Considering a Different Lens
It is hard to overstate the power of the right idea, the right poem, or the right song at just the right moment. Each of those is a kind of story, and the stories we internalize and claim, whether consciously or unconsciously, help us to understand who we are, and how the world is. They influence our daily decisions and our larger choices. Those stories sometimes put corners on our life trajectories. A change to our understanding can send our lives in entirely different directions.
Through historical examples and personal stories, David LaMotte makes the case that movements, rather than heroes, drive large-scale change. He reminds his audience that all of us can bring our gifts to movement work. His message is both hopeful and grounded, and helps students understand how they can create meaningful positive impact on the world around them. LaMotte also helps students begin to discern what is theirs to do and what is not.
Much of this understanding is detailed in David LaMotte’s most recent book, You Are Changing the World Whether You Like It Or Not. Dissecting the hero narrative, and considering each of our places in movement work, is a meaningful task. As such, several universities have selected it as a part of their curriculum. Two professors at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania have built an entire course around it. Gannon University purchased 700 copies in order to present one to each incoming first-year student in the 2025-2026 school year, as the year’s selection for their Campus Read program. You Are Changing the World Whether You Like It Or Not has also been used as a textbook at many other universities in the United States and Australia.
Decades of Speaking Experience
David LaMotte’s rich professional and life experiences have enabled him to build connections with college students at campuses across the country. In addition to leading concerts and lectures, LaMotte has visited classes from Poetry to Political Science, from Social Justice to Small Business, and from Marketing to Music. As a practicing Quaker and a Presbyterian preacher’s kid (and brother, and grandson), he enjoys connecting with campus chaplaincy programs, especially in interfaith settings. LaMotte also leads workshops with college faculty and staff, helping them frame their own work and impact.
LaMotte has presented lectures and workshops at events at the Scottish Parliament, the PC(USA) Mission to the United Nations, and colleges and conferences in India, Germany, Australia, and across the United States.
“Some people are just natural teachers. David LaMotte is one of them.” – Dolores Longhoffer, Arts Education Facilitator, Campbell Co. WY
David holds a master’s degree in International Studies, Peace and Conflict Resolution from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where he attended as a Rotary Peace Fellow. He is also the former Clerk of the AFSC Nobel Peace Prize Nominating Committee , and the co-founder of Senderos, a non-profit supporting Guatemalan community leaders on education, arts, and mentoring projects. He has given two TEDx Talks, Music Can Help Us Understand Peach and Conflict (2018) and Why Heroes Don’t Change the World (But You Might) (2024). His most recent talk was chosen as an Editor’s Pick by TED and has been seen by nearly 60,000 people worldwide. In the summer of 2025, David will present to a live audience of 30,000 people, his biggest yet, as a keynote speaker at Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada.
If you would like to bring David to your campus, please feel free to get in touch. We can work with you to design what that might look like.
“David LaMotte is the real deal, someone who truly can change the thoughts, lives, and futures of students, faculty, and staff on our college and university campuses across the nation. Two years after his convocation here, I still hear students talking about his presentation and how relevant it was to their lives.” – Mindy Maddux, Asst. Dean, Drury University, Springfield, MO