Speaking Engagements, Conversations & Podcasts

See Dr. Sternberg’s speaker bio (downloadable PDF)

Dr. Sternberg is in high demand as a keynote speaker for her combination of academic credibility, passion for science, compassion as a physician, and ability to make complex subjects highly accessible to a wide range of audiences. She lectures nationally and internationally to lay and professional audiences including scientific audiences and is frequently interviewed on radio, television, web and in print media on subjects including:

• the science of the mind-body connection
• stress and illness, belief and wellness
• integrative – mind-body – medicine and health
• spirituality, health and wellness
• the role of place in health and wellbeing
• designing for workplace wellbeing
• embedding the seven domains of integrative health into the built environment (workplace, home, school)

Equally at ease and compelling in keynoting audiences as varied as lay, corporate, and scientific audiences. Her appearances include:

• The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Healthcare Workers
• The Dalai Lama’s Mind and Life Institute
• Fortune 500 Companies’ Chief Medical Officers
• Walk21 Ireland
• Philanthropic fund-raisers
• Medical and Design professional associations (Greenbuild, American Institute of Architects National Convention)
• Scientific audiences
• Religious organizations

Honors

Dr. Sternberg’s many honors include:

• Recognition by the National Library of Medicine as one of the women physicians who Changed the Face of Medicine.
• The Anita Roberts National Institutes of Health Distinguished Woman Scientist Lectureship.
• The FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation.
• U.S. Public Service Award.
• Honorary Doctorate in Medicine from Trinity College, Dublin.
• Member and Chair of the National Library of Medicine’s Board of Regents.
• Judge, Templeton Prize, The John Templeton Foundation.

Dr. Sternberg advises and collaborates with the US General Services Administration, the American Institute of Architects, and the US Green Building Council on the impact of the built environment and sustainable design on health and wellbeing.

Past Speaking Events & Podcasts

Dr. Sternberg speaking at the Neutra Institute for Survival Through Design – March 23, 2024

In Session: Leading the Judiciary – Episode 38: How Office Design Can Improve Wellbeing, Productivity & Resilience – April 3, 2024

Dr. Sternberg on YOUR WORLD OF CREATIVITY with Mark Stinson – April 1, 2024

Designing Wellbeing at Work – Design Your Life podcast with Vince Frost – March 12, 2024

Tucson Festival of Books – March 10, 2024

LGA Architecture Fireside Chat – “Well at Work: Creating Wellbeing in any Workspace” – Feb 8, 2024

University of Minnesota Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing – Jan 30, 2024

Innovations on Healthy Aging, University of Arizona Health Sciences, Dec. 6, 2023.

Creating Healthy Workspaces (February 2019)

Healing Spaces – The Science of Place and Well-Being

Why Place and Well-Being Are At the New Frontier of Medicine

Human Emotions

Testimonials

The lecture was super insightful and I hope I can insightfully use this knowledge for my project… everything [Dr. Sternberg] presented was the perfect inspiration for [my] project direction! Thank you again. I will be grabbing [your] book for sure : )

—Anna Joy Lee, Product Design Student, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena CA LGA Fireside Chat, Feb. 8, 2024

“This was so encouraging– but grounded in wonderful research.”

“Inspiring perspective on healthy design for living and working spaces…. I’m going to find her 2 last books and see what more I can do.”

“The speaker was very engaging and information shared was largely accessible.”

— Feedback from participants in the January 2024 Wellbeing Series at the Baakken Center for Spirituality and Healing

The Chief Executives Organization and Health & Wellness at Canyon Ranch 2024 are grateful for Dr. Sternberg’s outstanding contribution to this year’s education program. The event proved to be a great success, and she was a critical part of that outcome! It was an honor to have her with us this year. Her contribution to the program was invaluable, and we know our participants appreciated her fresh perspective on wellness and physical and mental strength and renewal. Her contributions to this event made it a memorable experience for our members, and CEO is thankful for her participation.

—Jennifer Lehmann Weng President & CEO Chief Executives Organization Washington, D.C. CEO at Canyon Ranch, Dec. 29, 2023

Dr. Sternberg was a very special guest speaker to our campus. She created an engaging classroom experience for our students, and was generous with her expertise and experience. Her public talk was well-received by our community and drew students, faculty, and staff from around campus. She has a particular gift for making connections between complicated ideas that engaged everyone in the room.

—Corinne Ness Dean, Division of Arts and Humanities Carthage College Kenosha, WI, Jan 19, 2024

Your talk at the Intentional Spaces Summit was so inspiring and thought provoking!

—Laura Bradley McCoy Growth Manager The Change Agents, Rockville Maryland Intentional Spaces Summit, Washington, D.C. Nov. 8, 2023

Dr. Sternberg’s presentation, “Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-being”, provides an understanding of how places, like sounds and smells, can not only trigger memories and emotions, but our ability to heal ourselves. The use of her own incredible life experience with healing draws the audience in and helps each person leave with a commitment to pay more attention to the where in their lives.

—Christina M. Rossetti, MSW Rossetti Consulting Group Conference Participant

Dr. Esther Sternberg proved to be the most engaging and accomplished speaker we have ever heard at a conference. She was informative, knowledgeable and made an effort to not only be a wonderful keynote speaker, but took the time to be an active participant at our Neuroscience conference as well!

—Roy J. Thurston Ph.D. University of Mississippi

Dr. Esther Sternberg is not only a renowned neuroscientist, but also an internationally recognized scholar whose collaborative research has led to major discoveries regarding how the interactions between mind, body, stress, and environment affect both illness and healing.

As Dean of the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University, and with the support from the university’s Health Science Center and the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. I had the honor, privilege, and pleasure of serving as the host for her public lecture on “Healing Space: The Science of Place and Well-Being,” which she delivered to students and faculty across the university, as well as to members of our local community, in a most inspiring and thought provoking manner, leaving me with a strong motivation for furthering a dialogue and an exploration of potential collaborations.

Dr. Sternberg has a unique ability to communicate scientifically based topics of great complexity to lay persons, to practicing professionals, and to members of the academic community.

In my opinion, she truly transcends self, with a unique transdisciplinary, transinstitutional, and transnational perspective on how physical environments can heal.

—Dr. Jorge A. Vanegas Dean, College of Architecture Professor, Department of Architecture Texas A&M University And Research Professor, Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Texas A&M University System

Dr. Esther Sternberg spoke at the inaugural McGill Complementary Health Symposium in June 2016. Her talk was amazing and received some of the best feedback we had for the day. She is a fantastic speaker and we were so honored and grateful that she could be present with us. We could not have done it without her!

—Adam Gavsie, MDCM, CCFP, ABOIM, ABIHM Assistant Professor Department of Family Medicine McGill University