Welcome to the Speaking World of Elaine Rock …

One of my takeaways from over three decades of speaking is that the success of any conference has seven essential ingredients:

As a speaker, I can’t control the location, temp in room, food, networking opportunities, or the overall program. What I can control is what I deliver as a speaker and encouragement and how-tos to attendees. Always delivered with humor, insight, and research.

Whether our work together is IN-PERSON or VIRTUAL, your participants will be engaged and have takeaways that will make their attendance a plus for them and a star for you.

I’ve had the pleasure of keynoting and conducting workshops for a variety of educational and technology conferences. I’ve shared my writing process and Dusty’s story with organizations such the Redwood Writers Organization, the largest branch of the California Writers Club, and other community organizations and venues; introduced and moderated Dusty’s speech to students and faculty at the Case Western Reserve University Women’s Center’s 10^th Anniversary; and accepted an award for and spoke on behalf of Dusty at the 2017 National Women’s History Month Awards Banquet in Washington, DC, honoring her as one of the selected Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business. With the publication of Dusty Roads, I will be speaking at NOW groups, and a variety of universities and flight attendant organizations.

In fact, I love to do a “pre webinar” as an “inducement” to get attendees to attend for each group I present for.

If that sounds like something that would work for you, add to your event, and increase your attendance, I would be honored to add you to my speaking calendar for the coming year.

My phone # is 707-293-0000 and my email is: [email protected].

Elaine Rock’s Keynote Presentations

The Hidden Figure of the Women’s Movement

Dusty Roads became an unexpected invisible leader in the women’s movement long before the phrases “women’s movement” or “women’s liberation” were uttered or written. Her goal was to be the best stewardess … and she achieved accolades for her service to her union, APFA, and American Airlines. But it was the inequality that she experienced every day that motivated her to unexpected leadership in Washington DC on Capitol Hill as one of the first female lobbyists in the country.

Take-aways include:

• Why the EEOC is important if discrimination is in play.
• Surprising things women were forbidden to do in the 50s and 60s.
• Why speaking up and setting boundaries with others is essential.

Dusty Roads … A Woman of Courage, Persistence, and Vision

Dusty Roads became an unexpected invisible leader in the women’s movement long before the phrases “women’s movement” or “women’s liberation” were uttered or written. As a lobbyist and union leader, men soon learned that she had a brain—she was smarter and more strategic than most in Congress and the men who led their airlines and unions and tried unsuccessfully to manipulate the women members.

Take-aways include:

• How Dusty became a lobbyist and never had to pay for a Congress member’s lunch—they took her.
• Strategies of how to get Congressional help.
• How Dusty ended up at the negotiating table and supported her union.
• How and why the word “sex” got into Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The Hidden Angels of Vietnam

Few people today realize the crucial role stewardesses played during the Vietnam War, transporting troops to and from the conflict zone. Despite their significant contributions, the military, government, and airlines never formally acknowledged or recognized these women who flew Military Airlift Command flights as a part of the war effort. Stewardesses were fully aware that they were in danger, and many airplanes were targeted and shot at. But they did it for the troops and to serve their country. Their efforts went largely unnoticed after their tours of duty were over. The troops they transported, though, would never forget them.

Take-aways include:

• How stewardesses were like sisters, mothers, aunts, and psychologists—comforting presences who eased men’s fears heading to war.
• Why stewardesses were given the rank of second lieutenants.
• Many stewardesses spent 4 to 5 years of continual dangerous duty flying to and from the Vietnam War.
• How the Vietnam Veterans of America celebrated the stewardesses in gratitude after the war was over.
• Why we need to remember and respect the service men and women of the Vietnam War, regardless of what we were told or what the popular opinion might be about it. 

In all my presentations, I will reveal the core of what brought me to write a biography for my first book and how Dusty Roads was the inspiration and motivator who encouraged me to persist through to its conclusion. The last time I saw Dusty before she died, I finished reading the first draft to her. That’s when she knew her story was done, would be published, and her legacy would no longer be hidden.