American Program Bureau (APB) speakers on societal issues are not just speakers, but representatives of action and change. Our keynote speakers offer a rich combination of information, inspiration, and motivation while addressing a wide range of thought provoking topics including.
Through their personal life experience, APB’s speakers on societal issues offer a deep understanding of our society’s problems and can give audiences the hope, motivation and tools to begin addressing the issues facing our society.
Wes Moore
Wes Moore is a youth advocate, keynote speaker, Army combat veteran, promising business leader and the best-selling author of The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates - contrasting his childhood choices against another Wes Moore's who was eventually imprisoned.
Patty Duke
A young Oscar winner for her role in The Miracle Worker, Duke stunned the world when she shared her story of living with bipolar disorder in her best-selling book, A Brilliant Madness. Now an outspoken, yet compassionate advocate for those suffering from mental illness, she is honored for her ongoing efforts ...
Christopher Kennedy Lawford
Born into the Kennedy dynasty, Lawford was destined to do great things: he became a successful actor, lawyer, activist, writer, and speaker. But he also battled drug and alcohol addiction, and overcame a Hepatitis C diagnosis. In addition to sharing his extraordinary journey overcoming alcohol and drug abuse, he raises ...
Geoffrey Canada
Profiled on 60 Minutes, Canada has achieved great success as President and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, an agency that fuses community building with academic achievement to improve the futures of inner city youth. Recently, President Obama launched an initiative to create “Promise Neighborhoods” around ...
Michael Patrick MacDonald
Author of the incendiary New York Times bestselling memoir All Souls: A Family Story from Southie, and the companion bestseller Easter Rising: A Memoir of Roots and Rebellion, MacDonald shares his remarkable story of survival and redemption while examining the tangled relationship between poverty and ...
Alvin Poussaint
A veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Poussaint is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School who is renowned as an expert and educated crusader for the African American family within our multicultural society. He has worked closely with Bill Cosby, serving as an advisor on The Cosby Show, and has ...
Joe Pantoliano
Emmy-winning actor Pantoliano from The Matrix, is best known as "Ralphie Cifaretto" on The Sopranos. What you don’t know is that he’s a mental health advocate who has dealt with clinical depression and his mother’s bipolar disorder. He stars in the film Canvas, a poignant story about a family's ...
Victor Rivas Rivers
Born in Cuba, Rivers came to the US at the age of two, endured horrific child abuse and witnessed domestic violence at the hands of his father, which he chronicles in his New York Times bestseller, A Private Family Matter. An actor, athlete, and advocate, Rivers is the national spokesperson for the National ...
Kathy Cronkite
Cronkite’s personal struggle with depression and her journey from darkness to light inspired her to become a tireless champion for mental health education, healing, and treatment. In her book, On the Edge of Darkness, she offers personal glimpses into mental illness by interviewing celebrities such as Mike ...
Judge Glenda Hatchett
Judge Hatchett is the former Chief Presiding Judge of the Fulton County Juvenile Court in Atlanta. Her highly successful court television series, Judge Hatchett, provides a forum where she can reach beyond her courtroom to a larger and more diverse audience. She is the author of Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say! ...
Rachel Simmons
Simmons is the author of The New York Times bestseller Odd Girl Out, the first book to explore the phenomenon of bullying between girls - just as harmful as boys, but harder to recognize. The Founder and Director of The Girls’ Leadership Institute, she is a highly sought-after consultant to schools all over ...
Victoria Rowell
Emmy-nominated Rowell has been honored with 12 NAACP Image Awards and is a staunch advocate for foster children. Her memoir, The Women Who Raised Me, reveals the transformational power of mentoring, love, art, and womanhood that inspires and empowers women and families. Her novel, Secrets of a Soap Opera ...
Jonah Edelman
One of the most inspiring leaders of his generation and one of the country’s leading education reformers and voices for children, Edelman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Stand for Children. In his inspirational presentation, he teaches advocacy skills to child serving professionals, students, and civic leaders and shares a ...
Ice-T
Hip-hop pioneer currently starring on Law and Order: SVU, Ice-T has risen up from the harsh realities of growing up disadvantaged to become a successful entertainer and entrepreneur. Serving as a sobering, yet inspirational, role model, he shares a powerful message with youth about overcoming adversity through ...
Judy Collins
Legendary folk singer, social activist, and best-selling author, Collins continues to chronicle life in her narration and song. But, she has also faced personal tragedy with the loss of her son to suicide. Articulating her story of survival with grace and dignity, she shares a deeply moving journey of renewal and ...
Richard Carmona
As the 17th Surgeon General, Dr. Carmona developed comprehensive knowledge of the environmental influences on healthy living today. He offers a close look at the epidemic of asthma in young children as well as other issues directly related to the state of our environment and how we can work towards not only a healthy body, ...
M. Joycelyn Elders
As a pediatric endocrinologist and 15th Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Elders has a deep concern for young people and teaches that education, prevention, and responsibility are the keys to a healthy life. An outspoken advocate on behalf of children, she is an expert on the prevention of child abuse, teen ...
Ralph Nader
Former Green Party candidate for president and one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential Americans of the 20th Century," Ralph Nader has always been a voice fighting for the people on the issues that matter most: healthcare, safety, environment, ethics, education, economic and social equality. As a keynote ...
Gail Sheehy
As the best-selling author of over a dozen books, including Passages, Gail Sheehy has rocked the culture and changed the way millions of women and men look at the stages of their lives. A Library of Congress survey named Passages one of the ten most influential books of our time. In her latest book, ...
Rosalind Wiseman
Rosalind Wiseman is an internationally recognized expert on children, teens, parenting, bullying, social justice, and ethical leadership. She is the author of Queen Bees and Wannabes, the groundbreaking best-selling book that was the basis for the movie Mean Girls, and its follow-up, Queen Bee Moms and ...
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