Visit Salt Lake, the nonprofit tasked with recruiting and retaining conventions, meetings, sporting events and leisure travel for Salt Lake City, has launched Speak Salt Lake, a speaker bureau designed to provide convention, meeting and event planners with curated access to experts to address their events.
The new entity will maintain a roster of nationally recognized local experts, including Olympic gold medalists, industry executives and civic leaders.
“Speak Salt Lake’s mission is to elevate the voices that live right here in our own backyard,” said Kaitlin Eskelson, president and CEO of Visit Salt Lake. “From unparalleled Olympic expertise to diverse industry voices, we have a world-class roster of thought leaders who embody the spirit of innovation that defines our community. By connecting them with meeting and event planners, we are moving beyond the ballroom and connecting their audiences with the inspirational power of our destination.”
Eskelson said the bureau is founded on the belief that Utah’s world-class voices belong on every stage.
“Speak Salt Lake celebrates an entire community of leaders, storytellers, Olympians, athletes and changemakers by connecting global conventions and meeting planners with world-renowned speakers who call Utah home,” Visit Salt Lake said. “Focused on impact, connection and shared inspiration, the initiative brings the world to Salt Lake and Salt Lake to the world, showing powerful voices rooted in Utah that are shaping national and international audiences.”
Among those available for speaking engagements through Speak Salt Lake are ChatGPT expert Alex Lawrence; Sidni L. Shorter, CEO of the Utah Black Chamber of Commerce; Natalie Gochnour, chief economist at the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute; Olympic bobsledder Kaysha Love; alpine skiing legend Ted Ligety; Paralympic skier Chris Waddell; popular Olympic gold medalist Picabo Street; and Greg Levesque, CEO and co-founder of Utah-based Strider Technologies.
Each of the bureau members will be available for keynotes, panel discussions, workshops and more, according to Visit Salt Lake. “Organizations searching for local speakers are also invited to utilize this bureau as a community resource,” the organization said.
“Salt Lake’s legacy is built on the incredible people who call this place home,” said Love, 2025 monobob world champion. “This is a place where Olympians live, train and work. Being part of Speak Salt Lake allows us to share our passion for this community and inspire visitors to see the depth of Utah’s talent and innovation on global stages right here in our own backyard.”
Information about the Speak Salt Lake speaker bureau is available at the Visit Salt Lake website.