Every action matters
Passion gets you started. Purpose gets you through. Age-tailored talks on courage, ocean science, mental health and big goals, and why every action matters.
Check availabilityAbout the keynoteWant students to believe they can do big, hard things, and that what they do for the planet counts?
Lisa Blair OAM works with organisations that need their people to keep going when it's hard. She's the fastest person, and the first woman, to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica, and she knows from 1,000 miles out that resilience doesn't come from willpower. It comes from knowing why it matters.
How the keynote lands for you
Students meet a real explorer: what it's like to live alone on a yacht for 92 days, sleep in 20-minute naps, and keep going when your mast breaks in a storm. Lisa talks honestly about fear, self-doubt and mental health, and about what the ocean is telling us about our planet.
Every talk is tailored to the age group, from primary to university, and links to science, geography and sustainability learning. Her Arctic Impact Project includes a schools program launching in 2027, so students can follow the record attempt and the science in real time.
Ideal for: Primary and secondary schools, universities, youth conferences and camps.
The moments that matter most here
Falling in love with the ocean
Lisa didn't grow up sailing. At 25 she went from art teacher and shop assistant to a job on a charter boat in the Whitsundays, and fell head over heels for the ocean. Within a few years she was racing 40,000 nautical miles around the world.
Passion got her started.
A sea of plastic
Racing around the world, she saw a styrofoam box drifting 20 days from land, then sailed through water so thick with rubbish a crew member had to push it off the bow. It changed her. Over the next few years she set out to sail solo around Antarctica, bought her first boat, named it Climate Action Now and wrapped it in thousands of handwritten climate pledges.
That's where she found her purpose.
1,000 miles from land
On day 72 of that first attempt, her mast came crashing down in the night and began cutting the boat in half. Hypothermic, alone, frozen at the bow, she could have set off her beacon. She didn't. It wasn't the boat and it wasn't willpower: it was Sally and her short showers, and every other promise wrapped around that hull.
Purpose got her hand back on the rail.
The business case for purpose
Teams don't break because they're weak. They break when they lose sight of why it matters. People with a strong sense of purpose are far less likely to burn out: 11% report regular burnout, compared with 52% of people with weak purpose (Gallup and Stand Together). In a five-year study of more than 5,000 employees, people with passion and purpose performed in the 80th percentile, against the 20th for passion alone (Morten Hansen, Great at Work). And customers notice: half of UK consumers would switch to a brand with stronger sustainability credentials (Fox + Hare).
Lisa doesn't hand your people a model. She takes them onto the boat, and leaves every one of them with their own answer to the question that carried her around Antarctica: what are you sailing for?
From the people who booked her
"Lisa's story is captivating, firstly enthralling us with her dream and passion for her task at hand, then taking us on her journey of euphoria, tears, heartbreak and finally success. Those that take the time to listen to her come out with life lessons and are better people for it."
Domenic Genua, BIA Sydney International Boat Show
"Lisa's presentation was so well received, with the audience in awe of her achievements and the message she was delivering, so much so that she received a standing ovation."
Dawn Newman OAM, International Zonta Convention (1,700 delegates)
"Lisa's captivating presentation underpinned by her vision of a cleaner, healthier environment left us inspired and committed to engage on matters that can affect our world for generations to come. Exceptional!"
Tony Hartin, Managing Director, Refuelling Solutions
Other audiences
Questions organisers ask
Does Lisa Blair speak at schools?
Yes. Lisa gives age-tailored talks for primary and secondary schools, universities and youth events, in person or virtually.
What will students take away?
Courage and resilience, how ocean science works, what microplastics are, and the belief that every action they take for the planet matters.
Purpose builds resilience. Let's bring it to your people.
Tell us your date, location and audience, and Lisa will come back to you personally with availability and fees. Speaker bureaus and agencies are welcome.
Check availabilityCall 0431 302 088