Available to book
Dierdre Wolownick
High Performance
Growth Mindset
Resilience
Transform impossible goals into reality with Dierdre Wolownick, speaker and record-breaking climber. Dierdre works with organizations to foster resilience, overcome age barriers, and achieve extraordinary goals, delivering multilingual keynotes recognized through award-winning documentaries and global speaking engagements.
Inspirational Female
International Women's Day
Women's History Month
Educator
Explorer
Mindset
Author
Inspirational
Adventurer
Dierdre Wolownick is a remarkable figure whose life story inspires audiences worldwide. As the mother of renowned solo climber Alex Honnold, Dierdre has carved out her unique path in climbing and beyond. She became the oldest woman to climb El Capitan in Yosemite, which required immense courage, stamina, and determination. Her 3,000-foot ascent is a testament to the truth that age is no barrier to achieving extraordinary goals.
Beyond her climbing achievements, Dierdre is a professor, orchestra conductor, marathon runner, and author. Her fluency in English, Italian, French, and Spanish has enabled her to connect with diverse audiences across the globe. As a motivational speaker, she has delivered talks at numerous prestigious events, including keynote addresses at the Presentation Summit in San Diego and the Kinecta Credit Union Annual Conference. Her ability to engage audiences in multiple languages highlights her versatility and depth as a communicator.
Dierdre's journey is not just about physical accomplishments but also about overcoming personal challenges and redefining what is possible at any stage of life. Her story has been captured in the documentary "Climbing Into Life," which has garnered 11 awards, including Best Feature Documentary. Additionally, she is featured in a Canadian documentary about senior rock climbers, further cementing her status as an inspiring figure in the climbing community.
In her latest book, Success in 7 Steps, Dierdre reveals the proven method she used to achieve her many accomplishments, offering readers a simple-to-follow, step-by-step roadmap for turning their goals into reality.
Dierdre’s multi-faceted career and her ability to inspire others through her experiences make her a captivating speaker. Her message resonates with anyone who has ever faced a daunting challenge or dreamed about a goal that seems impossible. She illustrates the courage, perseverance, and the right approach that make the impossible achievable.
Using her unique perspective that encourages audiences to pursue their own dreams regardless of age or circumstance, Dierdre offers a simple method that will set them on the course toward their goal — the same one she used to become a record-holding rock climber, an orchestra founder and conductor, a publisher, a marathoner, and so many other achievements. With this method, you can make any dream an accomplishment.
Topics, sessions and talks
The difference between success and failure may not be what you think. Money, fame or accolades have nothing to do with it. Successfully realising your professional or personal objectives is a simple matter if you base your approach on this simple definition and proceed accordingly. In this session, Dierdre Wolownick shares the secret key to success.
It's never too late to climb that mountain. In her 40s, Dierdre taught herself to swim. In her 50s, she took up running. Then, at 60, she became a rock climber — and not just any rock climber. At the age of 66, Dierdre made a record-breaking ascent up El Capitan, Yosemite National Park’s granite monolith that has some of the longest, most challenging rock climbing routes in the world. And she did it in style. The route she tackled then, Lurking Fear, typically takes four days to complete. Dierdre did it in one. Dierdre's inspiring story shows that human beings can do practically anything when we put our mind to it. Book in a session with Dierdre and be inspired today to make a better tomorrow.
Learn to break down that daydream in the back of your mind into easily-achievable ‘baby steps’ organised in a way that inevitably allows you to make it a reality with Dierdre Wolownick. Go ahead: dream big! Or Even have the audacity to go after multiple dreams — just as Dierdre has done.
Dierdre Wolownick discusses how the willingness to learn is foundational for employee morale, creative thinking, and collaboration. Her presentation, based on her book Success in 7 Steps, outlines a step-by-step method to achieve any goal, regardless of age. Attendees will learn to distinguish between dreams and goals, identify barriers to pursuing their dreams, and follow a structured sequence of steps toward success. This approach fosters a positive corporate culture and enhances overall productivity.
Featured Projects
often considered together
Bonita Norris
Growth Mindset
Resilience
Team Building
Ben Saunders
High Performance
Growth Mindset
Joyce Azzam
Resilience
High Performance
Growth Mindset
frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
To book Dierdre Wolownick, email dierdre.wolownick@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Dierdre's availability and speaking fee. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and about your audience.
Dierdre Wolownick structures her sessions around a seven-step framework drawn from her book Success in 7 Steps, using her own documented achievements — including a record-breaking single-day ascent of El Capitan at age 66 — as worked examples of the method in practice.
Dierdre Wolownick speaks on defining and achieving success, turning long-held dreams into reality, and breaking goals into actionable steps across personal and professional contexts. At 66, she became the oldest woman to climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, completing the Lurking Fear route in a single day, a feat documented in the award-winning film Climbing Into Life.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
Get the right person
Tell us what you’re working on and we’ll match you with the talent your audience won’t stop talking about.
