Weirdly, I'm an Introvert Who Likes To Talk

As a borderline misanthrope, my sweet spot is really just...sitting alone in my home office, thinking and writing a lot, talking to a camera, and then uploading the results. But after starting the CityNerd channel, I quickly discovered that when I do public events, hundreds of people show up. (No, I don't fully understand it either.)

Inquire About Speaking Gigs!

This has led to a couple of realizations:

  1. I find it very easy and natural to talk to large groups about things I care about deeply.
  2. My channel, and my writing, are built around communicating big ideas, getting people to appreciate their cities in new ways, and helping build the constituency for progressive policy around housing, transit, and livable streets. But local advocacy is where the work really happens, and doing events in cities allows me to engage my audience with the local advocacy landscape, and with issues close to home.
With Better Streets Chicago, 2025

I've done about 25 speaking engagements since I started in late 2023, and they've come in different shapes and sizes:

Conversations

Most of what I do are "A Conversation With" style, with an interlocutor joining me on stage to talk through some set topics, plus a moderated Q&A section. Increasingly, I've been adding multimedia to these, usually a short "top ten" PowerPoint-style presentation based on my filming around the city in question.

  • New York, April 2026, for Hunter College. Venue: Hunter College Assembly Hall. Attendance: 1,200
  • Seattle, November 2025, with The War on Cars for Cascade Bicycle Club. Venue: Town Hall Seattle. Attendance: 1,000 (sold out)
  • San Diego, October 2025, for BikeSD. Venue: Adams Avenue Theater. Attendance: 300 (sold out)
  • Chicago, September 2025, for Better Streets Chicago. Venue: Malcolm X College auditorium. Attendance: 450 (sold out)
  • Edmonton, June 2025, for Paths For People. Venue: University of Alberta lecture hall. Attendance: 310.
  • Pittsburgh, April 2025, for Carnegie-Mellon University. Venue: CMU auditorium. Attendance: 380
  • Portland, April 2024, for Portland State University. Venue: Aladdin Theater. Attendance: 620 (sold out)

Keynotes

Keynote speeches require more prep and are a little less in my comfort zone, but I can occasionally be persuaded to do them. Here are a few I've done:

  • Lexington, KY, March 2026, for The Fayette Alliance, for their annual Smart Growth Academy. Venue: Kentucky Theater. Attendance: 250
  • Burlington, ON, May 2025, for BeSpatial Ontario, a professional society for folks who work in geospatial data and analysis. Venue: Burlington Holiday Inn. Attendance: 300 (sold out)
  • St. Petersburg, FL, February 2024, for the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. Venue: Center for Health Equity. Attendance: 350 (sold out)

More than you bargained for

My speaking agreements typically include an honorarium and paid airfare with four nights' accommodation. Why four nights? Because I always want to film on location when I visit a city.

Now, some of this is purely selfish, because there's nothing I love more than exploring and contemplating a city I've never been to (or, more likely, haven't been to since I started making videos). But it also means I'll follow up with a "city visit" video on the city itself, usually focusing on issues surfaced by the organization that brought me in, AND including an in-video call to action on behalf of the organization. In other words...I aim to deliver a ton of value when you bring me to your city.

Interested? Get in touch!