talks & presentations

Birgitte educates and entertains audiences on chocolate, cacao, and other flavorful issues impacting our lives.  Below is a select list of her talks and presentations.  

If you’d like to have Birgitte speak at your next event or for your organization, contact her with your request. 

TALKS & EVENTS

“From Myth to Molecule: Our relationship with a sacred superfood”
Fall Holiday Chocolate Salon & Festival
November 19, 2023
San Francisco, CA

“Pod Save Chocolate” podcast
Inaugural episode with Clay Gordon
November 17, 2023
Online via The Chocolate Life

“From Myth to Molecule: Our relationship with a sacred superfood”
NW Chocolate Festival
October 5-8, 2023
Bellevue, WA

Can a robot run your marketing?
Panel discussion hosted by Alder & Co
September 7, 2023
Virtual panel

“Flipping the Script: why we're getting gen AI all wrong—and what to do about it”
AI Day III hosted by AIify.io
August 5, 2023
San Francisco, CA

“Marketing Ethics: What Consultants, Coaches, and Experts need to know”
Women in Consulting Expert Series
June 22, 2023
Virtual conference

 

PAST EVENTS
2016       2015       2014       2013       2012       and before...

The Chocolate Quest at Kennedy Middle School
November 19, 2021
Redwood City, CA (outdoors)

Chocolate Quest (with Letterpress Chocolate)
May 21, 2021
Virtual event

Valentine's Day Chocolate Tasting (private event)
February 14, 2020
Sunnyvale, CA

Valentine's Day Chocolate Tasting (private event)
February 14, 2019
Sunnyvale, CA

International Chocolate Festival
April 22, 2018
San Mateo Event Center, San Mateo, CA

International Chocolate Salon
March 11, 2018
San Francisco, CA

Book Passage
December 2, 2017
Corte Madera, CA

Books Inc.
November 11, 2017
Santa Clara, CA

The Chocolate Quest at Ventana
August 27, 2017
Los Altos, CA

The Chocolate Quest at Bowman School
April 7, 2017
Palo Alto, CA

Presentation for Academic Antics
January 28, 2017
San Jose, CA

 

2016

Indie Author Day
December 4, 2016
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library
San Jose, CA

Northwest Chocolate Festival
November 12-13, 2016
Seattle, WA

Indie Author Day
October 8, 2016
Santa Cruz Dowtown Library. Talk accompanied by a chocolate tasting.
Marin County Free Library. Talk followed by a chocolate tasting by Firefly Chocolate.

Virtual FantasyCon 2016
October 9-16, 2016

Fellowship of Fantasy Back-to-School author event
September 10, 2016
Online at Fellowship of Fantasy

The Chocolate Quest at Ventana
August 28, 2016
Los Altos, CA

FCIA (Fine Chocolate Industry Association) bi-annual event
June 25, 2016
New York City

The Chocolate Quest at Full Circle Farm
June 21, 2016
Sunnyvale, CA

Sprouts Cooking Club classes
June & July, 2016
Alemany Farm, San Francisco, CA

The Chocolate Quest at CJ Olson's
April 16, 2016
C.J. Olson's Cherries
Sunnyvale, California

Author Spotlights on Reddit
May 25 and April 9, 2016
Online at /r/fantasy and /r/books.

The Jaguar and the Cacao Tree: the Interactive Edition
April 2, 2016
Dandelion Chocolate
San Francisco, California
Read Dandelion's Q&A with Birgitte

The Jaguar and the Cacao Tree: What Mythology and Biology Tell Us About Our Relationship with Chocolate
March 30, 2016
The David Brower Center
Berkeley, California

Book publishing for kids
January 29, 2016
Ventana School
Los Altos, California

2015

How do books get made? 
May 28, 2015
Children's House
Los Altos, California

"Images of Resilience" outdoor workshop
March 28, 2015
Good 2 Go Family Health & Wellness Fair
Arundel Elementary School
San Carlos, California

2014

Tsunami: Images of Resilience Book Signing
December 23, 2014
The Cliff House
San Francisco, California

High Five Fitness Roundtable on Healthy Eating
June 16, 2014
Public Access TV-Midpeninsula Media Community Center
Palo Alto, California

The Story of Chocolate
May 10, 2014
Hidden Villa
Los Altos Hills, California

Author Series Event
February 5, 2014
Saratoga Library
Saratoga, California

South Carolina Writers Group
January 25, 2014
Private Event

2013

Innovation Vitality (panelist)
Silicon Valley Innovation Institute 
December 4, 2013
Hangen Szechuan Restaurant, Mountain View, CA

Algonkian Write to Market Conference
November 8–10, 2013
Corte Madera, California

Alumni Author Meet & Greet 
October 20, 2013
Stanford University
Stanford, California

"Fiction is Like Dark Chocolate" Ignite Talk 
July 26, 2013
Villa Knole
Portola Valley, California

Kobo Pitchapalooza 
May 23, 2013
Virtual event sponsored by Kobo

Reading of "Verse in Arabic" (excerpt) 
May 3, 2013
California Writers Club meeting @Barnes & Noble
San Jose, California

"The Sanctity of Time: Why Modern Society Needs the Ancient Tzolkin" 
February 28, 2013
Divine Science Community Center
San Jose, California

"The Maya in All of Us: Living in Sacred Time" 
February 21, 2013
Center for Latin American Studies
Stanford University

2012

"Living in Sacred Time" book presentation & discussion
October 4, 2012
East West Bookstore, Mountain View, California

"Wisdom from the Origins" international conference presented by the SEED Institute
"Sacred Time and Sustainability" presentation & discussion
September 15, 2012
Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North, Albuquerque, New Mexico

SVII 7th Anniversary, presented by the  Silicon Valley Innovation Institute
Reading of "Confession" followed by a brief discussion
July 18, 2012
Angelica's Bell Theatre & Bistro, Redwood City, California

"The Marketer's Guide to the eBook Galaxy"
Presentation about digital publishing for the marketing & communications professional
March 2012
Business Marketing Association (BMA) of Northern California, Palo Alto, California

Before 2010 (in the ancient times)

Sixth international "Woman–A Creative Personality of the Third Millennium" Conference
Women's Role in Greening the Economy (panel)
May 2009
Bohemian National Hall, New York, New York

Ethical Corporation's "How to Communicate Your Corporate Values to Consumers" Conference
Web design workshop
June 2006
Hotel Crowne Plaza, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Third Annual Social Change Conference
Keynote address
March 2006
Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon

The Responsibility of Media and Communications
Panel discussion
December 2005
Demos, New York City, New York

Sustainability Practice Network's "Defining the Landscape for Responsible Media"
Panel presentation, discussion and Q&A
September 2005
NYU Stern School of Business, New York City, New York

W.I.N.’s 7th Global Leadership Forum: Authentic Leadership in Action
Keynote presentation
October 2004
Hotel Crowne Plaza, Geneva, Switzerland

4th National Multicultural Business Conference
Interactive panel presentation on green media
March 2004
Foxwoords Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut

Global Compact International Conference on Sustainable Development and Profit
Co-presenter, report on experience with the UN Global Compact
June 2002
Graz Convention Center, Graz, Austria

International Young Professionals Summit
Green media presentation & workshop
October 2001
Brisbane, Australia