Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Harvey.
Hi Angela, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
If you had told me years ago that people would one day call me a GROWTHologist, I probably would have laughed and then asked, “Now what in the world is that?” But looking back, it makes perfect sense.
I’ve always been fascinated by people … and their behavior. Not just what they do, but why they do it. Why do some people thrive after hardship while others remain stuck? Why can someone be wildly successful professionally yet quietly miserable personally? Why do we spend so much of our lives pretending we’re okay? Why is OK (the new depressed) become an acceptable response to how are you?
Those questions eventually led me to earn my Master’s in Social Work, but my education was never meant to stay inside the walls of an office.
Early in my career I realized something didn’t fit. While I deeply respect therapists and clinicians, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my assignment wasn’t to see seven clients a day in private practice. My assignment was much bigger. I wasn’t called to dispense healing one appointment at a time. I was called to help hundreds of thousands of GROWN folks GROW up—through conversations, storytelling, workshops, coaching, speaking, art, film, and experiences that make people think long after they leave the room.
So I built Angie Harvey Speaks, LLC.
Over the past two decades, I’ve had the privilege of speaking, facilitating, coaching, creating curriculum, writing books, producing an award-winning documentary, developing leadership experiences, and partnering with organizations that care about the whole person—not just the employee or the title.
But the most influential classroom I’ve ever sat in was my own life.
In 2019, life interrupted everything I thought I knew. I experienced a painful breakup, lost my father and sister to cancer, moved to a city where I had no familial ties, and found myself recovering from codependency while carrying more loneliness than I’d ever admitted out loud. On paper, I looked successful. In private, I was struggling.
That season taught me something I now share almost everywhere I go: professional success does not guarantee personal fulfillment.
I knew all the theories. I had the degrees. I had facilitated healing for countless people. Yet I still had to learn how to heal Angela.
Out of that season came one of the greatest gifts of my life: the S.H.I.F.T.™ Framework. S.H.I.F.T. stands for Self-awareness, Healing, Intentionality, Fulfillment, and Transformation. It wasn’t created because I needed another model to teach. It was created because I needed something that helped me move from surviving to intentionally living.
As that work evolved, so did another realization. Healing is often treated like something we’re supposed to do quietly, privately, and alone. I don’t believe that! That’s why I created H.I.P. H.O.P.—Healing in Public & Healing on Purpose. Not because everyone should tell everybody their business, but because shame loses power when we create spaces where honesty is welcomed instead of judged.
Today, everything I create—from keynote speeches and leadership development to my interactive Head of Statements art exhibit, my Shared Stories Save Souls experiences, and my documentary Black Rainbow Love—has one common purpose: helping people see themselves, heal, and GROW.
At the end of the day, I don’t just want people to feel inspired.
I want them to leave transformed.
I help GROWN folks GROW up.
And yes… I make S.H.I.F.T. happen.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
LOL is the first response I had to this question.I wish I had a beautifully edited highlight reel to share, but the truth is my journey has been unexpectedly bumpy and wonderfully messy.
Entrepreneurship has stretched me in ways I never expected. You quickly discover that passion and purpose don’t automatically teach you marketing, pricing, boundaries, branding, contracts, accounting, or how to hear “no” without questioning your entire existence.
There have been seasons where I wondered if anyone understood what I was trying to build because it didn’t fit neatly into one category.
Am I a speaker?
Yes.
A coach?
Absolutely.
A facilitator?
Without question.
A filmmaker?
Yep.
An artist?
Turns out… yes.
An author?
Also yes.
For a long time I worried that doing so many things would confuse people. Eventually I realized they weren’t separate careers—they were all different expressions of the same assignment.
Another struggle has been learning that helping everyone isn’t the same as helping the right people.
Earlier in my career, I said yes to almost everything. If someone asked, I showed up. Over time, I realized that purpose also requires boundaries. The more clearly I understood my assignment, the easier it became to say no to opportunities that weren’t aligned, so I could wholeheartedly say yes to the ones that were.
Personally, 2019 changed everything.
Grief has a way of exposing the places you’ve been performing strength instead of actually living it.
Losing my sister, navigating heartbreak, confronting codependency, and finding myself isolated forced me to stop teaching concepts I hadn’t fully embodied. That season was painful, but it was also honest.
It reminded me that healing isn’t linear.
Some days GROWTH looks like standing on a stage.
Other days, GROWTH looks like getting out of bed.
I’ve also learned that people often celebrate your confidence without realizing how much courage it took to become confident.
The struggles gave me something no degree ever could: lived experience.
Now when I stand in front of an audience, I’m not speaking from theory.
I’m speaking from testimony.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I often tell people that I create transformational experiences disguised as conversations.
Whether I’m facilitating a corporate retreat, delivering a keynote, leading a community workshop, coaching an executive, producing an arts experience, or simply asking one powerful question, my work always comes back to helping people become more aware of themselves.
Because self-awareness changes EVERYTHING.
I’m the founder of Angie Harvey Speaks,LLC, where I help individuals, organizations, and communities create cultures where people don’t simply perform well—they actually live well.
Much of my work is built around my S.H.I.F.T.™ Framework, which helps people move on purpose through self-awareness, healing, intentionality, fulfillment, and transformation.
I also created H.I.P. H.O.P.—Healing in Public & Healing on Purpose—a philosophy that encourages courageous storytelling and authentic connection because I believe shared stories really do save souls.
One of the things people often tell me is that I ask questions they’ve never been asked before.
That’s intentional.
Surface conversations create surface change.
Real questions create real transformation.
My workshops are interactive because I don’t believe people learn best by being talked at for an hour. I want people writing, reflecting, laughing, connecting, challenging their assumptions, and discovering answers they already carry inside themselves.
I’m equally passionate about using creativity as a healing tool.
That’s what inspired Head of Statements, my interactive wearable art experience that invites people to literally wear words that reflect who they are, what they’ve survived, or who they’re becoming. Every hat tells a story, and every story creates an opportunity for connection.
I’m incredibly proud of Black Rainbow Love, my award-winning documentary amplifying Black LGBTQ+ love stories and joy. I’m proud of every keynote I’ve delivered, every organization I’ve partnered with, every person who’s trusted me with their story.
But if I’m being honest, what I’m most proud of isn’t something hanging on my wall.
It’s every time someone quietly walks up after a presentation and says, “I’ve never told anyone this before.”
That’s sacred to me.
People don’t remember every statistic or every slide.
They remember how safe they felt, the stories they heard or told, and the increased desire to GROW up … on purpose.
If there’s one thing that sets me apart, it’s that I don’t just inspire people to think differently.
I create spaces where they actually begin feeling and living differently.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Absolutely.
I think we’re living in a time where many people have mastered looking okay.
We’ve become experts at saying, “I’m good.”
“I’m busy.”
“I’m blessed.”
“I’m fine.”
Sometimes all four in the same sentence.
Meanwhile, people are quietly carrying grief, burnout, loneliness, anxiety, identity questions, relationship struggles, and dreams they’ve convinced themselves are too late.
I want people to know that growth isn’t reserved for people in crisis.
GROWTH is for all of us.
It’s for leaders.
Parents.
Entrepreneurs.
Artists.
Executives.
College students.
Retirees.
It’s for anyone willing to become a little more honest with themselves than they were yesterday.
If my work has taught me anything, it’s that healing doesn’t begin when someone gives you the perfect answer.
It begins when someone asks you the right question.
So if our paths cross someday, don’t be surprised if I ask one.
Fair warning—I don’t do small talk very well.
I much prefer meaningful conversations.
Because I genuinely believe shared stories save souls, healing is possible, and one intentional S.H.I.F.T. can change an entire life.
And if we happen to meet, I hope you leave our conversation just a little more curious about yourself than when we started.
Pricing:
- Poetic Alchemy, $20
- Colorful GROWTH, $25
- Host documentary Screening, $600
- Guided Journey, $130
- Workshop facilitation, starting at $750
Contact Info:
- Website: www.angieharveyspeaks.com | www.blackrainbowlove.com | www.headofstatements.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angieharveyspeaks
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aharveyspeaks
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angieharveyspeaks/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AngieHarveySpeaks and https://www.youtube.com/c/BlackRainbowLove
