Trust AAE Speakers Bureau for Booking Top Professional Speakers. Find a Keynote Speaker Today.
Trust AAE Speakers Bureau for Booking Top Professional Speakers. Find a Keynote Speaker Today.
Melissa Bernstein

Melissa Bernstein

Keynote Speaker: Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Melissa & Doug Toys and LifeLines

  • Travels From:
  • Speaking Fee:
    Live Event Fee: $10,000 - $20,000
    Virtual Event Fee: $10,000 - $20,000
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Melissa Bernstein Biography

Melissa Bernstein is an entrepreneur, creative, and working mother of six. In 1988, Bernstein and her husband co-founded Melissa & Doug out of their parents’ garage, and in the years that followed, they built Melissa & Doug into a wildly successful company. Bernstein has spent the last 30 years helping children discover themselves, their passions, and their purpose through open-ended play. She estimates that she has built more than 6,000 toys in the last three decades!

In 2020, after her own personal journey of self-discovery and acceptance, Bernstein co-founded Lifelines. Through Lifelines, she is using her unparalleled creativity to create a new category of well-being products that help adults rediscover wonder and relieve stress through their senses.

Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Melissa Bernstein and other top speakers and celebrities.

Melissa Bernstein Speaking Topics

Unleash the Power of Your Senses

Meet the tools designed to switch on your body’s most effective stress relievers: your senses. Seeing, smelling, and touching delightful things signals your brain to release dopamine, your body’s feel-good hormone, and brings you back to the here and now. In this conversation, Melissa explores how our senses allow us live with less stress and more joy. She guides participants in harnessing the power of their senses to unleash creativity and purpose.

The Balance of Work and Life for Supporting Female Leaders

In her decades-long career as a female leader and mother of six, Melissa has encountered countless challenges all too familiar to working women, including the myth of work-life balance, the curse of perfectionism, and a drive to focus on others at the expense of her own well-being. In this open and honest conversation, Melissa empowers working women to foster self-care, self-compassion, and joy as a conduit to well-being and success.

Fostering Innovation and Creativity

As Co-Founder of the tremendously successful toy company Melissa & Doug, Melissa has spent the last 30 years helping children discover themselves, their passions, and their purpose through open-ended play. She disrupted the toy industry through her unparalleled creativity, innovation, and willingness to follow her intuition and learn from failure. In this conversation, Melissa shares five lessons she learned on her entrepreneurial journey and supports participants in thinking about their own process as entrepreneurs.

Let Play Lead the Way

We often think of play as a pastime for children, but the benefits of play are profound and persist to adulthood. In this conversation, Melissa discusses the importance of play and its relationship to our well-being, connection, creativity, and joy. She explores beliefs and barriers that prevent us from playing as adults and ways to harness the power of play in all areas of our lives to become more vital, joyful, and creative.

Finding Equanimity

Our intense emotional reaction to triggers is our brain’s way of trying to protect us from experiencing something emotionally threatening. But our triggers limit our ability to connect with ourselves and others, harness our strengths, and act in accordance with our values. In this conversation, Melissa explores the science behind triggers and frames them as gifts that reveal opportunities for growth. She shares strategies that help participants respond rather than react to situations and adopt habits that help them strengthen their equanimity long-term.

Melissa Bernstein Videos

Melissa & Doug Co-Founder on Confronting her Depression
Author Fishbowl with Melissa Bernstein
Melissa Bernstein - Co-Founder of Melissa & Doug

How do I book Melissa Bernstein to speak at my event?

Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Melissa Bernstein for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Melissa Bernstein, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Melissa Bernstein or any other speaker of your choice.

How much does it cost to book Melissa Bernstein for a speaking engagement?

Speaking fees for Melissa Bernstein, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Melissa Bernstein are $10,000 - $20,000 for live events and $10,000 - $20,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Melissa Bernstein, click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

What topics does Melissa Bernstein speak about?

Melissa Bernstein is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Mental Health, Health, Overcoming Adversity, Authors, Family & Parenting, Retail, Entrepreneurship and Inspirational.

Where does Melissa Bernstein travel from?

Melissa Bernstein generally travels from Westport, CT, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances.

Who is the agent for Melissa Bernstein?

AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully secured keynote speakers like Melissa Bernstein for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Melissa Bernstein for your next private or corporate function.

What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Melissa Bernstein or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.

Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

If you’re looking for the best speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.


Melissa Bernstein is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics including Mental Health, Health and Overcoming Adversity. The estimated speaking fee range to book Melissa Bernstein for live events is $10,000 - $20,000, and for virtual events $10,000 - $20,000. Melissa Bernstein generally travels from Westport, CT, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Shannon Miller, Tom Voss and Kati Morton. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Melissa Bernstein for an upcoming event.

Melissa Bernstein Speaking Topics

  • Unleash the Power of Your Senses

    Meet the tools designed to switch on your body’s most effective stress relievers: your senses. Seeing, smelling, and touching delightful things signals your brain to release dopamine, your body’s feel-good hormone, and brings you back to the here and now. In this conversation, Melissa explores how our senses allow us live with less stress and more joy. She guides participants in harnessing the power of their senses to unleash creativity and purpose.

  • The Balance of Work and Life for Supporting Female Leaders

    In her decades-long career as a female leader and mother of six, Melissa has encountered countless challenges all too familiar to working women, including the myth of work-life balance, the curse of perfectionism, and a drive to focus on others at the expense of her own well-being. In this open and honest conversation, Melissa empowers working women to foster self-care, self-compassion, and joy as a conduit to well-being and success.

  • Fostering Innovation and Creativity

    As Co-Founder of the tremendously successful toy company Melissa & Doug, Melissa has spent the last 30 years helping children discover themselves, their passions, and their purpose through open-ended play. She disrupted the toy industry through her unparalleled creativity, innovation, and willingness to follow her intuition and learn from failure. In this conversation, Melissa shares five lessons she learned on her entrepreneurial journey and supports participants in thinking about their own process as entrepreneurs.

  • Let Play Lead the Way

    We often think of play as a pastime for children, but the benefits of play are profound and persist to adulthood. In this conversation, Melissa discusses the importance of play and its relationship to our well-being, connection, creativity, and joy. She explores beliefs and barriers that prevent us from playing as adults and ways to harness the power of play in all areas of our lives to become more vital, joyful, and creative.

  • Finding Equanimity

    Our intense emotional reaction to triggers is our brain’s way of trying to protect us from experiencing something emotionally threatening. But our triggers limit our ability to connect with ourselves and others, harness our strengths, and act in accordance with our values. In this conversation, Melissa explores the science behind triggers and frames them as gifts that reveal opportunities for growth. She shares strategies that help participants respond rather than react to situations and adopt habits that help them strengthen their equanimity long-term.

Melissa Bernstein Videos

Melissa & Doug Co-Founder on Confronting her Depression
Author Fishbowl with Melissa Bernstein
Melissa Bernstein - Co-Founder of Melissa & Doug
NSL Bites: Melissa Bernstein Explains the Benefits of Childhood ...
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MELISSA BERNSTEIN

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