EXPERT ON:
◉ Motivation & Mindset
◉ Leadership Development
◉ Decision-Making & Emotional Intelligence
◉ Overcoming Adversity
◉ Team Building & Collaboration
◉ Entrepreneurship & Innovation
EXPERIENCE:
◉ Founded the nation’s first higher-education department dedicated exclusively to studying and teaching critical thinking, achieving rare, documented campus-wide improvements.
◉ Recognized globally as a leading expert in critical thinking and a sought-after keynote speaker across education, business, wealth, and life-decision domains, with frequent features in major national and international media.
◉ Founder of The Critical Thinking Institute, author of America’s Critical Thinking Crisis, and host of the podcast Actual Intelligence.
Steve Pearlman, Ph.D. – World Expert in Critical Thinking
Steve is a world leader in critical thinking, problem solving, mindset, and decision making for businesses, education, and life. He founded the United States’ first department in higher education specifically focused on the study and teaching of critical thinking. His work resulted in something exceptionally rare in academia: documented, campus-wide improvements in critical thinking.
Steve then founded The Critical Thinking Institute, which brings his breakthrough neuroscientific method for critical thinking directly to the public, including executives, parents, and people around the globe. Steve’s accomplishments with critical thinking resulted in him being solicited for a TEDx talk, which has since gone viral with over half a million views. (If you view it, please note that it is a very simplified version of Steve’s expertise.)
Steve is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and workshop presenter, with recent keynotes including the 2025 Mega Success conference of worldwide business leaders, and the 2025 Learning and the Brain conference—the world’s premiere gathering of educators and neuroscientists. He is frequently found in national and international media, including CBS Atlanta, The Hill, The Chronicle of Higher Education, NPR, First Coast Connect, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, and other major media.
Steve is the author of America’s Critical Thinking Crisis: The Failure and Promise of Education, numerous textbooks and academic publications, as well as the host of the podcast, Actual Intelligence.
In his other life, Steve is a lifelong martial artist and author of the book, Martial Theory. When audiences are more interested in inspirational keynotes about mindset rather than critical thinking, Steve draws on his unique understanding of martial arts theory so as to offer powerful talks that cannot be found elsewhere.
Last but not least, he’s a serious foodie who revels in the opportunities to experience regional cuisine through his public-speaking travels.
