Laura Schwartz

On stages since 2001, Laura is an award winning Professional Emcee & Keynote Speaker, author of "Eat, Drink & Succeed" & TV Personality. She is the youngest female presidential appointee in history.

Expert on

  • Master of Ceremonies / Emcee
  • Motivation
  • Leadership
  • Networking
  • Women in Leadership
  • Sales

Fee Range

$40,000–$80,000

Travels from

IL, US

Biography

Laura Schwartz is all about connection. Whether appearing on your stage or virtually through your screen; she connects to your audience, to your brand, to your objective, to people.  Named one of The 100 Most Influential People in the Global Event Industry in 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019 and one of the top 7 speakers in the United States, Laura Schwartz has been a Professional Emcee and Keynote Speaker since 2001. Laura began her professional career in 1993 as the youngest female presidential appointee in history serving as the White House Director of Events for the Clinton Administration. After which, in addition to speaking, published her first book “Eat, Drink and Succeed” and currently appears on television as the American contributor on Australia’s #1 Today Show. Laura has been featured by and is a published writer in Fast Company, Elle Magazine, Marie Claire and other periodicals. In 2021, along with her cast from ITV News, was awarded the International Drum Award for Podcast of the Year.

THE WHITE HOUSE YEARS

Laura Schwartz, as the White House Director of Events for the Clinton Administration, the youngest female presidential appointee in history, worked one-on-one with the President, the First Lady, World Heads of State and international business leaders as she created and executed more than 1,000 White House events including State arrival ceremonies and dinners, America’s Millennium Celebration, the UN Millennium Summit and NATO’s 50th Anniversary. While producing the President’s events on the world stage, Laura demonstrated the ability to inspire a nation and the world through powerful productions. At just 19 years old, she arrived at the White House, with no political connections, and began her climb up the ranks as a Staff Assistant, the Midwest Press Secretary, the Director of Television, and ultimately, the White House Director of Events. Following the administration, Laura travelled internationally with Former President Clinton for the Global Initiative.

 

Speaker Videos

EMCEE MODERATOR AND INTERVIEWER

Laura is a smart, savvy moderator who began her career at 20 years of age as the youngest female presidential appointee in history.  Today, she conducts on stage interviews for her clients with a swath of content and conversations with leaders and newsmakers from presidents to astronauts, actors, athletes, journalists, business innovators and giants of philanthropy. In collaboration with her client and subject, Laura asks the questions which result in the answers they want most to communicate to make a desired impact.

Laura is well regarded for her seamless and credible approach to interviewing CEO’s, newsmakers and celebrities. Recent on stage interviews include:

President Bill Clinton

Co Founder Apple, Steve Wozniak

Celebrity and Advocate Rob Lowe

Comedian and former host of The Daily Show Trevor Noah

ABC’s Shark Tank Shark Robert Herjavec

Entrepreneur and Basketball Great Shaquille O’Neil

NASA Astronaut Mae Jamison

NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino

Fox News Channel anchor and managing editor Brett Bair

CEO, Commvault Sanjay Mirchandani

CEO, Sitecore, Steve Tzikakis

Global Director, Enterprise Endpoint Products at Intel, Yasser Rasheed

Global Head of SCI Business Development at Microsoft, Mandana Javaheri

KEYNOTE: EAT, DRINK & SUCCEED!

The keynote your audience will be talking about all year.
It’s motivational, humorous and engaging, it’s immediately actionable.

Laura’s super-charged signature series is centered on being “prepared for partnership” while turning the “optional into opportunity,” because as Laura reminds us all, “You ever know when the next conversation will be the conversation to change your life or that of someone else!”

Laura challenges her audience to ask, “What can I do for you?” instead of the more negative – “What can you do for me?” interpretation of networking. She explains how positive, powerful networking involves mentoring and leading both inside and outside of the office. And, she incorporates your conference programming and year-round engagement into examples where Laura’s tips can be used to increase results for every member of your audience.

When the event is over, these lessons can be carried back to the office and put to work in professional and personal settings. Eat, Drink & Succeed motivates, engages, and most importantly, it drives action. Whether a first-time attendee or a seasoned veteran, attendees will feel empowered to take every facet of the conference and make it work to their full advantage and yours. Laura pro- vides the tools and techniques that motivate attendees to capitalize on all social and business interactions at the conference so that they, too, can turn relationships into partnerships and ideas into realities.

SAMPLE OF GROUPS WHO WOULD FIND LAURA’S SIGNATURE PRESENTATION VALUABLE:                     

This presentation knows no boundaries and is given around the world to all industries. This program can be adapted for any conference, meeting, company, association or annual retreat.

KEYNOTE: LEAD FIRST

LEAD FIRST is a unique & dynamic presentation on leadership in times of success, turbulence and change.

As any great leader will attest, leading in successful times is easy. It’s what a leader does in times of turbulence and change that sets them apart. In this one-of-a-kind program, Laura shares little-known stories from more than 200 years of U.S. Presidents and First Ladies to inspire great leadership in any circumstance. Laura adapts these non-partisan stories to make relevant and relatable comparisons to your company or association, and offers tips that attendees can immediately put into action in their personal or professional lives. Laura uses her unique White House experience to share valuable takeaways and inspiring stories from the earliest White House inhabitants, along with first-hand accounts of defining moments during the Clinton administration. She illustrates real solutions from the successes and failures in leadership that we all can practice in our daily lives as we work with our customers and colleagues and share within our communities and families.

SAMPLE OF GROUPS WHO WOULD FIND LAURA’S LEAD FIRST PRESENTATION VALUABLE:                     

This presentation knows no boundaries and is given around the world to all industries. This program has an exceptional connection to women’s groups and can be adapted for any conference, meeting, company, association or annual retreat.

KEYNOTE: ACTIVATE YOUR SUPERPOWERS

A program about her personal and professional journey, Laura reveals 5 superpowers of

Engagement that can change our lives.

From her start as a small-town girl with a speech impediment to becoming the youngest female presidential appointee in White House history and eventually an international professional speaker and television commentator, Laura delivers relevant and relatable moments of her challenges and success paired with the very superpowers we develop throughout our lives.

Laura reveals the 5 Superpowers we all have inside and outline how we can activate those 5 and identify more Superpowers that are unique unto ourselves. You will turn to these newly discovered powers at work, at home and in your communities to build successful leadership, engagement and development throughout ever y stage of your life.

This compelling, motivational program will leave every audience inspired with a charge to put on their cape and tap into their inner Superhero!

SAMPLE OF GROUPS WHO WOULD FIND LAURA’S CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT PRESENTATION VALUABLE:

This presentation knows no boundaries and is given around the world to all industries. This program can be adapted for any conference, meeting, company, association or annual retreat.

KEYNOTE: CUSTOM KEYNOTE PROGRAMS

Laura customizes each keynote and can further create original programming and curated plenary’s tailored to specific company content and themes.

Laura always customizes her programs to your message and objectives, and she is known for her power of connection to the audience at hand – not simply giving the same speech over and over again.

Laura is eager to work with partners like you to create original programming and to curate a keynote or creative plenary tailored to your goals and objectives. Whether based on conference themes, a rebrand, new partnership or a corporate milestone – you name it – after an hour call with Laura she will transform your message into an incredible personal connection with your audience and deliver it on your stage!

SAMPLE OF GROUPS WHO WOULD FIND LAURA’S CUSTOM PRESENTATIONS VALUABLE: 

This presentation knows no boundaries and is given around the world to all industries. This program can be adapted for any conference, meeting, company, association or annual retreat.

VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS: ANY PROGRAM CAN BE DELIVERED VIRTUALLY

DYNAMIC ENERGY, VIRTUAL DELIVERY

Laura makes every participant feel a virtual connection to your message, mission and program.

Laura was practically born in front of a camera, and she grew up in her father’s award-winning photography studio, surrounded by lights and cameras. As a result, her virtual space feels like home, and she makes everyone watching feel the same way.

Prior to becoming White House Director of Events, she was the White House Director of Television where she created the connection between a President and the world by embracing technology and its ability to bring people together. She’s been in front of the camera as a television commentator since 2001, routinely looking into a single lens and addressing millions of viewers at a time, and making each person feel a connection at that moment.

And she’ll do the same for you as an Emcee or Keynote at your next virtual program.

LAURA'S APPROACH: WHAT LAURA SCHWARTZ WILL DO FOR YOU AS YOUR EMCEE OR KEYNOTE SPEAKER

1. SHE PUTS YOUR GOALS FRONT AND CENTER

Laura listens before she even speaks. Whether it’s a short afternoon talk or a four-day conference, her preparation starts far before the audience arrives. Laura does a deep discovery phase for each client, in which she conducts extensive research into your industry, brand, culture, mission, audience and more. By understanding your objectives, she is able to deliver a customized experience that connects, motivates and resonates long after your event has ended. Laura doesn’t just focus on the Return on Investment (ROI) for your event. She also makes sure to achieve a Return on Experience (ROE) for you.

2. SHE’S YOUR BIGGEST BRAND AMBASSADOR

Laura’s work for your brand starts with the first conversation and it continues to the stage and beyond. She’ll embrace your corporate culture and goals, and share your message on stage and off, whether she’s attending conference events, or sticking around to meet everyone who wants to talk after a pro- gram. She’ll also share your message on social media leading up to, during and after the conference, and record preview videos for you to use on your website and social channels.

3. A KEYNOTE FOR ALL CULTURES AND INDUSTRIES

Though Laura adapts her keynote to every audience, her message is universal. She uses the experience she’s gained traveling the world – more than 10 years with a U.S. president and 19 years speaking globally on her own -to connect with audiences of all cultures, ages and industries. Whether Laura is presenting to a room full of industry leaders, sales executives, entrepreneurs, independent consultants, women business leaders, CEOs or young professionals, each presentation is packed with powerful tools to propel your audience to the next level in business and beyond. Her keynotes have been acclaimed overseas in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas.  

4. HER KEYNOTES KEEP AUDIENCES ENGAGED

Laura’s keynote is a chance to present the audience with something different – a chance to re-imagine, re-energize, and re-engage with messages they can incorporate into their professional and personal lives. Laura collaborated with an award-winning motion picture studio to produce her unique presentations.

5. SHE DONATES PROCEEDS OF EAT, DRINK & SUCCEED

For any copies of Eat, Drink & Succeed sold at your engagement, Laura donates 100% of proceeds to a scholarship fund or charity of your choice – her way of making sure every sale makes the biggest impact on people’s lives.