Ignite Seattle is the largest open submission public speaking event in the Pacific Northwest. We believe in the power of bringing people together through stories that inspire, enlighten, challenge, and entertain.
Two or three times a year, one of the greatest audiences in the world gathers at the historic Town Hall in Seattle to hear interesting people tell interesting stories in just 5 minutes. (There’s a reason our tag line is “Enlighten us…but make it quick!”) Each speaker gets 20 slides, which auto-rotate every 15 seconds, to share their experiences and passions. It’s an evening of curated discovery, and our format helps speakers to be concise, focused, and engaged.
Our team of volunteer organizers takes pride in providing every audience with a deep sense of the community + possibility that surrounds us in every moment. Ignite Seattle is a 501(c)(3) non-profit run entirely by volunteers. Proceeds from tickets sales and sponsorships go directly into our events and related programming.
Our mission:
- Provide a fun and supportive forum for sharing diverse ideas, hearing challenging stories, and building a community of curious and open minded people.
- Use the power of storytelling as a tool for entertainment, education and to bring people together.
- Teach our speakers and our audience the skills of storytelling and public speaking. All our speakers are offered professional speaker coaching and in between shows we teach public workshops open to all.
Connect With Us!
Organizers
We are all volunteers (join us!), and many of us have spoken on the Ignite Seattle stage. Our team includes:
- Scott Berkun, Lead Speaker Coach
- Zac Cohn, Speaker/Slide Wrangler
- Tyler Menezes, PM & Producer
- Emilie Hall, Show Coordination & Special Projects
- Beth Jusino, Speaker Coach
- Emily Martin, Social Media Marketing
- Leigh Momii, Video Marketing
- Neal Patel, Pre-Show Event
- Andrew Spink, Speaker Coach
- Marice Sy, Design & Emcee
- Nancy Wang, Show Coordination & Special Projects
History
First held in Seattle in 2006. There have been more than 40 Ignite Seattle events and they are currently held at the wonderful Town Hall Seattle. Many other cities also run Ignite events.
The first event was organized by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis, inspired in part by a desire to simplify presentations into a 5 minute format.
Partners
In addition to the fantastic volunteers and organizers, Ignite Seattle couldn’t happen without our amazing partners: Town Hall Seattle and Brady Harvey.
Ignite Seattle 