Selected Presentations

The True Meaning of Resilience - Independent Educational Consultants Association, Family Focused Treatment Association, St. Mary’s College of California, Lafayette Library Distinguished Speaker Series, Brooklyn Library, Roots and Wings Author Lunch, Green Chimneys

Emi Nietfeld rejects the easy label of an “overcomer.” Even though she kept her dreams alive against the odds and attended a top college, she knows it wasn’t solely due to resilience: success required luck, privilege, and support. In this passionate talk, Emi asks her audiences to throw away the American fantasy that poverty, illness, or any other adversity can be conquered through sheer grit and bootstrapping ingenuity. Drawing on the research about what truly inspires resilience, Emi urges us to shift our focus from encouraging “resilience” and instead address the underlying social problems and provide individuals the support they need to persevere.

Trauma Informed Reporting - University of Southern California Center for Health Journalism, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

How should journalists report on vulnerable populations? What traps do we often fall into and how can we avoid them? Drawing on both lived experience and professional expertise, this talk or workshop is for journalists, writers, editors, students — or anyone tasked with interviewing those who’ve endured hardship.

From College Essay to Published Book - Foster America, Girls Write Now

Every teen has a story to tell — but how? Emi Nietfeld takes young people behind the curtain of publishing when you have no connections and no special knowledge. In this talk or interactive workshop, Emi breaks down the process and the stepping stones along the way to inspire and empower young audience.

Bridging Engineering and Creativity - Harvard University

When Emi Nietfeld entered Harvard, she had a passion for writing and literature, but needed a career that could lift her out of poverty and debt. So she majored in computer science. Now, a successful writer and software engineer, she proves that “passion versus money” is a false binary—and a classist one. In her relatable talks, Emi Nietfeld encourages students that it is possible to follow your dreams outside of a career. Emi shares her personal journey to becoming an author, and how she’s balanced it with her full time “day job.”

Navigating Mental Health in Adulthood - Porterville College

As a teenager who struggled with depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder, Emi Nietfeld often found herself struggling to hide a taboo subject from admissions committees and employers. In reality, no one is entering college—or the workplace—and leaving their identity behind. In this talk, Nietfeld shares lessons from her mental health journey, with practical lessons on how students and young professionals can address their emotional well-being as they navigate higher education and begin their careers. This talk can also be adapted for higher education administration and faculty who want to better understand how to overcome stigma in the application process for incoming students.