Youth speaker • East Coast • Based in Boise
The top youth speaker on the East Coast has one all-inclusive price, and TODAY, ABC World News Tonight and People already told his story.
Chad Kempel is a youth keynote speaker with 4 Guinness World Records titles, an MA in Experimental Psychology, and three talks built for high school assemblies. He lives in Boise, Idaho. The East Coast is a one-stop flight, so he comes in the day before, every time, and the airfare, rental car and hotel are already in the rate. The story he tells in your gym is the one New York already covered.
East Coast Rate: from $4,500 per assembly, travel included · See what’s included ↓Other regions have their own pages: Idaho · California · Western states · Midwest · The South · Hawaii · Alaska
Why a speaker based in Boise works for an East Coast school
The honest answer is that Boise to the East Coast is the longest trip Chad makes. There’s no nonstop, so it’s one connection through Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas or Salt Lake City and most of a day in transit. That’s exactly why the rate is built the way it is. One number, $4,500, with the flights, the rental car and the hotel already in it. No travel line and no deposit. He invoices after the talk.
He flies in the day before, every time. A 7:45 a.m. assembly in Bergen County doesn’t depend on a connection in Denver going right. If the weather turns, that’s his problem, not yours. The talk is the same one he gives in Idaho. The distance is the only thing that changes.
He grew up in California and lives in Idaho, and he won’t pretend to be a local on the East Coast. He’s been a tourist here: a week in Boston with his dad and brother, the Statue of Liberty and the White House with his wife, Amy. What he has beyond that is a story the East Coast media already told: a live interview on TODAY, Person of the Week on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, a People magazine photo shoot, Inside Edition, Men’s Health, the New York Post, FOX 5 New York, FOX 29 Philadelphia and FOX 5 DC. Your students can look all of it up on the In the News page before he lands.
How Chad gets to your school
There’s no nonstop from Boise to the East Coast, so every airport below is one connection away. He flies in the day before, rents a car and drives the rest, so the connection is his problem.
| Airport he flies into | Schools within about two hours |
|---|---|
| New York (JFK, LaGuardia or Newark) | New York City, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, northern and central New Jersey, Fairfield County, New Haven |
| Philadelphia | Philadelphia and its suburbs, the Main Line, Bucks and Montgomery counties, South Jersey, Wilmington and Delaware, Allentown, Lancaster, Harrisburg |
| Washington (Dulles, Reagan or BWI) | DC, Northern Virginia, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, Baltimore, Annapolis, Frederick, Fredericksburg |
| Boston | Boston, the North Shore, the South Shore, MetroWest, Worcester, Providence, Manchester and Nashua, the Seacoast, southern Maine |
| Richmond or Norfolk | Richmond, Charlottesville, Williamsburg, Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach |
| Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania |
| Hartford | Hartford, central Connecticut, Springfield and the Pioneer Valley |
| Albany | The Capital Region, the Berkshires, southern Vermont |
| Buffalo, Rochester or Syracuse | Western and central New York |
| Burlington | Vermont |
| Portland, Maine | Portland, Lewiston, Augusta, the Midcoast; Bangor is two more hours |
Rounded from the Boise Airport route list and the airlines’ timetables. Flight schedules change by season, so Chad checks the real one before he quotes your date. Not on the list? Ask. If there’s a runway within a few hours of your school, he’ll figure it out.
What booking an East Coast school looks like
- Send your city and dates. Use the contact page or call (208) 391-2959. You’ll hear back within 48 hours with one number that already has the travel in it. No surprise line items later.
- A short survey, then a planning call. A few quick questions for whoever knows your students best, then a call with you and your counseling team about a week before the talk: what you want students walking out with, and anything going on at your school the talk should know about. Your counselors get the full outline before the day, and anything they want left out stays out.
- He flies in the day before. One connection into the airport closest to you, then a rental car and a hotel near your school. He’s in your building before the first bell, not texting from a gate in Denver.
- The talk, then the part that matters. The assembly fits your block. Student Q&A after, then time for students to come up and talk one on one. Your teachers get discussion questions and a worksheet for the next morning. Your students get the tools from the talk on a page of their own, and the paperwork is on the documents page.
- Two schools, one trip. Each additional school on the same trip pays $2,000 for one assembly, with no added travel. If the school across town or down the highway might want him the same week, tell them.
- Short notice is fine. If there’s a seat on a flight, he’ll be there. Ask before you assume a date’s gone.
State by state: where he goes
Every tie below is real. He’d rather tell you he spent one week in Boston than pretend he’s a local.
New York
TODAY interviewed him live, ABC World News Tonight named him and the quintuplets Person of the Week, and People, Men’s Health, Inside Edition, the New York Post and FOX 5 New York have all covered him. Chad and Amy have been to the Statue of Liberty, which doesn’t make him a New Yorker, and he knows it. New York City, Long Island, Westchester and the Hudson Valley are a drive from JFK, LaGuardia or Newark. Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo are one-stop flights of their own. For a top youth speaker in New York, the story is already on your students’ phones.
New Jersey
Newark is one of the three airports he can land at for the New York area, and nearly every school in the state is within two hours of Newark or Philadelphia. Bergen, Essex, Morris, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Camden and Burlington counties are all a morning drive from one of them. A top youth speaker in New Jersey who lives in Idaho sounds odd until the flight lands the night before and the car is already rented.
Pennsylvania
FOX 29 Philadelphia ran the story when he set the half marathon record in 2022. Philadelphia and its suburbs, the Main Line, Bucks and Montgomery counties, Lancaster, Reading, Allentown and Harrisburg are all within about two hours of Philadelphia’s airport. Pittsburgh is its own one-stop flight. State College, Scranton and Erie are longer drives, and he’ll make them. He picks the airport closest to you and arrives the day before.
Washington, DC
FOX 5 DC ran the story in 2018, when the quintuplets came home from the hospital. Chad and Amy have stood outside the White House, which puts them in the company of a few million other tourists. Dulles, Reagan and BWI are all one stop from Boise, so a DC school gets him the day before, same as everywhere else.
Maryland
Baltimore is an hour from Washington’s airports or its own one-stop flight into BWI. Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, Howard County, Annapolis, Frederick and Columbia are all a short drive. The Eastern Shore and Western Maryland are longer drives. For a top youth speaker in Maryland, start with the one who lands at BWI the night before.
Virginia
CBN News, headquartered in Virginia Beach, sent a crew to the house, and WRIC in Richmond ran the story when the quintuplets were born. Northern Virginia is a drive from Dulles or Reagan. Richmond, Norfolk and Charlottesville are one-stop flights. Hampton Roads, Williamsburg, Fredericksburg and the Shenandoah Valley are all within reach of one of those airports. Roanoke and Southwest Virginia are a longer drive, and he’ll make it. Top youth speaker in Virginia? The story has already been on Virginia television.
Delaware
Wilmington is about 30 minutes from Philadelphia’s airport and Dover about 90, so Delaware is one of the easier East Coast trips he makes. Three counties and one airport, and he comes the day before. A top youth speaker in Delaware doesn’t have to come from Delaware.
Connecticut
Fairfield County and New Haven are a drive from the New York airports. Hartford is a one-stop flight of its own, and from there Waterbury, New Britain, Manchester and the Farmington Valley are close. New London and the shoreline are about an hour from either. He lands the day before and drives the rest.
Rhode Island
Providence is an hour from Boston’s airport or its own one-stop flight. The whole state is within an hour of either. For a top youth speaker in Rhode Island, Boise is one connection away.
Massachusetts
Chad spent a week in Boston with his dad and brother and had his photo taken on the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street. He hasn’t run Boston. He plans to qualify and run it, and his marathon best without the stroller is 3:14:25, so it’s a real plan. The photo is how the goal stopped being a thought and became something he looks at. It’s the same move he asks students to make with the goal card he hands out: write it down and put it where you’ll see it every day. Boston is a one-stop flight, and from Logan the North Shore, the South Shore, MetroWest and Worcester are all within about an hour and a half. Springfield and the Pioneer Valley are closer to Hartford’s airport. The Cape is a longer drive and he’ll make it. For a top youth speaker in Massachusetts, he gets in the day before, which keeps the Pike out of your assembly schedule.
New Hampshire
Manchester is a one-stop flight, or an hour from Boston. Nashua, Concord and the Seacoast are a short drive from either. The Lakes Region and the North Country are longer, and he’ll make the drive. A top youth speaker in New Hampshire who lives in Idaho knows something about mountains and winter roads.
Vermont
Burlington is a one-stop flight from Boise. Montpelier, Barre and the Champlain Valley are close, Rutland and the southern end of the state about two hours, and the Northeast Kingdom a bit more. Southern Vermont is also a drive from Albany. He comes in the day before, same as everywhere else.
Maine
Portland is a one-stop flight from Boise, or two hours from Boston. Lewiston, Augusta and the Midcoast are within reach of Portland. Bangor is another two hours up I-95, or its own one-stop flight. Aroostook County is a long drive, and if a school up there wants him, he’ll make it. A top youth speaker in Maine gets there the night before, like everyone who flies in from the West.
Credentials that hold up when a student Googles him
Because every student in every one of these states has a phone.
4
Guinness World Records titles
MA
Experimental Psychology, San Jose State
5 yrs
University Lecturer, San Jose State
20 yrs
Same San Mateo County Health department
Chad set all four records pushing his five kids, quintuplets born at 27 weeks, in a stroller: marathon 4:42:49 in Modesto, California; half marathon 2:19:55 in Oakland, California; 10K 1:04:52.9 in Garden City, Idaho; 1K 5:34 in Eagle, Idaho. Each time links to the official Guinness World Records listing, and every race he has run since 2002 is on the race log with its chip time. He is trained in QPR suicide prevention and completed psychological first aid training through San Mateo County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services. So your students get a guy with receipts who can also explain why their brain does what it does.
Chad’s full story → · The stories and the psychology behind them → · The full resume, what’s on LinkedIn → · Every news feature in one place → · Photos →
Four certificates. The times are in public race databases, and the records are on the Guinness World Records website, so a student can check him before the bell.
Three talks built for high schools, in any state
Anything Is Possible
The all-school assembly. Resilience, failure, and proof you can look up.
▼
The Weight You're Carrying
The mental health assembly your counselors have probably been asking for.
▼
I Walked the Hallways Alone
The anti-bullying and belonging talk that doesn’t wag a finger.
▼
Also available for: new-semester goal-setting assemblies · graduation and commencement · student leadership events · educator conferences
East Coast Rate
2026–27 School Year
$4,500
One assembly, travel included
$2,000
Each additional school, same trip
One number. The flights, rental car and hotel from Boise are in it, and there are no other charges. No deposit. Chad flies in the day before, and you’re invoiced after the assembly, net 30. Each additional school on the same trip pays $2,000 for one assembly, with no added travel.
Booking several schools in one district? Ask for the district rate.
Check Your Date →Idaho schools: see the Local Introductory Rate. California: the California Introductory Rate. Oregon through Arizona: the Western States rate. The Midwest, the South, Hawaii and Alaska have their own pages.
Questions East Coast schools ask
Who is the top youth speaker on the East Coast?
Biased answer, obviously. But here’s the case: Chad Kempel set four Guinness World Records pushing his quintuplets in a stroller, holds an MA in Experimental Psychology from San Jose State University, taught there for five years, and taught math inside San Quentin State Prison for another five. His three talks were built for high school students, every claim in them is public record, and the story has already run on TODAY, ABC World News Tonight, People and the New York Post, so your students can check it before he lands.
Which states does this page cover?
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC. West Virginia, the Carolinas and everything south of them are on the South page, and Hawaii and Alaska have their own. Anywhere else, ask. He speaks nationwide.
How much does it cost to book a youth speaker on the East Coast?
For the 2026–27 school year, one assembly at an East Coast high school is $4,500, all-inclusive. That covers the talk and the travel from Boise: flights, rental car and hotel. There are no other charges and no deposit. Chad invoices after the assembly, net 30. A second school on the same trip pays $1,000 for one assembly, with no added travel. Send your school, city and dates through the contact page and you’ll hear back within 48 hours.
Why is the East Coast rate higher than the Midwest rate?
Because the trip is longer. There’s no nonstop from Boise, so it’s a connection and most of a day each way, plus the hotel. The rate carries that so your invoice doesn’t have to. It’s still one number, and Scranton gets the same number as Manhattan.
Does he fly in the day before?
Every time. A morning assembly shouldn’t depend on an early flight out of Boise going right. He lands the day before, so a delay or a storm is his problem, not yours. If weather closes your school, the date just moves. No charge.
Can two schools share one trip?
Yes, and it’s the best deal on this page. Each additional school on the same trip pays $2,000 for one assembly, with no added travel. If the school across town or down the highway might want him the same week, tell them.
Can we book several schools in our district at once?
Yes. Booking several schools in one district? Ask for the district rate. Send the schools, the dates you have in mind, and whether you want them the same day or the same week, and you’ll have one quote for all of them within 48 hours.
Is there a mental health speaker for high schools on the East Coast?
Yes. The Weight You’re Carrying is Chad’s mental health assembly. Students get four plain terms for what they’re feeling and a tool for each one. Chad is trained in QPR suicide prevention, follows safe-messaging guidelines for talking about suicide, and meets with your counseling team before he walks into the gym.
Do you have an anti-bullying speaker for schools in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania?
I Walked the Hallways Alone is the anti-bullying and belonging talk. No lecture, no finger-wagging. It ends with one ask students can act on the next morning: sit down next to someone who looks like they’re alone.
Do you customize the talk for our school?
Every time. There’s a short survey first, then a call with you and your counseling team about a week out: your students, what you want them to walk out with, and anything going on at your school the talk should account for. Your counselors get the full outline and the take-home sheets and teacher guide before the day. The message stays the same. The delivery fits your room.
Our building is grades 7 to 12. Does that work?
The talks are built for grades 9 to 12. For a combined 7-12 or 6-12 building, ask. A shorter session for the younger grades is an option, and it’s part of the planning call.
Which day of the week works best?
Monday through Thursday, and not the last day before a break. Your teachers get discussion questions and a worksheet for the next morning, and those only work if there is a next morning.
Does Chad give keynotes for educator conferences on the East Coast?
Yes. He’s a keynote speaker based in Boise and opens or closes educator and association conferences anywhere on the East Coast.
How far out should we book?
As early as you can, especially for spring and graduation season. Five weeks or more is ideal: it keeps the airfare down, and since the airfare is in his price and not on your invoice, that’s his problem to manage. Still, ask before you assume a date’s gone.
Bring Chad to your school, wherever on the East Coast it is.
Discovery calls available · Replies within 48 hours · Based in Boise, one connection from the East Coast
Check Your Date →