Michelle Poler
Michelle Poler is the founder of Hello Fears, the movement that grew out of her 100 Days Without Fear project, and the author of Hello, Fears: Crush Your Comfort Zone and Become Who You’re Meant to Be. She speaks in English and Spanish on courage, confidence, and community at work, helping audiences turn fear into action and helping leaders build teams where people feel they belong.
In 2015, as a graduate student at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Poler set out to face 100 fears in 100 days and documented each one online. The project was covered by CNN, CBS, and Fox News, and the Hello Fears movement it launched has reached an audience of more than 70 million people.
Poler has delivered more than 600 keynotes for organizations including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Netflix, P&G, and ESPN, and she has spoken at TEDxHouston. Her programs cover three areas: courage, which reframes fear as the starting point for growth; confidence, built on her Irreplaceable framework for recognizing and owning one’s unique value; and community, drawn from her national research study The Community Effect on how leaders build loyal, high-performing teams.
Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Poler worked as an art director at Young & Rubicam on brands including Hershey’s, Wendy’s, AT&T, and Revlon before turning to speaking full time. She holds a master’s degree in branding from the School of Visual Arts, founded Créetelo, a membership community for Hispanic entrepreneurs, and is based in Miami.
Categories: Inspiration, Motivation, TED Talk
