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The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau

A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.

Your Mental Health Awareness Month Event: The Top 10 Speakers on Meaning, Growth Mindset, and Rebuilding Trust

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Lavin’s cutting-edge speakers offer new perspectives on the 2024 theme: “Where to Start: Mental Health in a Changing World.” They reveal how to become your own best coach (instead of your worst critic), how to design cities that bring us together, and more.

These Win-Win Solutions Can Help Us Boost Mental Health and Climate Action (4:36)

Why Do We Have a Mental Health Crisis in Higher Education? (3:36)

Eight Speakers for Your World Mental Health Day Event: From Finding Purpose to Leveraging Your Anxiety

October 10 is World Mental Health Day—and if you’re looking for last-minute speaker ideas for your event, we can help. Our speakers offer so many perspectives to explore: from succeeding at work, to finding purpose, to navigating (or maybe even leveraging) your anxiety.

AI Won’t Take Away Health Care Jobs—It’ll Secure Them (1:47)

Want to Raise Happy, Healthy, Entrepreneurial Kids? Don’t Teach Them the World Is a Bad Place

Public Health Means Standing Up For Others (17:42)

‘It’s Life or Death’: The Mental Health Crisis Among U.S. Teens

How the Covid Pandemic Affected Teens’ Mental Health

Writing Medicine workshop helps healthcare workers reflect on pandemic

From Healthcare Workers To The Rest Of Us — How Can We Better Cope?

The Pandemic Did Not Affect Mental Health the Way You Think

Finally Everyone Agrees: Health Care Is a Human Right

Canadian Forces: Holding the line on mental health

Hip-Hop Turned This Chef On To Healthy Food

Paleo, vegan, gluten-free—the only certainty about health trends is their reversal

Teenagers more likely to eat healthily if they think it is rebellious

Why breathing through your mouth is bad for your health

Author James Nestor on how breathing properly can improve overall health

Why a Healthy Person’s Perception of Time Is Inaccurate

The best health books experts read in 2022

Perfectionists: Lowering your standards can improve your mental health

Michael Landsberg Takes A Personal Approach To Mental Health With #SickNotWeak

Michael Landsberg goes on the record about mental health, power of social media

Want a healthier corporate culture? Avoid email and embrace scoreboards

TED: The Mental Health Benefits of Storytelling for Health Care Workers (9:44)

Jonathan Metzl on Political Issues That Could Impact Your Health (2:38)

Mental health “1 piece of the puzzle”: Psychiatrist on Buffalo shooting

Cultivating Healthy, Harmonious Passions (4:51)

Designing Invisible Worlds—Good Germs and Healthy Buildings

Yes — Mental Health Is Physical Health

Against Health

How Health Became the New Morality

Yes, Mental Health Is Physical Health

Working Through Our Anxieties Is the First Step Towards a Healthy Planet

How Performance Coaching Can Help Your Mental Health

The mental health benefits of storytelling for health care workers

You Can’t Have Good Health Without Good Breathing Habits

The Surprising Health Problems Linked to Your Breathing

Why Does Healthcare Cost More in the U.S.?

How the Pandemic Redefined Conversations About Public Health

Profit Over Patients: Breaking Down the American Healthcare System

How Climate Change Affects Your Mental Health (7:32)

Yes — Mental Health Is Physical Health

Cultivating Healthy, Harmonious Passions

Keeping Hope and Health Alive in Indigenous Communities

Kyle Presentation | Deaf Health Initiave | ROUGH

Public Health 2.0 and the Open-Source Outbreak

Dr. Richard Heinzl on Health + Technology: “Back in Those Days, We Dreamed Up What the Internet Could Be.”

Designing Invisible Worlds—Good Germs and Healthy Buildings

How Performance Coaching Can Help Your Mental Health

How Technology Erases International Barriers in Healthcare

Poor Health: The Assumptions, the Facts, and the Opportunities

As Human Beings, We All Have Mental Health Issues (3:23)

Today is #BellLetsTalk: End the Stigma Around Mental Health and Start Talking

The stigma surrounding mental illness is one of the biggest barriers to mental health care. The #BellLetsTalk initiative encourages people to get talking and save lives—and keynote speakers Michael Landsberg, Vijay Gupta, and Waneek Horn-Miller, are experts at starting the conversation.   Michael Landsberg—an ambassador for #BellLetsTalk—uses his story to start the conversation. Landsberg was the […]

Early Reviews for Ashton Applewhite’s This Chair Rocks: “An Essential Tool for Healthy and Happy Aging.”

Ageism is the last acceptable “ism” says Ashton Applewhite, author of This Chair Rocks—the powerful anti-ageism manifesto that Publishers Weekly called “a valuable resource, an agent for social change, and an enjoyable read.”    Booklist calls it “a fierce and funny yet practical and thoughtful manifesto on how such negativity can be combated on individual […]

Will Gale

Business Development

Your Fall ’24 Events: Welcome Week and Orientation Speakers on Pop Culture, Thriving in School, and More

Welcome Week represents a vital moment for new and returning students alike to kickstart their learning, connect with their community, and get excited for the new year. Our Welcome Week and Orientation speakers offer encouraging talks on topics that matter to college audiences: from racial justice to mental health, and beyond.

Your Fall ‘24 Events: Speakers on the 2024 Election, Solidarity, Beating Polarization, and More

This election year, our students and colleges are polarized. But we can still come together in the pursuit of a stronger, more equal democracy. Lavin’s inspiring political speakers offer powerful, hopeful talks for your Fall 2024 semester.

An Urgent New Book on America Today. What We’ve Become by Dr. Jonathan Metzl Offers Hope for a Stronger Democracy

Our path towards racial justice, solidarity, and equal freedom for all seems unclear. But it’s not too late to set things right. Renowned psychiatrist and professor Dr. Jonathan Metzl offers a new perspective on our current moment, using the lens of gun reform to show how we can come together in the pursuit of a better democracy.

The Top 12 International Women’s Day Speakers for 2024: True Gender Equality, Learning From the Past, and More

Every March, International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month give us the chance to be inspired by the women of the past, and to let their stories light the way towards our shared future. Lavin is proud to represent the world’s top IWD speakers: from literary icon Margaret Atwood to civil rights legend Minnijean Brown-Trickey, and many more.

The Skill of “Deep Curiosity”: Scott Shigeoka’s New Book Is Already on Amazon’s Best Books of 2023

Seek (out now!) reveals how curiosity is key to unlocking greater creativity and engagement. It’s “an empathic, practical, and heartfelt road map forward” (Seth Godin) and is striking a chord across the media: from The Today Show to Fast Company to The Next Big Idea Club.

Top 10 AI Speaker Justin Reilly: Your Company Needs to Become “AI First”

Just as the internet brought business into the Digital First and then Mobile First eras, breakneck advances in Artificial Intelligence are quickly bringing us into an “AI First” era, says Wavelo CEO and top AI strategy speaker Justin Reilly.

Top 10 AI Speaker Nita Farahany: The New Frontier of AI? Your Brain

What if you could monitor how focused you are throughout the day? Or retrain your brain to treat depression? “Today, we know and track virtually nothing that’s happening in our own brains,” says AI policy speaker Nita Farahany. “But in a future that is coming much faster than you realize, all of that is about to change.”

Top 10 AI Speaker Radhika Dirks: AI Is Revolutionizing Possibility Itself

If you’re still thinking of ChatGPT as a simple tool for productivity, you’re thinking too small, says AI innovation speaker Radhika Dirks, one of Forbes’s 30 Women in AI to Watch. The power of generative AI has brought our wildest and most ambitious moonshots—projects that used to take decades and billions of dollars to accomplish—within reach.

Top 10 AI Speaker Ajay Agrawal: Why You Can’t Afford to Be 2nd in the AI Future

Artificial Intelligence is disrupting our entire economy, which means that smart companies have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to consolidate power today, says AI leadership speaker Ajay Agrawal. As the founder of the Creative Destruction Lab, the largest incubator of AI startups on the planet, Ajay shows leaders like you practical ways to get ahead—and stay ahead—in the AI future.

Why Empathy Is a Vital Ingredient for True DEI: Stanford Psychologist Jamil Zaki

Empathy is a vital ingredient for thriving workplaces and for successful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, says Jamil Zaki, director of Stanford’s Social Neuroscience Lab. Drawing on his original research on the science of empathy, Jamil shows how you can learn this “soft skill” just like you’d learn a hard skill like coding: through practice, experience, and collaboration.

Is a Narrow Focus on Group Identity Making It Harder for Us to Get Along? Yascha Mounk on Saving Our Democracy

In the pursuit of equality, a growing number of people have begun to define themselves in terms of their group identities, like race or gender. But Lavin’s Yascha Mounk says that’s actually counterproductive to our goal. In his new book, The Identity Trap, he shows us how to escape the trap and find solidarity.

Unlock the Power of “Deep Curiosity” for Greater Connections: Lavin Welcomes Scott Shigeoka, Author of Seek

Curiosity is a “muscle” that you can exercise to tap into greater fulfillment and wellbeing, healthier workplaces, and better teamwork. Lavin’s proud to welcome our new exclusive speaker Scott Shigeoka, author of the highly anticipated Seek, who offers tried-and-true strategies (like his pioneering DIVE model) for using the whole spectrum of curiosity—from shallow to deep—today.

Two New AI Talks from the TED Mainstage: Lavin speakers on Education, the Brain, and New Technologies. Watch Now!

At TED this year, Lavin speakers Nita Farahany and Sal Khan made waves and spurred endless conversation. Unsurprisingly, their talks centered on the fast-changing conversation around Artificial Intelligence. Both talks are now available to watch!

“Inclusive Leadership Is a Practice”: Daily Steps for Transforming Your Company Culture, from Minette Norman’s New Book

Building diverse teams is the key to breakthrough innovation. But teams can’t benefit from their diversity until everyone feels safe to bring their best to work—and inclusive teams require inclusive leaders. The good news? Inclusive leadership is a practice that anyone can learn—and in The Boldly Inclusive Leader, Minette shows you how.

The Best Outcome for Black Women Is the Best for Us All: Anna Gifty, Editor of The Black Agenda

“It’s really important that we don’t just state that discrimination exists,” says Anna Gifty. “We need to actually intervene in it.” As co-founder of the only nonprofit aimed at fixing the pathway problem for Black women in economics, Anna is an expert at identifying and remedying patterns of discrimination at work and beyond.

Mental Fitness Is Your Superpower: Five Perspectives on Unlocking the Best Version of Yourself and Your Team

In boardrooms across the country, conversations around mental health have shifted to include mental fitness: the quality that allows everyone at your organization to develop resilience and avoid burnout. Our speakers provide cutting-edge tools from their own research—strategies like listening to your anxieties or giving yourself a pep talk with your own name—that you and your team can use to overcome challenges and thrive.

Finding Purpose in a World on Fire: Lavin’s Climate Speakers on Winning the Fight for the Future of Our Planet

With the effects of the climate crisis starker than they’ve ever been, how do we wrestle through the anxiety and take action to save our planet? David Wallace-Wells and Britt Wray offer clear-eyed and hopeful perspectives on how we can push through the fear to find action, solidarity, and hope.

“A Master Class in Resilience”: Laurel Braitman’s Stunning New Memoir on Loss, Change, and Growth

In her memoir What Looks Like Bravery, Laurel explores how we can navigate disruption and come out stronger on the other side. Rebecca Skloot, bestselling author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, calls it “a life-changing lesson in healing from loss and trauma and a master class in resilience.”

Vegan Soul Kitchen

Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine

The Village Effect

How Face-to-Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier and Happier

Sales Agent

Are you the right person in the wrong job? Have you stayed up all night debating politics, music, civil rights and social justice, old philosophies, new technologies, the media, the economy—or, better yet, the intersection of them all? A real debate where minds get changed, including your own? Yes? Then maybe we’re the home you […]

Women’s History Month 2023: Lavin’s Top Speakers on Gender Equality and Beyond

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the amazing progress in women’s rights over the years, as well as the work being done today. With so many facets of gender equality to explore, Lavin can help you book the right speaker for your event to inspire leadership, growth and resilience. We’re proud to […]

Roe v. Wade Helps Us Understand Our Current Moment: Mary Ziegler’s Roe Is a “Must-Read” (Publishers Weekly)

As one of our foremost authorities on the Constitution and our reproductive rights, Mary argues that the effects of Roe v. Wade don’t just end at the abortion debate. Instead, Roe has taken on meanings far beyond its original purpose. Its repercussions have affected us all, in many different areas of our lives—from women’s rights […]

Taking Control of Your Inner Voice: Psychologist Ethan Kross Featured in The New Yorker

For leaders, overthinking and negative self-talk can lead to decreased productivity. This is something that Ethan Kross, bestselling author of Chatter, is a leading expert in. He offers proven methods to take control of your inner voice, helping you transform your thinking to one that works for you, not against you. Last week, Ethan Kross, who […]

The Top Happiness & Wellness Speakers of 2022

Good health, both mental and physical, isn’t just nice to have in the workplace—it’s the key to increased productivity, motivation, and creativity for workers and leaders in every context. Our TOP HAPPINESS AND WELLNESS SPEAKERS offer innovative, practical strategies that you can use to help everyone in your organization perform at their highest level, all the time. […]

The Top 5 Corporate Culture Speakers of 2022

More than anything else, culture is what makes organizations great. A good workplace culture empowers people at every level to learn from their mistakes, collaborate with people who are different from them, and bring their authentic selves to work. Lavin’s TOP CORPORATE CULTURE SPEAKERS—from psychologists to the C-suite—have hands-on experience in creating resilient, healthy organizations. They’ll give you […]

About

THE LAVIN AGENCY is the world’s largest intellectual talent agency, representing leading thinkers for speaking engagements, personal appearances, consulting, and endorsements. Our Team “We have a remarkable team here, and one reason is that the staff is very diverse, politically and intellectually. I like people who want to contribute to the debate. At The Lavin […]

Building a Workplace You Want to Be a Part Of: Lavin Welcomes Bully Market Author Jamie Fiore Higgins

What does it really look like to recognize—and improve—an unhealthy workplace? Jamie Fiore Higgins, author of the acclaimed memoir Bully Market, has firsthand experience from her 18 years at a toxic Wall Street company. Today, Jamie draws on her experience to show us what it takes to change our workplace cultures, promote inclusion and diversity, […]

Bestselling Author George M. Johnson Named to TIME100 Next List of Rising Stars

George M. Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of All Boys Aren’t Blue, is on a mission: to confront bigotry, create a better future, and forge a path so youth around the world can “be themselves unapologetically.” George was named to the 2022 TIME100 Next list for their compelling writing and activism. As TIME’s annual […]

Michael Landsberg

When we talk openly, frankly, and honestly about mental health, we’re one step closer to healing.

Todd Kashdan

The best organizations build a culture that embraces healthy dissent.

Martin E.P. Seligman

Psychology isn’t just for pathologizing—we can all use it to live happier, healthier lives.

Finding Purpose Amidst Our Climate Anxiety (and Our Other Anxieties!): Stanford Fellow Britt Wray’s New Book

How do we stay sane and find purpose in the climate crisis? Dynamic TED Speaker and New Yorker-acclaimed science writer Britt Wray has the answer. Her revolutionary scientific research, outlined in her brilliant new book Generation Dread, reveals that wrestling through our climate emotions helps us find purpose and fight for the future of our planet.  Britt shows us […]

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman Unites Bold and Brave Voices to Uplift Black America

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman is the editor of The Black Agenda: the first ever book to bring together dozens of Black writers, scholars, and leaders to solve today’s most pressing social issues, from economics to education to climate change. The Black Agenda “will challenge what you think is possible” (Ibram X. Kendi, New York Times bestselling […]

Anna Unites Bold and Brave Voices to Uplift Black America

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman is behind The Black Agenda: the first ever book to bring together dozens of Black writers, scholars, and leaders to solve today’s most pressing social issues, from economics to education to climate change. The Black Agenda “will challenge what you think is possible” (Ibram X. Kendi, New York Times bestselling author). America needs help. […]

James Nestor

The key to leading happier, healthier lives? Better breathing.

A Reckoning of Racist Ideologies: The Lavin Agency Welcomes Psychiatrist Jonathan Metzl

We are only just beginning to understand the deep impacts of racial resentment—including its fatal consequences on public health. In the era of Donald Trump, many lower- and middle-class white Americans were drawn to politicians who pledged to make their lives great again. But as Lavin’s newest speaker physician JONATHAN METZL shows in his explosive […]

The End of Bias: Lavin Welcomes Science Journalist Jessica Nordell

We see the detrimental effects of unconscious bias and discrimination everywhere: in our schools, our workplaces, our hospitals, and beyond. Yet change is possible, says acclaimed science journalist Jessica Nordell. In her debut book The End of Bias, Lavin’s newest speaker shows us the science-based approach for uprooting our deepest prejudices. Unconscious bias is the […]

Philosophy Chair and Award-Winning Author John Kaag Joins The Lavin Agency

We’re moving towards the post-pandemic world, but the collective grief, trauma, and suffering of the last two years still lingers. New Lavin speaker John Kaag, the Chair of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, shows us how we can process our feelings post-crisis, find hope and strength to move on, and actively pursue a […]

Jay Van Bavel Offers a Revolutionary Understanding of Identity in The Power of Us

In his new book The Power of Us, Jay Van Bavel explores the dynamics of our social identities: What causes people to develop social identities? What happens when they define themselves by the groups they belong to? And under what conditions does the human tendency to divide the world into “us” versus “them” become toxic […]

Choose Possibility: Former StubHub President Sukhinger Singh Cassidy Joins The Lavin Agency

One of Silicon Valley’s most successful and well-respected leaders, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy is no stranger to risk. In her upcoming book Choose Possibility, Lavin’s newest speaker reveals how the many personal and professional leaps she took along the way led her to where she is today.   In her 25-year career, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy has […]

Kristin Neff: Fierce Self-Compassion Can Change Your Life, and the World

Long before self-compassion had become common parlance, DR. KRISTIN NEFF was leading pioneering research in the field. Countless studies have been published since her first groundbreaking book Self-Compassion, and today, she reshapes our understanding once more with her new release: Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive.  […]

Remote Work & The Hybrid Office: Mastering the Post-Pandemic Workplace with Alexandra Samuel

After a year in which many of us plunged into remote work overnight, we finally have a chance to make thoughtful choices about how to combine remote and office work. In her new book Remote Inc., Alexandra Samuel—a tech journalist and remote work professional of 25 years—reveals how to adopt the mindset and habits of […]

The Life-Changing Power of Breath: Introducing New Speaker James Nestor

The way we breathe has changed dramatically over the course of human evolution—and not for the better. Fortunately, acclaimed science journalist James Nestor has undertaken the task of restoring our most vital function, starting with his instant New York Times bestseller Breath.  It’s rare that we can say that a book is for everyone, but […]

Lavin’s Holiday Gift Guide: A Book for Everyone on Your List

Is there any better way to spend the holidays than curled up with a good book? As this year comes to a close, we’ve rounded up the reads that have inspired, motivated, challenged, and moved us. So, whether you’re shopping for a history buff or a poetry lover, or even a gift for yourself, there’s […]

Centering the Black Experience: Introducing Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman

If we want to achieve an inclusive economy that works for all, we must begin by giving Black women a seat at the table, says Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman. An activist and emerging researcher, she specializes in data-driven solutions that address the future of work and its implications for Black people in both corporate and academic […]

Lavin Speaker Round-Up: Decoding the Most Important Election of Our Lifetime

This year has been an unforgettable one, to say the least. Marked by a global pandemic, a worldwide call for racial justice, and the worst economic recession we’ve seen since the Great Depression, 2020 also happens to fall on an election year. Soon, we will decide on the next President of the United States—a decision […]

Reimagining Higher Education in Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption of education systems in history. Not only that, but this crisis is exacerbating pre-existing education disparities for many of the most vulnerable students. How are higher education institutions carrying on with teaching during this socio-economic, cultural and health crisis, and what do we know about the future of […]

Lavin Speaker Tarah Wheeler Selected for the Prestigious Fulbright Cyber Security Scholar Award

In her mission to create a safe and secure Internet for everyone, cybersecurity expert Tarah Wheeler has won the US/UK Fulbright Cyber Security Scholar Award. The Internet has undoubtedly improved the lives of people all over the world; however, as it’s grown, its vulnerabilities have also become more obvious. Today, corporations, government agencies, and individuals […]

What’s the Future? Join us for Our First Virtual Event and Find Out!

Join Naomi Klein, Angela Duckworth, Wajahat Ali, and many more of the world’s top thinkers at What’s the Future @ Lavin Live—a free virtual event diving into the enormous challenges we’re all facing as a result of COVID-19.  The longer we stay under lockdown, the less likely we are to return to a world that […]

Dragons’ Den Star Manjit Minhas Transforms Her Brewery into a Sanitizer Facility Amid the Coronavirus

Manjit Minhas is well-known for her role as a judge on the critically acclaimed program Dragons’ Den. She also runs one the world’s largest breweries—worth a whopping $187 million dollars. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Minhas shows us how it’s possible to repurpose your business and respond to the crucial needs of our […]

The Case for ‘Tragic Optimism’: Emily Esfahani Smith for The New York Times

How can we protect our mental health during a global pandemic? Emily Esfahani Smith, author of the critically acclaimed The Power of Meaning, argues that the answer lies not in a quest for happiness, but a search for meaning.   “When researchers and clinicians look at who copes well in crisis and even grows through […]

Jamil Zaki Reveals How Disasters Shock Us Into Remembering Our Shared Humanity for The Wall Street Journal

Though some shoppers have been panic-buying toilet paper and sanitizer against expert advice, there’s a much bigger trend happening during this pandemic—empathy. In his latest op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki explores how COVID-19 has sparked a “global epidemic of kindness.”   For every news story there is about toilet paper […]

Age Activist Ashton Applewhite Says Beating Coronavirus Means Confronting Ageism and Ableism

As new coronavirus cases surge and more and more people self-isolate to flatten the curve, the nation’s economy continues to plummet. On Twitter, the suggestion that older people should sacrifice themselves for the sake of the economy is only one indication of how ageism and ableism are being laid bare during this pandemic. Ashton Applewhite […]

Futurist Jonathan Brill Envisions Life After the Coronavirus

Citizens around the globe are glued to the news as the coronavirus continues to silently spread. But Jonathan Brill, a gifted futurist who has helped some of the world's leading companies navigate uncertainty, suggests that what we really need to focus on is life after the pandemic. While globalization has improved quality of life for […]

Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb Reveals How to Fight Coronavirus Anxiety

With the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe, it’s no wonder that anxiety and fear are on the rise. What if a loved one falls ill? How will we deal with the potential financial fallout? And what happens if we find ourselves in another global recession? Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb—also the author of the New York Times […]

Navigating Our AI Future: Lavin’s Top 10 Artificial Intelligence Speakers

Once the stuff of dystopian nightmares, artificial intelligence has become an essential part of our daily lives. Today, AI recommends our products, routes our taxis, predicts our Internet searches. Tomorrow? It will be a tool as fundamental as electricity. Lavin’s Top 10 artificial intelligence speakers help us navigate the changes to come. Radhika Dirks: There […]

Why ‘Cartooning’ Political Opponents is Bad for Us: Jay Van Bavel for the BBC

We tend to reduce our political opponents to caricatures and stereotypes, a practice that is further reinforced by social media. And though it may feel satisfying to call one another out publicly, the effects could be dangerous. Psychology professors Jay Van Bavel and Dominic Packer investigate for the BBC.  Political polarization may increase voter turnout, […]

Psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman Interviews Bestselling Author Lori Gottlieb on Common Myths of Therapy

Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb made waves when she released Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, a poignant memoir that’s spent week after week on the bestseller lists. Now, she joins fellow Lavin Speaker Scott Barry Kaufman on The Psychology Podcast to discuss the book, some misconceptions about therapy, and why searching for “happiness” may be the […]

Lavin’s Top Pandemic Speakers Explore the Spread of Diseases like the Coronavirus

In just a couple of months the Coronavirus that emerged from the Chinese city of Wuhan has spread around the world, sparking a race to find treatments and vaccines against it. Zeroing in on how this deadly virus is spreading and what everyone can do to take preventative measures are The Lavin Agency’s Top Pandemic Speakers—letting […]

Acclaimed Rafiki Director Wanuri Kahiu to Direct The Black Kids, Based on Hotly Anticipated YA Novel

The Gotham Group recently announced their latest film project, The Black Kids, and it’s set to be directed by Rafiki filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu.  Kahiu—who gained international attention for her critically acclaimed film Rafiki—will helm the production, based on the upcoming YA novel of the same name. The Black Kids follows the story of a wealthy […]

Why Are Older Women Choosing to Live Alone? Psychologist Susan Pinker Explores for CBC

In her book The Village Effect, award-winning author and psychologist Susan Pinker wrote about the undeniable, life-affirming benefits of social bonds and face-to-face connection. More recently, she spoke to CBC about why an increasing number of seniors—particularly women— are enjoying living alone.  Whether it be in a retirement home or on their own property, more […]

Lavin’s Top Race Speakers Explore the Past and Present, and Share Their Solutions for the Future

As we enter a new decade, there’s a lot to look forward to—and a lot left to fight for. And unfortunately, racism isn’t a relic of shameful times past—it’s still very much alive today. Here at The Lavin Agency, our Top Race Speakers tackle this tough topic from all angles—public policy, pop culture, education, and […]

Lavin’s Top Happiness & Wellness Speakers Inspire Personal Growth and Positive Change

Everyone wants to be happy and healthy—but it doesn’t come easy. The pressure of performing well at work and having a fulfilling personal life can often be hard to manage—and that’s where Lavin’s Top Happiness & Wellness Speakers come in. Experts in how to actively enhance our inner lives and outer selves, they inspire audiences […]

Margaret Atwood, Lori Gottlieb, and Angie Thomas Named to Variety’s Best Books of 2019

The most recent novels from bestselling authors Margaret Atwood (The Testaments), Lori Gottlieb (Maybe You Should Talk to Someone) and Angie Thomas (On the Come Up) all were named to Variety’s list of the Best Books of 2019. Margaret Atwood’s hotly anticipated sequel to 1985’s The Handmaid’s Tale, was able to intertwine her original story […]

Empathy Expert Jamil Zaki Shares Techniques for Nurturing Kindness in Washington Post Profile

In these divided times, it can often seem like empathy is difficult, if not downright impossible to find. But for Jamil Zaki, the Director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, we have a unique opportunity these days to strengthen our ability to relate to and care for one another—maybe even more than at any other […]

Six Lavin Speakers Featured on TIME Magazine’s “100 Must-Read Books of 2019”

Congratulations to Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Jayson Greene, Lori Gottlieb, David Wallace-Wells and Shoshana Zuboff for penning stirring, thought-provoking works that have captured the world’s attention.   Salman Rushdie—Quichotte The prolific author’s 14th novel reimagines the famous Don Quixote character in a satirical metafiction. Quichotte is set in Donald Trump’s America and follows “pharmaceutical-product salesman […]

Activist Vijay Gupta and Filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu Make the TIME “100 Next” List

The inaugural TIME “100 Next” list was announced today. Honoring rising stars who are “eager to defy the odds and fight for a better future,” the list includes two Lavin speakers: Wanuri Kahiu, a Cannes-winning filmmaker from Kenya, and Vijay Gupta, the MacArthur Genius violinist putting art into social justice. Wanuri Kahiu is an artist […]

Three Lavin Speakers Make Amazon’s List of the Best Biographies and Memoirs of 2019

Authors Jayson Greene, Lori Gottlieb, and Megan Phelps-Roper are among Amazon’s annual list of the best memoirs and biographies of 2019. They each share incredibly personal, and profound, stories.  Megan Phelps-Roper’s memoir, Unfollow, explores her life as a member of the notoriously hateful Westboro Baptist Church—and how she came to the decision to leave her […]

The AI Disruption: Martin Ford Explores Andrew Yang’s Surprising Campaign and Why it Matters

In a new op-ed, Martin Ford—acclaimed author of two books on the impact of AI on the labour market—explains why AI-driven automation should be a top-of-mind issue in the upcoming election, and why Andrew Yang is the only candidate willing to speak out about it.  “The Democratic Party’s agenda increasingly is being shaped by the […]

Amber Baldet Visits The Verge to Discuss What Blockchain Can Do For us

Cryptocurrency expert Amber Baldet joins Vox Media’s The Verge for an insightful conversation on where cryptocurrency is going, Facebook’s potential in the game, and how blockchain can dismantle skepticism and renew trust when it comes to sharing our data online.   Money is one fantastic and useful application of blockchain technology, and it has the […]

Athlete and Activist Waneek Horn-Miller Inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

Having been an inspiring athlete and Indigenous activist for decades, Waneek Horn-Miller has been breaking barriers and records her entire life. Her latest achievement is being inducted into the elite Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame—making her the first water polo player to be honoured.  The induction ceremony takes place in Toronto today, and Horn-Miller is […]

I, Robot: Seth Stephens-Davidowitz Explores Our Changing Relationship With Technology for NPR.

When we want to figure out where to eat, what to see, or the answers to our embarrassing questions, we turn to Google. Seth Stephen Davidowitz, a former data scientist for the search engine, explains how our search history reveals more about us than we know.   Seth Stephens-Davidowitz is the author of Everybody Lies: […]

Big Problems, Tiny Solutions: MIT’s Susan Hockfield Joins Bill Nye on the Science Rules! Podcast

How will we address the needs of everyone on earth as the population continues to grow? Susan Hockfield—Neuroscientist, author, and former president of MIT—suggests we turn to biology for answers.  By the year 2050, there will be almost ten billion people on earth. Unsurprisingly, the population increase will put a significant stress on our resources: […]

The Top Climate Change Speakers Taking Action in the Fight for Our Future

A year ago, Greta Thunberg was an unknown Swedish teenager striking from school once a week to protest climate inaction. Today, she’s a global icon and climate activist that’s inspired a nation. Alongside Greta, these top Climate Change speakers are united in the fight to save our planet, and they show us—beyond activism—what we must […]

What is Your Technology Doing to You? Adam Alter Explores on Future Minds

Adam Alter—NYU Marketing Professor and New York Times bestselling author—joins Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience Joel Pearson for an engaging conversation on how addictive technology influences our lives.  Why are so many people addicted to technology? Adam Alter has been investigating the question for years, most notably in his latest book Irresistible. It’s a topic that […]

Winning Now, Winning Later: Former Honeywell CEO David Cote Joins The Lavin Agency

As the former chairman and CEO of Honeywell, David Cote led one of the most historic turn-around’s the manufacturing industry had ever seen. In his upcoming book Winning Now, Winning Later, he distills those strategic leadership lessons for the next generation of business chieftains and managers.  Should an organization focus on its current numbers, or […]

PBS Newshour Highlights Nikole Hannah-Jones’ Groundbreaking 1619 Project

Nikole Hannah-Jones talks to PBS Newshour about her exciting project with The New York Times Magazine. The 1619 Project is a landmark issue of the magazine entirely devoted to commemorating the anniversary of American slavery, and reframing the nation’s past—and present—through the lens of this incredible injustice.  How did slavery shape the American economy, influence […]

The Final Frontier of Privacy: Nita Farahany Considers Mind-Reading Technology

Companies and governments are closer than ever to introducing mind-reading technology. The problem? Our legal system is ill-equipped to handle the privacy concerns that will no doubt accompany it. Neuro-ethicist Nita Farahany joins the conversation in Fast Company. There are a variety of reasons why mind-reading technology has captured our attention; some altruistic, some not. […]

Abandoning the Status Quo: Innovation Guru Jeremy Gutsche Shares How CIOs Can Help Companies Disrupt

As the CEO of Trend Hunter, the largest trend-spotting platform in the world, Jeremy Gutsche is well-versed in the art of bringing big ideas to life. Now, he explains how CIOs will become crucial to disruptive innovation in the coming years.   The average lifespan of a fortune 500 company has fallen from a healthy […]

Reforming Education: Top Ten Teaching and Learning Speakers

From boosting economic growth, to living healthier and happier lives, the benefits of education are rich and plenty. Lavin’s Top Ten Teaching and Learning Speakers address how we can reform our public institutions, deepen our knowledge, increase productivity, and ultimately, achieve more success.   With a New York Times bestselling book and Viral TED talk […]

“All Hands on Deck”: Uninhabitable Earth Author David Wallace-Wells Discusses the Motivating Force of Climate Change

We absolutely love it when two Lavin speakers get together to share world-changing ideas, and that happened on Douglas Rushkoff’s most recent episode of his Team Human podcast, “The Power of Panic,” when he and The Uninhabitable Earth author David Wallace-Wells got down to brass tacks around climate change, and the power of human anxiety […]

The Washington Post Round-Up of Best Books for Every Age Features Four Lavin Speakers

The time in your life that you read a book will alter the impact it will have on you. The Washington Post has rounded up the best book for every age, a list of recommendations chosen based on the “age-appropriate wisdom they impart.” Included in the round-up are Lavin speakers Angie Thomas, Margaret Atwood, Salman […]

Top 10 Team-Building Speakers: Fostering Meaningful Connections in the Workplace

A company can’t succeed without its people, and people can’t succeed without each other. These Top 10 team-building speakers illuminate how to create long-lasting connections in the workplace—improving productivity, collaboration, and happiness in the process. Darby Allen is widely celebrated for safely evacuating the residents of Fort McMurray during Alberta’s 2016 forest fires. Today, the […]

Is Nationalism Ever a Force for Good? Jared Diamond Weighs In for Big Think

In today’s political climate, nationalism tends to carry negative connotations. But in the latest video from Big Think, historian, geographer, and bestselling author JARED DIAMOND explores how—much like self-confidence for the individual—nationalism is something that countries should have, in healthy doses. Nationalism isn’t inherently bad—it just depends how much you have of it. Jared Diamond […]

Nina Tandon’s Revolutionary Bone Reconstruction Company Approved for FDA Trial

Nina Tandon’s company EpiBone has received FDA clearance to begin its first clinical trial—making it one step closer to providing patients with precision-fit skeletal implants grown from their own cells. Nina Tandon believes we are close to unlocking the regenerative capabilities of our own bodies. As the founder and CEO of EpiBone, Tandon uses stem […]

Two Humanitarian Leaders—The Dalai Lama and Lavin Speaker Bill Strickland—Meet to Discuss the Power of Supporting Youth

As the founder of Manchester Bidwell—a revolutionary center which gives the poor and underprivileged youth access to careers—Bill Strickland is a widely-recognized leader in the world of  philanthropy. He was recently invited by fellow philanthropic leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, to discuss  compassion, resiliency, and the radically transformative power of helping those who need it most.  Bill […]

A Q&A With Emily Esfahani Smith, Lavin Speaker and Author of The Power of Meaning

Meaning, not happiness, is the key to a good life. That’s the vital message at the core of Emily Esfahani Smith’s book, The Power of Meaning, an essential guide to living a life that matters, as well as her popular TED talk—viewed over 7 million times—and her viral Atlantic article. In our recent chat with her, she explains how you can develop genuine cultures of […]

How Do You Manage Change? By Booking the Best Innovation Speakers

The world is changing—fast. You want the best innovation speaker to help you navigate your future. The Lavin Agency represents the best innovation speakers—great minds on the front lines of their industry, working to make the world a smarter place.     Jeremy Gutsche is “an intellectual can of Red Bull” (Association Week), a New York Times bestselling author and one of our most booked […]

Meet Lavin’s TED Fellows—A Group of Young Visionaries Working to Make the World a Better Place

The TED Fellows represent the brightest, boldest minds making headlines across all fields; they’re filmmakers, journalists, artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, musicians and designers, working together, and with TED’s support, to create positive change around the world. We represent over 40 TED Fellows. Get to know a few them below:  “Healthy, productive women are the cornerstone of […]

Twelve Lavin Speakers are Appearing at SXSW—Where the Boldest Minds With the Biggest Ideas Meet and Reach for the Future

South by Southwest (SXSW) is a conference that has dedicated itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Since 1987, the festival has attracted the brightest stars on the forefront of their fields to give talks and have candid conversations about the future and their industry. This year twelve Lavin speakers were invited to speak.   […]

In Her Latest for The Atlantic, Emily Esfahani Smith Shows That Our Flaws Are More Attractive Than We Think They Are

“Often there’s a mismatch between how people perceive their vulnerabilities and how others interpret them. We tend to think showing vulnerability makes us seem weak, inadequate, and flawed—a mess. But when others see our vulnerability, they might perceive something quite different, something alluring.” Researchers call this “the beautiful mess effect” and Emily Esfahani Smith, standing-o […]

Top 10 Business Keynote Speakers

Great companies start with great leaders. Leaders who recognize incredible talent, even when it’s hard to see; leaders who can spot, manage, and prevent risk; leaders who build successful teams, adapt to change and create cultures of innovation. These business keynote speakers blend personal, compelling leadership stories with years of immersive research, interviews and anecdotes […]

Top 10 Innovation Keynote Speakers

The world is changing—fast. Innovation and creativity are becoming the most valuable assets a company can hire for, encourage and cultivate. But how does innovation actually happen? What does it really look like in action? These innovation keynote speakers are professors, entrepreneurs, scientists; they’re working on the front lines of innovation, helping you to better […]

Get to Know Lavin’s MacArthur “Geniuses”!

This year Titus Kaphar and Vijay Gupta join a whopping SIX other Lavin Speakers in receiving MacArthur “Genius” Grants—a prestigious honor awarded to those who are forging truly significant progress towards “building a more just, verdant and peaceful world.” Get to know Lavin’s “geniuses”: Titus Kaphar’s sculptures, paintings, and installations create new and striking ways […]

Fashion, Beer, and Lab-Grown Bones: Three Women Doing Business on Their Own Terms

Looking to learn from some of the top women in business today? Beyond leaning in, these dynamic, innovative leaders offer brilliant business strategies on growing and sustaining organizations using their own unique skill sets—whether that’s in luxury fashion (Maureen Chiquet), beer production (Manjit Minhas), or the lab (Nina Tandon). Maureen Chiquet – Empathy is a Necessity, Not a Luxury   Courageous conversations are […]

In His Brand New TED Talk, Steven Pinker Argues that the World is Getting Better. But, We Must Adjust Our Perception to See It.

“You can always fool yourself into seeing a decline if you compare bleeding headlines of the present with rose-tinted images of the past,” says speaker Steven Pinker in his just-released (and standing o-garnering) TED Talk. But, he goes on to ask, what does the trajectory of the world look like when we measure well-being over time using […]

The Aging Population is Capable, Happy and Excited, Says Activist Ashton Applewhite. Marketers Barely Know This Demographic.

Misconceptions about our aging population abound. As Ashton Applewhite proves in This Chair Rocks—her celebrated anti-ageism manifesto—and her mainstage TED Talk, which garnered a standing ovation and over 1.2 million views, we barely know the aging demographic; they’re a consumer group far more capable, happy, and excited than socially constructed biases give them credit for.  […]

So You Work 120 Hours a Week—Daniel Lerner Tells You How to Find Meaning Beyond the Minutes

You change every day, so your sense of success does too, says speaker and positive psychologist Daniel Lerner. Lerner, author of U Thrive—a guide to prospering through the college years and beyond—teaches audiences of all ages to find success (and the more elusive measure: meaning) in daily work and life, whether you’re a lawyer, doctor, executive, or artist. Lerner is […]

Ignore the Headlines, Says Harvard Professor Steven Pinker. Out Today, His New Book Explains Why The World is Doing Better Than You Think.

Newspaper headlines are an endless stream of violence, destruction, and looming threats. But Harvard professor and leading cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker says that we’re actually living longer, healthier, and happier lives than ever before. In his much-anticipated book Enlightenment Now (already named one of The Guardian’s best of 2018 and declared by Bill Gates to be […]

3 Speakers Offer Practical, Meaningful Strategies in the Pursuit of Mental Wellness

Sometimes we don’t know how to face a challenge until we’re already struggling with it. Michael Landsberg, Candy Chang, and Dr. Jonathan Fader are three speakers who approach the issue of mental health from all angles: acknowledging the realities of illness while also promoting mental wellness for all—no matter how you feel.  Michael Landsberg: Sports, Stigma, […]

Productive Ease, Meaningful Work, Peaceful Communities: Three Speakers Offer Plans for Happiness at Work and Beyond

Consider the possibility of handling the everyday challenges of work, school, city dwelling, and creative pursuits with nothing more than your own mind. Speakers Daniel Lerner, Emily Esfahani Smith, and Charles Montgomery lay out straightforward actions towards living well, avoiding burnout, and maintaining your performance at work. Happiness is just one part of it.    Daniel Lerner: Balancing Passion with Everything Else     Sometimes it seems […]

4 Speakers Who Will Empower You to Change Your Patterns of Action (And Stick To It)

Motivate your employees. Reduce your carbon footprint. Run a marathon. January is the month we want to figure out how to do better—with our time, our colleagues, and our creative endeavours. These four keynote speakers will inspire you to set goals, work through slumps, and make positive change that really sticks. Vijay Gupta On Healing Communities Through Music    […]