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We get the right person walking into the right room.
Right person.
Right room.
ECHO is a BIPOC-led speaker bureau placing vetted founders, executives, artists, and thought leaders into the rooms that need them — corporations, universities, nonprofits, and events across North America.
ECHO / 00 · IntroductionScroll
Corporations✦Universities✦Nonprofits✦Conferences✦Galas & Fundraisers✦Leadership Offsites✦ERG Events✦EDI Programs✦Corporations✦Universities✦Nonprofits✦Conferences✦Galas & Fundraisers✦Leadership Offsites✦ERG Events✦EDI Programs✦Corporations✦Universities✦Nonprofits✦Conferences✦Galas & Fundraisers✦Leadership Offsites✦ERG Events✦EDI Programs✦
ECHO/01·About
Real voices.
Lived stories.
Measurable impact.
ECHO is a BIPOC-led, BIPOC-exclusive speaker bureau. Co-founded by Michele Young-Crook and Chelsee Pettit, we represent founders, executives, artists, scientists, and thought leaders whose lived experience and expertise reshape how rooms see leadership, innovation, and possibility.
We don’t fill diversity quotas — we shift narratives. Across boardrooms, lecture halls, and main stages from Vancouver to Atlanta, every booking is curated, intentional, and built to land.
Mission“Representation isn’t just important. It’s transformational. We get the right person walking into the right room — and watch the room shift because of it.”
ECHO/02·Speakers
Voices that
resonate
beyond the room.
A curated, exclusively BIPOC roster across emerging, established, and expert tiers — founders, executives, scientists, artists, and thought leaders. Tell us the room; we match the voice.
Request the full roster
Featured speaker
Keynote · Resilience
Featured speaker
Author · Storytelling
Featured speaker
Performer · Identity
Featured speaker
Founder · Leadership
Field note
“The right voice in the right room reverberates for years. We don’t take that lightly.”
Speaker care, ECHOECHO/03·Topics
A wide range
of conversations.
Pick a theme, or build a series. Every topic is delivered with cultural grounding and trauma-informed care.
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Entrepreneurship & Founder Stories
03
Cultural Identity, Language & Storytelling
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Mental Health, Wellness & Resilience
05
Overcoming Barriers & Intergenerational Experience
06
STEM, Innovation & The Future of Work
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The Arts: Music, Poetry, Film, Performance
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Gender, Sexuality & 2SLGBTQ+ Representation
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Reconciliation & Indigenous Sovereignty
ECHO/04·Audiences
Built for the rooms
that shape culture.
We work across corporate stages, lecture halls, nonprofit galas, and event-floor keynotes. Every booking is intentional — calibrated to your audience, your moment, and the change you’re trying to make.
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Corporations
- Keynotes, leadership offsites, ERG events, all-hands moments that need real weight.
- BIPOC executives, founders, and thinkers — credible enough for any boardroom.
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Universities
- Convocations, distinguished lectures, EDI programming, residency series.
- Speakers across emerging, established, and expert tiers — for every stage on campus.
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Nonprofits
- Galas, fundraisers, advocacy panels, community-of-practice events.
- Voices grounded in lived experience and the work itself, not optics.
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Event Planners
- Conferences, summits, festivals — booked end-to-end so you can run the room.
- We handle vetting, contracts, travel, prep. You get the right name on the bill.
ECHO/05·Process
Booking is simple.
Inquiries, contracts, scheduling, prep, and travel — we handle the operational weight so you can focus on the room.
- 01
Inquire
Tell us your audience, your moment, and what success looks like. We listen first.
- 02
Match
We curate a shortlist from our roster — emerging, established, or expert — built for your room.
- 03
Confirm
We finalize logistics, contracts, travel, and prep so the speaker arrives ready.
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Echo
The talk lands. Conversations keep going long after the room empties.
ECHO/06·Why ECHO
Curated. Cared for.
Built to last.
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100% BIPOC-led and owned
Echo isn't a diversity vertical of a larger bureau. It's the whole house — by us, for us.
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Curated, never tokenized
Every speaker on the roster is here because of the work, not to fill a checkbox.
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Emerging to expert
We platform first-time keynoters and seasoned thought leaders alike. Career stage shapes the match — not the welcome.
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Intentional matching
We don't just send a list. We learn the room, the goal, the audience, and pair you with the speaker who shifts it.
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End-to-end handled
Inquiries, contracts, prep calls, travel, AV, post-event follow-up. You focus on the impact.
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North America-wide reach
Speakers based across Canada and the United States. In person, virtual, or hybrid — wherever the room is.
ECHO/07·FAQ
Common questions.
Don’t see yours? Email us. We reply within one business day.
We're 100% BIPOC-led and BIPOC-exclusive. No general roster with a few diverse names sprinkled in — every speaker we represent is BIPOC, vetted, and intentionally placed.
ECHO/08·For speakers
Share your story.
Inspire change.
Create impact.
ECHO is building a curated, BIPOC-exclusive network of speakers, performers, and leaders at every career stage. On our roster, your story stops being a footnote — it becomes the headline. The whole point is that you walk into rooms where you change what people thought was possible.
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20% management fee added to your rate. You never earn less.
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We handle inquiries, negotiations, contracts, and travel.
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Curated, intentional bookings across North America.
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Active advocacy at every career stage — emerging to expert.
Apply to the rosterhello@echospeakers.ca