The 2019 Keynote Speaker is Dave Isay

Dave Isay is one of the most trusted and respected broadcasters working today. The recipient of six Peabody Awards, a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and the $1 Million TED prize, his work taps into the heart and soul of the human experience. He is an author, documentarian, and founder of StoryCorps.

Dave’s work is held in the highest regard and continues to garner acclaim. Since its inception in 2003, he and the StoryCorps team have given nearly half a million people the opportunity to record their stories. 50,000 interviews have been archived and preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Upon receiving the TED prize, Dave proclaimed his vision for StoryCorps: ”to help create a world where we listen closely to each other and recognize the beauty, grace, and poetry in the lives and stories we find all around us.” Dave and StoryCorps are helping to preserve the wisdom and knowledge of humanity by recording history one conversation at a time.

Dave has numerous books lauded as New York Times Bestsellers, including Listening Is an Act of Love, Ties That Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude From the First Ten Years of StoryCorps, and Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work.

Past Keynote Speakers

Year
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000		 Speaker
Emily Esfahani Smith
K.C. Boyd
Tad Hills
Jadeep Mansour
Sarah Vowel
Jack Gantos
Nancy Pearl
Andrew Xia Fukuda
Richard Paul Evans
Adriana Trigiani
Ellen Meister
Susan Isaacs
Chris Crutcher
Mike Lupica
Roger Rosenblatt
Mick Foley
David Baldacci
Sarah Long
M.E. Kerr