Motivational Speaker | Educator | Writer | Consultant

gabriela D. Ayala, M.ED.

TOPICS -  • Diversity  • Emotional Intelligence

• Empowerment • Innovation • Leadership                 

• Mental Health • Mindset • Personal Development

• Resilience • Women's Empowerment

gabriela D. ayala - PROGRAMS

  • The “Don’t Let Them” Theory: Reclaiming the Power They

        Tried to Take

  • Stop. It’s Time to Go for Your Dreams
  • Quit the Negative Self-Narrative: You’re Badass
  • Burn Beautifully: How to Turn Your Breakdowns into Breakthroughs
  • Lightborne: The Science of Becoming Who You Were

        Meant To Be

  • What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? (And Other Questions They Expect You to Have the Answers To)
  • Be Yourself—Because the Real You Is Beautiful
  • Aim for Overflow: Living Beyond Enough

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“You are not broken; you are becoming. Every story can be rebuilt into light.”

-Gabriela D. Ayala

Transformational storytelling for leaders, educators, and visionaries who believe purpose and possibility belong in every room.

gabriela D. ayala - Biography

Gabriela D. Ayala is a writer, educator, and motivational speaker whose work bridges storytelling, leadership, and human development. With over seventeen years of experience in education and consulting, she has guided thousands of students, educators, and professionals toward resilience, purpose, and creative renewal.


A TEDx speaker and the founder of Pers;st: Beyond the Stigma, Gabriela uses narrative as a tool for transformation—helping individuals and organizations translate inspiration into sustainable growth. Her career spans K–12 and higher-education leadership, college-access consulting, curriculum design, and public speaking across the U.S.


Through her keynotes and workshops, Gabriela explores the intersections of emotional intelligence, innovation, and equity, challenging audiences to rethink how we teach, lead, and live.



Her acclaimed memoir, All the Pills I Swallow, captures her journey through mental wellness and personal rebirth, offering a voice of courage and compassion to those navigating life’s hardest chapters.

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gabriela D. ayala - MEDIA

All the Pills I Swallow is not just a memoir — it’s a movement.


In this raw and luminous account, Gabriela D. Ayala opens a window into her battle with mental health, identity, and self-reinvention. Through poetic honesty and hard-won insight, she transforms personal struggle into universal truth: healing isn’t about erasing pain, it’s about rebuilding with purpose.


Both searing and hopeful, the book invites readers to confront their own silence, release shame, and begin again. Gabriela’s story has become the foundation for her signature talks on resilience, emotional intelligence, and the power of storytelling to save lives.


All the Pills I Swallow reminds audiences that we are not broken — we are becoming.