Uncertainty is one of the greatest hidden prisons. Individually, we carry fear of judgment, perfectionism, assumptions, cultural norms, and limiting beliefs. Corporations reinforce these prisons with rigid hierarchies, outdated ideologies, and unspoken rules that stifle innovation. Rashmi Airan’s story of falling, serving time in federal prison, and rising again exposes how these prisons confine us and what it truly takes to dismantle them.
This keynote moves beyond theory to lived truth. Rashmi draws from her own raw experiences to challenge audiences to confront their hidden prisons and face uncertainty with courage. Her message is not about abstract resilience. It is about the radical transformation that happens when you strip away ego, silence, and fear, and choose clarity, growth, and possibility instead. Through her Rise Through It™ framework, Rashmi helps audiences confront both external struggle and the mental prisons that amplify it.
Participants walk away with practical tools to reframe adversity, identify blind spots, surrender the illusion of control, and evolve with clarity. They learn how to transform uncertainty into a catalyst for growth and discover growth on the other side of struggle.
RISE Applied:
The future of work will rise or fall on our ability to collaborate. Yet uncertainty often drives people into isolation, perfectionism, fear of judgment, silence, assumptions, and limiting beliefs. Corporations create further prisons through silos, exclusion, and cultures where belonging is absent. These prisons fracture trust and block innovation. Rashmi Airan demonstrates how dismantling these barriers allows individuals and organizations to rise together with clarity and purpose.
This keynote moves beyond surface-level teamwork to lived truth. Rashmi shows how dismantling the hidden prisons of silence, isolation, and fear of judgment creates space for authentic collaboration. Her message is not about forced cooperation. It is about the radical transformation that happens when organizations strip away silos and exclusion, and choose clarity, belonging, and shared purpose instead. She inspires with her story of community and leaves teams with concrete steps to strengthen collaboration right away.
Participants learn how to dismantle the barriers of silence, build trust-based relationships, and foster psychological safety. Rashmi equips organizations to replace isolation with authentic bonds and transform communities into spaces where people rise together.
RISE Applied:
Growth rarely fails because of lack of talent or resources. More often, it fails because of the prisons we refuse to acknowledge: limiting beliefs, self-doubt, assumptions, and cultural norms that keep individuals stuck. Organizations add to this by enforcing outdated systems, bureaucracy, and resistance to change. Rashmi Airan shines a light on these prisons and reveals how to dismantle them.
This keynote moves beyond generic growth strategies to lived truth. Drawing from her personal journey, Rashmi shows how confronting assumptions and cultural norms clears the path to innovation. Her message is not about abstract motivation. It is about the radical transformation that happens when individuals and organizations strip away resistance and fear, and choose clarity, creativity, and possibility instead. She inspires growth while delivering tactical practices teams can begin using immediately.
Audiences leave with practical tools to dismantle perfectionism, build self-compassion, and anchor growth in authenticity. They learn to stop performing for others and start evolving into leaders who thrive on their own terms.
RISE Applied:
The future of work demands leaders who can navigate uncertainty with courage and conviction. Yet leaders often remain stuck in prisons of ego, perfectionism, cultural conditioning, and fear of being wrong. Organizations amplify these barriers with silos, toxic cultures, and rigid hierarchies that suffocate creativity and belonging. Rashmi Airan challenges leaders to dismantle these prisons and rise into authentic, clarity-driven leadership.
This keynote moves beyond models of leadership to lived practice. Rashmi invites leaders to confront their hidden barriers while dismantling organizational cultures built on fear and control. Her message is not about leadership theory. It is about the radical transformation that occurs when leaders strip away old paradigms and choose clarity, trust, and courage that empower others to thrive in uncertainty. She inspires leaders with her vulnerability and provides practical strategies they can apply the very next day.
Audiences learn how to identify unwritten rules that harm culture, replace control with trust, and build environments where people are free to contribute with their best. Rashmi equips leaders to create organizations where authenticity thrives, silos collapse, and people rise together.
RISE Applied:
The future of sales belongs to those who can build authentic trust in uncertain markets. Yet many professionals are trapped in hidden prisons of fear of rejection, self-doubt, limiting beliefs, and cultural assumptions that undermine confidence. Organizations add pressure through transactional cultures, rigid scripts, and relentless quotas that strip away humanity and authenticity. Rashmi Airan exposes how these prisons keep sales professionals small and disconnected.
This keynote moves beyond outdated sales tactics to lived experience. Rashmi reveals how breaking free from the prisons of fear of rejection, rigid scripts, and limiting beliefs opens the door to authentic trust. Her message is not about quick wins or short-term quotas. It is about the radical transformation that happens when sales professionals strip away pressure and self-doubt and choose clarity, empathy, and humanity instead. She motivates sales professionals to rise through fear and equips them with actionable approaches to build lasting, trust-filled relationships that fuel meaningful results.
Audiences walk away with strategies to shift from transactional tactics to relationship-driven trust. They learn how to embrace rejection as redirection, build resilience under pressure, and align values with performance for lasting results.
RISE Applied:
Rashmi worked with the Coca-Cola team for an entire day. She created such a meaningful impact on the pivotal issues of accountability and vulnerability. Her diverse and unique view has propelled her as a leader on these topics. Rashmi shares a personal story that we must strive to live through uncertainty with conviction and navigate through the gray area. Her workshop truly helped our team learn how to thrive in chaos, be adaptable and remain curious while always focusing on the organization’s needs and long-term sustainability. Her story is relatable and she is truly a remarkable speaker and consultant!
Unknown
- Apr 23 2024
What Rashmi brought to us is real-life experience with emotion, authenticity, and courage for immediate value add in our individual organizations. As a group of CEOs of our companies, we typically don’t spend an entire day listening and engaging with one Coach/Consultant. Rashmi’s workshop and message were extremely effective and impactful, both personally and professionally. Even after an entire day with Rashmi, we all wanted more. I am definitely planning on bringing Rashmi back to work with my own leadership team at my organization.
Unknown
- Apr 23 2024
Rashmi spoke to our senior leadership team and coaches at Georgia Tech. Her story and message around decision-making was incredibly impactful as it hit home the fact that good and smart people can make bad decisions with dire consequences. Rashmi helps shed light through her research in behavioral ethics. She provides a mental process for maintaining ethical vigilance in our decision- making and how to avoid the overconfidence bias that leads to the slippery slope. I highly recommend Rashmi to my friends and colleagues as she will inspire and help create substantive change in our athletic environments around integrity and ethics.
Unknown
- Apr 23 2024
In my 30 years as a federal prosecutor, I dealt with thousands of individuals involved in criminal conduct. Many were truly sorry for and embarrassed by their criminal conduct but happy to put their punishment behind them and move on as quickly as possible. But in my experience, only one of my former defendants – Rashmi Airan -- has chosen to relive, repeatedly, her personal and professional failings in an effort to inspire and motivate others to avoid the poor choices she made.
It’s a rare thing for a prosecutor and defendant to develop a relationship of mutual respect and friendship. We began as adversaries in a courtroom, became teammates in prosecuting others, and now collaborate in writing and speaking. Rashmi’s acceptance of responsibility for her conduct, her deeply sincere expressions of remorse and humility, and her efforts to share her experiences with others who may be tempted to follow a misguided path, have been extraordinary. Rashmi tells a compelling story, rich with life lessons everyone can relate to.
Unknown
- Apr 23 2024
Thank you so much for the time you spent sharing your story with vulnerability, creating a space for us to do the same, and sharing insight applicable to both personal and professional life choices. Your messaging resonated in unexpected and practical ways. I admire the courage on display to speak from a place of such openness and high character.
Unknown
- Apr 23 2024
Rashmi Airan graduated from Columbia Law School with honors, worked for several major law firms and corporations, and by 2004, was the managing partner of the law firm she founded. On December 19, 2014, she pled guilty to a general conspiracy count in federal court.
In prison, I learned this very basic fact: I am human. Humans make mistakes. It’s through my mistakes and losing my freedom, I found the courage to be vulnerable and real. I shifted my definition of success from accolades, grades and status to creating authentic relationships and helping others. I’m no longer scared to show my true self. I’m raw all the time.
We are happy to assist you with your interest in booking a speaker or celebrity for your event, your organization, and the type of talent you would like to secure, and an agent will be in touch shortly.
Fill out the form below to or call us at 1-800-698-2536 if need immediate assistance.
We respond to most inquiries within 4 hours. Under special circumstances, it may take up to 24 hours.
This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.
All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.