Emily O’Brien

Emily O’Brien

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Hamilton, Ontario

Social Entrepreneur and Reintegration Leader | Resilience, Accountability & Change Expert

  • Videos
  • Expertise
  • Podcasts
  • Media Interviews
  • Articles
Emily O’Brien

Emily O'Brien | Her Story

Main Video

Emily O’Brien

Fuckup Nights Toronto | Emily O'Brien | March 2024

Video 2

Emily O’Brien Expertise

  • Entrepreneurship
  • Resilience & Change
  • Adaptability & Agility
  • Leadership
  • Personal Growth
  • Mindset & Attitude
  • Resilience & Adversity
  • Inspirational & Engaging
  • Motivation

*These themes reflect the primary subjects the speaker can address. Please review the topic descriptions and speaker topic ideas below the bio to guide your planning.

Podcast 1

Emily O’Brien

Breaking With Muhammad Kermalli

From Shackles to Success With Emily O'brien

Podcast 2

Emily O’Brien

The Uncommodified

The Comeback: Uncorked With Emily O’brien

Podcast 3

Emily O’Brien

Chch News

Sportsline: Emily O'brien Shares How She Started A Gourmet Popcorn Business From Behind Bars

Podcast 4

Emily O’Brien

Better for It

How Emily O’brien Started A Gourmet Popcorn Business Behind Bars

Podcast 5

Emily O’Brien

The Fold

Comeback Snacks: Unfolding From Prison With Popcorn

Podcast 6

Emily O’Brien

The Fold

A Comeback Snemily O'brien of Comeback Snacks: A Community Catchup On Sustainable Business

Interview 1

Emily O’Brien
CBC News: the National
She Was in Prison for Drug Smuggling. Now She’s A CEO

Interview 2

Emily O’Brien
CBC Toronto News
This CEO Came Up With Her Business Idea While in Prison

Article 1

Emily O’Brien
I Started My Popcorn Business From Behind Bars. It Gave Me A Second Chance at Life
When Emily O’Brien was 26, she was convicted of drug smuggling. While serving a four-year sentence at a Hamilton prison, she came up with...

Article 2

Emily O’Brien
4 Million Canadians Have A Criminal Record. Companies Not Hiring Them are Missing Out, Say Advocates
During her time in prison, Emily O'Brien came to the conclusion that it would be difficult to find a job after her release, so she...

Article 3

Emily O’Brien
The Comeback Journey
Emily O'Brien's story is a remarkable journey of resilience, redemption, and the transformative power of second chances.

Article 4

Emily O’Brien
I Launched A Company While Serving Time for Coke Smuggling
They say prison is correctional work, but successful reintegration is still an issue due to social barriers for low income people or people...

EMILY O’BRIEN BIOGRAPHY

Emily O’Brien is a Canadian social entrepreneur whose work focuses on reintegration, prison reform, and community impact. She founded Comeback Snacks after developing the concept during her incarceration and identifying an opportunity to create structured pathways for second chance employment. The career of Emily O’Brien demonstrates how a purpose driven enterprise can address stigma while creating practical solutions for individuals returning to the workforce. Her leadership reflects a commitment to reducing barriers and promoting informed approaches to reintegration.

Emily O’Brien entered the correctional system as a first time offender and recognized the emotional, social, and structural challenges faced by incarcerated individuals. Her experience shaped her understanding of the need for empowerment, education, and accessible employment opportunities. During her sentence, Emily O’Brien observed how food supported connection and eased daily stress. The creativity demonstrated by women who improvised popcorn recipes inspired her to consider how a simple product could serve as the foundation for a business that promoted dignity and possibility.

Emily O’Brien built Comeback Snacks on the principle that flavour innovation and quality ingredients could coexist with a broader social mission. The enterprise employs and trains individuals with prior convictions, establishing a model that aligns profitability with community advancement. The work of Emily O’Brien addresses the long term impacts of stigma and the importance of stable employment in reducing recidivism. Her initiatives highlight how organizations can support individuals who are motivated to rebuild their lives through structured professional opportunities.

Emily O’Brien uses her platform to increase awareness of the realities of incarceration and the factors that influence successful reintegration. Her perspective is grounded in lived experience and supported by her continued engagement with justice reform partners. As a speaker, Emily O’Brien provides insights on resilience, responsibility, and the processes that support personal and professional change. Her sessions present the operational, emotional, and cultural considerations relevant to reintegration and second chance employment.

Emily O’Brien has gained national visibility for her commitment to strengthening reintegration outcomes in Canada. Her work contributes to ongoing public dialogue about justice, community safety, and the value of inclusive employment practices. Through Comeback Snacks, Emily O’Brien demonstrates how businesses can design supportive environments for individuals transitioning from incarceration. The company serves as a case study in mission driven entrepreneurship grounded in practical implementation.

Emily O’Brien continues to advise organizations on reducing stigma in workplaces and improving internal systems that support individuals with diverse life experiences. Her guidance assists leadership teams in developing policies that balance risk management with opportunity creation. Her work emphasizes the role that education and training play in community safety and economic stability. Emily O’Brien encourages organizations to evaluate the long term benefits of reintegration strategies that align with organizational values.

Emily O’Brien also highlights how personal accountability and structured support intersect to influence long term success for individuals with prior convictions. Her insights provide clarity on the challenges faced during reentry and the factors that contribute to sustainable outcomes. She continues to expand the reach of Comeback Snacks through partnerships, public engagement, and evidence informed practices. The growth of the enterprise reflects her focus on meaningful contribution and community resilience.

Emily O’Brien remains committed to strengthening understanding about lived experience within the justice system and its connection to social and economic advancement. Her work supports leaders seeking reliable strategies to foster inclusive, community aligned workplaces.

Emily O’Brien Topic Presentations

Emily O’Brien Hamilton, Ontario, Canada delivers keynote presentations, workshops, fireside chats, moderated Q&A, and other presentation formats on a wide variety of topics. Each presentation is unique, customized and tailored for audiences, industries, conferences and event formats.

Leaders Never Leave

The Comeback Blueprint

Profits With People

Resilience for Redemption

Radical Accountability: Owning Your Path to Success

Emily O’Brien Speaking Testimonials

Emily O’Brien speaks from the heart with passion, humour, and grace. She shows audiences how they too can be resilient, and come back from what may appear to be insurmountable challenges. Everyone can apply her grit and determination to build a business and life to be proud of.

Stacey Smith

Program Manager
Farm Credit Canada

Thank you, Emily O’Brien, again for speaking at the YW event. So many people are still talking and posting about it. You are a real inspiration.

Christine Michaud

Director of Development
YWCA Canada

I am thrilled to endorse Emily O’Brien for her extraordinary ability to deliver inspirational talks to clients. Having witnessed her passion and eloquence firsthand, I can confidently say that Emily possesses a unique gift for connecting with audiences and igniting positive change.

Tom Best

CEO
Book Clubs For Inmates

CMHA Fort Frances Branch was fortunate to have Emily O’Brien from Comeback Snacks present to us during our All Staff meeting. Emily is a passionate speaker who inspired our staff with her personal story. Truly inspirational and would highly recommend

Pauline Hyatt

Director of Services
Canadian Mental Health Association

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FAQ

How to book Emily O’Brien for an event?

Emily O’Brien keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. Emily O’Brien delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire Emily O’Brien from Hamilton, Ontario for your event to inspire the audience to take action and make change in their work and their lives. Your workplace will benefit from our keynote speaker and their keynote talks and speeches will shift the mindsets or behaviours for the audience members in Canada. 

Interested in booking Emily O’Brien for an event?

Are you looking to hire Emily O’Brien for your event? Emily O’Brien Hamilton, Ontario is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. Emily O’Brien is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. Emily O’Brien is an expert keynote presenter and speaks on wide variety of topics. Hiring a great speaker for your event is important and working with a thought leader like Emily O’Brien from Speakers Canada's roster will engage audiences into the content of the presentation to bring awareness and a fresh perspective for their approach to their work and their lives. Book Emily O’Brien to educate, motivate and activate the audience through an interactive and entertaining presentation at corporate meetings and gatherings.

Known as a popular keynote speaker in Canada, Emily O’Brien creates life changing experiences for the participants with practical insights and strategic advice they can implement right after the session. Working with one of our leading expert speaker like Emily O’Brien from Hamilton, Ontario offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, Emily O’Brien is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, Emily O’Brien focuses on changing individuals to make better decisions at work and their lives. No matter if you are holding an in person or virtual event, having an influential speaker such as Emily O’Brien will engage, motivate, and activate the audience to make a change in their lives and inspire action for results to meet organizational goals. Your workforce will benefit from Emily O’Brien's presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book Emily O’Brien speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire Emily O’Brien for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Emily O’Brien is an expert professional keynote speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada's talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Emily O’Brien speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Emily O’Brien to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Emily O’Brien for your event. As Emily O’Brien's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization's behalf to try to help you get in touch with Emily O’Brien and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Emily O’Brien Disclaimer

Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Emily O’Brien for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Emily O’Brien, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada's top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Emily O’Brien we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization's event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Emily O’Brien about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker's fees. If you are looking to hire Emily O’Brien, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.