Author Shelley Brown is a mindfulness educator and speaker best known as the creator of Weird Girl, a series of humorous essays written about real life experiences. Born and raised in Chicago, she graduated from DePaul University with a communications degree and served over 25 years in corporate America, practicing the fine art of mergers, acquisitions, downsizings, public-private transitions, acts of God, performance reviews, KPIs, workplace cultures, and more. In 2014, Brown faced her greatest challenge when she suffered a serious spinal injury. After a lifetime of fitness that included 25 marathons, six ultra-marathons, and countless half-marathons, she found herself living with chronic pain and impaired mobility. The incapacitating injury coupled with shifting circumstances at work took a toll and began to hold Brown captive in a persistent state of anxiety. With marathons and global meetings now in her rearview mirror, Brown studied the dynamics between psychology and stress, and trained her mind to em-brace the art of mindfulness to help find balance and restore meaning to her world. Now living life with gratitude and joy, Brown is a national educator helping organizations of all sizes to bridge the gap between personal, professional, and leadership development through her W.E.I.R.D. at Work program. Besides her dog and boyfriend, Brown's greatest joy is creating art and inviting women from all walks of life to embrace their inner weird girl and join what she affectionately calls the inclusive weirdness of humaning.
