Praise For Barry Bradford – Motivational Speaker
“You are a dynamic reminder of the power of one individual to make a difference. You honor Medgar by your leadership and commitment to justice. He would be proud to know he continues to inspire a new generation of leaders.” – Myrlie Evers-Williams, Former President, NAACP
“An inspirational leader, I was proud to sponsor you for a Congressional award and hope that you serve as an example for citizens everywhere.” – Senator Mark Kirk, Illinois
“A champion of the quest for justice, leading a new generation of students to believe they can be agents of change.” – John Lewis, U.S. Congressman, Georgia
“Mr. Barry Bradford was our Keynote Speaker at our Annual Teaching American History Symposium. The topic of the address was his experiences with the Mississippi Burning Case. As he told the story, our teachers were captivated by his experiences and were left wanting more. In order to give our teachers more, he told the famous story of George Washington crossing the Delaware. His creative and thoughtful style engaged our teachers and made them feel like they were involved in the story.
“As a speaker Mr. Bradford does an excellent job of motivating the audience to believe that they can do whatever it is that needs to be done. His personal experiences are enhanced by his ability to keep and captivate an audience. Along with his ability to captivate, he is very creative. Once Mr. Bradford is given a presentation topic, he does the necessary research and through the use of storytelling, he can make the topic come to life. I believe Mr. Bradford has an incredible talent to be a one-of-a-kind speaker.” – Eric Schleutermann, Illinois Computing Educators
“Barry is an exceptional speaker who is a pleasure to work with. He recently presented two programs at McHenry County College and here is the positive feedback received from the college’s event planner:
Our faculty found the event educational, inspiring and beneficial for their students. Additionally, I received phone calls from two community members yesterday thanking MCC for sponsoring the event and praising your presentation. I appreciate your dynamic approach and am excited to invite you back in the future.
We represent many speakers – including well-known celebrities – and we rank Barry among our best!!” – Ed Madden, Owner, Sterling Speakers
“Barry has spoke on numerous occasions for Senior Events. He is extremely articulate, engaging and knowledgeable. Every person wants the talk to extend longer because of his magic way of drawing you in and making every topic dynamic! I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a top speaker that is so versatile in topics and enthusiastic. Never a dull moment.” – Lori Childress, Vice President of Sales & Operations at BrightStar Care
“With an encyclopedic knowledge of history and a passion for his subjects, Barry is a winning and engaging speaker. His experience and success speaks for itself. Barry is very likable and easy-going and those qualities translate both from the stage and interpersonally.” – Meredith Colby Procell, Author and Voice Development Expert
“Barry was hired to speak at the Lake Forest Questers group. He was dynamic, knowledgeable, and most entertaining.” – Victoria Scogland, President at Victoria L. Scogland Fine Arts, Inc.
“Mr. Barry Bradford is an outstanding public speaker and historian. He has presented many programs for the Cook Memorial Library District, and each one of them has been a great success! I have received many favorable remarks from patrons about his presentation style, professionalism, extensive knowledge, friendliness, and unique ability to engage the audience.” – Valentina Cotini, Adult Program Coordinator at Cook Memorial Library District
“I will most certainly have Barry Bradford back to the Algonquin Area Public Library! If you want to have a full house and a delighted audience I highly recommend you hire Barry. I could check off all seven of the attributes listed above, not just three. He is a gifted teacher and entertaining speaker who is professional, knowledgeable and passionate about all his topics. He has programs that will appeal to almost all ages, from junior high school to adults! I have had him speak four times in the past 12 months. The Death of Lincoln, Washington Crossing the Delaware, Who Killed JFK? and Mississippi Burning: Rewriting History were all extremely well attended. He interacts with the audience, even 20-25 High School AP students, enthralled and attentive for JFK and Mississippi Burning. His historical presentations bring history to life with humor, enthusiasm and drama. So if “you don’t know much about history” and want to learn more, see Barry Bradford in person!” – Virginia Donahue, Adult Program Coordinator, Algonquin Public Library
“Barry Bradford is an outstanding speaker and educator. A consummate professional, Barry adds tremendous value with no ego or diva behavior, which can sometimes come with popular presenters. His depth of knowledge on his topics is impressive and the rapport he develops with his audience as he imparts that knowledge is even more so. I would have Barry present as often as possible!” – Barb Withers, Senior Vice President, Nuveen Investments
“Barry is a very impressive speaker who brings a great deal of creativity to his presentations, which are highly informative and entertaining. I never miss the opportunity to attend one his presentations, which span both historical and modern topics. After listening to Barry I always come away with a fresh perspective and some interesting nuggets of information that you won’t find in the history books that I can share with co-workers and friends. From my experience, audiences from middle school students to seniors love Barry and the way he brings his topics to life.” – Glynnis Walker, Author, Radio Talk Show Host
“Before I met Barry, I didn’t realize the power of every individual to change the course of history, then I heard Barry’s story of leading a team in resolving a 40 year-old cold case from the Civil Rights era. Barry is an inspirational speaker and educator whose mission empowers people to change history by speaking up for the things they are passionate about. Barry’s wealth of knowledge is evident from the moment you hear him speak.” – Debbi Stumpf, CEO, SoLogical
“Barry is a fantastic speaker – his depth of knowledge and ingenuity always amaze me and he always adds a creative spin to otherwise ordinary topics. Audiences love him!” – Leta Strube, Senior Manager, Marketing Communications at Mather LifeWays
“Barry is an exceptional speaker who has an immense wealth of knowledge in a wide variety of subjects. His lectures are given with enthusiasm and are enjoyed by all of the participants. I am impressed by the depth of knowledge he has in so many different fields. I highly recommend you consider Barry as a speaker for your organization.” – Jean Foley, Senior Program Coordinator, College of Lake County
“Barry has been great to work with, and the people who attend his presentations always give him very positive evaluations.” – Mary Staackmann, CPP, Director of Lifelong Learning at North Shore Senior Center
“Barry presented his program on “The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln” during the library’s series on the Sesquicentennial of the start of the Civil War last year. His presentation was thorough, interesting, and well illustrated. His topics are wide ranging and well researched. We have him coming back to do two more programs this year. I recommend him highly.” – Jan Oblinger, Adult Program Coordinator, Fremont Public Library District
“Barry Bradford is a creative, energetic, dynamic speaker. His classes cover a dizzying array of topics with great expertise. He has brought a new dimension of stimulating programs to the Patty Turner Center and its members. We are thrilled to have him here.” – Joan Simonds, Associate Director Patty Turner Center
“Barry Bradford is one of the finest educators I have ever known. He is dedicated, passionate, engaging and knowledgeable. His love of life and his love of learning are positively contagious! A+ for the teacher!” – Meredith Aquila, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies and Theatre (CST)
“Barry Bradford is one of the most professional individuals I have ever encountered. I had the pleasure of working with him on several history fair projects in high school, which helped shape my college experience and future career plans.
“Mr. Bradford is one of the most inspirational teachers a student could have simply because he works tirelessly to help students achieve their goals. There is no project too tough, evidenced by his effort in recently reopening a Civil Rights considered closed over four decades ago.
“I strongly recommend working with Barry Bradford on any endeavor.” – Seth Weinstein, Defense Attorney at Law Offices of Seth Weinstein
“Barry Bradford is one of the most popular speakers at the Highland Park Senior Center. He is easy to work with, and always professional yet very personable. We are truly very fortunate to have him as a part of our lives.” – Laura Frey, Executive Director, Highland Park Senior Center