​Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW is a research professor at the University of HoustonGraduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame. 

Brené is a nationally renowned speaker and has won numerous teaching awards, including the College’s Outstanding Faculty Award. Her groundbreaking work has been featured on PBS, NPR, CNN, and has appeared in The Washington Post,Psychology Today, and many other national media outlets.

Her 2010 TEDx Houston talk on the power of vulnerability is one of the most watched talks on TED.com, with over 6 million views. She gave the closing talk, Listening to Shame,  at the 2012 TED Conference in Long Beach.