Speaking

The room
shifts when
Shan takes it.

Keynotes, workshops, board sessions, cohort coaching, and panels, delivered from live advisory work, not theory. Institutional-grade rigor, founder-led energy, and a room that leaves with something to do on Monday.

Invite Shan to speak ↗ See the talks
On stage & in the room Founder programs University accelerators Boards & foundations Technical conferences
Shan Cureton, founder and advisor at Cureton Advisory Services
20+ yrs
Leading organizations
10+ yrs
Advising & teaching
Booking 2026
Reply within 1 business day
Headline keynote RailsConf 2025 · Philadelphia

Opening keynote at the
final RailsConf
in the conference's history.

Twenty years of one of the most influential developer communities in the world, and the final edition opened on Shan's terms. A room of senior engineers, framework maintainers, and technical founders, held on stewardship, community, and what it takes to build, break, and rebuild the things that matter.

Format
Opening keynote
Audience
Engineers · maintainers · technical founders
Year
2025, final edition
A closing chapter deserves an opening voice.
Chosen to set the tone for the last RailsConf ever held.
$0K+
In coached prize capital across founder cohorts and pitch competitions
0
Nonprofits served across 5 continents through Fortune 500 CSR programs
0
Global cities hosting in-person Fortune 500 CSR workshops
0+
Years teaching public speaking & persuasion at the college level
Formats

Five ways to
put Shan on the bill.

Every format is scoped to the room: the audience, the stakes, and what you want people doing differently when they walk out.

/ 01
Keynote
30–60 min · single session

A stand-alone talk for founder summits, accelerator demo days, conferences, and offsites. Delivered from narrative with visuals that earn their keep.

/ 02
Workshop
Half-day or full-day

A working session for a cohort, leadership team, or portfolio group. Participants leave with their own readiness map, 5M's™ audit, or K-Score™.

/ 03
Board session
60–90 min · closed room

A private session for a board, investment committee, or foundation. Alignment on readiness scoring, diligence method, or turnaround under scrutiny.

/ 04
Cohort coaching
Multi-week · engagement

Pitch coaching and narrative work across a full founder cohort, the same method behind $100K+ in coached prize capital.

/ 05
Panel
Moderator or panelist

Moderation or participation on capital readiness, nonprofit health, AI practice, equity, and organizational turnaround.

Signature topics

A menu of talks
worth booking.

Six talks drawn from real advisory engagements. Each can flex to keynote, workshop, or closed-room depth.

/ 001
Capital Readiness & Investor Preparation
How institutional capital actually grades you: the Cureton Readiness Score™, the dimensions most decks ignore, and the work behind a credible round.
KeynoteWorkshop
/ 002
Operating Leverage for Growth-Stage Companies
Where growth-stage companies quietly leave margin on the table: the structural levers that turn revenue into durable, defensible operating leverage.
KeynoteBoard
/ 003
The K-Score & the 5M's: Nonprofit Structural Health
A structural read on nonprofit health across Mission, Money, Movement, Measurement, and Machine, and the one number that shows where the gap really is.
WorkshopBoard
/ 004
Organizational Turnaround Under Public Scrutiny
Leading an organization through governance failure, stakeholder pressure, and crisis, when every decision is made in public and mistakes echo.
KeynoteBoard
/ 005
AI Generalist Practices for Organizations
How to actually use AI for research, analysis, planning, and execution: practitioner-level fluency translated into institutional work, not hype.
KeynoteWorkshop
/ 006
Cohort Pitch Coaching Methodology
The method behind $100K+ in coached prize capital: how to build cohort pitches that survive adversarial reading and win in the room.
CohortWorkshop
Past rooms

Where Shan has
spoken and taught.

Grouped by the kind of room. From twenty-year technical conferences to global CSR programs and university lecture halls.

Technical conferences
Opening keynote
RailsConf, Philadelphia
Opening keynote at the final RailsConf in the conference's history.
San Diego Startup Week
Speaker.
Founder programs & investor events
SDSU ZIP Launchpad
Domain Expert; pitch coaching behind $100K+ in coached prize capital.
SDSU Social Venture Challenge
Startup Advisor; coached teams every year: first-place finishes and an international pitch win in London.
San Diego Angel Conference
Speaker, presenter, and mentor across multiple cohorts.
Stella Labs Launch & Scale
Program Director; designed full curriculum and supervised 12 instructors.
University & academic
10+ years of college teaching
Public Speaking, Communication, and Persuasion across Southwestern College, San Diego State, and Mesa College. Thousands of student presentations assessed.
CSI Innovation Hub, CUNY
Advisor and contributor on innovation and entrepreneurship programming.
Nonprofit & global CSR
Fortune 500 CSR workshops
In-person across Lima, London, Toronto, San Francisco; virtual across Singapore, Johannesburg, Miami, New York, and Mumbai.
5 continents
68 nonprofits served
Across five continents through Fortune 500 corporate social responsibility programs.
Women's & equity-focused
Women's Venture Summit
Panel Moderator, "Accountable Womxnhood," with leaders from Power to Fly and FUNdt Media.
Ecosystem building
Founding member
San Diego Tech Hub
Founding Member of the regional innovation ecosystem.
Press & media

Featured & profiled.

Television, business press, and national features covering Shan's work as a founder and operator.

ABC 10News/ San Diego Business Journal/ OC Business Journal/ SD Voyager/ LinkedIn Pulse/ ABC 10News/ San Diego Business Journal/ OC Business Journal/ SD Voyager/ LinkedIn Pulse/
ABC 10News KGTV
Two television features as founder of Kiddie Commute, covering the company's launch and growth as a pioneer in child rideshare.
San Diego Business Journal
Multiple profiles including "Taking Multitasking to Another Level" and rideshare industry coverage.
OC Business Journal
Named among Black Entrepreneurs to Watch.
SD Voyager
Founder profile feature.
LinkedIn Pulse
"First Black Woman-Owned Rideshare Service for Kids," national feature.
Additional coverage: San Diego Metro Daily Business Report · The Chocolate Voice · BlackNews.com · SPMGM Media
Booking

Invite Shan to
your event.

Every speaking inquiry starts the same way: a short note about the event, the audience, the timing, and what you want the room walking away thinking. A confirmation reply within one business day.

Send a speaking inquiry ↗
What to include
Event & audienceWho's in the room
Date & locationIn-person or virtual
FormatKeynote · workshop · panel
GoalWhat changes after
Start the inquiry ↗