Darrin D. Howell: SPEAKER
From the Chow Hall to City Hall
Real experiences. Hard-earned lessons.
Conversations that move people toward action.
Darrin D. Howell brings a perspective shaped by second chances, public service, organized labor, politics, community leadership, and nearly two decades of organizing people around change.
Whether speaking to young people beginning to discover their own power, workers learning to build collective power, leaders navigating difficult challenges, or individuals seeking a second chance, Darrin connects personal experience to a larger question:
What are we going to do with the opportunities, experiences, and influence we have been given?
Audiences
Organized Labor & Workers
For union members, shop stewards, organizers, apprentices, emerging leaders, labor councils, and union leadership.
Topics can include worker power, organizing, leadership development, solidarity, racial and economic justice, immigrant worker advocacy, political action, coalition building, nonviolent direct action, and building a labor movement capable of meeting today’s challenges.
Youth & Young Adults
For high schools, colleges, youth programs, workforce-development programs, apprenticeship programs, mentoring initiatives, and young people navigating major life decisions.
Darrin can speak candidly about choices and consequences, identity, peer influence, incarceration, resilience, finding purpose, leadership, employment, public service, and recognizing that where you begin does not have to determine where you finish.
Returning Citizens & Justice-Impacted Communities
For correctional institutions, reentry programs, returning citizens, probation and parole programs, workforce-development organizations, and organizations serving justice-impacted families.
These conversations can explore accountability, rebuilding after incarceration, navigating barriers, employment, redemption, second chances, personal transformation, community responsibility, and creating a meaningful life after difficult chapters.
Government & Public-Sector Leaders
For municipal and state leaders, public employees, agencies, elected officials, policymakers, and government leadership programs.
Topics can include authentic community engagement, building public trust, reaching historically disconnected communities, coalition building, credible messengers, leadership, public service, and bringing lived experience into policy and decision-making.
Public Safety & Violence Prevention
For public-safety agencies, violence-prevention organizations, community organizations, policymakers, law enforcement leadership, credible messengers, and multidisciplinary coalitions.
Darrin can facilitate conversations around community violence, prevention, accountability, trust, community-police relationships, credible messengers, lived experience, collective responsibility, and bringing institutions and communities together around shared solutions.
Community & Faith-Based Organizations
For neighborhood organizations, nonprofits, faith communities, civic organizations, community coalitions, and grassroots leaders.
Topics can include community power, service, organizing, coalition building, leadership, violence prevention, second chances, civic participation, and turning concern about an issue into collective action.
Colleges, Universities & Educational Institutions
For students, faculty, administrators, leadership programs, criminal-justice programs, labor studies programs, public-policy programs, social-work programs, and campus organizations.
Darrin can bring lived experience into academic conversations about criminal justice, race, labor, politics, public policy, organizing, leadership, reentry, community engagement, and the relationship between institutions and the people affected by their decisions.
Political, Advocacy & Organizing Organizations
For campaign staff, organizers, advocacy organizations, movement leaders, candidates, political organizations, and emerging activists.
Topics can include grassroots organizing, field strategy, building relationships, leadership, political power, coalition politics, reaching communities traditional campaigns often miss, moving people from awareness to action, and understanding the difference between mobilizing people and truly organizing them.
Businesses, Nonprofits & Professional Organizations
For staff retreats, conferences, leadership programs, professional associations, nonprofit teams, and organizations thinking about culture, leadership, equity, or community impact.
Presentations can explore leadership through adversity, resilience, navigating different environments, relationship building, authentic leadership, second chances, organizational culture, and recognizing talent and potential in people whose backgrounds may not follow traditional paths.
Signature Conversations
From the Chow Hall to City Hall
A personal journey through incarceration, reentry, public service, politics, organized labor, and leadership—and what that journey teaches us about accountability, opportunity, and second chances.
Public Service Saved My Life. The Union Changed My Life.
How finding purpose through public service opened a door—and how organized labor transformed that opportunity into an understanding of collective power.
Where You Start Doesn’t Have to Determine Where You Finish
A conversation particularly suited for young people and justice-impacted audiences about choices, consequences, resilience, opportunity, and discovering purpose.
From Personal Transformation to Collective Power
Why changing your own life matters—but understanding how to organize with others can change entire communities and systems.
Building Bridges Across Different Worlds
Lessons from navigating the streets, community organizations, City Hall, electoral politics, government, and organized labor—and learning how to communicate across differences without losing authenticity.
Second Chances Require More Than Second-Chance Language
A discussion for institutions and leaders about what meaningful opportunity actually requires from employers, government, labor, and communities.
Organizing Is About People Before It’s About Power
Lessons from nearly two decades of political, community, and labor organizing about relationships, trust, leadership development, and building sustainable power.
More Than a Keynote
Darrin is available for more than traditional speeches.
Engagements can include:
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- Keynote addresses
- Conference presentations
- Panels and moderated conversations
- Fireside chats
- Workshops and trainings
- Leadership retreats
- Facilitated community conversations
- Youth conversations
- Union and organizer trainings
- Staff development sessions
- Strategy sessions
- College and university lectures
Bring Darrin Into the Conversation
Every audience is different. The strongest speaking engagements begin with understanding who will be in the room, what they are navigating, and what we want people to leave thinking, feeling, or prepared to do.
Whether you are planning a union conference, youth program, leadership retreat, community conversation, college event, public-sector convening, reentry program, or organizational training, Darrin can work with you to develop an experience designed for your audience.