Adam Nemer spent 20 years as a high-performing CFO and senior operations executive at Kaiser Permanente—all the while experiencing severe, yet undiagnosed depression and anxiety. Read More >

Everything changed the day a colleague trained in mental health literacy recognized the signs and encouraged him to seek help. That moment didn’t just change Adam’s life—it transformed how he led.

As Adam began to heal, he led differently: with greater openness, empathy, and vulnerability. His teams followed. More than 500 colleagues became certified in Mental Health First Aid. Conversations about mental health became routine. Trust deepened. Culture shifted.

The results were both human and measurable. Within two years, Adam’s teams weren’t just leading Kaiser’s health plan in employee engagement—they were outperforming across nearly every key performance indicator and became the highest-performing health plan in the Pacific Northwest.

With nearly 1 in 4 Americans experiencing a mental illness each year, this keynote is especially relevant for organizations and leaders who are:

• Concerned about employee engagement, retention, attendance, productivity, and the toll workplace culture can take on mental health.

• Seeking more holistic, empathetic, and psychologically safe approaches to improving team performance.

In this powerful and deeply human keynote, Adam shares his personal story alongside practical leadership insights drawn from his executive experience and his book, Simple Mental Health.  He makes both a compelling business case and an inspiring human case for normalizing mental health at work.

Audiences leave with:

• A fresh, hopeful perspective on the myths, stigma, shame, and silence surrounding mental illness in the workplace.

• A clear business case for normalizing mental health at work—and an inspiring human case for leading with vulnerability and authenticity.

• Practical, actionable steps to build a culture where mental wellness and high performance thrive together. Read Less ^

For nearly 20 years, Adam Nemer led as a high-performing CFO and Senior Operations Executive at Kaiser Permanente while privately struggling with severe yet undiagnosed depression and anxiety. Everything changed when a colleague trained in mental health literacy recognized the signs and encouraged him to seek help. Read More >

That experience—and the leadership lessons that followed—became the foundation for Adam’s work and his book, Simple Mental Health. As Adam began to heal, he led differently—with more openness, empathy, and vulnerability. Conversations about mental health became more routine. Culture shifted. Within two years, Adam’s teams were not only leading Kaiser’s health plan in employee engagement—they were outperforming across nearly every key performance indicator.

In this keynote, Adam shares his personal story and leadership insights that transformed how he led—and how his teams performed. For law firms and their attorneys, the session offers a timely, relevant, practical, and action-oriented lens on burnout, culture, leadership, and the performance pressures shaping the business of law today.

Learning Objectives

• An inspired perspective on the myths, stigma, shame, and silence surrounding mental illness in the workplace.

• A compelling business and human case—along with simple and practical tactics—for normalizing the topic of mental health on their teams at work and in their communities at home.

• An introduction to Mental Health First Aid and the practical value of mental health literacy at work. Read Less ^

Pressure, uncertainty, and responsibility are constant in today’s workplace. As AI, economic uncertainty, and changing expectations reshape how people lead and perform, that strain can erode focus, energy, productivity, retention, decision-making, and performance. Read More >

This learning experience is designed to help leaders, managers, and teams build practical mental health literacy skills—including how to recognize when someone may be struggling, engage in a thoughtful and nonjudgmental way, help normalize healthier conversations at work, and guide colleagues toward support when needed. It is especially powerful for manager development and team offsites because it strengthens both human connection and day-to-day leadership effectiveness.

Participants Leave With:

• An inspired perspective on the myths, stigma, and silence surrounding mental illness in the workplace.

• A compelling business and human case for normalizing mental health at work.

• Practical mental health literacy skills, including how to recognize when a colleague may be struggling, engage thoughtfully and nonjudgmentally, and guide them toward support.

• Simple, practical ways leaders can help normalize conversations about mental health.

• Practical steps for building a culture where wellbeing and performance thrive together.

This Program Is Designed for Organizations That Want To:

• Improve retention, attendance, productivity, and wellbeing across their organizations.

• Equip managers and supervisors with practical tools to support people more effectively.

• Build more holistic, empathetic, and psychologically safe cultures that support stronger results over time.

Ideal For:

• Team development offsites and retreats

• Internal leadership development programs

• Manager and supervisor training programs

• Emerging leader programs

• Leadership conferences

• Annual meetings

Especially powerful for offsites and retreats, where the experience helps teams build stronger trust, deepen connection, and develop leadership skills they can apply right away.

Format Options

Half-Day Leadership Workshop

A deeper working session with room for discussion, skill practice, and action planning. Leaders and managers explore the business and human case, practice supportive conversations, and identify concrete next steps for building a healthier, higher-performing culture.

2.5-Hour Condensed Workshop

A focused, interactive session that delivers the core tools in less time. Participants learn how to recognize when someone may be struggling, engage thoughtfully, guide colleagues toward support, and normalize healthier conversations at work.

90-Minute Interactive Learning Session

A concise, high-impact introduction for teams with limited time. This format combines Adam’s story, the business case, practical examples, and audience conversation to help participants leave with one or two actions they can use right away. Read Less ^

Attorneys and other legal professionals operate in high-pressure environments shaped by demanding clients, long hours, complex work, constant deadlines, and high expectations for responsiveness, precision, and performance. As burnout, anxiety, depression, and retention challenges continue to affect the legal profession, law firms need practical tools that support both people and performance. Read More >

For nearly 20 years, Adam Nemer led as a CFO and senior operations executive at Kaiser Permanente while silently struggling with severe, yet undiagnosed depression and anxiety. Everything changed when a colleague trained in mental health literacy recognized the signs and encouraged him to seek support.

In this session, Adam connects his personal story to the realities facing high-pressure legal workplaces today. Participants will explore how myths, stigma, shame, and silence keep people from seeking help, why mental health literacy matters in legal organizations, and how leaders can help normalize mental health, recognize when colleagues may be struggling, engage in supportive conversations, and guide people toward getting help.

Participants Leave With:

• A practical human and business case for mental health literacy as a professional skill.

• A clearer understanding of how myths, stigma, shame, and silence keep professionals from asking for help.

• Practical ways to normalize mental health through storytelling, language, modeling, and leadership behavior.

• Mental health first aid skills, including how to recognize when a colleague may be struggling, engage with care, and guide them toward support.

• A framework for making your existing wellbeing resources more visible, trusted, and easier to use.

Format Options

Option 1: 1-Hour Keynote + Moderated Conversation

A high-impact keynote followed by a candid fireside chat and moderated Q&A.

Option 2: 90-Minute Partner Learning Session

A concise, practical session for colleagues who need a strong introduction to mental health literacy, leadership behavior, and the connection between wellbeing, culture, and performance.

Option 3: 2.5-Hour Partner Leadership Workshop

A more interactive session with time for reflection, discussion, and practical application. Participants explore how they set tone, model behavior, normalize help-seeking, and support teams in high-pressure environments.

Option 4: Half-Day Partner Development Experience

A deeper working session designed for partner retreats or leadership development programs. This format gives partners time to reflect on their own leadership, practice mental health literacy skills, and identify concrete actions they can bring back to their teams.

Why This Learning Experience Resonates

Law firms are looking for programming that is timely, practical, and relevant to the pressures their leaders, lawyers, and professional staff face every day. This learning experience helps audiences understand how mental wellbeing influences retention, productivity, client relationships, overall individual performance, and a firm’s ability to sustain strong results over time.

Ideal For:

• Partner meetings and retreats

• Executive committee and leadership team offsites

• Emerging leader and rising partner programs

• Annual meetings and conferences

• Wellbeing and culture initiative programming

• DEI initiative programming Read Less ^