Brain science that changes how we understand people.
Neuroscience-informed keynotes on brain health and women’s health, translating complex science into ideas people can actually use.
Trusted by: TikTok, EY, Vogue Australia, EDUtech, Business Chicks, Legal Innovation & Tech Fest, Wenona School, Abbotsleigh School, Univerity of Oxford NSW alumni, and leading organisations across Australia and New Zealand
Neuroscience that's simple, with stories and a sense of humour
Despite rapid changes in how we work, organisations still depend on human congition and who can listen, learn, make good decisions, solve problems, adapt and work well with others.
These capabilities depend on brain health, and brain health is shaped by far more than what happens at work. Sleep, stress, life stage, hormones, caregiving and health all influence how people think, feel and function.
For women in particular, understanding the brain across puberty, pregnancy, menopause and ageing is increasingly relevant to workplaces, healthcare and society.
Sarah brings complex neuroscience to life through sharp insights, relatable stories and a dry sense of humour. Audiences leave understanding themselves and one another a little better, with practical ideas they can actually use.
Every keynote is adapted to the audience, event theme and desired outcome.
Sarah is available for:
- Conference keynotes
- Interactive presentations
- Leadership offsites and executive briefings
- Workshops and professional development
- Panel discussions
- In-person and virtual events
- Writers' festivals
Popular Keynotes & Workshops
On the Same Wavelength
The neuroscience of trust, rapport and human connection at work
Trust is often treated as an abstract quality. Yet trust is also something people experience through attention, timing, responsiveness and the feeling that another person is genuinely present.
Research into the social brain is beginning to reveal how people become coordinated during conversation and cooperation. Our behaviour and physiology can align as we communicate, build rapport, empathy and work towards a common goal.
In this keynote, Sarah brings the emerging science of brain-to-brain synchrony into the workplace.
She explains why trust is built through more than the words we use, how connection changes when communication moves online, and what leaders can do to create the conditions for better cooperation.
There may also be a lesson or two from Taylor Swift.
Audiences will explore:
- What social neuroscience reveals about trust and rapport
- How attention, responsiveness and shared experience support connection
- What can be lost when communication becomes digital or transactional
- Practical ways to strengthen trust across teams
- How leaders can create the conditions for cooperation without forcing artificial togetherness
Best suited to:
Leadership teams, professional services firms, culture and engagement events, hybrid workplaces, sales teams and organisations seeking stronger connection across teams.
Available as:
45 to 60-minute keynote, interactive presentation, executive session or workshop.
Click here to book a time to discuss "On the Same Wavelength" with Sarah.
Presented for EY, Growth Coaching International, Vogue Australia, and PFI NZ.
"The session was greatly interesting and highly informative, weaving neuroscience in with real-world examples relatable by all and certainly not without its humour."
Nina Maher
Ernst & Young
The Adaptive Brain
How to connect and lead through uncertainty
AI can process information at extraordinary speed. But organisations still need people who can decide what matters, ask better questions, exercise judgement, manage uncertainty and build trust.
These capabilities depend on healthy, adaptable human brains.
In this keynote, Sarah introduces the idea of brain capital and explains why organisations need to think beyond simply demanding more focus, resilience or cognitive output from their people.
Using her practical Bottom-Up, Outside-In and Top-Down Brain Map, Sarah shows how biology, working conditions, relationships and expectations interact to influence the way people think and behave.
- Bottom-Up: What is the body bringing?
- Outside-In: What is the environment asking people to carry?
- Top-Down: What is the mind making the situation mean?
This wider view helps leaders understand why capable people can struggle during periods of uncertainty, and what supports clearer thinking, flexibility and adaptation.
Audiences will explore:
- What brain capital means and why it matters to organisations
- How uncertainty and cognitive overload can narrow attention and decision-making
- Why people respond differently to the same period of change
- How working conditions influence the brain skills organisations depend on
- The human capabilities that become more valuable alongside AI
- Practical ways to support clearer thinking, connection and adaptation
Best suited to:
Leadership conferences, company offsites, transformation programs, professional services firms, future-of-work events and organisations navigating significant change.
Available as:
45 to 60-minute keynote, interactive keynote, executive briefing or workshop.
Click here to book a time to discuss The Adaptive Brain with Sarah.
Click to read an article on The Uncertain Brain.
Presented for TikTok Leadership Accelerator program, 2Degrees, and Career Shifters.
"Our cohort loved the vibe. Thank you so much for the session."
Julia Wyatt
TikTok Australia
All in Her Head?
Women’s brain health has moved from the margins to the centre of conversations about health, leadership and working life.
Women’s brain health is still too often reduced to hormones, menopause awareness and a collection of workplace wellness initiatives.
A brain-capital perspective widens the view.
Puberty, pregnancy, motherhood, perimenopause and ageing are important parts of the female neurological lifespan. Yet they are often discussed as separate problems rather than connected periods of development and adaptation.
Women’s brain health is also shaped by mental and physical health, relationships, caregiving, working conditions, social expectations and access to appropriate support.
In this keynote, Sarah draws on more than a decade of research and writing to explore what the science tells us, what remains uncertain and why women’s brain health matters to working life.
This is a thoughtful, evidence-based alternative to both biological stereotypes and simplistic claims that women’s experiences are “all in their heads”.
Audiences will explore:
- What neuroscience tells us about puberty, pregnancy, motherhood, menopause and ageing
- How hormones influence the brain without determining a woman’s personality, ability or behaviour
- Why sex and gender both matter in brain health research
- How workplace demands and life load interact with biological transitions
- Why better conversations about women’s health require more than awareness campaigns and wellness advice
Best suited to:
International Women’s Day events, women’s leadership programs, employee wellbeing events, health organisations, professional associations and inclusive workplace initiatives.
Available as:
45 to 60-minute keynote, panel contribution, interactive presentation or workshop.
Click here to book a time to discuss "All In Her Head" with Sarah.
Presented for Wenona School (staff development), Woollahra Library Ideas Exchange (gender bias panel), Manly Writer's Festival, International Association of Applied Neuroscience (IAAN).
"A rare scientist who is as powerful from the podium as she is on the page."
Dr Justin Coleman
Australasian Medical Writers Association
Specialist Keynotes & Workshops
7 1/2 lessons about brain development
What growing brains need from the adults around them
Brain development is shaped by biology, relationships, experience and the wider world in which a child grows.
In this keynote, Sarah explains 7 1/2 of the most useful ideas for understanding the developing brain (childhood and adolescence).
The presentation can be adapted for audiences working in early childhood, schools, adolescent wellbeing, health or community services.
The keynote can explore:
- Brain development across the first 1,000 and 10,000 days
- Sensitive periods in cognitive, social, emotional and motor development
- Why adolescence should be understood through a strengths-based lens
- How relationships shape developing brains
- The effects of stress and adversity on learning, behaviour and health
- How adults can support the development of core life skills
- The Bottom-Up, Outside-In and Top-Down Brain Map framework
Best suited to:
Educators, school leaders, early childhood professionals, parents, health professionals and community organisations.
Available as:
Conference keynote, professional development presentation or workshop.
Click here to book a time to discuss Brain Development Keynotes with Sarah.
Presented for Abbotsleigh Early Learning Conference, Learning Links and EDUtech
"Sarah’s keynote was engaging and at times amusing."
Shelley Laycock
Abbotsleigh
Neuroscience-informed coaching practice
Using brain science with accuracy and practical purpose
Neuroscience offers coaches a useful way to think about thoughts, feelings, habits, motivation and behaviour.
It can also be oversimplified or overhyped.
Enthusiasm for the brain sometimes runs ahead of the evidence, leaving coaches with appealing explanations that are scientifically weak or difficult to apply.
In this keynote or workshop, Sarah helps coaches distinguish useful neuroscience from neuromyth and marketing language.
Audiences will explore:
- What it genuinely means for coaching to be neuroscience-informed
- The opportunities and limits of using brain science with clients
- Why familiar ideas such as the “lizard brain” and “amygdala hijack” can mislead
- How emotion, memory, motivation, prediction and habit are understood in contemporary neuroscience
- Practical concepts coaches can use without overstepping their scope of practice
Best suited to:
Coaching organisations, leadership development providers, psychology and wellbeing conferences, human resources teams and professional associations.
Available as:
Conference keynote, masterclass, interactive workshop or professional development session.
Click here to book a time to discuss "Neuroscience-informed coaching practice" with Sarah.
Presented for University of Sydney Coaching & Mentoring Alumni (USCMA) Chapter and SMG Coaching and Leadership Development.
"She also has that rare strength of being able to translate science into everyday practice."
Dr Suzy Green
The Positivity Institute
"Dr Sarah McKay's keynote on 'The Uncertain Brain' was a highlight of the 2023 TikTok Agency Accelerator event. Her insights into the intricacies of the brain's response to uncertainty struck a chord with our audience, offering invaluable tools for navigating modern work environments. Dr McKay's expertise left an indelible impact, empowering attendees to embrace uncertainty with newfound confidence."
Julia Wyatt
Marketing Manager - Global Business Solutions TikTok AU & NZ.
"Thank YOU so much for being such an engaging and amazing guest speaker! The reviews for you have been fabulous and they could have listened to you speak all day!
Liz Uliana
Calmbirth - Childbirth Education Program. 2024 conference.
"I have known Sarah since we were graduate students. She was always an extremely sharp thinker about science; she likes to challenge things but with an openness to possibility. It's hard to maintain sharp-edged curiosity without becoming cynical. But Sarah did that as a graduate student. And she does that now."
Professor Andrew Huberman
The Huberman Lab Podcast. Stanford University.
"Dr Sarah McKay is the real deal. There are many people who have jumped on the ‘brain bandwagon’ without any formal qualifications in neuroscience. Not only does Sarah have the academic quals, having completed her PhD at Oxford University, but she also has that rare strength of being able to translate science into everyday practice. Sarah’s sessions focus not only on boosting brain power but aim to help people live their best lives. I can’t recommend Sarah too highly."
Dr Suzy Green
The Positivity Institute
"Dr Sarah McKay presented to our professional board strategy day on the dynamics of neuroscience in terms of how trust is established, manifested and gained throughout the physical behaviours that we carry out as humans. The session was greatly interesting and highly informative, weaving neuroscience in with real-world examples relatable by all and certainly not without its humour.
Our team thoroughly enjoyed having Sarah along and would recommend her greatly to any professional group keen to learn more about neuroscience, bonding and communication-enhancing behaviours, and what happens with the brain concurrently.
Sarah also touched on modern-day issues such as virtual and remote working methods through video and AI's rapidly increasing technological enhancements. Sarah has an approachable style and manner making her very easy to listen to.
Thank you, Sarah, for a valuable and insightful session that we will all remember.”
Nina Maher
Oceana Markets Strategic Operations Lead, Ernst & Young.
"Sarah was the keynote speaker at our recent Early Learning conference. Sarah’s keynote was engaging and, at times, amusing. She was extremely generous with her time and curated a bespoke presentation designed specifically for our audience. I can highly recommend Sarah to educators who want to provide the children they teach evidence-based pedagogy with a deeper understanding of brain development and how to nurture growing minds.”
Shelley Laycock
Director, Early Learning, Abbotsleigh
Expert Spokesperson & Brand Ambassador
I’ve acted as an expert spokesperson and brand ambassador for media campaigns for companies including SodaStream, Philips Lighting, Allianz Insurance and Alzheimer's Australia.
Today, neuroscience has a 'seductive allure', and I believe it's important to share evidence-based information and the latest research on the brain, brain health, mental wellbeing and applied neuroscience in a clear and easy to understand way.
Previous writing and consulting clients include:
