Lenny McAllister

Best-Selling Author, Political Commentator & Leading Voice for Civil Discourse

Lenny McAllister

Best-Selling Author, Political Commentator & Leading Voice for Civil Discourse

Add to List Availability & Fees

Biography

Author, political commentator, and media personality Lenny McAllister is one of the most unique people in the nation as a man that garners respect across the spectrum, highlighted within the title of his August 2026 book, A Venn Diagram of One, and through the co-forewords to the book: former RNC Chair Michael Steele and MSNOW political analyst Dr. Jason Johnson.

Newt Gingrich called Lenny “…someone with a lot to teach others…” through his book and public life. The Reagan Foundation noted that Lenny’s words “…offer a really great guide, especially to young people, people of college age, who are looking to what their next step is…(with) so many lessons of leadership…” His message, highlighted in A Venn Diagram of One, was lauded on national and international outlets including Sirius XM Radio, Radio New Zealand, and CBS News. His range of career experiences spans from civil rights work and community activism with the likes of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. and Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award Winner Leon Ford, who called Lenny “…a man of faith and a principled thought leader who selflessly invests in the full spectrum of communities he serves…” Lenny is one of the rare Americans that has been featured at the Reagan Foundation and NAACP events alike, professing a unifying message in all circles that allows him to work effectively with Republicans such as former Heritage Foundation president Kay Coles James and Democrats such as former NAACP President and MD gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous, who called McAllister “…My friend…we are both civil rights men, and civil rights work is Bill of Rights work…”

Lenny is more than a commentator; he is a force as a communicator and leader. He is an award-winning member of Newsradio KDKA in Pittsburgh that has spent roughly 20 years in the media, commenting on American culture and international affairs as a television host, producer, and pundit along with hosting his radio show. He has been a featured public speaker in academia and civic circles, along with serving as an adjunct professor of history. His written work has been featured in publications including USA Today, the NY Post, the Chicago Defender, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, The Root, and the Dallas Morning News. He has pushed back on policies that contravened constitutional rights in publications including The Root and Global Grind while reminding America of its promise in works including the America 250 commemorative edition of the New York Post. Over his career, he has connected with people from the south side of Chicago and folks from rural America with the same affability, clarity, and resonance.

In his writing and speaking, Lenny reflects the optimism that radiates from A Venn Diagram of One. Namely, his stance is rooted in the belief that individual and cultural second acts are paramount to the story of America. Through a blend of civic history and cultural inflection points, McAllister talks through the trials and tribulations found in America’s story, yet points to an optimistic future by way of highlighting biographies, events, and perspectives for the future.

Lenny’s personal story is one of second acts. His dropout-to-graduate story from Davidson College to earn his degree after leaving academia for roughly a decade is only dwarfed by other second acts he aided. After his father's near-fatal shooting, Lenny guided the family through a year-long hospitalization and recovery. He supported his wife’s graduation as an honors student in biology at age 53, an accomplishment after she healed from the aftermath of abuse she endured as a young adult.

McAllister is known for his willingness to speak courageously and with conviction, even when having to do so alone. His 2012 speech at the steps of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court was vital in the reversal of a law that threatened to block thousands from voting in that November’s election. His 2015 editorial on live television pushed back on the use of stop-and-frisk police tactics throughout the nation. His speeches have touched upon education equity concerns and support for teachers, civic rights concerns and job growth. Over the years, Lenny McAllister has been the voice that brings divergent sides together with hope, calm, vision, and connection.

Whether addressing university students, civic organizations, or corporate audiences, McAllister challenges listeners to examine what they hold in common before they measure what divides them — and to consider what a second act might look like for a person, a community, or a country at 250 years old. Lenny McAllister works in partnership with APB Speakers for speaking engagements nationwide.

Speech Topics

Second Acts: Reinvention in Personal, Civic, and National Life

A second act begins when we decide the past does not have to passively dictate what comes next. In his book, A Venn Diagram of One: An American Story, Lenny McAllister reflects on the unexpected turns, setbacks, and “inflection points” that have shaped his own life, including leaving Davidson College before returning years later to graduate and building a career that has crossed media, public policy, education, and civic leadership. Lenny explores how moments of disruption can become opportunities to reconsider a better direction, rediscover purpose, and make different choices about the future. He extends that idea beyond personal reinvention, asking what it might mean for communities and the country itself to recognize when an old or current path is no longer working. Rooted in resilience, faith, and personal responsibility, this inspiring keynote challenges audiences to see change not simply as something to endure, but as an invitation to begin again.

Audiences will learn:

How to recognize inflection points as opportunities for reflection and reinvention
Why past setbacks and expectations do not have to determine what comes next
How the idea of a second act applies to personal growth, leadership, and civic life

Leading Across Divides: Coalition-Building in a Tribal Era

In a culture that constantly asks us to choose a side, leadership sometimes requires refusing to fit neatly into anyone else’s box. Lenny McAllister has spent much of his career working between political, cultural, and civic spaces that do not always overlap, bridging those spaces together. That experience informs his book, A Venn Diagram of One: An American Story, which examines what it means to resist easy labels and remain open to people whose beliefs differ from our own. Lenny explores how echo chambers and tribal loyalty can narrow our thinking, weaken relationships, and make productive coalition-building increasingly difficult. He shows why meaningful collaboration does not require ideological conformity and challenges audiences to become leaders capable of finding common purpose without abandoning their principles.

Audiences will learn:

How to build coalitions across political, cultural, and generational differences
Why principled leadership does not require ideological conformity
How to identify common purpose without abandoning deeply held beliefs

Civic Renewal at America 250: Security, Empowerment, Opportunity

America’s 250th anniversary is more than a milestone. It is an opportunity to consider what the country’s next chapter should become. Lenny McAllister introduces his framework of Security, Empowerment, and Opportunity as a way to examine how the American promise can remain meaningful across generations and communities with these values in tow. Lenny connects these ideas to the nation’s founding principles, the continuing struggle to expand civil rights, and moments when America has fallen short of its own ideals. Rather than treating America 250 solely as a celebration of the past, he invites audiences to use it as a moment of civic reflection and consider the responsibilities citizens and leaders carry into the future. This keynote offers a hopeful vision of renewal grounded in a stronger sense of shared purpose for the nation’s next 250 years.

Audiences will learn:

How America 250 should become a moment for both reflection and civic renewal
How Security, Empowerment, and Opportunity relate to participation in the American promise for all
What citizens and leaders can contribute to the country’s next chapter

Education as the Civil Right of the 21st Century

Opportunity means little without the tools to pursue it. Drawing on his experience as an educator, public-policy leader, mentor, and someone whose own path included returning to Davidson College years after leaving, Lenny McAllister makes the case for educational opportunity as a defining civil rights issue of the 21st century. Lenny explores how access to a meaningful education can influence economic mobility, civic participation, and an individual’s ability to shape their own future. He examines persistent inequities while challenging audiences to move beyond familiar partisan debates and focus on whether young people are being given a genuine opportunity to succeed. At its core, this keynote connects education to the larger promise of empowerment and participation in American life.

Audiences will learn:

Why educational opportunity remains central to the modern civil rights conversation
How education can influence economic mobility and individual empowerment
Why expanding meaningful opportunity strengthens both individuals and communities