Kirsten Bernthal Booth is a nationally respected coach, leader, and speaker who spent more than two decades transforming Creighton University Volleyball into one of the nation’s elite programs. She was hired as head coach at just 27 years old, stepping into a role with immense challenges and learning as she went. By surrounding herself with great people, seeking mentorship, embracing mistakes, and showing vulnerability, she built a program that would become a model of excellence. When she arrived, Creighton had finished 3–23 the season prior and had never appeared in the NCAA Tournament. By the time she capped her coaching career in 2024, the Bluejays had become a perennial national power, qualifying for 13 consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Her final season was one of her most memorable—Creighton advanced to the Elite Eight, falling in five sets to eventual national champion Penn State, and finished ranked #6 in the country—the program’s highest-ever finish.
Over her career, Kirsten earned three National Coach of the Year honors, numerous Conference Coach of the Year awards, and induction into the Omaha Sports Hall of Fame. She is celebrated not only for building a winning program but also for creating cultures of resilience, belief, and excellence.
A Lincoln East High School graduate, Kirsten was a two-time #1 singles state champion in tennis before choosing to pursue volleyball in college. She went on to become a standout player at Truman State University and later earned her master’s degree from the University of Iowa.
In addition to coaching, Kirsten is an entrepreneur and innovator. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded NeuroFuel, a mental training app for volleyball, along with five other collaborators. The platform, which focuses on mindset, focus, and performance training for athletes, continues to grow today.
Today, Kirsten serves as the President of Business Operations for LOVB Nebraska, part of the new League One Volleyball professional league. In this role, she is helping to shape the future of the sport at the professional level. As she explains, “Volleyball has given so much to me throughout my life. Now I want to give back by helping build a sustainable professional league that will inspire and empower future generations.”
Off the court, Kirsten is proudest of her role as a wife and mom. She and her husband, Erik, live in Omaha, where they are raising their three daughters.
As a speaker, Kirsten delivers powerful lessons on building teams, empowering people, believing in oneself, leading with purpose, and sustaining success. Her story resonates with companies, organiza-tions, and individuals who want to learn not just how to achieve excellence, but how to lead with courage, embrace learning through challenges, and build lasting impact.
“Empowering Those Around You to Make Them (and You) Great”
Great leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about creating an environment where other people can do their best work. In this engaging and practical presentation, Kirsten shares the leadership principles she used to build winning teams and strong cultures, showing how empowering others leads to greater trust, ownership, and performance. Through real-life stories from coaching, business, and leadership, she’ll demonstrate how the most successful leaders develop confidence in others rather than creating dependence on themselves.
Attendees will leave with actionable strategies for identifying strengths, delegating with purpose, fostering accountability, and creating a culture where people feel valued and motivated to excel. Whether you’re leading a business, a team, or a community organization, this session will challenge you to rethink leadership—not as a position of control, but as an opportunity to help others grow. When you intentionally invest in the success of those around you, everyone wins—including you.
“How to Succeed at a Job You’re Not Prepared For”
At 27 years old, Kirsten was named the head volleyball coach at Creighton University. With limited head coaching experience, she quickly discovered that many of the lessons she needed couldn’t be learned from a book—they had to be learned on the job. Twenty-two years later, after building one of the nation’s premier Division I volleyball programs, she made another leap of faith, stepping away from coaching to lead the business operations of a professional volleyball franchise at age 50. Once again, she found herself in unfamiliar territory, learning new skills, asking new questions, and discovering that great leadership isn’t about knowing everything—it’s about being willing to grow.
In this honest and inspiring presentation, Kirsten shares the lessons she’s learned from thriving in roles she wasn’t fully prepared for. Through personal stories, practical strategies, lots of humility, and a healthy dose of humor, she explores how to overcome self-doubt, embrace the learning curve, build a team that complements your strengths, and lead with confidence even when you don’t have all the answers. Attendees will leave encouraged to stop waiting until they feel “ready” and instead embrace the opportunities that stretch them—because that’s where the greatest growth and success are often found.
“Building a Successful Team and Culture”
Winning organizations don’t happen by accident—they’re built through intentional leadership, shared values, and a culture where people are inspired to give their best every day. Drawing from more than two decades as a Division I head volleyball coach and now as a business leader in professional sports, Kirsten shares the proven principles she has used to build high-performing teams that consistently achieve success. She explores what separates good teams from great ones and why culture is often the greatest competitive advantage an organization can have.
Through compelling stories and practical takeaways, attendees will learn how to establish clear expectations, build trust and accountability, navigate conflict, and create an environment where people feel valued, connected, and motivated to excel. Whether you’re leading a business, athletic team, nonprofit, or school, this presentation provides actionable strategies to intentionally shape a culture that attracts great people, develops leaders, and produces lasting success.
Omaha, NE
