Speaking

Andy Stoll is a storyteller-at-heart, a sought after speaker on leadership, creativity, cities, community-building, travel, social entrepreneurship and international affairs.  He has been a featured speaker at, among other places, The University of Iowa (USA), Wartburg College (USA), The University of West Kazakhstan, The United States Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia, TEDx Des Moines (USA), The Leadershape Institute and for Rotary International and the White House-initiated Startup America Partnership.

Andy also frequently speaks for school groups and service clubs (Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, etc).

Andy tells stories that draw on his experiences as a media producer, social entrepreneur, community-builder and traveler and works with organizations to create presentations that inform and inspire.

Please contact Andy if you have questions or are interested in having him speak at your business, organization or school.

Here are a few recent stories that Andy likes to tell:

TRAVEL & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Stories from a 4-Year Trip Around-The-World

Drawing on his 4-year solo, independent trip around-the-world, Andy shares first person stories from the slums of India to the Australian Outback, from the top of Mt Kilimanjaro to the villages of the remotest of Fijian Islands.  It’s the story of a normal guy who didn’t give up on a childhood dream to see the world, and his discovery that the world is safer, friendlier and more welcoming than most would ever imagine.  This collection of humorous, amusing and insightful stories is backed up with stunning video and photography from around-the-world and will not only feed your wanderlust but share some good news from the world to combat the increasingly dark stories that seem to dominate our daily news.

How And Why To Take A Post-Graduation Trip Around-The-World

Developed for university and high school audiences, this presentation draws on Andy’s international travels and is intended to not only inspire young people to travel, but also to equip them with some knowledge and information to make their own travels happen. Our world is growing increasingly smaller and it is important to raise our young people with an informed worldview, despite this, Americans are some of the least traveled people in the developed world. This reality threatens our security, policies and our standing in the world.  But, the solution to this challenge is pretty simple: encourage young people to follow their dreams and see the world first-hand, which not only develops well-rounded citizens but also helps build a stronger country and a safer world.  This presentation is ideally suited for study abroad programs, international exchange programs and educational audiences.

How America Looks From Here: Insight Into Life In America

A lively and entertaining presentation ideally suited for businesses, organizations and schools looking to get their employees, members and students to take some time to see our world from ‘a different view.’ Andy draws on his overland travels through 40 countries to share his perspective on how America and Americans are seen through the eyes of societies and cultures of other countries.  Stripping away the caricatures and stereotypes we have of people around the globe, this presentation is designed to ask the audience to think outside-of-the-box and is guaranteed to spark discussion, with stories about ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Irritating Americans,’ ‘Why Obama Deserves The Noble Peace Prize,’ and ‘Why The American Dream Is Still Alive.’  This presentation is highly customizable and can draw on his stories relevant to your audience from the business, nonprofit and/or educational sector.

Study Abroad Hacking: How To Make Your Study-Abroad Experience A Once-In-A-Lifetime Adventure

A presentation targeted at high school and college students to help them make the most of their study abroad experience. Each year hundreds of thousands of students blindly stumble into study abroad experiences unprepared for the potential opportunities that await them.  Many find themselves homesick, suffering from ‘culture shock’ (a normal part of the process) and hanging out with a group of friends from their own country (speaking only their native language), all-the-while missing the real adventure that lies just around the corner.  Andy will share stories and tips drawn from his extensive overland travels across five continents, to help students learn to maximize their time during and after a study abroad experience.  Students will learn practical tips on how to overcome the obstacles of fear, loneliness and language to open up opportunities to meet the locals, forge life-long friendships, discover the hidden gems of a country and find a gateway to life-changing travel, exploration and adventure that they may never have once imagined possible.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP, COMMUNITY-BUILDING & CITIES

Community-Building in The 21st Century: The Story of The James Gang

Andy is the co-founder and former board president of The James Gang, Inc, a nonprofit, community-building, social entrepreneurial incubator called by Creative Class Economist Richard Florida: “One of the best examples of the creative class that I’ve ever seen.”

Founded and led entirely by young people all under the age of 23, The James Gang created innovative and cool projects that fostered unprecedented cross-generational, community-collaborations between the public, private and government sectors, while engaging and investing hundreds of students and young professionals in their communities.  For its work The James Gang was recognized by The United Way of America, Economist Richard Florida and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and his wife Christie.  The James Gang was selected as the 2005 Iowa City Press-Citizen Person of the Year for having ‘the largest impact on the community that year.’

Andy tells the story of how The James Gang came to be and why it succeeded in engaging young people in their communities, where other more traditional efforts by the government, public and private sectors fell short. In this targeted presentation, Andy will share information about The James Gang’s and other success stories from around the US of ways cities have successfully empowered young people to take part in their communities, to grow quality-of-life, diversity and entrepreneurial opportunities, while reversing generational divisions and the ‘brain drain.’  This presentation will help municipalities, chambers and economic development groups better understand community-building in the 21st century and will encourage these groups to find ways to engage their own community’s young professionals and students in collaborative work.

The Democratization Of Entrepreneurship: Growing Entrepreneurs in Off-The-Beaten-Path Places

This presentation focuses on how regions and cities can remain relevant in the newly emerging innovation-driven, creativity-centric, hyper-networked, internet-fueled world. Drawing on Andy’s research and stories from New Orleans, Nashville, Boulder, Detroit, Omaha and Iowa, this talk focuses on how regions not traditionally known as hotbeds for entrepreneurship can grow a more, innovative, creative and globally networked community of entrepreneurs, creatives and startups, to foster job creation and engage a new generation of emerging entrepreneurs in building the economic future of their community. This presentation focuses on the importance of building a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and draws on stories of the movement that we are seeing worldwide from Shanghai to Chicago.  This presentation was initially developed for The Startup America Partnership, a White House initiated, public-private partnership that is working to foster and grow more entrepreneurship as one of the economic drivers of the United States.