Justin Pickens
Transform educational outcomes with Justin Pickens, speaker and educational catalyst. Justin works with teachers to reignite classroom passion, build student resilience, and implement evidence-based teaching methodologies, delivering impactful strategies from 13 years of teaching experience.
Missouri, United States
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After briefly exploring opportunities outside education, Justin returned to his true calling with renewed focus. He has dedicated his career to empowering educators who face burnout and diminishing motivation in today's challenging educational landscape.
Justin specializes in helping teachers reconnect with their original passion for education while providing practical strategies to create positive generational change. His approach combines personal resilience techniques with evidence-based teaching methodologies that address modern classroom challenges, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Justin seamlessly works humor in his speeches to make educators laugh, cry and leave encouraged. Audiences leave with concrete tools to reignite their educational purpose, practical methods to connect meaningfully with challenging students, and renewed confidence in their ability to create lasting positive impact beyond the classroom.
Book Justin to transform your educational team from merely surviving to genuinely thriving while creating ripple effects that will benefit generations to come.
Topics, Sessions And Talks
In this insightful talk, Justin Pickens explores the profound effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and emphasizes the crucial role educators and caring adults play as agents of change. By sharing real-life stories and practical strategies, he illustrates how simple, everyday actions can disrupt generational cycles and foster positive transformations in students' lives. Attendees will learn effective ways to support children and create lasting impacts in their communities.
In his engaging talk, Justin Pickens shares seven leadership principles designed to inspire young people to transition from apathy to action. By blending personal anecdotes with timeless truths, he provides valuable insights for middle school, high school, and college students, as well as adults working with youth. This energizing presentation is ideal for student leadership programs, athletic teams, and youth groups. Attendees will learn actionable strategies to empower the next generation with purpose and clarity.
In his engaging talk, Justin Pickens addresses the emptiness that can accompany success. He shares his journey from education to finance and fast food, detailing the identity crisis he faced along the way. Justin's insights resonate with business professionals, educators, and faith-based groups who are grappling with career transitions, burnout, or seeking deeper purpose. Attendees will learn how to navigate their own paths to fulfillment and rediscover their true calling.
Justin Pickens delivers a student-centered talk that inspires hope through impactful storytelling and the memorable "Hope Rat" experiment. Attendees will gain a deeper sense of purpose, practical mindset tools, and the understanding that hope transcends mere emotion—it serves as a strategic approach to overcoming challenges and creating a brighter future. Participants will leave empowered and equipped to harness hope as a vital resource in their lives.
Looking for a custom keynote or workshop designed around your company’s goals and culture? The expert will create a tailored, interactive session that aligns with your objectives, values, and strategic priorities. From leadership and innovation to wellbeing and collaboration, each experience is built from the ground up to deliver measurable impact and lasting change.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about booking an expert speaker, facilitator, host or entertainment for your event.
- If you'd like to book one of our expert speakers, email us at hello@peptalk.com, send us a chat message or give us a call, and we’ll help you out.
- We’ll take your event details — topic, audience, budget, date, and location — and create a custom speaker proposal for you within 48 hours.
- If you already have someone in mind, that’s okay too; just let us know their name! Even if they aren't listed publicly on our website, we have a huge network and work with almost everyone.
- Once you've reviewed our speaker propsal and have selected and expert shortlist, we'll double check availability and fees with your chosen expert.
- You're welcome to have a chemistry call with the speaker before making the final decision, too.
- Next, we'll send out contracts to confirm the booking. One of our experienced event producers will liase with both you and the talent on the finer details, and arrange travel if necessary, taking the stress off your plate.
Not necessarily. While the speakers listed on our website may not have worked with PepTalk in the past, they are recognized professionals in the industry and known to engage in similar events and engagements. We work with a wide variety of speaker agents and talent agencies to ensure we have the best selection of speakers, hosts, comedians and entertainers available.
We do not accommodate requests for birthday messages or any other personal, non-commercial contact with the speakers, comedians or entertainers.
We work with speakers across a variety of fee ranges, giving you the flexibility to choose someone who fits your event's needs. Virtual keynote fees in the UK and Europe typically start at £2,000, while in-person top-tier speakers can reach £25,000. In the US, virtual in-person fees range from $5,000 to over $100,000, depending on the speaker and format, such as after-dinner talks, conference keynotes, Q&As, or podcasts. Comedians generally start at £1,500 or $2,000 for a 20-minute set.
Our goal is to help you find the speaker who best matches your event’s goals and budget. We take the time to understand your event, objectives, and audience to recommend the right fit. The most expensive option isn’t always the best one, and our priority is finding the ideal speaker or expert for your needs; not the highest-priced one.
Reach out for personalised recommendations and detailed information on specific speaker fees. We’re here to offer a tailored service and are always happy to discuss your unique requirements!
There’s no additional cost for our services beyond the speaker fee — simply contact us to find the right speaker for your next business or team event. We can also work with your corporate procurement team to negotiate favourable long-term rates, simply email hello@getapeptalk.com for more information.
Partnering with PepTalk means elevating your events with our curated roster of top motivational speakers, industry experts, delivering punchy keynotes that leave a lasting impact. From talent selection, to contracts and logistics, we handle it all. We have global expert network, with over 3000 speakers from over 33 countries on our line-up.
We also provide a full range of talent, from event hosts and moderators to interviewers and corporate entertainment, ensuring your event’s success from start to finish.
PepTalk workshops are interactive learning experiences for leaders at all levels, blending theory with practical insights from industry experts. These programs, led by experienced facilitators, are designed to drive real mindset changes and equip participants with actionable skills. Workshops can be customised to meet your organisation's specific needs. Explore our workshop examples and contact us today to learn how your team can benefit.
If you notice something that needs attention or have any queries regarding an expert speaker profile, feel free to email us at experts@getapeptalk.com, and we’ll be happy to assist.