David LaMotte’s dense calendar has included speaking at conferences across the United States, in India, Australia, Canada, Germany, and at the Scottish Parliament. He spoke at the 2025 Jefferson Educational Society’s Global Forum in a 17-speaker lineup that included Neil deGrasse Tyson, Mike Pence, and Barack Obama. He has also presented at the PC(USA) Mission to the United Nations and led workshops at dozens of colleges and universities. He keynoted the opening plenary of the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary’s Saddledome, for an audience of 16,000.
David’s most recent TEDx talk, Why Heroes Don’t Change the World (but you might), was selected as an Editor’s Pick by the international TED organization. The talk, based on his book, You Are Changing the World Whether You Like it or Not, offers helpful perspective on the impact each of us has on the world around us, how large-scale change happens, and how it doesn’t. Though the dominant story of change in US culture is that heroes change the world, David makes the case that hero stories can be misleading, and sometimes strangely disempowering.
LaMotte is the author of four books, including two children’s books. He holds a master’s degree in International Studies, Peace, and Conflict Resolution from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where he studied as a Rotary Peace Fellow. He is the former Clerk (Chair) of the AFSC Nobel Peace Prize Nominating Committee, and his books have been used as university textbooks across the United States and in Australia. His most recent book was chosen as a campus read selection at Gannon University for the Class of 2029. Its content was woven into required First Year Seminar classes and a copy of the book was presented to each incoming student.
Speaking to organizations, David’s presentations can focus on:
• Burnout, especially in helping professions
• Team cohesion, morale
• Change Management
• Social impact, peace and justice work
David is currently accepting select corporate speaking opportunities. To learn more or inquire about booking David, please get in touch through this contact form.
B-Corps, Non-profit agencies, and organizations with a sense of mission in their work may particularly benefit from David’s work. To get a sense of David’s insights, style, and humor, please check out his most recent (2024) TEDx talk: