Build Trust.

Communicate with Impact.

Turn deeper connection into lasting success.

I work with organizations and business owners who want to build trust, communicate with impact, and turn deeper trust into lasting success.

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Connection affects how you show up, how you contribute, and how long you stay with an organization.

You do not have to fully understand someone’s experience to create a culture of belonging. You need to learn how to ask the right questions, build rapport, and foster trust to be a great leader.

Meet Sebastian

Sebastian Dziuk (he/him) is a founder, veteran and speaker specializing in communication that sparks curiosity, fosters connection, and improves collaboration in the workplace for leaders and employees.

His work in the Minnesota National Guard as one of the first out transgender Soldiers has helped Generals, senior officers, and leadership better serve LGBTQ+ service members.

After a decade of service, Sebastian has continued his work through speaking at organizations and serving on the board of directors for Quorum, Minnesota’s LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce.

Through keynotes and custom programs, he provides leaders with the tools and confidence to be trusted among their peers and employees.

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Why Sebastian?

Heart-led conversations

Sebastian’s story connects with people from all walks of life, allowing them to let down their walls for transformation to take place.

Actionable Strategies

He provides tools and strategies the audience can use every day to have breakthrough conversations and deepen connection.

Commitment to Service

Extending beyond his military service, Sebastian is dedicated to creating a powerful experience that leads to lasting change for your audience.

Programs

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Connecting in a Divided World: How to Build Respect, Trust, and Collaboration—Even When We Don’t Agree

Today’s employees are seeking more than just alignment—they’re seeking connection. They want leadership that makes space for their full identity, communication that values listening as much as speaking, and teams where trust isn’t just talked about, but actively built.

In this powerful and perspective-shifting keynote, transgender military veteran and human connection speaker Sebastian Dziuk draws from firsthand experience serving in environments not built for people like him—yet still finding connection, purpose, and belonging.

Through unforgettable stories, practical insights, and moments of meaningful reflection, Sebastian demonstrates why human connection is the most valuable leadership skill in today’s workplace—and how every leader has the power to build it, even in the most divided environments.

As a keynote speaker, Sebastian equips leaders with the mindset and tools they need to: reduce turnover, elevate team morale, and create spaces where people show up fully—and perform at their best. He also shares the powerful moment that redefined how he showed up as a leader in the Army—and what it means to lead with courage, curiosity, and compassion.

Audience Outcomes / ROI-Focused Takeaways:

  • Increase employee retention by building cultures of respect, trust, and inclusion

  • Improve collaboration by strengthening communication across generational, cultural, and ideological divides

  • Elevate leadership effectiveness with tools to foster psychological safety and authentic engagement

Best for: Company-wide keynotes, leadership offsites, DEI summits, or team development retreats

Companion Program or Standalone Deep Dive

Test the Waters, Build the Bridge: How to Create Trust Across Difference—Without Needing to Say Everything Right

Today—leaders, employees, and teams alike are navigating workplaces full of diverse backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences. The pressure to “get it right” can feel overwhelming. But building trust across difference isn’t about having the perfect words—it’s about showing up with care, curiosity, and consistency.

In this follow-up session to Connecting in a Divided World, Sebastian Dziuk takes audiences deeper into the “how.” Drawing from his lived experience as a transgender man who served openly in the military and later navigated pregnancy and parenthood, Sebastian shares practical tools for building connection when the conversation feels complex.

Through actionable frameworks and real-world examples, Sebastian demonstrates how to create safer, more inclusive relationships without overstepping or overexplaining. This session is ideal for leaders, teams, and individuals who want to build stronger, more trusting relationships in their organizations.

As a speaker on human connection, Sebastian offers a grounded approach to connection that builds confidence, reduces interpersonal friction, and strengthens company culture from the inside out. He also shares the story of how one unexpected ally became a turning point in his career—and how we all have the opportunity to be that person for someone else.

Audience Outcomes / ROI-Focused Takeaways:

  • Reduce employee friction by giving teams tools to communicate across difference with confidence

  • Improve leadership impact with a practical framework for navigating identity and inclusion without discomfort or guesswork

  • Strengthen company culture through everyday acts of trust-building and belonging

Best for: People leaders, breakout sessions, ERG programming, leadership development series, or as a follow-up workshop to the signature keynote

For Business Audiences

Connection is the New Conversion: How Building Real Relationships With Your Audience Leads to Bigger Impact and Better Business

Today’s customers can smell a sales pitch a mile away—but they crave real connection. They want to work with businesses that see them, hear them, and earn their trust before asking for the sale.

In this actionable and inspiring keynote, marketing strategist and veteran storyteller Sebastian Dziuk shares how his experiences as a transgender U.S. Army Public Affairs Sergeant—and as a pregnant trans man navigating complex systems—shaped his human-first approach to marketing.

Sebastian breaks down why traditional marketing advice falls flat in today’s world and what to do instead: build connection like your business depends on it—because it does.

This talk is perfect for entrepreneurs, service providers, and brand builders who are ready to ditch transactional tactics and embrace trust-based marketing that actually converts.

Audience Outcomes / ROI-Focused Takeaways:

  • Increase lead quality and conversion rates by putting connection before call-to-action

  • Build a brand that attracts loyal, aligned customers who want to buy from you

  • Replace outdated marketing tactics with a clear, values-driven strategy that grows with your business

Best for: Business conferences, entrepreneurial events, service-provider summits, small business associations, or brand bootcamps

Companion Program or Standalone Deep Dive

How to Turn Connection Into Clients: A Tactical Workshop for Service Providers Who Want to Market With Integrity and Still Close the Sale

If your audience is ready to implement what they learned in the keynote, this companion session delivers the step-by-step blueprint. Based on Sebastian’s AttractCycle™ method, this workshop guides attendees through building a trust-based marketing funnel that works because it puts the customer first.

This session is especially valuable for speakers, coaches, consultants, and service providers who are tired of trying to “hack” the algorithm—and are ready to build something real.

Audience Outcomes / ROI-Focused Takeaways:

  • Learn the 3-phase AttractCycle™ framework: Capture, Convert, Continue

  • Create messaging that resonates deeply and consistently brings in ideal clients

  • Build a simple marketing system that nurtures leads, books calls, and sells without sounding salesy

Best for: Business incubators, accelerator programs, service-based business events, DEI-focused entrepreneur summits, LGBTQ+ business networks

Sebastian’s Impact

  • "Sebastian recently led a session for our LGBTQIA+ and Veterans ERGs on the leading with authenticity. His incredible story and message was inspiring and motivated us all to take our inclusion efforts to the next level. Highly recommend him for any engagement!"

    Thando Kunene, MSW, Inclusion and Diversity Program Manager, Juniper Networks

  • “Sebastian is an engaging and interactive presenter who truly embodies his beliefs in building connections with others. By sharing his personal experiences he encourages vulnerability from attendees in order to build meaningful connections.”

    Ashley Kimmell, School Based Services Specialist, Fernbrook Family Center

  • "I had the opportunity to partner with Sebastian for a speaking engagement and it was nothing short of spectacular. We had over 400 people attend the event and the topics/conversation were riveting and sparked an incredible amount of debate and discussion. Sebastian is great at putting things in perspective and will open your eyes to the reality of his reality. I highly recommend."

    John Rogers, Head of Global DEI and Talent Acquisition, Jensen Hughes

  • "I highly recommend Sebastian as a speaker. Sebastian came and spoke at my EnERGize webinar series in June about supporting transgender colleagues in the workplace. Sebastian was able to captivate the audience with his exceptional storytelling skills and charismatic presence. I have received great feedback from the attendees. He left the audience with some valuable takeaways and I will definitely be having Sebastian back as an EnERGize speaker."

    Dr. Linda Bing, Founder & CEO of Turning Point Leadership Group

Watch Sebastian Speak

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