Tracy Dando is a TEDx speaker, nonprofit founder, and leadership educator known for helping individuals and organizations build emotionally safe, high-trust cultures. With over a decade of experience in education, nonprofit leadership, and community development, Tracy brings a rare blend of strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and real-world leadership to every stage she steps on.

She is the founder of Safe Space Organization, a community-based nonprofit focused on mental health education and emotional safety. Tracy built the organization from the ground up, leading fundraising, board development, partnerships, and public engagement while growing it into a recognized presence across Central New York. Through this work, she has collaborated with schools, healthcare systems, corporations, and community organizations to create spaces where people feel seen, heard, and supported.

Tracy’s work is rooted in lived experience, but driven by leadership. She began her career as a special education teacher, where she learned how to communicate with empathy, clarity, and purpose. That foundation shaped her ability to lead in high-stakes, emotionally complex environments—whether in classrooms, boardrooms, or on stage.

As a speaker, Tracy is known for blending honesty with structure. She speaks about emotional safety, leadership culture, communication, boundaries, resilience, and the courage it takes to lead without losing yourself. Her TEDx talk, “The Canary in the Coalmine: Mental Health in the Workplace,” explores how emotional awareness is not a weakness—but a critical leadership skill.

Tracy has spoken for organizations including National Grid, Syracuse University, Leadership Syracuse, NAMI, DisruptHR, and community and professional conferences across the United States. Her work helps leaders understand how trust is built, how cultures are shaped, and how people perform better when they feel safe enough to be real.

What sets Tracy apart is not just what she teaches—but how she leads. She brings heart without chaos, clarity without coldness, and strength without ego. Her approach helps audiences walk away with both insight and action—tools they can actually use.

Tracy lives in Central New York and is the host of the podcast Truthfully, Tracy, where she explores leadership, emotional honesty, and the human side of success. Whether on stage, in a boardroom, or in conversation, her work is guided by one belief: people don’t thrive where they feel managed—they thrive where they feel safe.

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