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The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau

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

College

The world’s leading college speakers offer inspiring keynotes, fireside chats, and commencement speeches at events for students and educators. Whether you’re planning orientation, graduation, or a campus-wide event, our college and university speakers connect with audiences on what matters most: from leadership and mental health to identity, creativity, and the future of work. They help prepare the next generation to shape the world ahead.

20 College
Speakers

Sir Salman Rushdie

One of the Most Celebrated Writers of Our Time | New York Times Bestselling Author of Knife and The Satanic Verses

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power can easily destroy.

Margaret Atwood | Two-time Booker Prize-Winning Author of over 50 Books, Including The Handmaid's Tale, and its Recordbreaking Sequel, The Testaments

Margaret Atwood

Two-time Booker Prize-Winning Author of over 50 Books, Including The Handmaid’s Tale and its Recordbreaking Sequel,The Testaments

Literature can show us our future—if we look.

Angela Duckworth

Author of Grit, the #1 New York Times Bestseller | Pioneering Researcher on Grit, Perseverance, and the Science of Success

Grit, more than talent, IQ, looks, or wealth, is a powerful indicator of success.

Isabel Allende

Most Widely Read Spanish-Language Author Ever | Author of The House of the Spirits and The Wind Knows My Name | Winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Write what should not be forgotten.

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Creator of The 1619 Project | Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-Winning 1619 Project Hulu Docuseries | MacArthur Genius

Black history is American history.

Heather McGhee | Author of New York Times Bestseller The Sum of Us

Heather McGhee

Author of New York Times Bestseller The Sum of Us

Racism has a cost for everyone—so when we fight it together, we all win.

Salman Khan

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Khan Academy

AI won't destroy education. It'll save it.

Chuck Klosterman | Renowned Cultural Critic | Author of 12 Books, Including Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

Chuck Klosterman

Renowned Cultural Critic | New York Times Bestselling Author of 10 Books, Including Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

The goal of being alive is to figure out what it means to be alive.

Patti Smith | Punk Rock Legend | National Book Award Winner | New York Times Bestselling Author of Just Kids, Year of the Monkey, and A Book of Days

Patti Smith

Punk rock legend in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame | Author of Just Kids and Year of the Monkey | Winner of the National Book Award

The idea of redemption is always good news, even if it means sacrifice.

Minnijean Brown-Trickey

Civil Rights Legend who Helped Desegregate Public Schools | Member of the Little Rock Nine

When we challenge what we know to be morally wrong, we grow as a society.

Ellen Ochoa | The first Latina in Space | Former NASA Director

Ellen Ochoa

The First Latina in Space | Former NASA Director

When we all come together as a team to learn and innovate—we can aim for the stars.

Kwame Anthony Appiah

Author of Cosmopolitanism | One of America's Leading Public Intellectuals | President of the American Academy of Arts & Letters

Honor and shame can be used to change the world for the better.

Edward Burtynsky | World-Renowned Photographer, Winner of the TED Prize

Edward Burtynsky

World-renowned photographer | Winner of the TED Prize

Photographs are the reflecting pools of our time.

Bill Strickland

An Extraordinary Business and Community Leader | MacArthur Genius | Founder, Bidwell Training Center

Give people the tools they need, treat them with respect, and they will perform miraculous deeds.

Douglas Rushkoff

One of the World's 10 Most Influential Intellectuals (MIT) | Bestselling Author of Team Human and Program or Be Programmed

AI can help us flourish creatively and collaboratively—if we dare.

Gabby Rivera

Author of Juliet Takes a Breath and the Marvel comic series America

Living a revolutionary life starts with joy.

Danielle Wood | Director of MIT’s Space Enabled Research Lab | Assistant Prof. of Media Arts and Sciences

Danielle Wood

Director of MIT’s Space Enabled Research Lab | Associate Prof. of Media Arts and Sciences

Space technology is imperative for sustainable development on Earth—and for the benefit of all.

Nathan Pyle | #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Strange Planet

Nathan Pyle

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Strange Planet | Executive Producer of Strange Planet

The road to creativity is right beneath our feet—we just need to learn how to walk it.

David Yeager

Author of 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People | Professor of Psychology at The University of Texas, Austin

Learn the new science of motivating young people—and make your own life easier in the process.

Candy Chang

Urban space artist behind the "Before I Die" walls

Creative ways of engaging communities can help us foster hope and belonging together.