A better way to work starts with understanding how we work.
Neurodiversity education, executive functioning, and workplace wellness for organizations ready to rethink traditional approaches to productivity.
Work wasn’t designed with every brain in mind. And when employees are constantly trying to adapt to systems that don’t work for them, the result is often overwhelm, burnout, and untapped potential.
Through engaging presentations and practical workshops, Tess Martinelli helps organizations better understand neurodiversity, rethink workplace expectations, and equip employees with sustainable strategies for navigating the modern workday.
Whether you’re looking to support neurodivergent employees, improve workplace well-being, or help your team work more sustainably, let’s rethink what a better workplace can look like. Available for in-person engagements throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and virtual presentations nationwide.
Meet Your Speaker
Bringing a different perspective to the modern workplace.
Hi, I’m Tess Martinelli.
I’m a neurodiversity educator, workplace consultant, board-certified Executive Function Coach, and certified Autism Coach through the National Board for Executive Functioning and Cognitive Development (NBEFC).
Before launching Out of the Clouds, I spent two years as a reporter for Business Insider, where I wrote and edited more than 150 articles exploring the realities of the modern workplace. Through first-person narratives and as-told-to essays, I interviewed employees, executives, and founders about navigating layoffs, workplace burnout, career transitions, work-life balance, and financial and professional stability.
That experience gave me an intimate look at the challenges people face in today’s working world: the pressure to perform, the difficulty of finding sustainable work-life balance, and the disconnect between traditional workplace expectations and the realities of being human.
I’m also a late-diagnosed autistic woman with ADHD. Through my Instagram community, @tessintheclouds, I’ve built a following of more than 120,000 people by sharing my experiences with neurodivergence, unmasking, and navigating a world that wasn’t necessarily designed for my brain.
Today, I bring together my background in journalism, professional coaching, and lived experience to help individuals and organizations rethink how we approach work. My philosophy is simple: people shouldn’t have to constantly fight against their brains to succeed at work.
We can build better systems, create more supportive environments, and make room for different ways of thinking, working, and thriving.
Speaking Topics
Practical education for a workforce with different brains.
Every brain approaches work differently. But traditional workplace expectations often assume otherwise.
My presentations combine professional expertise, lived experience, and practical strategies to help employees and organizations better understand how people work, why traditional approaches sometimes fall short, and what we can do differently.
Whether you’re planning an employee education event, a neurodiversity ERG session, or a company-wide professional development program, presentations can be tailored to your organization’s needs.
01. The Overwhelmed Workforce
Rethinking Executive Function, Burnout & Sustainable Productivity
Why does it feel so difficult to keep up, even when we’re working harder than ever?
Between competing priorities, constant communication, information overload, and the expectation to always be productive, today’s workplace places enormous demands on our executive functioning.
Executive functions are the cognitive skills that help us plan, prioritize, initiate tasks, manage time, regulate attention, and adapt to changing demands. When these systems become overloaded, even seemingly simple tasks can feel overwhelming.
Drawing on two years of reporting on workplace burnout and career challenges for Business Insider, alongside her experience as an executive function coach, Tess explores the relationship between executive functioning, workplace expectations, and chronic overwhelm.
Together, we’ll rethink traditional approaches to productivity and explore how individuals and organizations can create more sustainable ways of working.
Participants will walk away understanding:
What executive functioning is and how it influences our everyday working lives.
Why traditional productivity expectations can contribute to chronic overwhelm and burnout.
How competing demands, cognitive overload, and constant task-switching affect our ability to work.
Practical strategies for managing priorities, initiating tasks, and reducing cognitive load.
How to build sustainable systems that work with our brains rather than against them.
Ideal for: Company-wide employee education, workplace wellness programming, professional development, and leadership events.
02. Beyond Awareness
Building a More Neuroinclusive Workplace
Neurodiversity is becoming an increasingly important part of workplace conversations. But awareness alone doesn’t create an environment where different brains can thrive.
Autism, ADHD, and other forms of neurodivergence can influence how employees process information, communicate, manage competing priorities, approach problem-solving, and navigate workplace expectations. However, many traditional workplace systems are built around a relatively narrow definition of how an employee should work.
In this presentation, Tess explores what neurodiversity looks like in professional environments and how organizations can move beyond awareness toward meaningful, practical inclusion.
From environmental design to executive functioning support, participants will learn how relatively small changes in workplace systems and expectations can make a meaningful difference.
Participants will walk away understanding:
What neurodiversity means and how it can show up in professional environments.
How autism and ADHD can influence executive functioning and workplace experiences.
Why traditional workplace structures may unintentionally create barriers.
Practical ways to design more accessible, supportive working environments.
How managers and organizations can better support neurodivergent employees and leaders.
Ideal for: Neurodiversity and disability ERGs, HR and People teams, leadership development, and company-wide inclusion programming.
03. Your Brain at Work
Practical Executive Function Strategies for the Modern Workplace
What if being productive didn’t mean forcing yourself into someone else’s system?
For many neurodivergent employees, traditional productivity advice can create more frustration than progress. Conventional approaches often assume that everyone can manage competing priorities, initiate tasks, organize information, and regulate their attention in the same way.
But executive functioning isn’t one-size-fits-all.
In this practical, educational presentation, Tess introduces participants to the fundamentals of executive functioning and explores how different brains approach the demands of the modern workday.
Drawing on her experience coaching neurodivergent adults, Tess shares actionable strategies for making work more manageable through personalized systems, environmental design, and external scaffolding.
Participants will walk away understanding:
What executive functioning is and how it affects workplace performance.
How to identify individual executive functioning strengths and challenges.
Strategies for task initiation, prioritization, planning, and time management.
How to use environmental design and external scaffolding to reduce cognitive load.
How to develop personalized systems that support different working styles.
Ideal for: Employee professional development, neurodiversity ERGs, early-career professionals, and workplace wellness programming.
How We Can Work Together
Engaging presentations. Practical takeaways. Meaningful change.
I offer presentations and workshops designed to meet your organization’s needs, whether you’re looking to educate your entire workforce or provide more targeted support to a specific employee group.
Keynote & Educational Presentations
30–60-minute presentations that introduce important concepts, challenge traditional workplace assumptions, and give employees practical tools they can begin using immediately.
Interactive Workshops
60–90-minute sessions that go beyond awareness and give participants the opportunity to explore their own executive functioning, identify potential barriers, and develop personalized strategies for navigating work.
Custom Corporate Programming
Looking for something more specific? Presentations can be customized for your organization’s goals, employee population, and workplace needs.
Topics can be tailored for:
Company-wide employee education.
Neurodiversity and disability employee resource groups.
HR, People Operations, and Learning & Development teams.
Managers and organizational leaders.
Employee wellness and professional development initiatives.
All presentations are available in person throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and virtually nationwide.
Bring Tess to Your Organization
Looking for a speaker who can bring a fresh perspective to conversations about neurodiversity, executive functioning, and workplace wellness?
I’d love to hear about your organization, your audience, and what you’re hoping to accomplish.
Whether you’re planning a company-wide presentation, an employee resource group event, or an interactive workshop, let’s explore how we can create something meaningful for your team.
For speaking inquiries, please include your organization, event details, preferred topic, and anticipated date.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Available for in-person and virtual engagements.