Arik Housley · Grief, Resilience & Post-Traumatic Growth
Keynote Speaker for & Summits
Give your attendees a keynote they’ll talk about long after the conference ends.
Arik Housley delivers a powerful, honest message on grief, resilience, and post-traumatic growth — built from his own story of turning unimaginable loss into purpose. He’s a natural fit for association conferences, industry summits, and mental health events looking for a speaker who can hold a room and leave it changed.
Why Conference Organizers Book Arik
A story that cuts through the noise. In a lineup of business and leadership speakers, Arik’s message on loss, hope, and post-traumatic growth is distinct, memorable, and deeply human — exactly what makes a keynote stand out on a conference agenda.
Built for the big room. Arik’s talk translates naturally to summit and general-session formats, delivering a message that resonates whether the audience is 100 or several thousand.
Fits association, mental health, and industry events. His post-traumatic growth framework speaks directly to associations and conferences focused on wellbeing, mental health, healthcare, and resilience themes — as well as general leadership and industry summits looking for a change-of-pace keynote.
Author credibility. As the Amazon-bestselling author of Always November, Arik brings the kind of platform and preparation event organizers expect from a professional keynote speaker.
Why Book Arik
- Amazon-bestselling author of Always November
- Featured by Pepperdine University (Feb 2026)
- Founder, Alaina’s Voice Foundation
- A message built from lived experience — not theory
- A keynote format built for association conferences, summits, and industry events
What He Covers
-
Resilience
Practical, lived-experience tools audiences can apply immediately, at work and in life.
-
Grief & loss
How to acknowledge loss honestly, without letting it define an organization or a person.
-
Hope after tragedy
A message grounded in real experience, built for a general-session or breakout keynote slot.
-
Post-traumatic growth
The framework Arik follows from his own experience, for finding meaning and forward motion after the unimaginable has happened.
The Story Behind the Message
In 2018, Arik Housley lost his daughter Alaina in the Borderline Bar & Grill mass shooting. Rather than retreat from public life, he turned that loss into a mission — writing the Amazon-bestselling book Always November: Lessons in Loss, Love, and Resilience, founding Alaina’s Voice Foundation, and speaking to audiences around the country about carrying loss without losing hope.
His work has been featured by Pepperdine University, and he continues to speak, write, and advocate in Alaina’s memory. Conference audiences don’t want a lecture — they want a moment. Arik’s talk delivers one: honest, specific, and immediately usable, which is why it lands as powerfully with a room of association members or industry professionals as it does with any other audience.
What People Say
Housley’s journey shows that even unimaginable grief can become a catalyst for growth. Always November is a powerful testament to faith’s ability to transform pain into purpose, inspiring others to choose resilience, love, and hope, even in life’s darkest moments.
Jon Gordon 17x bestselling author of The Carpenter and The One Truth
Arik’s journey reaffirmed that compassionate presence, thoughtful validation, and clarity matters — offering those moments are transformative and long remembered. Arik’s ‘living with tragedy, not in tragedy’ mindset has guided me in my journey as a crisis responder.
Kelly Muklevicz Victim Advocate & Borderline Responder
Arik’s strength to share his story, including his deepest sadness, and then lift people up from his darkest hours, is incredibly powerful and awe-inspiring… he is able to rise up and speak with this magical authenticity, and motivation for ALL of us.
Rebecca Kotch Ride Napa Valley
Looking for a keynote that will genuinely resonate with your conference audience?
Contact Form
Contact Arik and he’ll be back to you 24‑48 hours.