Dr. Shairi Turner

Speaking

She brings a room to silence,
then gets them to act.

217 media engagements. Congressional briefings. Harvard. MLB Network. Nike advisory panels. She has spoken in rooms that needed a physician and rooms that needed a mother. She is always both.

Signature Topics

Youth Mental Health: What the Data Cannot Capture

Dr. Turner has sat with the numbers longer than almost anyone in this field. 70 percent of Crisis Text Line texters are under 24. But no data point explains the seventh-grader who texts at 2 a.m. because she has nowhere else to go. This keynote holds both: the scope of the crisis and the singular human moment inside it.

Audiences

  • Healthcare systems
  • Educational institutions
  • Parent and family organizations
  • Policy forums

The Crisis You Cannot See Coming

What does crisis intervention actually look like when a phone call feels impossible? What does it look like to build a system that reaches the kid who will not call 988 but will text a stranger? Dr. Turner draws on CTL's real-time trend data and her own clinical experience to show what works and what we keep getting wrong.

Audiences

  • Mental health organizations
  • Corporate wellness teams
  • Hospital and health systems
  • Government and policy audiences

Health Equity Is Not a Tagline

She built a healthcare system for incarcerated youth in Florida from scratch. She watched Black and brown kids receive a different standard of care, not because anyone decided that was acceptable, but because no one decided otherwise. This talk names the specific design failures in systems that claim to serve everyone equally and proposes the structural corrections that actually move the needle.

Audiences

  • Foundations and nonprofits
  • Academic medical centers
  • State and federal government
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion leadership

Parenting in the Age of the Mental Health Crisis

One in five children in America has a diagnosable mental health condition. Most parents know something is wrong before the diagnosis arrives. Dr. Turner speaks to parents and educators with the directness of a physician and the perspective of a mother. No wellness clichés. No generic advice. Practical, evidence-informed tools grounded in what actually helps.

Audiences

  • Schools and universities
  • Parent associations
  • Employee resource groups (parents)
  • Community organizations

The Physician Who Chose the Hard Room

A career retrospective for medical and public health audiences. What happens when you have every credential the field offers and choose to use them in the least comfortable places? Dr. Turner traces her arc from Mass General to juvenile justice to Crisis Text Line and makes the case that excellence belongs in the hardest rooms, not just the most prestigious ones.

Audiences

  • Medical schools and residency programs
  • Public health graduate programs
  • Physician and clinician audiences
  • HBCU leadership conferences

Formats

Keynote

45 to 60 minutes. Opening or closing. Full arc, story-led, actionable close.

Fireside Chat

30 to 45 minutes. Moderated conversation. Dr. Turner does not need a script.

Panel

Expert panelist. She will be the most prepared person on stage.

Media / Press

Broadcast, print, podcast, radio. 217 engagements and counting.

Workshop

Half-day or full-day. Interactive. Evidence-based takeaways for clinical, policy, or leadership teams.

Past Stages and Outlets

NBC Meet the Press

MLB Network

TIME Magazine

USA Today

Harvard Center for Suicide Research

HLTH Conference

Florida State University

Florida A&M University

Nike / Adelphi University

WNYC Brian Lehrer Show

Axios Live

Children's Miracle Network

Kaiser Permanente

Delta Kappa Gamma

CBCF Annual Legislative Conference

U.S. Congress (CTL Briefing)

Honoraria note: For engagements where Dr. Turner represents Crisis Text Line, honoraria are paid to CTL per organizational policy. For engagements in her capacity as a physician, author, or independent mental health expert, personal speaking fees apply. Please specify context in your inquiry.

Ready to bring her to your audience?

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