Free Speakers Chicago is a pro bono speakers bureau. These Educational guest speakers present at no cost on American history, the Constitution, Supreme Court rulings, political polarization, economic inequality, and more. Every presentation is free to book, with no fees, no honorarium and no mileage.
Co-lead, Restore our Democracy Project, NWSOFA-Indivisible
Ed Spire is a retired software engineer who has started and operated two small software companies and participated in an IPO of a large software startup, culminating in the position of senior director of software engineering for a large multinational team of engineers. In his retirement, Ed is participating in several areas of political activism
Director of Outreach, Citizens Utility Board (CUB)
Ivonne joined the Citizens Utility Board in 2012. As Outreach Director, she leads the team that educates Illinois consumers on various utility issues, establishes relationships with community organizations and serves both English- and Spanish-speaking constituents. Her favorite part about working for CUB is being able to make a difference in the lives of consumers and
President & Premier Home Stager, Staging Redesign Group Inc.
GraceAnn Simoni is a credentialed RESA-Pro® with the Real Estate Staging Association®, a Corporate Associate of the Mainstreet Realtors Association® and Illinois State President of the Real Estate Staging Association. She has been Staging and Redesign homes in Chicagoland since 2001. In 2005, GraceAnn founded the Staging Redesign Institute Certified Training Program, offering professional training
Retired Professor of History and Law, College of William and Mary
Mark McGarvie, J.D., Ph.D., is an American historian who writes, teaches, and shares history so as to respect the integrity of the historical actors who made our history. Accordingly, he believes that the goal of studying history is understanding, not judgment. Too many scholars today condemn the past and those who lived through it without
CEO, Roland, Ruth & Mitchell
Matt Kinnich has over 30 years of sales and general management experience, most recently as CEO of a private equity-backed education company. Matt’s Education Sector experience includes: Higher Education, Professional Education, Credentialing, Corporate Training and PreK thru 8th grade. He is passionate about education as a lever to change the trajectory of individuals, organizations and
Medicare Educator, Adduci Insurance Services
Diane Adduci is an experienced Medicare educator and provides educational programs to groups throughout Illinois. Diane has 30 years of health insurance experience and has worked with small and large groups, individuals under and over 65, but has chosen to specialize in the Medicare market. Having worked as a community relations specialist for several years
President, Premier Insights, LLC.
I'm an author and own a consulting practice focused on mentoring CEOs of technology based start-ups where I help them demystify the "fuzzy front end" of their businesses with an emphasis on converting their innovations into profitable enterprises. I also created and teach people how to become entrepreneurs via a course sponsored by a local
Registered Investment Advisor,Adjunct Professor of economics, Wunderlich Wealth Management, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management
Charlie Munro brings extensive industry experience and knowledge to his role as Senior Vice-President with Wunderlich Wealth Management. During his more than 35 year financial services career, he spent almost two decades trading municipal bonds. He subsequently transitioned his deep understanding of fixed income investing to his work helping high net worth investors achieve wealth
Retired Teacher, Brother Rice High School
I am retired after 40 years of teaching math at Brother Rice H.S. in Chicago. I am author of a book detailing 62 shortcut methods dealing with addition, subtraction, fractions, squaring and multiplication. I have spoken in 16 states and Canada to various groups at over 130 math conferences, schools and libraries. Mental math is
Political Science Faculty, City Colleges of Chicago/WYCC PBS
Ted Williams III is a political commentator who has taught Political Science at Wright College, Chicago State University, and currently is the Chairman of the Social Sciences Department at Kennedy-King College. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago and Rutgers University, and is the host of WYCC-PBS television’s The Professors weekly talk show.
Terry Poppleton has lived in Glen Ellyn, IL for 53 years. He taught history for 33 years at Hadley Junior High School. He has had a lifelong interest in Native Americans. Since his retirement, he and his wife, Sharon, have made many trips to the southwest. It was on these trips that Terry became interested
