed back.

I did it anyway. And what I found is that advocacy and enterprise are not in conflict when you do it with integrity. The key is being clear about what you believe, why you believe it, and where the line is between personal conviction and professional responsibility.

This talk is for leaders who want to use their platform for social impact but are afraid of the consequences. I share what worked, what did not, and what I would do differently. I cover how to take a public position without alienating your market, how to bring your team along, and how to handle the inevitable backlash from people who want executives to stay in their lane.

The reality is that every leader is already political. The question is whether you are going to be intentional about it or let others define your position for you.

Best for: C-suite executives, entrepreneurs, business school audiences, and leadership development programs.

Resilience and adversity

I was born in Cincinnati. My mother died by suicide when I was 20 months old. I grew up in a family that did not talk about it. I started my career with nothing. No degree. No connections. No safety net.

What I built from that starting point was not an accident. It was a series of decisions made under pressure, each one compounding into the next. I talk about what resilience actually looks like when you strip away the motivational quotes and Instagram captions.

Real resilience is not about bouncing back. It is about building forward. I share the specific moments that defined my path: starting a business with $1,500, walking away from a company I built when the partnership went wrong, standing on a national stage and telling the truth about my mother's death. Each story carries a lesson about decision-making under uncertainty, the difference between surviving and thriving, and why the hardest moments in your career are often the ones that matter most.

Best for: Corporate events, university commencements, leadership retreats, and any audience that values authentic stories over polished narratives.

The future of home services

I have spent nearly 30 years in the construction and home improvement industry. I have installed roofs, run crews, closed million-dollar contracts, and managed operations across five states. I am currently Regional General Manager at Great Day Improvements, overseeing four markets in the Upper Midwest.

This industry is changing fast. Labor shortages are structural, not cyclical. Customer expectations are rising while margins are tightening. Technology is reshaping everything from sales to installation, and the companies that adapt will dominate the next decade.

I share what I am seeing on the ground: how the best operators are solving the labor problem, where technology is actually delivering ROI versus where it is just a distraction, and why customer experience is becoming the primary competitive advantage in home services. I bring real numbers from real operations, not theory from consultants who have never run a crew.

Best for: Industry conferences, trade associations, home improvement companies, and construction industry events.