Keynote speaking and event hosting

Innovation Keynote Speaker, Moderator, and Master of Ceremonies

NASA IDEA Awards keynote. Federal Laboratory Consortium National Awards emcee. DoD Inaugural D&I Summit panelist. Book Tyrome Smith for keynotes, moderation, workshops, and facilitated conversations on innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership, and the human side of organizational change.

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What audiences get

Tyrome Smith delivers keynotes, moderates panels, hosts award ceremonies, and facilitates working sessions for federal agencies, universities, conferences, and innovation ecosystems. His presentations connect innovation methods and organizational reality, drawing on 25+ years inside government, corporations, startups, and HBCU partnerships.

Audiences leave with actionable insights they can use Monday morning. Not inspiration theater. Not generic consulting frameworks. Clear thinking on customer discovery, why pilots die in PowerPoint, how leadership creates space for hope and strategy, what makes HBCU ecosystems work, and how to navigate the gap between what organizations say they want and what they actually reward.

Event planners value Tyrome's ability to read the room, connect abstract ideas to the audience's lived experience, and deliver content that respects their intelligence. He does not perform. He speaks directly about work that matters.

Signature talks

The Audacity of Imagination

Delivered as keynote: NASA IDEA Awards ceremony

Innovation requires imagination tethered to mission reality. This talk explores how organizations balance bold thinking with operational constraints, why imagination matters in mission-driven work, and how leaders create conditions where teams can envision what does not yet exist without losing contact with what must actually ship.

Audience takeaways: How to protect imaginative thinking inside accountability structures. The role of leadership in holding space for ideas that challenge norms. Why mission clarity enables rather than constrains bold work.

Why Innovation Pilots Die in PowerPoint

For: Government agencies, corporate innovation teams, institutional leaders

The demo succeeds, leadership claps, and nothing gets fielded. This presentation diagnoses the four structural failure points where innovation pilots stall: no mission owner with budget authority, no transition funding, no operational adoption path, and success metrics that reward activity instead of outcomes. Tyrome draws on twelve years embedding Lean Startup at NGA to explain what actually moves pilots from demo to deployment.

Audience takeaways: How to connect pilots to mission owners before the program starts. What procurement and IT integration requires beyond the workshop. Why evidence-based portfolios survive longer than hero projects.

Confront and Eliminate Unconscious Bias in the Workplace

Delivered as keynote: NextGen Gov Summit

Unconscious bias shapes hiring, promotion, team dynamics, and who gets heard in meetings. This talk moves beyond awareness to action, examining how bias operates in organizations, what leaders can do structurally to reduce its impact, and why diversity work requires changing systems, not just training individuals.

Audience takeaways: How to recognize bias in decision-making processes. Structural interventions that reduce bias at hiring, promotion, and team formation. Why accountability measures matter more than good intentions.

The Pitch Deck Is Not the Business

For: Founders, accelerators, entrepreneurship programs, university audiences

Founders fall in love with the idea and build before validating the customer problem. This presentation teaches customer discovery, evidence-based pivots, and business model thinking grounded in what customers actually hire a product to do. Tyrome shares stories from coaching startups that advanced to TechStars and from watching others fail because they never left the building.

Audience takeaways: How to design customer discovery interviews that produce evidence. What business model design means beyond the pitch. When to pivot and when to persevere based on data, not hope.

Hosting and moderation

Tyrome serves as master of ceremonies and moderator for conferences, award ceremonies, panel discussions, and multi-day events. His emcee work includes the Federal Laboratory Consortium National Awards Ceremony, NASA MSI Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge pitch competition, and leadership convenings for national security and innovation communities.

As moderator, Tyrome does not fill time with generic questions. He frames the conversation, asks questions that surface disagreement and nuance, keeps panelists accountable to specifics, and ensures the audience leaves with useful distinctions they can apply to their own work.

Event formats include master of ceremonies for award ceremonies and conferences, panel moderation for subject-matter experts, fireside chat facilitation for intimate leadership conversations, and workshop leadership for hands-on skill-building sessions.

Where he has spoken

  • NASA IDEA AwardsKeynote: The Audacity of Imagination
  • NextGen Gov SummitKeynote: Confront and Eliminate Unconscious Bias in the Workplace
  • Federal Laboratory ConsortiumMaster of Ceremonies, National Awards Ceremony
  • NASA MSI Wildfire Climate Tech ChallengeMaster of Ceremonies, pitch competition
  • DoD Inaugural D&I SummitPanelist: Gov of the Future, DEIA in 2023 and Beyond
  • DC Startup Week 2024Presenter: Mission Model Canvas, Building Company Culture and Values
  • HBCUFIPresenter: Design for Social Good
  • Catalyst ConstellationPresenter: Boundaries and Change
  • UNCF and Applied Research InstituteFacilitator: Meeting of the Minds National Conference
  • GovLoop Leadership DevelopmentFacilitator: Unconscious Bias workshop series
  • PNC and Howard University CommerceModerator: Supporting STEM Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  • Men Impacting ChangeModerator: Future Ready, Merging Entrepreneurship with AI
  • AK Rice InstituteDirector: International Leadership Conference

Tyrome also co-hosts the What Problem Are You Solving? podcast, featuring direct conversations with founders and innovation leaders on customer discovery, traction, and building useful products.

Booking details

Tyrome Smith is available for keynote presentations, panel moderation, master of ceremonies services, facilitated workshops, and leadership offsites. Engagements can be in-person or virtual depending on audience needs, event format, and budget.

Standard keynote length is 30 to 45 minutes with Q&A. Workshops run 90 minutes to half-day depending on content depth. Multi-day facilitation is available for leadership offsites, strategic planning sessions, and organizational convenings.

Travel from Bowie, Maryland. Lead time for major conferences: 3 to 6 months. Corporate and agency events: 4 to 8 weeks. AV needs are minimal: standard presentation setup with screen and sound. Speaker one-sheet and media kit available on request.

For advisory engagements beyond speaking, see federal innovation consulting, startup advisory, or executive coaching and facilitation. For media inquiries and podcast appearances, visit the media page.

"Ty Smith is a thought-leader, a tireless advocate for innovation and an incredible asset to our organization. Through Ty's leadership and wisdom, we've adopted MVPs to make iterative changes, refined our strategy, and even sacrificed some sacred cows to realize efficiencies and clarity."

Matt Conner
4x Chief Information Security Officer, Board Director. Same team, August 2018.

Speaking questions

What topics does Tyrome Smith speak on?

Tyrome speaks on innovation strategy, entrepreneurship and customer discovery, why innovation pilots fail in government and corporations, the audacity of imagination and mission-driven work, confronting unconscious bias in organizations, hope and despair in strategic leadership, building HBCU innovation ecosystems, and non-dilutive capital for startups. All talks connect to lived experience across federal agencies, universities, and startups.

What is his speaking fee?

Speaking fees depend on event format, location, preparation requirements, and whether the engagement includes workshops or facilitation beyond the keynote. Initial conversations clarify the event scope, audience size, date, and budget before quoting a fee. Non-profit and educational institutions may qualify for reduced rates.

Does he travel outside the DC area?

Yes. Tyrome travels nationally for speaking engagements. He is based in Bowie, Maryland, and available for in-person events across the United States. Virtual presentations are also available for audiences who prefer remote delivery or have budget constraints limiting travel.

Can he emcee a multi-day event?

Yes. Tyrome has served as master of ceremonies for multi-day conferences and national award ceremonies. Emcee services include opening and closing remarks, speaker introductions, session transitions, audience engagement, and maintaining event flow and energy across sessions.

Does he customize talks for a specific agency or industry?

Yes. Every talk is customized based on pre-event conversations with organizers. Tyrome learns the audience composition, organizational challenges, event goals, and desired takeaways. The presentation is tailored to that context, using relevant examples and language that resonates with the specific audience.

How far in advance should we book?

Booking timelines vary. For major conferences and federal events, 3 to 6 months advance notice is standard. Leadership offsites and corporate events can often be scheduled within 4 to 8 weeks. Last-minute requests are considered based on availability and event alignment.

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