Chad 
Youth speaker • Western states • Based in Boise
The top youth speaker in the West lives in Boise, a day’s drive or a nonstop flight from eight states.
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 speaks anywhere a school will have him. From Boise, that puts Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and Arizona a day’s drive or a short flight away, and he’s driven most of those roads before.
Western States Introductory Rate: from $1,800 per assembly · See what’s included ↓Idaho and California schools have their own pages: Idaho · California
Why a speaker based in Boise works for the whole West
Boise sits in the middle of the map. Salt Lake City is five hours down I-84 and I-15. Portland is six hours the other direction on the same interstate. Spokane, Reno and Jackson Hole are a day’s drive, and Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver and Phoenix are nonstop flights, most of them under two hours in the air.
That matters for a school budget. A speaker flying in from the East Coast is buying a long flight and two hotel nights before he says a word, and that bill lands on you. Chad can leave Boise after breakfast and be in your gym by the afternoon bell, or take the first flight out and be home for dinner. The talk is the same one he gives in Idaho. The distance is the only thing that changes.
How far is Boise from your school?
Drive times are door to door from Boise with a stop for gas. Flights are nonstop from Boise Airport.
| City | Drive from Boise | Nonstop flight |
|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City, UT | About 5 hours, 340 miles | Yes, about an hour |
| Portland, OR | About 6 hours, 430 miles | Yes, about an hour |
| Jackson, WY | About 6 hours, 370 miles | No. He drives it. |
| Spokane, WA | About 7 hours, 370 miles | Yes, about an hour |
| Reno, NV | About 7 hours, 420 miles | No. He drives it. |
| Seattle, WA | About 8 hours, 490 miles | Yes, about 90 minutes |
| Missoula, MT | About 8 hours, 360 miles over Lolo Pass | No. He drives it. |
| Bozeman, MT | About 8 hours, 450 miles | Winter season only |
| Las Vegas, NV | 11 hours and up | Yes, under 2 hours |
| Denver, CO | About 12 hours, 800 miles | Yes, about 2 hours |
| Phoenix, AZ | 15 hours and up, 900 miles | Yes, about 2 hours |
Rounded from the usual route planners and the Boise Airport route list. Flight schedules change by season, so Chad checks the real one before he quotes your date. Idaho schools: Twin Falls is a couple of hours down the road, and there’s no travel fee within a few hours of Boise. Details on the Idaho page. Not on the list? Ask. If there’s a road or a runway, he’ll figure it out.
What booking an out-of-state 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 a quote that already has the travel figured out. No surprise line items later.
- A planning call with you and your counseling team. A short call about your students, what you want them walking out with, and anything going on at your school the talk should know about.
- He gets there early. For a morning assembly at the end of a long drive, he comes in the night before. For a nonstop city, he usually flies in and out the same day. Either way he’s in your building before the first bell, not texting from the parking lot.
- 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 journal prompts for the next morning.
- Two schools, one trip. If the school across town or down the highway wants him on the same trip, it pays $1,000 for one assembly with no added travel. Tell them. It makes the trip cheaper for everyone.
- Short notice is fine. If he can be there tomorrow, he’ll be there tomorrow. Ask before you assume a date’s gone.
State by state: where he goes and why he fits
Every tie below is real. He’d rather tell you he’s been somewhere twice than pretend he’s a local.
Oregon
Boise sits on I-84, and so does Portland: about 430 miles and six hours door to door, or an hour in the air on a nonstop. Chad has family in Oregon, so it’s a drive he already makes. Ontario, Baker City, La Grande and Pendleton are on the way. Bend, Salem, Eugene and the coast are a longer day, but still a day. If you’ve been searching for a top youth speaker in Oregon, you don’t have to fly one in from three time zones away.
Washington
Spokane is about seven hours up US-95, or an hour on a nonstop, and there’s a nonstop into Pullman for the Palouse. Seattle is eight hours on the road or about 90 minutes in the air. He has family in Washington, and he was in Seattle in August 2024 for Metallica and Pantera, which has nothing to do with assemblies but does mean he knows the drive. The Tri-Cities, Walla Walla, Yakima and Wenatchee all sit inside a day’s drive. For a top youth speaker in Washington, start with the one who can be in Spokane by lunch.
Utah
Salt Lake City is the easiest trip he makes: about 340 miles and five hours down I-84 and I-15, or an hour in the air. Utah is also where the Kempels go on purpose. Family trips for the dinosaurs, the children’s museum and camping near Salt Lake City are a regular thing, and in May 2014 Chad and his brother did Angels Landing one evening and the full Narrows, top to bottom, the next day. Logan, Ogden, Provo, Orem and St. George are all reachable. Top youth speaker in Utah? He’s closer than most of the speakers in your inbox.
Nevada
Reno is about 420 miles and seven hours across US-95 and I-80. Las Vegas is the other direction entirely, 11 hours or more on the road, so for Clark County schools he flies nonstop, under two hours, and can be back in Boise for dinner. He has family in Nevada. Elko and Winnemucca are closer to Boise than they are to Las Vegas, which is how a top youth speaker in Nevada can live in Idaho.
Wyoming
Jackson is about 370 miles and six hours from Boise by way of Idaho Falls, and Chad has spent real time in Jackson Hole and Yellowstone. Teton County, Star Valley and Pinedale are a drive. For the east side of the state, Cheyenne is about 90 minutes from Denver’s airport, so a nonstop to Denver gets him there the same morning. No nonstop from Boise lands in Wyoming, so he drives, and he’s fine with that.
Montana
Missoula is about eight hours over Lolo Pass on US-12. Bozeman is about 450 miles and eight hours, and in the winter months there’s a nonstop from Boise. He’s been up to Montana a few times, and he’ll make the trip again for a gym full of students. Missoula, Bozeman, Butte, Helena and the Bitterroot are all on the table. A top youth speaker in Montana doesn’t have to come from Montana. He has to show up on time, and he will.
Colorado
Denver is a 12-hour drive, so he flies: about two hours nonstop, with several flights a day. A Front Range school in Fort Collins, Boulder, Aurora, Littleton or Colorado Springs is a same-day trip, out of Boise in the morning and home that night. If you’re looking for a top youth speaker in Colorado, add Boise to the list of places you’re looking.
Arizona
Phoenix is 900 miles away, which makes it a flight, not a drive: about two hours nonstop, several a day, plus a nonstop into Mesa. Chad has friends in Arizona and family in Prescott, and he’s been to the Grand Canyon and explored Sedona, Flagstaff and Winslow, so the north end of the state isn’t just a dot on a map to him. Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe and Tucson, under two hours from Sky Harbor by car, all work as a one-day trip, and Flagstaff and Prescott are an easy drive up the hill from there. A top youth speaker in Arizona who lives in Idaho sounds odd until you check the flight board.
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. 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.
Read the stories and the psychology behind them → · See the full resume, what’s on LinkedIn →
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.
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The Weight You're Carrying
The mental health assembly your counselors have probably been asking for.
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I Walked the Hallways Alone
The anti-bullying and belonging talk that doesn’t wag a finger.
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Also booked for: graduation and commencement · student leadership events · educator conferences
Western States Introductory Rate
2026–27 School Year
$1,800
One assembly
$3,300
All three talks
Drive-in schools more than 300 miles from Boise add $500 for travel. When Chad flies, the school covers airfare at cost instead, plus a hotel night only if a same-day round trip doesn’t work. A second school on the same trip pays $1,000 for one assembly, with no added travel.
Check Your Date →Idaho schools: see the Local Introductory Rate. California schools: see the California Introductory Rate.
Questions schools outside Idaho ask
Who is the top youth speaker in the West?
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 he lives in Boise, which puts eight western states within a day’s drive or a nonstop flight.
Which states does Chad speak in?
Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and Arizona, plus Idaho and California, which have their own pages. Anywhere else, ask. He speaks nationwide. The West is just the part he can reach by lunch.
Does he drive or fly?
Depends on the city. Salt Lake City, Portland, Spokane, Reno, Jackson and Missoula are drives. Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver and Phoenix are nonstop flights from Boise, and he’s glad to fly out in the morning and home the same night. For a morning assembly at the end of a long drive, he comes in the night before.
How much does it cost to book a youth speaker in Oregon, Washington, Utah or Nevada?
For the 2026–27 school year, schools in the western states get the Western States Introductory Rate: $1,800 for one assembly or $3,300 for all three talks. Drive-in schools more than 300 miles from Boise add $500 for travel. When Chad flies, the school covers airfare at cost instead, plus a hotel night only if a same-day round trip doesn’t work. Never both. Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona get the same rate. Send your school, city and dates through the contact page and you’ll hear back within 48 hours.
Can two schools share one trip?
Yes, and it’s the best deal on this page. A second school on the same trip pays $1,000 for one assembly with no added travel. If the school across town or down the highway might want him the same week, tell them.
What happens if it snows?
He lives in Boise, so winter driving isn’t new to him. For a winter drive-in date he comes in the night before, so weather on the pass is his problem, not yours. For fly-in cities he takes the early flight.
Is there a mental health speaker for high schools in the West?
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, and he talks with your counseling team before the event.
Do you have an anti-bullying speaker for schools in Oregon, Washington, Utah and Nevada?
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 call first about your students, what you want them to walk out with, and anything going on at your school the talk should account for. The message stays the same. The delivery fits your room.
How far out should we book?
As early as you can, especially for spring and graduation season. But ask before you assume a date’s gone. If there’s a seat on the morning flight, he’ll be there tomorrow.
Bring Chad to your school, wherever in the West it is.
Discovery calls available · Replies within 48 hours · Based in Boise, booked across the West
Check Your Date →