Leadership & Peak Performance Advisor
Two-time New York Times Bestselling Author
Two-time New York Times bestselling author and sought-after leadership expert Ashley Merryman finds the science essential to understanding what makes people tick — what motivates us, what inspires us. Then she explains how to use these insights to help people discover new ways to succeed.
Merryman has taught Olympians and professional athletes how to perform under pressure, advised Fortune 100 executives on building winning cultures, and coached military leaders on institutional change.
In her speeches, she offers evidence-based techniques and real-world strategies that leaders can apply at every level of their organization. Her talks are filled with fascinating anecdotes and cutting-edge research. Her presentations are always thought-provoking and inspiring, as she makes complex concepts accessible to a wide audience.
Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Merryman brings a unique combination of intellectual insight, empathy, humor, and unbridled energy to her talks. Her passion for her topics is contagious, and audiences walk away from her events with a renewed sense of purpose and concrete strategies for success.
An attorney, advocate, and journalist, Merryman is the founder of The Sherwood Group, an organization that provides leaders with new, science-based tools for success, while she also currently holds an appointment as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow for the Joint Special Operations University. Merryman previously served at the Pentagon, first with a one-year term as the Special Advisor on Diversity and Inclusion for the Chief of Naval Operations, and then as Special Advisor for the Department of the Navy. During her time at the Pentagon, she invented a new technique for preventing military sexual assault now used by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.
With Po Bronson, it was Merryman who introduced the world to Carol Dweck and her now-famous concept of growth mindset. Merryman’s first book, NurtureShock: New Thinking about Children, co-authored with Bronson, has become one of the most influen¬tial books about children ever published. On the New York Times bestseller list for more than six months and an Amazon Top Nonfiction 100 book for more than a year, it has been translated into 20 languages. Their follow-up book Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing, also became an instant New York Times bestseller that has since revolutionized the world of elite performance.
In addition to cover stories and features for leading media outlets, including Newsweek and New York magazine, Merryman has had bylines in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time, CNN.com, Lawfare, the Guardian, and ESPN — to name a few. She has made countless media appearances, including CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Fox & Friends, CBS This Morning, ESPN’s Outside the Lines, BBC World News, and more.
Among the honors she has received, Merryman was presented with a Meritorious Civilian Service Award from the United States Navy, a Poynter Fellow for Journalism at Yale University, and a William J. Clinton Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Arkansas’ Clinton School of Public Service. Merryman has earned 11 awards for her writing, and her mastery in her field is considered so authoritative that her work has been cited in more than 1,000 books and journal articles to date.