Bio:

Ty Reed knows what it means to start over.

After losing his career, home, and stability to addiction, Ty rebuilt his life in recovery and has spent his career helping others create their own comebacks. Today, he serves as a leader in Washington State government and is the founder and Executive Director of Recovery Career Services, a nonprofit that helps individuals in recovery and reentry build meaningful careers and sustainable lives.

Ty believes that while people matter deeply, systems often determine outcomes—and great leaders understand how to improve both.

An award-winning salesperson for a Fortune 50 company before addiction derailed his life, Ty brings a rare perspective shaped by experience in business, government, nonprofit leadership, and recovery. Appointed by the Governor to the Washington Statewide Reentry Council, he has spoken across the country to employers, HR professionals, workforce organizations, and community leaders on topics including leadership, resilience, workplace culture, second chance hiring, and human potential.

Ty’s presentations blend humor, hard-earned lessons, and practical strategies audiences can apply immediately. He challenges leaders to think differently about adversity, accountability, and the environments they create for others.

Audiences consistently describe Ty’s talks as engaging, memorable, honest, and actionable. Because while inspiration feels good in the moment, lasting change happens when people leave with ideas they can put into practice on Monday morning.

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Speaking Topics:

People vs. Systems: Why Good People Struggle in Broken Systems

We often blame people for outcomes that systems quietly create.

Whether in workplaces, schools, government agencies, or communities, systems produce exactly what they are designed to produce—even when no one intended those outcomes. At the same time, individuals still carry responsibility for the choices they make. The truth is more complicated than simply blaming people or blaming systems.

Drawing from his journey through addiction, homelessness, recovery, government leadership, and nonprofit work, Ty explores the tension between personal responsibility and system design—and what leaders can do about it.

Attendees will learn:

• Why systems often produce predictable outcomes, even with good intentions
• When accountability belongs to individuals and when it belongs to leadership
• How leaders unintentionally create barriers to success
• Practical ways to build environments where people can thrive instead of merely survive
• Why lasting change requires both strong systems and strong people

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Freedom Through Adversity: What Losing Everything Taught Me About Leadership

Most people think freedom means doing whatever they want. Ty learned the hard way that real freedom is something different entirely: the ability to choose your response when life doesn’t go according to plan.
Through stories of success, addiction, recovery, homelessness, and rebuilding, Ty challenges audiences to rethink adversity—not as something to avoid, but as something that can shape stronger leaders, healthier organizations, and more meaningful lives.

Attendees will learn:

• Why adversity often becomes our greatest teacher
• The role purpose plays in long-term resilience
• Practical tools for navigating change and uncertainty
• How setbacks can become the foundation for growth
• Why freedom is ultimately less about circumstances and more about mindset

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The Comeback Advantage: Building Organizations Where People Thrive

Every organization will eventually face employees experiencing stress, burnout, mental health challenges, addiction, family crises, or major life changes. The question isn’t whether people will struggle. The question is how leaders respond when they do.

In this keynote, Ty shares practical strategies for creating cultures where employees feel supported, accountable, and able to perform at their best. Because organizations that help people recover from setbacks often outperform those that pretend setbacks don’t exist.

Attendees will learn:

• Why psychological safety and accountability must exist together
• How workplace culture influences retention, engagement, and performance
• Strategies leaders can use to support employees through difficult seasons
• The hidden costs of ignoring employee well-being
• How organizations create loyalty by helping people navigate adversity

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Second Chances, First-Class Talent: The Untapped Workforce Hiding in Plain Sight

At a time when employers struggle to find talent, millions of capable people remain excluded from the workforce because of mistakes in their past.

Drawing on years of experience in workforce development, government leadership, and firsthand experience rebuilding his own life, Ty makes the business case for second chance hiring while challenging assumptions about risk, redemption, and human potential.

This presentation goes beyond inspiration to provide practical strategies organizations can use to expand their talent pipelines and strengthen their workforce.

Attendees will learn:

• Common myths and misconceptions about justice-impacted workers
• Why second chance hiring is both a social good and a business strategy
• How organizations can lower risk while expanding talent pools
• What high-performing second chance employers do differently
• Why people are often more than the worst thing they’ve ever done