Laura Schwartz and GSIA Launch Global Video Series Ahead of ENGAGE 2026
CHICAGO — August 30, 2026 — Long before the lights come up onstage at ENGAGE 2026, international professional emcee, interviewer and keynote speaker Laura Schwartz is already helping the Global Speaking Industry Association (GSIA) start the conversation.
Schwartz has collaborated with GSIA on a special pre-conference video series featuring leaders from the speaking bureau and speaker management industry around the world. Recorded from the Laura Schwartz Live television and podcast studio in Chicago, the series gives the global speaking community an inside look at what is ahead for ENGAGE 2026 — and the people who make the annual gathering distinctive.
The first installment features Jennifer Lier, President of GSIA and Founder of House of Lier, in conversation with Schwartz about why ENGAGE matters, what brings the global speaking community together each year and what attendees can anticipate when they arrive in Los Angeles.
Additional interviews will be released in the weeks leading up to ENGAGE, featuring industry leaders from around the world sharing why they attend, what they are most looking forward to and some of the special moments attendees can expect at this year’s gathering.
“An event doesn’t begin when the lights come up and the emcee walks onto the stage,” said Schwartz. “The opportunity to engage an audience begins weeks — sometimes months — before everyone arrives. I love finding ways to create that connection early, build anticipation and help people feel that they are already part of the experience.”
Engagement Before the Stage
For Schwartz, the collaboration reflects a philosophy she brings to her work as a professional emcee: the job begins well before show day.
From learning an organization’s culture and interviewing its leaders to developing custom content, preview videos and social media, Schwartz works with clients to extend an event’s reach before, during and after the program.
Her own professional materials emphasize that approach: each engagement begins with a discovery process focused on the client’s industry, brand, culture, mission and audience, with custom preview videos and strategic social engagement among the ways she can help extend an event beyond the stage. lauraschwartzlive.com
The GSIA series takes that approach one step further.
Rather than simply telling members that ENGAGE is approaching, Schwartz is having conversations with the people who know the event and the industry best — allowing their experiences, personalities and perspectives to become part of the anticipation surrounding the conference.
“I put just as much intention into what happens before I walk onto a stage as I do into what happens once I’m standing on it,” Schwartz said. “When I emcee, I want to understand the organization, the people and the purpose behind the program. These conversations give us an opportunity to do that publicly — creating content that builds connection before we ever gather in the same room.”
Broadcast Experience Meets Live Events
The series is produced from Schwartz’s state-of-the-art, multi-camera television and podcast studio in Chicago, bringing together two sides of her career: decades of live-event experience and years of on-camera work as a television commentator, interviewer and award-winning podcaster.
The studio allows Schwartz to create broadcast-quality interviews and custom content for organizations engaging her as an emcee, moderator, interviewer or keynote speaker. The space can also accommodate custom set pieces, branded environments and other production elements, allowing clients to integrate their own visual identity into pre-event and virtual programming.
For clients, that capability creates opportunities extending well beyond a traditional emcee engagement — from executive interviews and speaker previews to promotional content, virtual conversations and programming designed to engage audiences before an event begins.
Schwartz’s broadcast experience also informs her approach onstage, where live interviewing, listening and the ability to respond in the moment are central to her work as an emcee and moderator.
From the Studio to ENGAGE 2026
The video series will ultimately lead Schwartz from her Chicago studio to the ENGAGE stage in Los Angeles, where she is proud to serve as emcee for Day 2 of ENGAGE 2026.
Taking place November 5–7, 2026, ENGAGE is GSIA’s signature annual convention and brings together speaker bureaus, agencies and speaker management professionals from around the world for three days of education, industry discussions, roundtables, networking, the Annual Industry Awards and Speaker Showcase Program. IASB
The 2026 program is built around “Amplifying Trust, Connections and Community,” with GSIA describing ENGAGE as an opportunity for its global community to learn, build relationships and explore new ideas and strategies for the speaking industry. IASB
For Schwartz, those themes make the pre-event conversations particularly fitting.
“Trust, connection and community aren’t created in a single moment onstage,” Schwartz said. “They’re built through conversations. This series gives us the chance to begin having those conversations now — and then continue them when we all come together at ENGAGE.”
Additional installments in Schwartz’s Get Ready to ENGAGE video series will be released by GSIA in the weeks leading up to the November convention.
About the Global Speaking Industry Association
The Global Speaking Industry Association (GSIA), formerly the International Association of Speakers Bureaus (IASB), represents the global community of speaker bureaus, lecture agencies and speaker management professionals. IASB
Its signature annual convention, ENGAGE, brings together professionals from across the international speaking industry for education, industry dialogue, relationship-building and networking. GSIA describes ENGAGE as the largest gathering of speaker bureau, agency and speaker management professionals in the world. IASB
Learn more about GSIA and ENGAGE 2026
About Laura Schwartz
Laura Schwartz is an internationally recognized professional emcee, keynote speaker, interviewer, author and television commentator who has built a career creating conversations that engage audiences and bring people together.
The youngest female Presidential Appointee in U.S. history, Schwartz began her career as a 19-year-old White House volunteer and ultimately served as White House Director of Events, where she produced more than 1,000 events for the President, First Lady, world leaders and international dignitaries.
Today, Schwartz brings that experience to stages and screens around the world as a professional emcee, moderator and interviewer and through keynote programs including Eat, Drink & Succeed, Activate Your Superpowers, The Third Place, Lead First and Moonshot Mentality.
Schwartz is also an award-winning podcaster. In 2021, she and her colleagues at ITV London earned the prestigious Drum Award for Podcast of the Year. She is an American Contributor to Australia’s Nine Network, appearing across TODAY, TODAY Extra and Nine News.
Schwartz broadcasts and produces interviews from her state-of-the-art television and podcast studio in Chicago. The fully equipped, multi-camera studio is available to clients engaging Schwartz and can accommodate custom set pieces, branded environments and other production elements — extending opportunities for audience engagement well beyond the stage.
Whether hosting a global conference, moderating a high-level conversation, conducting a one-on-one interview or delivering a keynote, Schwartz brings the same preparation, curiosity and commitment to the experience before, during and after the event.
For more information about Laura Schwartz’s professional emcee, moderator, interviewer and keynote services, visit LauraSchwartzLive.com or contact Ashley Brooks at Ashley@LauraSchwartzLive.com or 312-767-7415.