Molly Birkholm
Keynote Speaker, Author, Show Host, Advisor, Trauma Educator, and Teacher Trainer
Molly Birkholm teaches at worldwide conferences and online trainings. Molly’s keynote speeches and interactive workshops, resilience programs, and trauma programs are used by top organizations around the world, including the U.S. Department of Defense, JPChase, Ritz-Carlton, the Young Presidents’ Organization, McKinsey & Company, and many more. She serves as an advisor to leaders, including c-suite executives, authors, actors, and professional athletes, helping them thrive and achieve peak performance amidst some of the most stressful circumstances.
Molly teaches two 24-class series video courses and wrote two books for The Great Courses on ‘Building Your Resilience: Finding Meaning in Adversity’ and ‘iRest: Integrative Restoration for Deep Relaxation.’ www.thegreatcourses.com. Molly is also the host of a 54-episode online show and an accompanying course called ‘Women’s Empowerment Initiative’ on Yoga International www.yogainternational.com/empowerment. In addition, Molly is a Yoga International ‘Featured Teacher,’ sharing online yoga and meditation instruction. www.yogainternational.com. She is also the co-host of the podcast ‘Conversations Matter’ on which she has deep, heartfelt conversations with people who are changing the world and her co-host, Hans Hickler. https://conversationsmatterpodcast.com
As a co-founder of Warriors at Ease, Molly helped pioneer evidence-based resilience programs and trauma-treatment programs, which are used throughout the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). She has conducted innovative clinical research with the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense on these protocols. She has personally shared her programs with well over 10,000 service members and veterans. To date, Warriors at Ease has trained more than 2000 teachers who work at more than 65 military bases and VAs, serving hundreds of thousands of soldiers and veterans in all 50 states and more than ten foreign militaries. www.warriorsatease.org
After surviving a near-death car accident in NYC during her original career in Investment Banking for Bank of America, Molly began searching for ways to manage her high-stress job while recovering from her physical injuries and post-traumatic stress. Yoga and meditation proved to be some of the most effective tools in her recovery. She eventually left banking and moved to Asia to study in ashrams and monasteries. Upon returning to the US, she became a full-time yoga and meditation teacher for the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The programs and research eventually led her to start Warriors at Ease in 2008, together with three other leaders in the field.
Molly also actively supports human trafficking relief advocacy and education work, including through the film SOLD (www.soldthemovie.com), starring Gillian Anderson and created by Academy-Award Winning Director, Jeffrey Brown, Producer, Jane Charles, and Executive Producer, Emma Thompson. Molly also works with several safe houses sharing programs with survivors.
Molly is an iRest Yoga Nidra (Integrative Restoration) Teacher Trainer for the Integrative Restoration Institute (www.irest.org). She is also a Warriors at Ease teacher trainer. She has a Finance degree from Miami University.
Molly lives in South Florida with her son, Santiago, and their yellow Labrador, Cleo. They can be found ocean swimming, traveling, hiking, and (of course) practicing yoga and meditation.
