She made Major as herself.

Veteran keynote speaker · Retired U.S. Army Major · TEDx speaker

The costume she was handed:

Hard.Loud.Not soft.Not girly.

For 25 years, the Army showed her what a leader was supposed to look like. Every time she tried to be someone else, it fell flat. So she led as herself, and retired a Major.

Lorrena Black smiling in a rose satin top against a wine backdrop
The Imposter Interrupter™Still interrupting her own.
who you areimposter syndrome lives herewho you are performing

Lorrena lived that gap in uniform. Now she brings it to Michigan stages as a veteran keynote speaker for companies, associations and veteran organizations, and names the quiet costumes people wear to cover it.

  • The Minimizer“Oh, I just...”
  • The Explainer“Sorry, let me explain...”
  • The Understudy“I’m not ready yet.”
  • The Quick-Change Artist“Whatever the room needs.”

The four quiet costumes she names on stage. Which one do you reach for?

Lorrena Black in uniform with her husband and their four children
In uniform, with her family.

Off stage

Before any title or stage, she is a woman of faith, a wife and a mother. She raised four children as a single mom through most of her 25 years in uniform.

Twenty-five years in uniform. Never in costume.

  1. Act I

    1997

    Enlisted

    Human Resources Specialist, U.S. Army. Inducted into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club.

  2. Act II

    2011

    Commissioned

    From NCO to officer, partly to find a path that fit who she actually was. Signal Officer.

  3. Act III

    2016

    Observer Coach/Trainer

    Team Chief, the role she held to retirement, after years leading soldiers across the United States and overseas.

  4. Act IV

    2022

    Retired as a Major

    After 25 years of service, from enlisted HR specialist to Major.

  5. Act V

    2024

    She Served LLC

    Founder and CEO, after four years as VP of Leadership Development at Inforum.

  6. Act VI

    2025

    TEDxDetroit

    “The Untold Strength of the Non-Combat Soldier.” Second place at NSA Michigan’s Last Story Standing.

Credentials

  • Master’s in Management and Leadership, Webster University
  • B.A.S. in Resource and Technology Management, Troy University
  • Co-Active trained coach, International Coaching Federation member
  • Certified ESCI practitioner (Emotional and Social Competency Inventory)
  • IDI Qualified Administrator (Intercultural Development Inventory)

Because service never stops

  • VP of Programming, National Speakers Association Michigan
  • Board member, CATCH Charity for Children
  • Women’s Army Corps, Wolverine Chapter 67
  • Donates her time to Veteran Service Organizations

Where she brings it nowImposter syndrome keynoteResilience keynoteWorkshops and coaching

Bring Lorrena to your next event.

Or call the office at (915) 269-2168 · lorrena@lorrenablack.com