Request a Guest Speaker
Free opportunities for Northwest Arkansas educators and students to connect with entrepreneurs and business professionals.
Nothing makes entrepreneurship real for a student like hearing from someone who's actually done it. YEI's Guest Speaker program connects NWA classrooms with local entrepreneurs, founders, and business professionals who are willing to share what building something really looks like: the wins, the setbacks, and everything in between.
Speakers talk about the topics they know best: starting a business, pitching an idea, raising money, marketing, personal finance, overcoming failure, and more. Sessions can happen in person or virtually, and we work with each speaker to match their expertise to the right grade level and classroom.
How it works:
Browse available speakers and topics below.
Reach out to Hilola Tuychieva to get connected to the speaker of your choice.
Can't find a speaker for your topic? We'll help find the right speaker for your class!
Meet Our NWA Speakers
Omar Kasim — Founder, PLOMO Quesadillas Omar started PLOMO in 2019 out of the back of a Fayetteville juice bar. It's now a multi-location restaurant chain across Arkansas and Texas, and he's also active in real estate and mixed-use development in the region. Students get a real look at what it takes to grow a food business from a side hustle into a regional brand, and how those same instincts carry over into real estate and development. Topics: Entrepreneurship, real estate, hospitality, investing, motivation Grade levels: High school (9-12)
Liza Lytle — CEO/Coach, One Percent Better Liza is a personal finance coach who started teaching herself about money at 15, after watching her family go through real financial hardship. By 18 she'd bought her first rental property; it now covers more than half her family's living expenses. She brings students a direct, lived-experience case for financial literacy instead of an abstract one. Topics: Budgeting, investing, credit cards, loans, banking, habit formation, goal setting Grade levels: High school (9-12)
Meghan Dale — Director of Learning, StillPoint Accounting Meghan translates complex financial concepts into practical tools for individuals, businesses, and nonprofits, and previously served as Chief of Staff at CACHE. She's a working facilitator and speaker on financial literacy and women's wealth-building, and can walk students through budgeting that starts from personal values instead of a spreadsheet. Topics: Financial literacy, values-based budgeting Grade levels: Flexible — all grade levels
Ketan Pandya — Real Estate Agent, Keller Williams Market Pro Realty (Team Desi NWA) Ketan spent 22+ years in retail technology at Walmart before moving into real estate, and now runs Desipreneurs, an annual youth entrepreneurship summer program built around a Kids' Shark Tank. He brings both a corporate career pivot and hands-on youth-program experience into the classroom. Topics: Money lessons school doesn't teach, early investing, entrepreneurial mindset, AI and entrepreneurship Grade levels: Flexible — all grade levels
Lakisha Bradley — Founder & CEO, MY-T-BY-DESIGN Therapeutic Art Studios Lakisha is a licensed counselor, social practice artist, filmmaker, and entrepreneur who's reached more than 30,000 people through her presentations. Every session pairs a topic (career exploration, confidence, mental wellness, entrepreneurship) with a hands-on creative activity, so students leave having made something, not just listened. Topics: Expressive arts and wellness, creative entrepreneurship, careers in counseling and the arts, confidence and identity, resilience Grade levels: All grade levels Email:
Amy Bowman — Senior Sales Director, Mary Kay Amy is a former elementary music teacher turned 26-year Mary Kay Sales Director, with three decades of leadership and public speaking experience ranging from classrooms to national stages. She's spent her career teaching confidence, communication, and leadership, and brings that same energy to helping students build on their own strengths. Topics: Leadership, confidence, communication styles (DISC), time management, professional image Grade levels: Flexible — all grade levels
Entrepreneurs and Professionals — Become a Speaker
Are you a Northwest Arkansas entrepreneur or business professional? There’s no better way to give back to the community than bringing your gifts to our NWA classrooms. We're building our speaker roster now, and we'd love to have you. Share what you know — your industry, your story, your hard-won lessons — with students who are just starting to imagine what they could build.
Apply to be a Speaker
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