2026 All-Staff Conference

Strategic Consultant, Executive Coach, and Author

Dr. Karalee Picard is a strategic consultant, executive coach, and university faculty member who brings a rare combination of operational intelligence rigor and adult learning expertise to every room she enters. With a doctorate in interdisciplinary leadership from Creighton University and a Senior Executive Fellowship from the Harvard Kennedy School, Dr. Picard’s career is defined by high-stakes clarity.

Before founding Insight Leadership Consulting, she served two decades at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as a GS-15 senior analyst. During her tenure, she spent two years as an intelligence training facilitator for the DIA’s PACE program, teaching elite professionals the art of analytic design, gap identification, and strategic communication.

Currently an adjunct faculty member at Bellevue University and an ICF-certified coach, Karalee is the author of the forthcoming book Stand Up, Don’t Stand Alone. Her work is grounded in the core belief that everyone is a leader, and that strategic self-knowledge is the essential starting point for all professional growth.

Featured Session: The Intelligence Briefing You Need About Yourself

What if you approached your career the way a senior intelligence analyst approaches a high-stakes operational decision?

In this fast-paced, interactive keynote, Dr. Karalee Picard introduces a powerful shift in perspective: the skills that drive elite analytical work are the same skills that drive career clarity, formal influence, and resilience. Intelligence professionals don’t panic when certainty is missing—they apply discipline, test assumptions, and act before perfect clarity arrives.

Directly supporting our theme, "Our Staff, Our Strength," this session reframes our greatest institutional asset—our people—through the lens of strategic intelligence. You will step into the dual role of the analyst and the asset, learning to examine your own blind spots and align your work more deliberately with university goals.

The 3 C’s of Career Intelligence

Attendees will explore and apply Dr. Picard’s signature framework:

• Curiosity: Identifying what you don’t yet know about how you are perceived or where you are headed.
• Clarity: Examining the actual evidence of your strengths, gaps, and professional path.
• Connection: Engaging the right people to refine your thinking and advocate for your impact.

What You’ll Take Away

This is not a passive lecture; it is an operational framework for your future. Through a gripping intelligence narrative and a live, 3-minute self-assessment exercise, you will:

1. Build a "Personal Intelligence Brief" to identify and close professional knowledge gaps.
2. Move from uncertainty to action using structured reflection that counters bias and "mirror imaging."
3. Create a 90-day Action Plan to connect your individual clarity to the collective strength of the UNL community.