About Nicholas

Speaker's Bio

Nicholas Whitaker guides rebellious leaders and mid-career high performers as they reclaim their capacity to lead through Volatility, Overwhelm, Isolation, and Distraction. 

His path here spans a career in media, tech, and coaching: running his own production company while teaching at the university level in NYC, then 13 years at Google across marketing, business operations, and learning and development. There he built training programs that reached 500,000 professionals. 

Alongside the corporate chapter, he built a coaching and consulting practice. When a 3am layoff email ended one career, that practice became the work. 

Nicholas has practiced mindfulness for over 30 years, trained in the Awake in the Wild lineage with Mark Coleman and Lori Schwanbeck and through the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. At Google he helped grow the gPause program, bringing mindfulness to thousands of employees worldwide. 

He co-authored three Amazon bestsellers through Changing Work, the nonprofit he founded. 

He has partnered with leaders from Google, Tesla, Amazon, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola, with nonprofits like United Way, and with journalism associations including RTDNA and IRE. 

In the Rebellion Collective, he guides rebels who are still delivering and running on empty, back to the capacity that made the work worth doing in the first place. 

He lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with Bex, his wife and business partner, and their two cats. When he's not online, you might find him deep in the wilds of the American West. 

About Nicholas

Speaker's Bio

Nicholas Whitaker spent 13 years inside Google, co-founded the Changing Work nonprofit, and co-authored three bestselling leadership books before building his practice around capacity, burnout, and leading through change.

Guided Practices

Six free practices for the moments that need them. Come back to your body, settle a racing mind, remember who you are underneath the job title. One is built for the truly hard days. All free on Insight Timer.

Guided Practices

Six free practices for the moments that need them. Come back to your body, settle a racing mind, remember who you are underneath the job title. One is built for the truly hard days. All free on Insight Timer.

Reading list

Reading list

Reading list

The books I hand to people walking the Rebellious path. Some are about work. Most are about being a person who happens to be at work. I keep the list current on Bookshop, where buying a copy also supports independent bookstores. 

The books I hand to people walking the Rebellious path. Some are about work. Most are about being a person who happens to be at work. I keep the list current on Bookshop, where buying a copy also supports independent bookstores. 

The books I hand to people walking the Rebellious path. Some are about work. Most are about being a person who happens to be at work. I keep the list current on Bookshop, where buying a copy also supports independent bookstores. 

© 2026 Nicholas Whitaker. All rights reserved.

Website made with love by DesignMingle

© 2026 Nicholas Whitaker. All rights reserved.

Website made with love by DesignMingle

© 2026 Nicholas Whitaker. All rights reserved.

Website made with love by DesignMingle