Amy Ayoub: The Zen Speaker
A successful business owner, seasoned consultant and sought-after public speaker, Amy Ayoub is a lifelong Las Vegan who combined her passion for public speaking and helping others when she founded The Zen Speaker. Possessing over 30 years of professional experience as a financial planner and political fundraiser with numerous turns behind the microphone, Amy was regularly asked to share her networking talents and storytelling abilities with staff, volunteers and key leaders of nonprofit and community organizations, corporations, academic forums and leadership groups throughout Nevada and the United States. Embracing her strength as a public speaker with an entrepreneurial spirit, Amy obtained her certification as a World Class Speaking coach and began assisting clients on their journey to share their stories, find peace behind the podium, and move audiences to action. As a result of working with Amy – utilizing her supportive nature and ability for bringing out each person’s unique voice – clients report remarkable increases in revenue, acceptance as experts in their various fields, and a greater feeling of preparedness, confidence and connection whether presenting to an audience of one or one-thousand.
As a member of the Las Vegas Community, Amy has been active in the fight to better the lives of all Nevadans through her political and community participation for over three decades. In February 2013, she testified before the Nevada State Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees, using her personal survivor story in support of Assembly Bill 67, which increased penalties for those convicted of sex trafficking. Amy served as a Commissioner on the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities, as appointed by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), providing a voice for our nation’s youngest citizens. She was honored as a 2016 Distinguished Nevadan Award by the Board of Regents at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Amy was a featured speaker in the October 2014 television series of MAKERS: Women in Nevada History, a partnership program by Vegas PBS and UNLV’s Women’s Research Institute of Nevada.
Amy was appointed by Governor Kenny Guinn as the first female to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (known as the Boxing Commission) in 1999; recognized by the National Conference for Community and Justice with the Community Hero award (2000); named one of the women responsible for shaping the city during its first 100 years of growth by the Las Vegas Centennial Committee; and, acknowledged In Business Las Vegas as one of the Most Influential Businesswomen of 2003. In 2012, Amy was honored as one of the “Women of Distinction” in her field by the Southern Nevada chapter of National Association of Women Business Owners.