Program Overview
We are currently offering both online and in-person Speakers Bureau events. Find an event near you, or learn how to host a Speakers Bureau event.
You don’t need to be a student or live near a college to hear an intriguing talk from a scholar or expert. In communities throughout Washington State, Speakers Bureau presenters give free public presentations on history, politics, music, philosophy, spiritual traditions, and everything in between.
Our roster of over 30 Speakers Bureau presenters is made up of professors, artists, activists, historians, performers, journalists, and others—all chosen not only for their expertise, but also for their ability to inspire discussion with people of all ages and backgrounds. Hundreds of Speakers Bureau events take place each year.
To reach as many Washingtonians as possible, we partner with a wide range of nonprofit organizations, including libraries, schools, museums, historical societies, community centers, and civic organizations. Any nonprofit organization is welcome to apply to host a speaker.
Speakers Bureau is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Washington via the Office of the Secretary of State, the Thomas S. Foley Institute of Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University, The Pacific Power Foundation, and generous contributions from other businesses, foundations, and individuals.
Upcoming In-Person Events
IN PERSON: Life After Prison: The Prison-to-School Pipeline
You may have heard stories about tragic outcomes related to the “school-to-prison pipeline.” In this discussion, Omari Amili introduces new possibilities and challenges fear-based narratives through his exploration of a potential new pipeline that runs from prison to college. While sharing his story and exploring the history of mass incarceration, especially in Washington State, Omari […]
- When
- 6:00 pm, Wednesday
September 28, 2022 - Where
- Lakewood City Hall
6000 Main St
Lakewood, WA 98499 United States
IN PERSON: Drag Culture: Beyond Entertainment
Typically held at bars and nightclubs, drag is a form of entertainment in which a performer uses clothing and makeup to impersonate a particular gender identity, usually of the opposite sex. Yet drag is so much more than nightclub entertainment—it provides community, instills self-confidence, and can even save lives. Join drag king performer Ceasar Hart […]
- When
- 7:00 pm, Wednesday
September 28, 2022 - Where
- White River Valley Museum
918 H St SE
Auburn, WA 98002 United States
HYBRID: How Audio Technology Changed the World
If you would like to attend the online version of this event, please register here. Although we live in a visual world, audio still has the power to create intimacy and spark the imagination like no other medium can. Veteran broadcaster Ross Reynolds explores the impact that audio transmission has had on society and storytelling, […]
- When
- 10:30 am, Saturday
October 8, 2022 - Where
- Old Redmond Schoolhouse
16600 NE 80th St
Redmond, WA 98052 United States
IN PERSON: The Art of Rebellion: Social Justice and Chicana/Chicano Visual Arts
How has art has been used to mobilize communities and disseminate messages of social justice? Is art just a commodity that is only accessible to the elite? How has the idea of “art for the people” shifted the way we look at art? In this talk, Chicano artist Jake Prendez traces the history of social […]
- When
- 2:00 pm, Sunday
October 9, 2022 - Where
- Museum of Northwest Art
121 1st St
La Conner, WA 98257 United States
IN PERSON: Atomic Washington: Our Nuclear Past, Present, and Future
At the center of every nuclear weapon in the United States is a small pit of radioactive material manufactured at a top-secret facility in Eastern Washington, a facility which today remains the most radiologically contaminated site in the Western hemisphere. But Washington State’s role in the nuclear era ranges far beyond the construction, operation, and […]
- When
- 6:00 pm, Thursday
October 13, 2022 - Where
- Kittitas County Historical Museum
114 E 3rd Ave
Ellensburg, WA 98926 United States
IN PERSON: Whiskey and Wiretaps: The Northwest’s Rumrunning King
On Thanksgiving Day, 1925, Roy Olmstead was trapped by federal prohibition agents and their Tommy guns on a lonely Puget Sound dock. His reign as the Northwest’s most prolific bootlegger had ended. But big questions—political, cultural, and legal—remained. Why did Olmstead, the youngest lieutenant in Seattle Police Department history, form a secret gang to take […]
- When
- 2:00 pm, Friday
October 14, 2022 - Where
- Freeland Library
5495 S Harbor Ave
Freeland, WA 98249 United States
IN PERSON: After the Blast: Mount St. Helens 40 Years Later
On May 18, 1980, the world watched in awe as Mount St. Helens erupted, killing 57 people and causing hundreds of square miles of destruction. Everyone thought it would take ages for life to return to the mountain, but scientists who visited soon after were stunned to find plants sprouting up through the ash and […]
- When
- 10:00 am, Saturday
October 15, 2022 - Where
- Brightwater Education Center
22505 State Route 9
Woodinville, WA 98072 United States
Upcoming Online Events
ONLINE: American Democracy’s Indigenous Roots and Future
History books teach us that the Founding Fathers birthed American democracy, but do not reveal the Indigenous sources of inspiration that guided their vision. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s Great Law of Peace—uniting six Nations in an alliance that predates the American Constitution by centuries—served as a powerful example to men such as Benjamin Franklin, who benefited […]
- When
- 6:00 pm, Thursday
October 13, 2022 - Register
- Registration info to come