Distinguished Speakers
Find a Presenter
Distinguished Speakers
If you don't see who you are looking for, contact one of our experts. We will help you locate the speaker or provide you additional suggestions. 1-914-537-5735 or info@pdaspeakers.com
Co-Host, Jeopardy!, Award-Winning Actress, The Big Bang Theory & Neuroscientist
Mayim Bialik is the permanent co-host of Jeopardy! with Ken Jennings..
Emmy Award-Winning Host, Executive Producer and Co-anchor
One of the most admired women in journalism, Meredith Vieira offers a candid, in-depth conversation about the stories she has covered and the lessons they have taught her.
Celebrated Comedian, Actor and Writer
Martin Short, a celebrated comedian and actor, has won fans and accolades in television, film and theater since his breakout season on Saturday Night Live almost 30 years ago and…
Expert on Geopolitics & Global Security
For the past two decades, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei has played a key role in the most high-stakes conflicts of our time.
Award-winning actor and producer, Founder, The Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation
Mark Wahlberg earned both Academy Award® and Golden Globe® nominations for his standout work in the family boxing film, The Fighter, and Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed drama, The Departed. He has played diverse…
Academy Award-Winning Actor, Co-Founder, just keep livin Foundation, New York Times #1 Bestselling Author, "Greenlights"
Academy Award-Winning Actor Matthew McConaughey's impressive career has spanned 40 feature films that have grossed over $1 billion dollars. A Texas native heralded for his constant career reinvention, McConaughey is…
Former Prime Minister of Australia, 2015-2018
After serving nearly three years as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull possesses a unique and incredibly timely understanding of the current geopolitical moment.
Former NASA Astronaut, New York Times Best-Selling Author and Professor
Mike Massimino is a former NASA Astronaut, a New York Times bestselling author, a Columbia University professor, an advisor at The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, and a television…
Acclaimed Actress & Humanitarian Activist
Farrow shares photographs from her trips to Darfur in 2004, 2006-2008, bearing witness to the desperation of the people of the region.
President and Co-CEO of Ariel Investments & Chairman of DreamWorks Animation
Mellody Hobson has been the Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, LLC, an investment management firm, since 2019 and President and Director since 2000. She has also served as Chair of the…
Academy Award-Winner Actress and Producer
Meryl Streep has portrayed an astonishing array of characters in a career that has cut its own unique path from the theater through film and television, for almost 40 years.…
Bestselling Author, Legal Analyst, & Former Prosecutor
Marcia Clark began the practice of law in criminal defense (two years as an attorney and two years as a law clerk). She joined the Office of the District Attorney…
Grammy Award-Winning Singer/Songwriter, Actress, Entrepreneur & Mental Health Advocate
Is there anything Michelle Williams can’t do? The beautiful and talented star has evolved many times in her life and she is nowhere near done.
Co-Host of 'Good Morning America,' Fox NFL Sunday Analyst, NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl Champion
Emmy winner and Super Bowl Champion Michael Strahan currently co-hosts ABC’s Good Morning America and serves as an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday. This summer, Strahan hosted the top-rated primetime…
E-Street Drummer & Band Leader
Max Weinberg is one of the most visible and recorded drummers of the late 20th century. As the long-time drummer for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and director of the…
Creator & Executive Producer, "Arrested Development" as well as the co-creator of The Ellen Show, and a contributor to The John Larroquette Show and The Golden Girls
Mitch Hurwitz is an Emmy, TCA and WGA Award-winning writer and producer best known as the creator and executive producer of the iconic comedy series Arrested Development. The multiple Emmy…
Politician
Former Minnesota Congresswoman, Michele Bachmann became the first Republican woman elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives. She was listed in Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People”…
Stand-Up Comedian, host of the podcast, "WTF with Marc Maron" and starred in his own IFC television comedy series, Maron, for which he also served as executive producer and occasional writer
For over twenty years, Marc Maron has been writing and performing raw, honest and thought-provoking comedy for print, stage, radio, online and television. A legend in the stand-up community, Maron…
Owner of The Dallas Mavericks, "Shark" Investor on ABC's "Shark Tank"
Mark Cuban was an entrepreneur from the early age of 12, when he sold garbage bags door-to-door. Today, Mark is the highly successful entrepreneur and investor who founded HDNet, Broadcast.com…
Youngest-Ever Nobel Prize Winner; Advocate for Girls' Education & Women's Equality; Author of the International Bestseller "I Am Malala"
Malala Yousafzai made headlines when she was shot by the Taliban in 2012 at the age of 15 while traveling home from school on the bus with her friends in…
Emmy-Winning TV Host, MS and Health Advocate, Wellness Entrepreneur, Decorated Naval Officer
Montel Williams earned his media celebrity status as an inspirational Emmy Award winning television personality whom Americans invited into their homes for more than 17 years. He is a decorated…
Chief Foreign Affairs Senior Correspondent, PBS NewsHour; Former Fellow of Yale Corporation
Margaret Warner is a senior correspondent and on-air anchor of public television’s PBS NewsHour, interviewing newsmakers and top experts in every field from politics and foreign affairs, to the economy…
Best-Selling Author, Historian and Political Journalist
Martin Walker, born in 1947 in Scotland, is a writer, historian and political journalist. He studied History in Oxford and International Relations and Economics at Harvard. After his studies, he…
Actor, Producer and Director Known for His Roles in "Gilmore Girls," "Heroes" currently stars as Jack Pearson on NBC's Hit Show "This Is Us"
Milo Ventimiglia, actor best known for his role as Peter Petrelli on the NBC television series Heroes. Ventimiglia's first career break was in the Fox series Opposite Sex, playing Jed…
Rhythm and Blues and Gospel Singer, Actress, and Civil Rights Activist; Member of Family Band, The Staple Singers
Soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples possesses one of the most recognizable and treasured voices in contemporary music. From her early days sharing lead vocals with her groundbreaking family group,…
Award-Winning Journalist, Former First Lady of California, Best-Selling Author and Leading Alzheimer’s Advocate
Award-Winning Journalist, Former First Lady of California, Best-Selling Author and leading Alzheimer’s Advocate. Born Maria Owings Shriver on November 6, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois.
President of Ireland (1990-1997) & President of the Mary Robinson Foundation: Climate Justice
Mary Robinson served as president of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002.
Emmy-Winning Producer for The Simpsons & Co-Creator of The Critic
Mike Reiss has won four Emmy Awards for his work on The Simpsons, the wacky animated series that has kept America laughing for over 20 years and earned TIME Magazine’s…
USA Gold Medalist; Most Decorated Olympic Athlete in History
Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time, having won 28 career medals, including 23 gold. He competed in his first Olympic games in Sydney when he was…
Award-Winning Journalist and Writer. She is the widow of Daniel Pearl, an journalist who was the Southeast Asia bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal
Mariane Pearl is an award-winning journalist and writer who works in English, French and Spanish. She is currently the Managing Editor of CHIME FOR CHANGE global journalism platform that focuses…
Daughter of Nelson Mandela and CEO, House of Mandela
Makaziwe Mandela is the daughter of the late former president, Nelson Mandela and his first wife Evelyn Mase. She was named after her older sister , who was born in…
Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra
Ever since 1995, when Keith Lockhart was named 20th conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, he has drastically diversified the activities and appeal of orchestra. During his 16-year tenure, he…
Politician, Author and Former Governor of Arkansas
Mike Huckabee was the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 until 2007, becoming one of the longest serving Governors in his state’s history, and was only the fourth Republican elected…
Bestselling Author, "What the Dog Saw," "Outliers," "Blink," and "The Tipping Point"
Malcolm Gladwell is the author of five New York Times bestsellers — The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and now, his latest, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits…
Nobel Laureate & Former President of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev has been one of the 20th century’s most pivotal leaders. As President of the Soviet Union, he ended the 50 years of nuclear brinkmanship known as the Cold…
Actor and Humanitarian
Morgan Freeman earned his first Academy Award nomination for his chilling performance as a homicidal pimp in the drama Street Smart, which also brought him the LA, N.Y., and National…
Award-Winning Actor, Author, Producer and Advocacy
Michael Fox loved hockey and dreamed of a career in the National Hockey League.
Captain of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team and Subject of the Hit Film, "Miracle"
Mike Eruzione served as the enthusiastic captain that led the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team to its gold medal victory. He scored the winning goal against the Russians in…
Georgetown University Sociology Professor, a New York Times Contributing Opinion Writer, and a Contributing Editor of The New Republic, and of ESPN's The Undefeated Website
Named by Essence magazine as one of the 50 most inspiring African Americans in the U.S., Michael Eric Dyson is also a best-selling author, one of the nation's most renowned…
Activist For The Rights of Children. She Has Been an Advocate For Disadvantaged Americans for Her Entire Professional Life
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, CDF has become…
