Jann E. Freed, PhD

“Jann Freed is a passionate lifelong learner who generously shares her expertise to help local businesses grow and thrive. Her work reflects deep research, invaluable insights, and monumental contributions to organizations seeking to empower and support their employees. I highly recommend engaging with Jann – not only for your personal enrichment but also to foster the development of your team.”

“Jann Freed’s book, Breadcrumb Legacy, profoundly resonated with me, especially her analogy of retirement as Tarzan swinging through the jungle. It inspired me to reflect deeply on my values and the legacy I want to leave, transforming my view of retirement from an end to a new beginning.”

“Dr. Jann Freed has a gift for breaking down complex conversation in an approachable and meaningful way. She provides practical examples that inspire you to reflect on who you are and how you can shape your legacy through daily action, values and accomplishments. Her message of giving back to the community makes us all better together.”

“Jann approaches the topics of legacy and purpose with curiosity, possibility and joy – and all rooted in her deep knowledge and wisdom in the subjects of leadership, business and career transitions. She is a ‘must-book’ speaker and coach on these important topics to make the rest of our lives the best of our lives!”

“Jann’s human focused approach allows people of all stages and ages to engage with the concept of legacy. Jann is a talented facilitator that calls her audience to action with hands-on tools to be intentional about the legacy they want to leave.”

“Jann Freed has worked with Mittera’s leadership development programs for several years, specifically Jann facilitated several sessions working with new leaders on developing assertive communication skills. Additionally, Jann has worked with our senior leaders on creating and crafting their legacy.”

“I’ve always admired Jann’s ability to make thinking people think. About themselves. About others.”

“Jann is a thoughtful and engaging speaker – weaving personal experiences into presentations that keep her audiences listening attentively and leaving inspired. Jann’s positivity is infectious. Her sessions are filled with laughter and laced with her high energy personality.”

“Jann’s presentation style is engaging and energetic. Jann’s passion for research and data make the insights she shares feel relevant to a wide range of audiences. I found her discussion around loneliness and making friends as you age to be incredibly moving.”

“Jann has been thinking strategically about the transition from work to other life experiences, and it shows! She is thoughtful, funny, and engaging. When I hear her talk, I always come away with new ideas that had not occurred to me before.”

“Jann’s presentation style is warm and inviting. She intentionally includes her audience throughout the journey of her presentation, ensuring memorable stories and laughs along the way. Her content is helpful and tangible. I walked away from Jann’s presentation with concrete ideas and a sincere appreciation for Jann’s approach and perspective.”

“Jann is both knowledgeable and relatable. Her authenticity and energy is so engaging and helps make her message so meaningful and genuine.”

“Jann’s workshop was a hit with our attendees. Her sense of humor and personal anecdotes created an engaging, casual learning environment. Jann wove together thought-provoking content, discussion, and worksheets to help people consider their own life experiences, goals, and to have take-aways for further exploration. I am confident attendees left with the tools they needed to live their legacies.”

“Wow! I’ve heard leadership presenters before, but Jann is the first one who made me think and actually plan to put into motion her ideas and message. I highly recommend her to motivate your current and future leaders. Jann’s upbeat and charismatic style kept everyone engaged.”

“I highly recommend Jann to facilitate dialogue or make a keynote presentation. She instantly established a rapport and engaged the audience very effectively.”

“As out keynote speaker, Dr. Freed talked about “Conversations about Death and Other Elephants in the Room” for our annual Mid-Iowa Planned Giving Council Fall Conference. She is exceptionally knowledgeable, motivational, and she successfully challenged us to think differently about end-of-life conversations with donors.”

“Jann is an enthusiastic presenter who brings positive energy to every room she enters. I have especially appreciated panel discussions she’s facilitated with a women’s group where she thoughtfully engaged both the panelists and event participants.”

“Dr. Jann Freed has a rich background and experiences grounding the insights and analyses she offers. She truly listens and provides actionable suggestions. She will get you unstuck and see the numerous opportunities in every situation. She is the Executive Coach one needs to become their best.”

“Jann spoke at the Iowa Downtown Conference to an audience of community organizers from across the state. She is a dynamic speaker who leads by example and demonstrates her knowledge through her lived experiences.”

“Jann facilitated a session on “Building a Community of Inspired Teams” with a large number of our Operations Leadership. She did a great job engaging the audience by drawing from their experience. She was a breath of fresh air – leaving us energized to go out and motivate our teams to higher levels of engagement and productivity.”

“Jann spoke with deep knowledge of her research and practices in a concise and thoughtful flow. An energetic speaker with strong ownership of her valued wisdom and advice…not to be missed.”

“I highly recommend Jann Freed’s book, Leading with Wisdom: Sage Advice from 100 Experts. This book clearly identifies eight practices of great leaders, provides clear examples of the practices in action, and includes activities to implement the practices into daily life. This work is truly inspirational.”

“Jann was easy to communicate with, flexible, and professional. Jann delivered a keynote speech as well as a working session on developing your leadership legacy. The participants of the forum found Jann to be thorough, engaging and an expert at the topic of developing a leadership legacy.”

“Jann was more than a great guide, she was amazing. Her own openness made the process meaningful and productive. I found myself with the tools to create a better work environment for myself and co-workers, as well as the resources to continue growing long after the process.”

“Jann’s executive development coaching has been one of the most valuable experiences in my career. She helped me to recognize the importance of making connections and networking in the community to broaden my horizons and identify opportunities to develop myself.”

“I highly recommend Jann Freed’s book, Leading with Wisdom: Sage Advice from 100 Experts. This book clearly identifies eight practices of great leaders, provides clear examples of the practices in action, and includes activities to implement the practices into daily life. This work is truly inspirational.”

“Dr. Jann Freed has spoken to our emerging leaders several times, and on each occasion, she brings wisdom, insight, new perspective, and enthusiasm to the concept of leadership.   Her approach is informative and engaging, and attendees always leave the classes feeling inspired and confident to take on new opportunities.”

“Jann’s integrity and expertise quickly engaged the audience; she connected in a very conversational style while challenging us to think deeply about our individual and collective legacies. Jann’s humorous yet profound stories established her as a lifelong learner, teacher, seeker and mentor.”

“Jann is friendly, approachable, extremely knowledgeable, and best of all quite likeable. I would, without hesitation, and with enthusiasm attend one of her presentations. She continues to inspire.”

“Jann is an excellent speaker and opened the floor to related questions, providing in-depth answers to all. Many attendees complimented Jann on her presentation and knowledge on the subject matter.”

“Dr. Freed delivered the perfect keynote address for our group… Inspiring, Encouraging and Insightful!”

“Dr. Freed offers powerful ways for people to discover and connect with what is most important in their lives. She gave us great examples of how to use this new way of thinking at work and in our own personal lives. I’ve adopted several of her suggestions and feel better about how I can impact our community in ways I hadn’t considered.”

“Jann Freed is a dynamic speaker and teacher who effectively educates and inspires her audiences and clients– from college kids to C-level executives in corporate and not-for-profit organizations – to think strategically and make purposeful change.”

“Jann Freed is a dynamic speaker and teacher who effectively educates and inspires her audiences and clients– from college kids to C-level executives in corporate and not-for-profit organizations – to think strategically and make purposeful change.  Jann’s impressive academic background coupled with her “real-world” strategy experience make her a valuable leader, consultant and speaker.”

“Jann’s high energy and enthusiasm are outshined only by the depth of her research and command of the topic.  She has a passion for learning, so she brings you the most up-to-date and insightful information that you can put immediately into action.”

“Jann presented a highly informative, well received workshop for our Metro Women Connect group entitled Disrupting HR: Thinking Beyond the Money! Jann is an insightful and engaging presenter who enthusiastically shares her knowledge with any group.”

“Dr. Freed’s presentation to our Legacy Group at SIOR’s recent Fall World Conference was dynamic, thought-provoking, and inspiring. She provided us with helpful questions to consider, and possible roadmaps to follow, as we begin the next chapter in our personal and professional lives.”

“As a new Leader, Jann’s workshops were very timely for me.   She included helpful suggestions and ways to think about leadership that I had not considered.  I enjoyed the discussions with other leaders to gain insight on how to deal with constant change in the workplace environment.”

“Every organization experiences change in order to grow and be successful.  This series of workshops is a great opportunity for leaders at all levels to better understand and develop the skills necessary to effectively understand and deal with this change.”

“Jann gave the most inspiring message about becoming a sage, mentoring, and keeping relevance to senior careers at the Legacy Members meeting at SIOR (Society of Office and Industrial Realtors).”

“We introduced an early retirement program and wanted to fully prepare our team members to make an informed decision in preparation for retirement.  Jann’s Beyond The Money course helped our team members think about their retirement from the lens of finding a purpose and leaving a legacy. “

“Dr. Freed did an excellent job presenting at our AARP volunteer recognition ceremony on ‘Why Purpose is Powerful.’ Her presentation was insightful, and she wove in personal anecdotes making it entertaining as well. I would recommend Dr. Feed to anyone looking to inspire a group and help them identify their purpose at any stage in life.”

“The session was very well attended with positive feedback from all participants. The employees appreciated the investment the company made in their journey after retirement. We will definitely hold more sessions!”

“The most compelling message that Dr. Jann delivers is to think about what you want your legacy to be – not at your job but after your job. Over 70% of those team members who attended one of Dr. Jann’s sessions wanted more information, so we’ve scheduled some more in depth sessions later this year.”

“Jann understands what it takes to engage and motivate her audience. Her preparation was evident for our event as over 600 people attended not only to listen to what she had to say, but to leave with insights to integrate into their daily lives.”

“Jann Freed is an unusually talented woman – she has strengths is so many areas.  Her long teaching career enables her to be a captivating speaker who keeps the attention of her audiences. Her greatest strength may be her deep thoughts on learning, leading, and sage-ing on which she has authored books.”

“I was fortunate to attend one of Dr. Freed’s pre-retirement workshops. Her material resonated with many of us looking for advice on meaning and purpose after retiring. It was an engaging session in which she opened our minds to the opportunities available after one’s main career. “

“As a 40-year veteran of the insurance industry, I believe Dr. Freed’s knowledge, passion, and empathy would be highly effective tools to motivate “Baby Boomer” insurance company employees to move forward into the next phase of their lives.”