How can we unlock our personal power?

Dr. Amy Cuddy is a social psychologist, bestselling author, and keynote speaker. Amy Cuddy’s overarching message is about helping people step into their own power with confidence, presence, and authenticity—even in the face of fear, doubt, or adversity.

After earning her Ph.D. at Princeton University, she was a professor at Harvard Business School (2008-2017) and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management (2006-2008). Throughout her academic career, she’s been honored with some of the highest commendations for both her teaching and her research, including the Excellence in Teaching Award from Harvard University and the Scientific Impact Award from the Society for Experimental Social Psychology. Her 2012 TED Talk, “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are,” is the third-most popular of all time, with more than 74 million views. Her NYT bestseller, Presence, described in the NYT Sunday Book Review as “…concrete and inspiring, simple but ambitious - above all, truly powerful,” has sold more than half a million copies and been published in 35 languages. In 2025, she will publish her next book, Bullied (HarperCollins), on the psychology of bullying among adults — and how we find the courage to stop it. She’s also an avid roller skater and skier, live-music love, adventuring partner to her husband Paul, and hype mom to her son, Jonah, a guitarist and music producer.

At its core, Amy’s work is about unlocking our personal power:

• You have more control over how you show up in the world than you think.

• Your body and mindset influence your confidence and how others perceive you.

• Even small shifts in behavior can change the way you feel and the way you’re treated.

• Your personal power doesn’t just benefit you; it also benefits those around you, making you more open, creative, and socially courageous, for example.

Her message is especially transformative for those who feel overlooked, underestimated, or silenced. She’s not just teaching people to “fake it till they make it”—she’s helping them recognize that they already belong. It’s about finding the courage to own your space, trust yourself, and show up fully.

And beyond confidence, her work now expands into a bigger conversation: What happens when power is misused? What happens when bullying and exclusion threaten people’s agency? Her upcoming book on adult bullying is a natural extension of her work—she’s not just helping individuals find their strength, she’s challenging the systems that try to strip it away.

So if her message had to be summed up in one line?

You are more powerful than you know—own it.