speaking
the stories we share have the power to change the stories we live
The conversations we need to be having the most in our workplaces are the ones we aren’t having at all.
The ones that talk about root issues, duty of care, and human-centered leadership. The ones that name the realities of serving others that go beyond burnout, like moral injury, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, collective grief.
I create space for those conversations through keynote talks, facilitated workshops, podcasts, and panel discussions. Not as an outside observer, but as someone who spent nearly two decades inside these systems — who knows what it feels like to believe in a mission and also to have that mission fail you — and who has spent the years since building language for what that experience leaves behind.
I view my speaking work as a form of moral cartography in practice: helping audiences name the terrain we are living and working inside, trace the fault lines between stated values and lived realities, and create pathways back to conscience, care, and more humane ways to lead, serve, grieve, and repair.
My work is trauma-informed, grounded in lived experience, and oriented toward both honest accountability and forward possibility. I help audiences tell a more truthful story about what they are navigating so they can begin reclaiming their humanity, practicing collective care, and making sustainable service possible.
signature talks
Signature talks range in duration from 20-90 minutes and are a great format for introducing new subjects and ways of thinking to a large group.
All talks are interactive, practical, experiential, and thought-provoking.
I have several signature talks, and I also partner with clients to design customized talks, either independently or as a part of a long-term engagement, including workshops, training programs, retreats, and webinars.
topics: moral cartography · collective imagination · regenerative leadership · story-healing · collective moral injury · institutional betrayal · trauma-informed leadership · moral reclamation · collective care · collective grief · spiritual ecology · duty of care · challenging the narrative of service before self
formats: keynotes · workshops · facilitated sessions · fireside chats · panel discussions · retreat facilitation · podcast appearances
audiences: mission-driven leaders · government and civil service · humanitarian and nonprofit sectors · legal and social justice · healthcare and social work · education · women's leadership
international experience: recent and upcoming engagements in the United Kingdom, Qatar, Switzerland, and across North America
panel discussions
Dimple has served as a speaker on a number of panels ranging from local organizational meetings to national conferences. She can speak to a variety of topics.
If you have a conference, convening, or meeting and are interested in having me serve on a panel.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE INCLUDE
moral cartography for conscientious leadership
moral injury
institutional betrayal
collective imagination
collective grief
vicarious trauma
story-healing
organizational trauma + healing
trust and psychological safety
duty of care in mission driven sectors
podcast appearances
Since 2024, Dimple has been a guest on more than twenty podcasts — spanning leadership, nonprofit management, humanitarian operations, legal practice, somatic healing, and trauma-informed care — bringing the conversation about moral injury, institutional betrayal, and sustainable service to audiences across sectors and around the world.
She’s also the creator and host of two podcasts and understands what makes a conversation land: specificity over generality, lived experience over abstraction, and the kind of honesty that gives listeners something to carry with them after the episode ends.
If your audience includes people doing mission-driven work — in any sector — the best place to start is with a conversation.
For a full list of my past features check out the media + features page.
recent speaking engagements
April 2026 - From Restoration to Regeneration - Spiritual Ecology and Collective Care as Response to Collective Moral Injury and Institutional Betrayal – Durham University, International Centre for Moral Injury | Durham, United Kingdom
April 2026 - Holding Pain and Possibility Together - Simple Grief Rituals for Collective Care in Fractured Times – Yale Women’s Mental Health Conference | New Haven, CT, USA
April 2026 - Challenging the Narrative of Service Before Self – Beyond Aid Summit - The Women Behind the Work | Virtual
May 2026 - Navigating the Client Relationship: How do we serve our clients while not losing ourselves? Panel Discussion– The Law Society of Ontario Mental Health Summit for Legal Professionals | Virtual
previous speaking engagements
2026
Integrity in Practice - Courage + Defiance in the Face of Moral Injury and Institutional Betrayal– Vermont Asylum Assistance Project | Virtual
2025
Step Out of Line - Understanding the Neurobiology of Defiance + Moral Courage– 92NY Women InPower Summit | New York, USA
Integrity in Practice - Rooted Leadership in the Face of Moral Injury + Institutional Betrayal – International Humanitarian Leadership Conference | Doha, Qatar
Circles of Solidarity - Tools for Transformative Leadership in the Polycrisis – International Humanitarian Leadership Conference | Doha, Qatar
Featured Speaker – SOAR South Asian 2025 National Summit: Together We Dream, Together We Build | Virtual
Trauma, Burnout, and Boundaries - Sustainable Advocacy and Justice Work in the Polycrisis – Acacia Center for Justice | Virtual
2024
Widen Your Window - Practical Strategies for Navigating Through Stress and Trauma – Acacia Center for Justice | Virtual
Beyond Burnout: Reimagining Well-Being in Humanitarian Work - A Conversation with Gemma Houldey | London, United Kington
Beyond Burnout - Taking A Human-Centered Approach to Attracting, Retaining, and Supporting Staff in Government and Humanitarian Sectors – Intergovernmental Consultations on Asylum, Refugees, and Migration | Geneva, Switzerland
Widen Your Window - Using Awareness and Compassion to Challenge Our Narratives and Thrive in Life and Leadership – Lancaster Speakers Series, Ohio University | Athens, OH, USA
From Stigma to Support - A Conversation with Anthony Sartori, Evolving Minds | Virtual
Motivation, Performance + Mental Health - Using Awareness and Compassion to Challenge Our Narratives, Reset Our Nervous Systems, and Redefine Success – Transform Your Practice Retreat | Whistler, BC - Canada
Lead Like Lasso - 4 Keys to Building a Connected and Thriving Workplace Culture – Integrating Women's Leadership Conference | Indianapolis, IN, USA
Tell Me My Story Author Event – Alexandria Commission for Women | Alexandria, VA - USA
Widen Your Window - Using Awareness and Compassion to Challenge Our Narratives of Service Before Self – Colorado Women's Bar Association Convention | Vail, CO - USA
Healing Narratives - Unpacking the Intersection of Generational Trauma and Moral Injury in Palliative Care – Metro State University Palliative Care and Social Work Conference | Denver, CO - USA
2023
Mind + Heart Working Apart - Understanding and Healing the Impact of Moral Injury in Palliative Care | Social Work, Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN) Annual Conference | Denver, CO - USA
Widen Your Window - Understanding and Navigating Stress | Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Annual Meeting | Houston, TX - USA
about dimple
Dimple Dhabalia, JD | ICF ACC is a moral cartographer for conscientious leadership, leadership coach, consultant, speaker, author, and founder of Roots in the Clouds, a coaching and consulting practice for sustainable service in mission-driven sectors.
Drawing on nearly two decades of federal service, including work on some of the most complex human-centered challenges in global migration and asylum operations, Dimple brings together lived experience, clinical grounding, contemplative practice, and creative inquiry in her work with leaders and organizations navigating an era of global polycrisis.
Through keynotes, workshops, facilitation, coaching, consulting, and collective care, Dimple helps audiences and organizations map the terrain of moral injury, institutional betrayal, collective grief, and sustainable service.
Her work has been featured in media outlets and podcasts across leadership, nonprofit management, humanitarian operations, legal practice, somatic healing, and trauma-informed care. Her first book, Tell Me My Story: Challenging the Narrative of Service Before Self (Ambika Media, 2024), was named a Distinguished Favorite by both the 2024 NYC Big Book Award and the 2025 Independent Press Award, and has been excerpted in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
connect with dimple | @dimpstory on LI | IG |FB