Brain-Friendly Teams Support Better Workplace Performance

Culture thrives when people have the capacity to think, connect, and perform. Yet today's organizations expect employees to adapt faster, collaborate more effectively, and sustain high performance amid constant change. Too often, learning initiatives build skills without addressing the brain's capacity to learn, communicate, solve problems, and perform under pressure.

In this engaging and practical session, leadership coach and biochemist Joni Goodman explores the connection between brain health, emotional regulation, psychological safety, and workplace performance. Participants will discover evidence-informed, brain-friendly strategies that reduce stress, strengthen resilience, improve collaboration, and create learning experiences and workplace cultures that unlock sustainable performance with lasting organizational impact.

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Learning Objectives

1. Apply brain-friendly practices that improve focus, resilience, and workplace performance.

2. Use leadership strategies that reduce cognitive overload and strengthen team collaboration.

3. Develop learning experiences that foster psychological safety and sustainable performance.

SPEAKER BIO

Joni D. Goodman, CPTD, is the Founder and Chief Breakthrough O<icer of JDGAdvisors, an experiential facilitator, executive coach, professional speaker, and award-winning author  with more than 25 years of experience in learning and development, leadership, emotional 

intelligence, and organizational e<ectiveness. A biochemist by training, Joni brings a unique science-informed and deeply human  approach to development, helping individuals and teams better understand how they  think, connect, lead, and navigate change. Her work equips people to strengthen selfawareness, recognize their value, build meaningful relationships, and turn insight into  intentional action that positively impacts both people and performance.

Joni is the author of the award-winning “Rappel: Break Through To A Better You™” and  creator of its practical 5R framework which helps individuals create meaningful and  sustainable breakthroughs. She is also the creator of the EncounterYou™ Luxury Women's  Experience, a year-long transformational journey designed to give high-achieving women  the space to stop performing, reconnect with themselves, and live in greater alignment  with who they truly are.

A longtime leader within the Association for Talent Development community, Joni served as  the 2019 President of ATD Houston and as a National Advisor for Chapters (NAC). She has  also served on and chaired the Annual Leaders Conference Planning Advisory Committee  (ALC PAC) and as an ATD national facilitator. Joni has been a featured speaker at ATD ICE as  well as ATD chapters in Houston, San Antonio, and Baton Rouge, and she received the ATD  Houston Community Impact Award in recognition of her dedication and contributions to  the talent development community.

Joni was selected and trained as one of the first Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitators and is  certified in Women Centered Coaching and multiple behavioral and emotional intelligence assessment methodologies. Her broader professional recognition includes being named a Texas Executive Women 2023 Women on the Move honoree and a Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce Women in the Fast Lane of STEAM Role Model.

Whether facilitating a leadership program, delivering a keynote, coaching an executive, or creating an immersive development experience, Joni creates environments where people can challenge assumptions, deepen connection, and translate awareness into purposeful action, because meaningful breakthroughs don't just change how people work; they change how people lead, relate, and show up in the world.