Deborah Gilboa, MD

Resilience and Change Navigation Expert, Physician and Thought Leader

Deborah Gilboa, MD

Resilience and Change Navigation Expert, Physician and Thought Leader

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Biography

Resilience expert Deborah Gilboa, MD, aka “Dr. G” is an award winning physician and educator who has spent her career researching the impacts of stress and the solutions to that damage, and bringing those solutions to corporate leaders, underserved communities, Army recruits and Olympic athletes.

Dr. G works with companies and communities to develop the mindset and strategies that turn stress to an advantage. She brings scientifically validated tools to organizations who need to navigate change while succeeding at their mission. Renowned for her contagious humor, Dr. G works with groups across multiple generations to rewire their attitudes and beliefs, and to create resilience through a completely different approach to adversity.

Dr. G is a leading media personality seen regularly on TODAY, Good Morning America and The Doctors. She is also featured frequently in Forbes, Washington Post, The New York Times and countless other digital and print outlets.

Her resilience strategies have made her the go-to expert in situations ranging from mass shootings to personal tragedy and she’s sought after to help navigate the overwhelm of lottery winners and during celebrity weddings.

Robin Roberts, Al Roker and Stephen Colbert each separately asked her to “live in their pocket” for advice in times of stress. But that last one was in the mid-90’s when Dr. G and Stephen worked together at The Second City Improv Theatre in Chicago.

Dr. G is a board certified attending family physician and Clinical Associate Professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She’s an alum of Pitt Med as well as graduating summa cum laude from Carnegie Mellon University in Drama.

A member of the Pittsburgh Jewish community and Tree of Life Synagogue and the mother of a lone soldier who was injured during war, Dr. G also proudly brings her expertise on the neuroscience of resilience and her own experiences to Jewish communities all over the Diaspora. Most valuably, she’s the mom of four sons (a sustained crash course in resilience) and in contrast, relaxes by hang gliding.

Speech Topics

Resilience Wins: The Real Competitive Advantage in Your Workforce

Every day your people balance high expectations with high uncertainty — and that pressure can either drain performance or fuel it. Dr. G reveals how stress shapes decision‑making and teamwork, then gives leaders and teams the tools to turn pressure into productivity and positive growth. With actionable strategies grounded in neuroscience, she shows how to strengthen empathy, collaboration, and adaptability across the organization. Audiences leave equipped to reduce burnout, boost retention, and build a culture where resilience drives measurable results.

The Change Advantage: How Leaders Turn Disruption into Growth

For decades we’ve been told that stress is dangerous — but science proves the opposite: our brains need stress to adapt, and organizations need it to grow. Dr. G reveals the neuroscience behind stress as a strategic asset and shows leaders how to use it to accelerate innovation, engagement, and trust. With humor and evidence‑based tools, she reframes resistance to change into fuel for collaboration and problem‑solving. Attendees walk away with concrete strategies to strengthen staff resilience, improve retention, and turn disruption into measurable growth — without burning out their teams in the process.

Burnout Is a Signal, Not a Failure

Burnout isn’t proof of weakness — it’s valuable feedback from your organization’s most essential systems: your people. In this interactive keynote, Dr. G helps leaders decode what burnout is telling them about workload, culture, and climate. With her trademark humor and clarity, she unpacks the science of stress and the conditions that either fuel disengagement or drive sustainable performance. Attendees learn clear, practical steps to transform exhaustion into actionable insight and build structures that protect both productivity and people. The result is a culture where energy, purpose, and accountability thrive long past the next busy season

Resilience Against Hate: Lessons in Courage and Connection

When hate rises, so must our resilience. Drawing from her experience as a physician, leadership expert, and mother of a lone soldier wounded in combat, Dr. G invites audiences into a deeply human conversation about strength in the face of fear. A member of Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, she shares stories that blend heartbreak and humor and illustrates what it means to stay connected — to our values, our communities, and even to those who disagree— when the world feels divided. This keynote doesn’t ask audiences to feel inspired; it equips them to act: to build empathy without surrendering truth, to face hostility without becoming hardened, and to model courage that multiplies. With compassion and clarity, Dr. G reframes antisemitism not as a private burden but as a communal test of resilience and leadership. Her message to Jewish and allied communities alike is unmistakable: we cannot control hatred, but we can control who we choose to be in the face of it.

Raise Resilient Adults: The Neuroscience of Letting Go (So They Grow Up Strong)

Every parent wants to raise strong, capable kids—but the secret is counterintuitive: doing less for them builds more strength in them. Family physician and mother of four, Dr. G delivers an eye‑opening, laugh‑filled look at how our brains—and our children’s—are wired for resilience. Drawing from medical science and real‑life stories, she helps parents understand why struggle is essential, and how to step back without stepping away. Attendees leave with practical tools to foster confidence, independence, and empathy at every age. This keynote flips the parenting script and leaves audiences inspired, empowered, and eager to apply what they’ve learned the moment they walk out the door.

Inspiration Isn’t Enough: How to Stand Against Jew Hatred

Antisemitism isn’t new—but the ways we confront it must be. Dr. Gilboa moves audiences from outrage and overwhelm to action with a science‑based, strength‑focused approach to courage and allyship. Drawing on her experience as a physician, resilience expert, and Jewish leader, she shows how individuals and communities can build the psychological and social muscle needed to push back effectively against hate. Attendees learn practical strategies for responding to bias, strengthening identity, and fostering genuine solidarity. More than an uplifting talk, this keynote is a call to become the kind of resilient community that no hatred can splinter.

Testimonials

"Dr. G’s experience, insight, and thoughtful consultation have been invaluable to our team and to me personally. I greatly admire the depth of her expertise and the fresh perspective she brings to navigating change. Dr. G’s wisdom and ability to inspire actionable strategies have made a meaningful impact on our technology rollout and beyond."

- Director of Procurement, A-C Electric Company

"Our team recently held a seminar with Dr. G on the topic "From Stressed to Resilient: How Different Generations Navigate Change and How to Intersect Successfully". This was undoubtedly one of the most impactful team sessions we have had to date. The content Dr. G delivered was not only relevant but also spoke to each generation differently and provided perspectives many had never considered before. Furthermore, her assessment of our strengths and weaknesses as a team have been invaluable in helping us to map out continued growth and sustainability at both a professional and personal level. I highly recommend companies of any size that are looking to take the next step in investing in their overall resilience consider Dr. G as the top choice. We sincerely look forward to working with her again."

- Manager of People and Marketing, Elk Range Royalties

"I had the pleasure of meeting Deborah Gilboa, MD at our Alkermes Commercial Leadership Summit this week. Her session was one of the highlights of an excellent two day development meeting for me. I rarely find this much real world value in a guest speaker or lecturer brought in to a company event. Excellent content and intellectually compelling in a way that you know you’ll apply it."

- Director of Business Operations, Alkermes

"Inspiring. Motivational. Impactful. Actionable. Dr. Deborah Gilboa has spoken to hundreds of companies, associations, and schools on leadership, resilience, innovation, communication and productivity, and her audiences all describe her in these terms. As the CEO of LeadHERship Global, the most trusted global network of women in leadership in the world, I know that shifting your organization into a new way of working, of thinking and of being, is among the most complex managements tasks in the world today. Dr. Deborah Gilboa offers truly impactful insight, with a humorous and gracious manner, that makes her both engaging and entertaining."

- Chairwoman, LeadHERship Global

"We had the benefit of learning with and from Deborah during a recent national sales meeting. First of all, she is clearly an expert in one of the most important subject areas - mental wellness. Second, she communicates sharp insights on that topic in a way that are easy for large audiences to digest. In a short window of time, Deborah earned my full endorsement to work with leaders interested in maximizing the potential of the teams that they are responsible for."

- CEO, Inmar Intelligence

"I've had the fortunate opportunity to partner with Dr G on several occasions, most recently for her to lead an executive-level workshop on “Sharpening Team Skills to Navigate Increasing Change and Improve Retention and Productivity” for leaders of Jewish Community Centers and Camps. The response from our executive Community was extremely positive, and impact truly meaningful and outstanding. Debi has a rare ability to connect with leaders in a way that is both deeply insightful and immediately practical. She helped participants reframe resilience and stress as leadership tools, not just challenges--and gave them concrete strategies they could bring back to their teams right away."

- Vice President, Talent, JCC Association of North America

"Dr. G is the best! She delivers information to our GMA viewers in the most relatable way. She’s well versed on everything related to parenting, resilience, family matters, etc. You name it and she knows it. Love working with her and look forward to every opportunity we can! Cannot recommend her more strongly."

- Senior Producer, “Good Morning America"