Kelsey Pfendler
About the speaker
Kelsey Pfendler is a professional Grand Canyon river guide, Team USA athlete, and world record-setting ocean rower. Her remarkable journey has taken her from the rivers of New York and Colorado to the rapids of the Grand Canyon, where she has spent the last decade... More
Kelsey Pfendler is a professional Grand Canyon river guide, Team USA athlete, and world record-setting ocean rower. Her remarkable journey has taken her from the rivers of New York and Colorado to the rapids of the Grand Canyon, where she has spent the last decade guiding expeditions through one of the world’s most unforgiving landscapes. In 2020, she represented the United States as a member of the USA Open Women’s Raft Race Team at the World Rafting Championships in Bosnia, where her team earned multiple medals and finished second overall.
After competing on the world stage, Kelsey led a team of three women in an ambitious attempt to row 2,400 miles across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii in 2024. The demanding expedition tested their physical endurance, teamwork, and resilience while reinforcing the extraordinary strength that emerges when people work together to pursue a shared goal.
Inspired by that experience, Kelsey set her sights on an even greater challenge: to become the first American woman, and the youngest woman overall, to row solo and unsupported from California to Hawaii. Through relentless tenacity and grit, she broke free from the winds and currents of the California coast, an obstacle that has foiled many previous solo attempts. Following a disciplined regimen of 18+ hours a day on the oars, she finished her row in just under 44 days, smashing previous women’s records of 86+ days and men’s records of 52 days.
Through sharing her experiences navigating some of the world’s most demanding environments, Kelsey Pfendler inspires audiences to reach beyond what’s possible, lead with courage, embrace uncertainty, and recognize that our greatest growth often begins just beyond our comfort zone.
Sample Session Topic
- Control & Attention: Lessons Learned Crossing the Pacific
Drawing on her experience as a record-setting rower, Kelsey Pfendler explores the powerful relationship between control and attention. We can’t control changing conditions, unexpected challenges, or what comes next—but we can control how we prepare, where we focus our energy, the skills we develop, and how we adapt. Kelsey challenges audiences to let go of what they can’t influence and focus more intentionally on what they can, building the mindset and readiness to recognize opportunity and seize the moment when it arrives.
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Additional Resources
- Videos
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videoShe Rowed from California to Hawaii ALONE in Just 43 Days?!
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videoKelsey Pfendler recounts her harrowing solo row across the Pacific Ocean | SportsCenter
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videoKelsey Pfendler talks Nightmares, World Records & Going Viral
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videoAmerican rower Kelsey Pfendler speaks out after making history
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