“Our breakout session using Big Talk was beyond amazing. Both the Senator and new members of our team talked about how enlightening and enjoyable the experience was. We also came up with our own Big Talk questions, which the group asked the Senator to answer and he came up with a couple that he asked of the group.” - U.S. Senator’s Office

“Not sure who thought to invite the Big Talk gal to the summit, but it was fantastic. While I don’t love crying in front of 300 people…I do LOVE being inspired and I thought everything she said was very impactful.” - Elite Marketing executive

“This was the best ‘networking’ event I have attended. Big Talk prompted wonderful conversations with a room full of 200+ women from 40 companies. It made it easy to get past the standard where do you work conversations and help guide more insightful conversations with total strangers.” - Adobe impact leader

“Big Talk for Business workshop was the most meaningful session I’ve ever had. I got to know folks I hadn’t met, and connect more authentically with folks I already knew.” - Microsoft technologist

“Big Talk helped a LOT to break down potential barriers and make us all feel a lot more comfortable. The breakout group strategy was helpful in that it gave each of us a lot of choice about what we wanted to share with the group and how vulnerable we wanted to be, which worked out beautifully as people really started to open up over the course of the discussion, providing a great foundation for subsequent reflective sessions in our first week.” - Harvard Medical School student

Speaking Engagements

• Hallmark - Employees (Virtual)

• SMMUSD - Parents of the School District (Santa Monica)

• Coqual - Event Attendees (Hybrid Virtual and New Jersey)

• Chai Ventures — VCs, Investors, Women Entrepreneurs (NYC, Nashville, and Los Angeles)

• FYI, Will.I.Am’s Creator Space (Los Angeles)

• Watson Institute — International Entrepreneurs (virtual)

• TikTok’s AAPI ERG Group (Los Angeles)

• Jay Shetty’s Wildfire Relief Fundraiser (Los Angeles)

• Uber Postmates Off-Site (Virtual)

• Comic-Con International (San Diego)

• Fulbright Workshops – 1,500 PhD and Master's students (Washington, DC; Atlanta; Nashville; San Diego)

• Chai Ventures – 60 Venture Capitalists, Entrepreneurs, and Students (Nashville, TN)

• California Marital & Family Therapist Conference – 150 Marriage & Family Therapists (Los Angeles, CA)

• Johnson & Johnson – 30 employees (Virtual)

• UN’s International Day of the Girl – 1,000 teenage girls at St. Catherine’s Girls School (Virgin Islands)

• Academy Xi – 80 members of the general public (Melbourne & Sydney, Australia)

• U.S. Embassy Tashkent – 90 exchange alumni and members of the public (Tashkent, Uzbekistan)

• Acelero Learning’s Senior Leadership Institute – 100+ program managers (Wisconsin)

• Institute of International Education – 15 Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors (Washington, DC)

• Microsoft – 30 tech professionals (Chicago, IL)

• Uber / Postmates Offsite – 30 attendees (NYC, NY)

• Adobe Women in Tech Neighborhood Mixer – 200+ women (San Francisco, CA)

• Google – 20 members of the Material Design Team (San Francisco, CA)

• Elite SEM Digital Summit (Keynote Speaker) – 200+ marketing executives and employees (New York, NY)

• U.S. Embassy Singapore – 100 attendees at the Exchange Alumni Dinner (Singapore)

• National University of Singapore – Communications School

• Thiel Summit - 200 attendees (San Francisco, CA)

• SoGal Influencer Summit - 200 attendees (Los Angeles)

• USC Annenberg - (Los Angeles)

• MTSU - (Tennessee)

• Columbia Middle School - (Colorado)

• TEDx - 7 million views

• Northwestern University (Chicago)

Present
Keynote Speaker and Workshop Facilitator: Deliver Big Talk presentations globally to foster meaningful connections, combat loneliness, nurture empathy, and build a sense of community belonging. Audiences include diverse organizations such as Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, universities, entertainment firms, and government bodies.

2019–Present
U.S. Fulbright Ambassador: Selected by the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State to represent the Fulbright Program. Presented Big Talk workshops to over 1,500 Masters and PhD students from more than 75 countries worldwide.

2017–2018
U.S. Fulbright Program Research Scholar, Singapore: Conducted research in Intercultural Communications and New Media at the National University of Singapore’s School of New Media and Communications (under the guidance of Dr. Jude Yew). Research project: “How to Bridge Cross-Cultural Communications through BIG TALK.”

Past Research / Education Work:

Summer Partnership with USC Annenberg Innovation Lab

In the summer of 2015, Kalina worked with the Annenberg Lab to research communication strategies as they relate to the future of innovation. She delivered multiple talks and created a series of videos for the Annenberg website on what the future of innovation looks like. 

Co-Founder and President of MIXED student coalition at Northwestern

At Northwestern University, Kalina co-founded and served as President of MIXED, Northwestern's first ever Mixed Race Student Coalition. Through academic and social events, discussions, and internal support, we created a community of students united in their differences. 

Edovo Jail Education Solutions Users make BIG TALK

Big Talk partnered with Edovo, Jail Education Solutions startup to create a Big Talk self development and communications course for inmates. Read about it at Edovo's website. 

Researcher at the Delta Lab Northwestern (2015)

Breaking Boundaries focuses on exploring novel interactions and connecting people in unusual and unexpected ways.