Speaker. MC. Author. Founder. Big-hearted human.
Katy Rey makes everyone in the room know they count.
Katy is the same Katy everywhere she goes. She does not turn it up for certain people, tone it down for others, or become someone different because the event looks important.
She shows up real, funny, honest, and fully herself, whether she is holding a mic, hugging someone in the hallway, or helping a room full of people feel a little more human. She looks people in the eye and treats every person like they matter, because to her, they do.
Tampa Bay-based. Available wherever the room needs her.
What Does Katy Rey Do?
Katy speaks, hosts, writes, builds community, and shows up for people.
Katy Rey is a Tampa Bay-based speaker, MC, event host, author, founder, and podcast host available to travel for fundraisers, galas, leadership events, school events, conferences, retreats, panels, and community gatherings. She brings humor, honesty, care, and the kind of presence that helps people feel like they matter.
Why Bring Katy In
When Katy has the mic, she stays exactly who she is.
Katy does not need a different version for the ballroom, the fundraiser, the school assembly, the stage, or the celebration with people who have known each other forever. She listens, laughs, tells the truth, and brings people with her.
She can welcome a crowd, move through a program, ask real questions, make people laugh, and hold tender moments without making the event feel scripted. She keeps things moving, but she never forgets the room is full of people, not just a schedule.
What That Looks Like
Open the room in a way that feels like Katy.
Keep the program moving without making it feel stiff.
Ask questions that sound like someone is actually listening.
Hold the funny, tender, and did-not-see-that-coming moments without making them weird.
The mic does not make Katy bigger. It gives her one more way to reach people.
What Katy Does Differently
She is not looking for the most important person in the room. She believes the room is full of them.
Katy is Katy everywhere. On the stage, in the hallway, at the fancy event, in the loud celebration, during the first hello, and in the last hug. She does not have a special version for certain people. What you see is what you get, and what you get is someone who treats people like they matter.
The setting can change. Katy does not.
Some people get more polished when the stakes feel higher. Katy gets more present. She brings the same laugh, the same honesty, and the same way of looking people in the eye no matter where she is.
She does not make people earn her attention.
Katy is not looking around for who matters most. She moves through people knowing everyone does. That is why people feel different around her. They do not have to prove anything to be worth her attention.
She sees the person, not the role.
The title, the table, the outfit, the résumé, the reason someone came in late, the reason someone is sitting quietly. None of that changes how Katy meets people. Human first. Always.
She brings that same truth to the mic.
That is why her speaking and hosting feel different. Katy is not trying to become the center of the night. She is paying attention to the people in front of her and helping them remember why they came together.
When Katy has the mic, people do not just feel entertained. They feel counted.
Bring Katy To The MicWays To Bring Katy In
Put Katy where the room needs her most.
The first hello. The story with weight behind it. The question no one should rush. The laugh that lets everyone breathe. The goodbye that needs to send people out with something. Katy notices what the moment is asking for, then meets it like Katy: real, funny, careful with people, and never too impressed by the spotlight to forget who she is there for.
When people need someone brave enough to say the tender thing out loud.
Katy brings stories that make people laugh first and then realize they needed the laugh. She talks about belonging, family, foster care, joy, labels, showing up, and being human in a way that feels lived, not rehearsed.
When the night needs someone who can hold the whole thing.
Katy welcomes people in, keeps the program moving, gives the tender parts space, and helps each person on stage feel like they have a place to stand.
When the best answers are not on the cue card.
Katy listens for what is underneath the first answer. She asks follow-up questions that feel human, protects the pace, and helps people say the part everyone came to hear.
When the cause matters and the people do too.
Katy can honor the mission without making the night feel heavy. She helps donors, guests, volunteers, families, teams, and friends remember why they came together.
Tell Katy why people are coming together, and she will help you find the place where her voice, humor, and heart can serve the day best.
See How Katy SpeaksWhere Katy Fits
Katy starts with the people. Always.
The event can be black tie, school day, board approved, fundraiser busy, retreat tired, celebration loud, or held together by coffee and a clipboard. Katy does not walk in wondering who deserves the most attention. She walks in ready to meet the people who are there.
Leadership + Team Events
For gatherings where the titles are real, but they are not the whole story. Katy helps people remember there is a human being under every role, responsibility, and full calendar.
Fundraisers + Galas
For nights with a reason behind every table, every story, and every ask. Katy can carry the timing, the gratitude, the laughter, and the tender parts without making the evening feel weighed down.
Panels + Conversations
For conversations that should sound like people talking to people. Katy listens for the line someone almost skips over and asks the next question like she actually wants to know.
Schools + Community Gatherings
For students, families, volunteers, staff, neighbors, first-timers, old friends, and everyone in between. Katy does not measure people by how noticeable they are. She treats every person like they belong in the story.
Retreats + Conferences
For days when people need more than a lanyard, a schedule, and another chair in another ballroom. Katy gives them something to laugh about, think about, and carry into the next conversation.
The Life Behind The Mic
Katy is not borrowing a message for the stage.
The way Katy speaks comes from the way she lives. She has built rooms, held hard stories, started conversations, written books, loved people through complicated seasons, and kept showing up as herself in the middle of all of it.
Foster Care Support
Fostering Hearts FL
Work rooted in showing up for young people who need steady people around them. It is one of the clearest places you can see Katy’s heart in action.
Joy + Celebration
CelebrateYOU
A gathering Katy created because people should not have to wait until life is tidy to feel celebrated, loved, and glad to be who they are.
Real Conversations
Not A Great Whisperer
A place where Katy sits with people, follows the story, asks what she actually wants to know, and lets the conversation become what it needs to become.
Books + Story
Katy Rey’s Story
Katy writes from the parts of life that made her softer, louder, funnier, braver, and more herself. Her books sound like Katy because they come from the same place she does.
People At Work
Humans First Coaching
For teams and leaders who know people are not machines, culture is not a poster, and the way people feel at work follows them everywhere else.
Katy Rey FAQ
A few things people ask before they invite Katy in.
Katy’s work does not fit neatly into one title. She speaks, hosts, writes, asks real questions, builds meaningful gatherings, and shows up for people in a way that feels unmistakably like her.
Who is Katy Rey?
Katy Rey is a speaker, MC, event host, author, podcast host, founder of Fostering Hearts FL, and creator of CelebrateYOU. She is known for bringing humor, honesty, warmth, and a deeply human way of seeing people into everything she does.
What does Katy Rey speak about?
Katy speaks about being human, showing up as yourself, belonging, foster care, family, labels, joy, hard seasons, community, and the kind of truth that helps people feel less alone. Her talks are personal, funny, direct, and rooted in real life.
Can Katy Rey host or MC an event?
Yes. Katy can host, MC, guide a program, moderate a panel, lead a live interview, introduce speakers, hold tender moments, and keep an event moving without making it feel stiff or overdone.
What kinds of events are a good fit for Katy?
Katy is a strong fit for fundraisers, galas, leadership events, team gatherings, school events, conferences, retreats, panels, interviews, nonprofit events, community celebrations, and meaningful days where the people matter as much as the plan.
Is Katy Rey only available for Tampa Bay events?
No. Katy is Tampa Bay-based and available to travel for speaking, hosting, MC, panel, nonprofit, school, leadership, and community events wherever her voice and presence are the right fit.
What makes Katy different from other speakers or hosts?
Katy does not move through people by title, status, spotlight, or résumé. She meets people as people. That is why her speaking and hosting feel different. She is not trying to impress a crowd. She is paying attention to the humans in front of her.
What is CelebrateYOU?
CelebrateYOU is a gathering created by Katy to help people feel loved, celebrated, encouraged, and glad to be who they are. It brings together laughter, stories, community, truth, and the kind of joy people remember after they leave.
What is Fostering Hearts FL?
Fostering Hearts FL is Katy’s nonprofit work supporting young people impacted by foster care. It reflects one of the clearest parts of Katy’s life: showing up for people who need care, steadiness, and someone willing to stay close.
Does Katy Rey have books or a podcast?
Yes. Katy is a two-time bestselling author and the host of Not A Great Whisperer. Her books and podcast carry the same thread as her speaking: real stories, honest questions, humor, tenderness, and people being allowed to be fully themselves.
How do I invite Katy Rey to speak or host?
You can contact Katy through the website and share what you are planning, who is coming, where the event will be held, and what you hope people take with them. From there, Katy can help you decide whether speaking, hosting, MC work, a panel, or another format is the best fit.
Not sure where Katy fits yet? Start with why people are coming together.
Ask About Bringing Katy InStart With The People
Tell Katy who is coming and why it matters.
Tell her what you are gathering people for, what the day needs to feel like, and what you hope people carry with them when they leave. Katy will bring the laugh, the care, the timing, the questions, and the part of herself that never forgets every person in the room counts.
Give her the date.
Tell her the why.
She will meet the room.