Dr. Steve Headshot

Dr. Steve Yacovelli

HE / HIM / HIS

  • Coach
  • Consultant
  • Speaker
  • Workshop Facilitator

Dr. Steve Yacovelli is an emotional intelligence and inclusion expert focused on organizational leadership and change management. An award-winning author and speaker, Steve is striving to make the world more empathetic and inclusive. Steve and TopDog have had the pleasure of working with some great client-partners who they consider to be members of their pack.

GUIDING PRINCIPLE

Making people, organizations, and the world more inclusive for us all.

Authentic Leadership Belonging in Business Business Leadership Change Management Conscious Leadership Cultural Equity Cultural Transformation Diversity and Inclusion Speakers Diversity and Inclusion Workshops Diversity Speakers Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Emotional Intelligence Emotional Intelligence and Empathy Equity Consciousness Inclusive Leadership Intentional Culture Leadership Keynotes Leadership Speakers Organizational Development Organizational Psychology Psychological Safety

Popular Talks

Being a Consciously Inclusive Leader

Being an effective leader takes not just skill but self-awareness: awareness of what we think consciously but also what our unconscious selves may be thinking, too. And in today’s climate we need to ensure that our leadership actions, words, and decisions are done in an open and inclusive manner, despite some biases and stereotypes we may hold.

The Top 3 strategies to Be Resilient in Times of Change

How comfortable are you with change? Like most people, change and changing times is not your favorite thing … but let’s face it: that’s the world we live in! Wouldn’t it be great if you could find ways to “amp up” your resilience to change … so that you not only survive but thrive in changing times!

The Top 6 Leadership Competencies Every Leader Should Know & Grow

OK: so you want to focus on developing your own leadership awesome … good for you! Now, where to start? In this session Dr. Steve Yacovelli will share what he’s discovered to be the Top 6 Leadership competencies (or skills) everyone wanting to be a rock star leader should focus on.

Speaking, Workshops, Consulting, & Coaching

Workshops

Being a Consciously Inclusive Leader Our flagship “Being a Consciously Inclusive Leader” is an in-depth, experiential experience that takes Leaders on a journey of self-discovery to start to mitigate their own unconscious biases and create a more inclusive space for their teams and workplace. This is delivered in either one 8-hour onsite workshop or 4 2-hour online engaging experiences (1x per week).

Consulting

At TopDog Learning Group, our doghouse is chock-full of self-paced online learning experiences. We can also create custom learning solutions for your unique learners.

Coaching

At TopDog Learning Group, we’re insanely selective on the coaching relationships we engage in. We’d love to be in it for the long haul, versus a one-night stand.

“Dr. Yacovelli is an incredibly knowledgeable and dynamic speaker, sure to bring insight and energy to any audience he works with. If you’re looking for an engaging, informative, inclusive, and professional resource to help take your company or team to the next level, look no further than Dr. Yacovelli and TopDog Learning Group.”
— Sabrina Kent, SVP, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce

“I have worked with Steve as a trainer, content developer and strategy partner for over a decade. Steve delivers consistently excellent results. He is super creative and always evolving his methods and approaches for engaging the audience. Steve is always my first choice when it comes to training and presenting.”
— Mary Hirsh, Executive Director, Public Library Association

“Dr. Steve Yacovelli is a charismatic and engaging presenter who relates complex and sensitive issues with empathy, confidence, and dexterity. He achieves our objective as the customer while simultaneously gauging the comprehension and needs of the audience and flexing his presentation to ensure a valuable learning experience for the participants.”
— Allison Bishop, Training Specialist, Voith GMBH&Co. KGAA

“Dr. Steve Yacovelli is an engaging, dynamic speaker with the ability to facilitate complex conversations with ease. His enthusiasm and authentic passion shine through and draw the participant in.

While his tone is fun and informal, his content is serious and researched. By including pre- and post-session participant guides, Dr. Yacovelli was able to substantially increase the interactive nature of a virtual session and provide additional resources to participants. If you are seeking someone who can captivate a virtual audience and deliver an inspiring and substantial talk, look no further!”
– Isabel Porras, Learning & Development Director, Our & Equal Workplace Advocates

"Dr. Steve Yacovelli is one of our go-to speakers for Training Magazine conferences. He consistently receives high evaluation scores on his sessions. He's a pleasure to work with to boot!"
— JULIE GROSHENS

Dr. Steve Yacovelli (“The Gay Leadership Dude®”) is the Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group LLC — a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, Florida, with affiliates across the globe.

Steve has worked with Fortune 500 greats like The Walt Disney Company and Bayer, to not-for-profits like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The American Library Association, large universities like The Ohio State University and The University of Central Florida, to small entrepreneurial rockstars like International Training & Development and GovMojo, Inc. Steve and TopDog have thoroughly enjoyed helping their client-partners grow, develop, expand, and be successful with their corporate learning, change management, diversity and inclusion, and leadership consulting goodness.

Steve is also an author and speaker. His latest book, “Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle” came out in June 2019.

With over twenty-five years’ experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results. Oh, and he’s quite fond of dogs, too.

Let’s collaborate to ensure a transformative experience.