What i’VE BEEN up to lately
Speaking & Appearances
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![Ellen Griley and Mike Klein]()
March 2026 / PRSA Internal Communications Certification course
Ellen joined Mike Klein for a fireside chat as part of the Research & Data session for “Internal Communication: The Comms Superpower for the AI Age” certificate program. They discussed the role of research and listening in IC strategy, how to build audience understanding with limited resources, and why a trauma-informed approach to closing the feedback loop is essential for building trust in today’s workplace.
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![Logos for Advanced Learning Institute and Equilibrious Communications]()
March 2026 / ALI Employee Experience Conference Workshop
Ellen led “The Neuroscience of Employee Engagement: Designing Communications for Stressed Brains,” a 75-minute workshop at the ALI Employee Experience Conference. She guided internal communicators through a high-level overview of how trauma and chronic stress impact cognitive capacity. Then she introduced the Internal Calms framework with hands-on exercises focused on AI transformation, mergers & acquisition, return to office, and a restructuring.
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![Logos for ICology and Equilibrious Communications]()
February 2026 / ICology WORKSHOP
Ellen facilitated “Holding Space for Moral Injury, Collective Grief, and Everyday Coping,” a 60-minute peer support session facilitated for the internal communicator community ICology. She guided participants in navigating moral injury, institutional betrayal, and collective grief — offering frameworks, a values exercise, and small coping practices for staying rooted in a heavy moment.
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![Image of Zac Costello and Ellen Griley]()
February 2026 / Equilibrious YouTube
New Launches, Old Truths: Building Better Work Experiences
Two old friends, two new consultancies, one conversation about what's changed and what hasn't. Zac Costello from Rocket (named after his tattoo!) and Ellen kick off 2026 talking about employee experience, internal comms, and why the way we experience work matters more than ever.
Writing & Media
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![Photo of Dawn Emerick, EdD]()
February 2026 / More Than Words Substack
In her first interview for More Than Words, Ellen chats with Dr. Dawn Emerick on her mission to train one million trauma-informed leaders, accountability without gotchas, and what changed when she started practicing what she preaches.
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![An image of hands holding a burger]()
February 2026 / More Than Words Substack
Ellen breaks down the IoIC's Future of Internal Communication report and what McDonald's superfans and American Airlines’ post-9/11 employee communications reveal about the communication strategies that will actually work during polycrisis.
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![Image of a Minneapolis metro train]()
January 2026 / Strategic Magazine
Our Playbooks Weren’t Built for this Moment
In this Strategic Magazine article, Ellen makes the case for trauma-informed crisis communication as essential for internal communicators navigating overlapping crises like the 2026 ICE actions in Minneapolis.
Ellen brings the Internal Calms framework to stages, studios, and classrooms. Listeners and attendees leave with a new way of seeing what’s happening in their organizations — and the tools to actually do something about it. If you’re looking for a speaker, workshop facilitator, podcast guest, or guest lecturer whose work is rooted in research and ready to use, reach out.