Book a Speaker (For Community/Adult Groups)

Illinois Holocaust Museum’s Speakers Bureau of Holocaust Survivors and their descendants offers an opportunity for educators, organizations, civic groups, and others to request event speakers. Hearing directly from a Holocaust Survivor or child/grandchild of a Survivor can leave a lasting impact and has been shown to build empathy and inspire action.

Our Museum staff, including educators and leadership, are available to speak at conferences and other events to promote the Museum and Holocaust education. We welcome inquiries from all.

If you are a school group looking to book a speaker, please submit the appropriate form linked below.

Group Size

The Museum requires a minimum of 30 audience members to schedule an outreach visit.

Costs

We suggest a donation of $180 for non-profit organizations and $720 for for-profit organizations to help continue our educational programming.

Organizations are required to provide transportation for the speaker to and from the presentation, unless a speaker indicates otherwise. For presentations requiring overnight travel, the hosting organization must reimburse all travel expenses not paid directly by the organization.

Payments and reimbursements should be mailed directly to the Museum at 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL 60077, Attn: Speakers’ Bureau. Please note on the check the date of your outreach visit and the name of your speaker.

Length and Format of Presentation

Hosting organizations should expect Speakers’ presentations to last 40 minutes to one hour, including time for Q&A. Requests for speakers allocated less than 40 minutes may not be accommodated.

Speakers are available to present in-person and virtually. For virtual presentations, the hosting organization must provide a link to the video call (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, etc.) at least one week in advance of the presentation.

Age Level

The Museum will send a member of our Speakers’ Bureau to adult audiences and to students in 6th grade and above.

Scheduling Request Information

Please submit the request form below at least one month before your requested date. A completed request form must be received by our Education Department in order to process and confirm your request. If your form is submitted correctly, you will receive an auto-reply to the email address you provided. Note that the Museum’s Speakers’ Bureau is busiest from March through June. For requests during this season, we encourage you to submit your request two to three months in advance.

While the Museum has a large and active Speakers’ Bureau, and we will do our best to fulfill all requests, speakers are limited and cannot be guaranteed.

How to Book a Speaker

To book a speaker, please complete our Book a Speaker form below. If you have a specific speaker in mind, please let us know. Though we cannot guarantee speaker availability, we will work to ensure your group will have an alternative speaker at your event even if the requested speaker is unavailable.

Please review our community/adult group policies before you book a speaker.

Photo credits: Chris Strong