Lucy Chen Places Third at Toastmasters District 57 International Speech Contest
BERKELEY, CA — May 18, 2026 — Executive coach, author, and Distinguished Toastmaster Lucy Chen placed third at the Toastmasters District 57 International Speech Contest, her first time competing at the district level. She reached the district stage after winning at the club, area, and division levels this spring.
Her speech, The Invisible Box, was about limiting beliefs, the quiet rules people set for themselves and then forget they set. Chen built it from her own history. Years ago, she bombed a project presentation at work, walked out of the room, and decided public speaking wasn't for her. She believed that for a long time.
"I know the topic because I lived inside one," Chen said.
Chen has been a Toastmaster since 2009 and credits her mentors in Toastmasters District 4, District 57, and Chief for pushing her to compete. Today she coaches professionals, many of them immigrants and women, on speaking up and being seen at work.
"Still improving. Still climbing," she said after the contest.
Watch the speech on District 57's YouTube channel
About Lucy Chen
Lucy Chen, MS, DTM, is an executive coach, keynote speaker, and award-winning author. She founded Gifted Coaching and Gifted Books, an independent press that helps first-time authors, many of them immigrants and women, publish their stories. Her books include Build Resilience: Live, Learn, and Lead and Good Moms DO Cry, winner of an International Impact Book Award. Before coaching, she spent more than two decades in engineering, risk management, and fintech. She is a founding member of the San Francisco chapter of Chief and of SiliconRoshi AI Academy, and a board member of Catalyst Youth Network.
For more information, visit GiftedCoaching.info or contact Lucy at hello@giftedcoaching.info.
