Bonnie St. John

Despite having her right leg amputated at age five, Bonnie St. John became the first African-American ever to win medals in Winter Olympic competition, taking home a silver and two bronze medals in downhill events at the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria. In recognition of this historic achievement, St. John was quoted on millions of Starbucks coffee cups and was honored at the White House by President George W. Bush.

St. John has achieved the highest levels of success in a variety of endeavors throughout her life. In addition to her success as a Paralympic athlete, she is a best-selling author, a highly sought after keynote speaker, a television and radio personality, a business owner and a Fortune 500 leadership consultant. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University in 1986, and won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, taking an Master of Letters degree in Economics. Upon her return to the United States, St. John was appointed by President Bill Clinton as a director for Human Capital Issues on the White House National Economic Council.

Today, St. John travels the globe as a leadership consultant, keynote speaker and facilitator for international summit conferences for senior-level executives. She frequently donates personal appearances to schools, homeless shelters, community groups and other organizations in hundreds of locations while traveling for corporate clients. In 2010, St. John once again represented the United States as a member of President Obama’s official delegation to the Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

The celebrated author of seven books, St. John’s most recent book, Micro-Resilience: Minor Shifts for Major Boosts in Focus, Drive and Energy, outlines a quick, easy and immediately effective program of tools and techniques to give you a competitive edge in today’s dynamic world of changes and challenges.

St. John has been featured extensively in both national and international media including: Today, CNN, CBS Morning News, NBC News, PBS, NPR and The New York Times, as well as People, “O” and Essence magazines, to name just a few.

In 2015, St. John was inducted into the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Hall of Fame. NBC Nightly News called St. John, “One of the five most inspiring women in America.”