Creator, The Empathetic LeaderFounder, The Empathy Group

Clarity.Conviction.Connection.

Good strategy means nothing without the people who make it work.

I've spent two decades leading digital strategy, building teams, and navigating complex organizations. Today, I bring that experience to speaking, coaching, and strategic communication.

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The experience behind the perspective

Built in the work. Brought to the room.

JPMorganChase

Executive DirectorGlobal Web Strategy, Digital Delivery & Publishing

Lambda Legal

Former Digital DirectorDigital leadership and organizational communications

Published Author

The People Are the Prize, Not the ProfitLeadership and people-first business strategy

More about my work.

Speaking

Say the thing
that matters.

I've keynoted the New York Stock Exchange and facilitated rooms at Out in Tech and LWT. That range — from Wall Street to queer tech spaces — is part of what I bring. I don't talk about inclusion from the outside. I live it. And I don't do generic. Every room gets something real.

Keynote speeches for conferences and leadership events
Panel discussions and moderated conversations
Interactive workshops for teams and organizations

Custom sessions on leadership communication · Virtual and in-person formats

Talk about speaking

Kristina Villarini speaking at the New York Stock Exchange — **Speaking photograph**New York Stock Exchange

A useful next conversation

Two ways to get
clear and move.

One starts with your leadership voice. The other starts with the story your people need to understand.

01 / PURPOSE COACHING

Clarity. Confidence. Congruence.

For leaders who look successful on paper but feel disconnected from who they actually are.

Explore Purpose Coaching 02 / NARRATIVE STRATEGY

Where story meets strategy.

For founders, executives, and brands that need sharper messaging, stronger positioning, and communication people can actually follow — this is where we start.

Explore Narrative Strategy

Explore the existing services and how we can work together.

Featured perspectives

Ideas, in writing.

Visit the writing archive

Five Things That Kept Three Years at JPMorgan Sustainable

Five lessons in navigating complex organizations, building relationships, and sustaining meaningful work.

Motion Is the Sexiest Lie in Leadership

Why a full calendar and constant activity are poor substitutes for direction, judgment, and momentum.

Empathy Has Not Failed Us

A perspective on empathy, accountability, and the uncomfortable reality that understanding people doesn't excuse their behavior.

The book

The People Are the Prize, Not the Profit

Your people aren’t a cost. They’re the whole point.

A people-first argument for hiring with empathy, building teams, and leading in a way that holds up when things get hard.

"Empathy is always the right answer. Kristina's book opens the door to bring it to work."
— Seth Godin, Author, The Song of Significance

Find the book

The person behind the work

People first.
Always.

I came up as a writer, led digital strategy in enterprise and nonprofit settings, and learned that the hardest decisions are rarely just about the plan. They’re about how people understand it, and how we treat each other while making it real.

That experience is behind The Empathetic Leader and The Empathy Group: a direct, human-centered point of view shaped by the work itself.

The Empathetic Leader The Empathy Group

What are you working through?

Whether it’s a room that needs a speaker or a leadership story that needs clarity, start with a conversation.

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