Each year Penn State Behrend hosts a number of nationally recognized and accomplished individuals from a wide range of professions, industries, and areas of expertise for its annual Speaker Series, supported by the Student Activity Fee, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Harriet Behrend Ninow Memorial Lecture Series Fund.

Speaker List


2024–25 Speakers

  • Adam Fracassi-Wier, Deputy Director of Elections
  • Vincent Intrieri, Founder & CEO, VDA Capital Management, and Founder, Intrieri Family Student Managed Fund

2023–24 Speakers

  • Jeremy O'Mard, Consultant, IBM
  • Ainslie Brosig, Executive Director, expERIEnce Children's Museum
  • Matthew White, Founder, Whitehorn Games
  • Jotham Austin II, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, University of Chicago

2022–23 Speakers

  • Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
  • Martina Edwards, One of Wall Street's First Black Women Traders & Chief of Strategic Partnerships, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs
  • Brendan Hunt, Actor and Co-creator, Ted Lasso
  • Wanjiku "Wawa" Gatheru, Environmental Justice Warrior, Rhodes Scholar, and Founder, Black Girl Environmentalist

2021–22 Speakers

  • Dr. Moogega Cooper, Engineer and Real-Life "Guardian of the Galaxy"
  • Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Physician and 23rd Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  • Ovilee May, Host, G4TV and Award-Winning Esports Journalist
  • Sarah Thomas, NFL Official and First Female NFL Official

2020–21 Speakers

  • Patrisse Cullors, Social Activist, Best-Selling Author, and Co-creator, #BlackLivesMatter Movement
  • Mona Hanna-Attisha, Physician, Scientist, and Activist Who Exposed the Flint Water Crisis

2019–20 Speakers

  • Gordon Bellamy, Professor, USC and Game Designer, Madden NFL Football
  • Abraham (Avi) Loeb, Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science, Harvard University
    (Co-sponsored by the Jefferson Educational Society)
  • Greg Lukianoff, Author

2018–19 Speakers

  • David Harbour, Actor
  • Elise Jordan & Howard Dean, Political Analysts
  • Linda Bernardi, Former Co-lead, Watson Team, IBM
  • Tarana Burke, Social Justice Activist and Founder, #MeToo Movement

2017–18 Speakers

  • Becky Hammon, First Female NBA Coach
  • Lynsey Addario, Photojournalist
  • Charlie Miller & Chris Valasek, Cybersecurity Experts
  • Omar Johnson, Former Chief Marketing Officer, Beats by Dre
  • Andrew Byrnes, Executive VP, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer, PresenceLearning

2016–17 Speakers

  • Pascal Dupuis & Mike Lange, Athlete & Sports Announcer
  • Congressman Lincoln Davis, Former U.S. Congressman
  • Will Allen, Urban Farmer
  • Chuck Bryant & Josh Clark, Podcasters, Stuff You Should Know
  • Bree Newsome, Artist and Activist

2015–16 Speakers

  • Kunal Nayyar, Actor and Author
  • Briana Scurry, Athlete and Advocate
  • Benjamin Jealous, Former President and CEO, NAACP
  • Robbie Bach, Former Chief Xbox Officer, Microsoft

2014–15 Speakers

  • Jamie Tworkowski, Founder, To Write Love on Her Arms
  • Laverne Cox, Actress and Advocate
  • Derreck Kayongo, Founder, Global Soap Project
  • Danny Forster, Architecture Expert, TV Host, and Producer

2013–14 Speakers

  • Shawn Johnson, Olympic Gymnast and Author
  • Mike Lange, Radio Play-by-Play Announcer, Pittsburgh Penguins
  • Bill Nye, Scientist, Inventor, and TV Host
  • Laura Ling, Journalist and Author

2012–13 Speakers

  • Richard Stallings, Idaho Democrat, and Steven Kuykendall, California Republican
  • Adam Lashinsky, Senior Editor-at-Large, Fortune Magazine, and Commentator, Fox News Channel
  • Ben Nemtin, Dave Lingwood, Duncan Penn & Jonnie Penn, Co-creators of The Buried Life
  • Chef Jeff Henderson, Chef, Author, and TV Personality
  • Peter Annin, Author
  • Kohl Crecelius, CEO & Co-founder, Krochet Kids Intl.
  • Sapphire, Performance Poet and Author

2011–12 Speakers

  • Aron Ralston, Mountain Climber and Inspiration for the Film 127 Hours
  • Erik Qualman, Author
  • Jeff Johnson, MSNBC Contributor and White House Correspondent
  • Jeannette Walls, Author
  • Adam Davidson & Alex Blumberg, Planet Money, NPR
  • Spencer Wells, Geneticist and Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic Society

2010–11 Speakers

  • Bill Cowher, Super Bowl-Winning Former Head Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Terry Jones, Founder, Travelocity.com; Chairman, Kayak.com; and e-Commerce Pioneer
  • Betty Nguyen, CBS Morning News Anchor
  • Randy Cohen, Humorist and Emmy Award-Winning Writer
  • Jerome Ringo, Senior Executive for Global Strategies, Green Port, and Pioneering Environmentalist