Sara Jones

Sara Jones

CEO, InclusionPro

Salt Lake City, Utah

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Speaker levelProfessional Speaker

Primary sectors

Utah focusYes

About

Sara Jones is a seasoned CEO, entrepreneur, and strategist known for helping leaders navigate disruption with clarity, confidence, and purpose. As founder of InclusionPro, she partners with boards and executive teams to design strategic roadmaps, align culture with business objectives, and translate complex data into clear, actionable insights. She facilitates executive alignment, coaches leaders through growth and transition, and designs leadership summits, executive retreats, and high-impact workshops that accelerate organizational momentum.

A longtime champion of female entrepreneurs and executives, Sara blends innovation, leadership research, and lived experience to spark transformative thinking. She has been featured by TED, NPR, and international media, and her TED Talk has garnered over 2 million views. A Vistage-verified national speaker and former TEDxSaltLakeCity speaker coach, she delivers energizing keynotes on innovation, technology, entrepreneurship, mindset, wellness, and the future of leadership—equipping audiences to embrace change and lead with intention.

Read the extended bio

Sara Jones is the CEO of InclusionPro, where she partners with boards and executive teams to craft strategies that spark real transformation. For nearly a decade, leaders have trusted her to guide big decisions and bring clarity to complex challenges. She draws on 25+ years of experience across business, technology, content, revenue, and law—so she knows how to connect the dots between mission, people, strategy and results.

Sara has been featured by TED, NPR, and international media, and she’s a sought-after keynote speaker. Her TED Talk on international adoption has been viewed more than 2 million times (go.ted.com/sarajones). Sara is a Vistage-verified national speaker. She also coaches executives and was a longtime speaker coach for TEDxSaltLakeCity.

Before founding InclusionPro, Sara served as CEO of ApplicantPro, an HR tech company where she grew revenue by 63%. She’s also been VP of Strategic Development at a Silicon Valley IP firm, Director at School Improvement Network (where she landed the largest deal in company history), and a partner at Workman Nydegger as a patent attorney.

She believes in strong governance and workforce strategy, serving on the NACD Utah Chapter Board. She has served on several state and nonprofit boards. Along the way, she’s been recognized with awards like the Pathfinder Award from the Salt Lake Chamber and the Women’s Leadership Award from Sundance Institute and Zions Bank. She’s also been named CEO of the Year by Utah Business Magazine and honored as a Distinguished Alumni by the University of Utah.

Sara holds a J.D. from Brigham Young University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah.

Speaking formats

Experience level

Professional Speaker

Frequent / professional speaker (10+ speaking engagements in the last 2–3 years)

Topics & expertise

Civic & Community

  • Cross-sector partnerships (business + government + nonprofit)
  • Nonprofit leadership & governance
  • Serving on boards & commissions

Communication & Storytelling

  • Communicating with senior leaders / boards
  • Difficult conversations & feedback
  • Executive presence (online & in-room)
  • Personal brand & visibility
  • Public speaking & presentation skills
  • Storytelling for leaders
  • Storytelling with data

Culture/HR & Talent

  • Coaching & mentoring programs
  • Employee engagement & retention
  • Learning & development / leadership pipelines
  • Organizational change & transformation
  • Psychological safety & belonging at work
  • Workplace culture design

Entrepreneurship & Startups

  • Founder mental health & resilience
  • Social entrepreneurship & mission-driven ventures
  • Starting a business
  • Women founders & access to capital

Functional Expertise

  • Communications & PR
  • Customer success & account management
  • Human resources / people operations
  • Legal, governance & risk

Gender & Equity

  • Inclusive leadership practices
  • Motherhood, caregiving & careers
  • Sponsorship, mentorship & allyship
  • Women in leadership / closing the leadership gap
  • Women in tech and STEM
  • Women on boards & commissions
  • “Prove-it-again” bias & promotion barriers

Leadership & Management

  • Board governance & board relations
  • Building high-performing teams
  • C-suite readiness
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • Decision-making & accountability
  • Difficult conversations
  • Executive leadership
  • Giving & receiving feedback
  • Leading through change
  • People management & coaching
  • Psychological safety & trust
  • Stakeholder management & influence
  • Vision, strategy & execution

Strategy/Innovation & Change

  • Change management & adoption
  • Data-informed decision-making
  • Innovation and intrapreneurship

Technology & Innovation

  • Artificial intelligence & responsible AI
  • Building inclusive tech teams
  • Software development & engineering leadership
  • Tech careers & pathways for women

Utah & Regional Issues

  • Women’s leadership in Utah

Wellbeing & Personal Growth

  • Boundary-setting & saying no
  • Burnout prevention & recovery
  • Confidence, impostor syndrome & self-advocacy
  • Mental health at work
  • Mindfulness & stress management
  • Resilience & navigating change
  • Values-based career design
  • Work–life integration

Other

  • DEI, Employee Engagement

Signature talks

  • Feb 2024 – UVU Ethics speaker
  • "Facing the Storm: Ethical Leadership in an Era of DEI Controversy"
  • June 2022 – Opal Group Learning & Development Executive Summit
  • “Unity in Diversity”
  • Apr 2022 – LDS MBA Conference at Harvard Business School
  • “Unity in Diversity: An LDS Perspective"
  • Nov 2021 – Utah’s Diversity Summit Keynote
  • “Leading DEI With a Unified Voice and Purpose”
  • Sept 2021 – Neumont University
  • “2021 Neumont College of Computer Science Commencement Address”
  • June 2021 – Silicon Slopes StartFest
  • “A Transformative Approach to Inclusive Leadership”
  • May 2020 – TED Talk
  • “My Story of Love and Loss”
  • Apr 2020 – Edie Kochenour Memorial Lecture
  • “Creating and Sustaining Inclusive Workplace Cultures: The Hard Truths"

Media & video

Selected engagements

  • Facing the Storm: Ethical Leadership in an Era of DEI ControversyUVU Ethics Lecture Series · Utah Valley University – Center for the Study of Ethics & Woodbury School of Business · Orem, Utah · February · 2024
  • Unity in Diversity: An LDS PerspectiveLDS MBA Conference · Harvard Business School · Boston, Massachusetts · April · 2022
  • 2021 Neumont College of Computer Science Commencement Address2021 Commencement Ceremony · Capitol Theatre · Salt Lake City, Utah · September · 2021
  • A Transformative Approach to Inclusive LeadershipSilicon Slopes StartFest · Silicon Slopes / StartFest · Salt Lake City, Utah · June · 2021
  • My Story of Love and LossTED Talk · TED Feature · NA · May · 2020

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