Courtney Bickert is a global citizen, leader, and management expert and stand-up comedian committed to positive social impact around the world through innovation, partnerships, endless curiosity, and humor. She is the Founder and CEO of LaughingMatters, unleashing the power of humor and laughter to build impactful, resilient, healthy, and happy leaders, teams, and organizations. She is also a Senior Executive Recruiter in the nonprofit and purpose space with DRiWaterstone Human Capital where she works to match amazing talent with important missions. Courtney has proven organizational leadership with 30 years’ experience in international development and foreign affairs and has worked in, and traveled to, over 100 countries. Courtney has led organizational transformations and the development of new revenue models and communications for large international organizations and has built and led over 30 global teams. As a skilled fundraiser, she has raised over $100 million dollars for international non-profits.

Courtney is also a stand-up comedian with significant formal training in the techniques of stand-up

comedy, including Second City, the DC Improv, and the American Comedy Institute. She uses this

knowledge to work with leaders, organizations, and teams to maximize their effectiveness and impact and bring the power of “funny’ into their lives, work, and organizations. Courtney has an MBA/MPP from The University of Chicago.