TEDWomen, 2021
Only four percent of construction workers are female -- that's totally unacceptable, but it's also a huge opportunity both for women and for the trades, says youth educator and builder Emily Pilloton-Lam. She makes the case for putting power (and power tools) into the hands of young women and gender-expansive youth, dreaming of inclusive construction sites -- and daring to ask: What if women literally built the world they want to see? (Plus, Pilloton-Lam dazzles with a live demo of her own woodworking skills ... while giving the talk.)
TEDGlobal, 2010
Designer Emily Pilloton moved to rural Bertie County, in North Carolina, to engage in a bold experiment of design-led community transformation. She's teaching a design-build class called Studio H that engages high schoolers' minds and bodies while bringing smart design and new opportunities to the poorest county in the state.
“People were so moved and so inspired by Emily’s keynote. Her presentation was perfectly pitched, her delivery was flawless and her approachability filled the room. I can’t thank Emily enough for delivering our closing keynote and for making the entire conference so very much better than we had hoped and expected.”
— Annette DeFaveri, Executive Director of the British Columbia Library Association
“What a superb ending to our conference! We are so appreciative of Emily’s willingness to share personal stories and unique insights on design, teaching, and bravery with the higher education community. Her presentation launched many great conversations and left the audience energized and inspired.”
— John O’Brien, President and CEO of EDUCAUSE
Upcoming Events:
March 28, 2024: Keynote, Mass Timber Conference, Portland, OR
April 2024: Keynote, High Tech High, San Diego, CA
Past Speaking Engagements
2023
March 3, 2023: Cuyahoga County Public Library STEM Expo, Parma, OH
June 9, 2023: BIA Orange County Women in Leadership Conference, Anaheim, CA
2022
March 3, 2023: Cuyahoga County Public Library STEM Expo, Parma, OH
June 9, 2023: BIA Orange County Women in Leadership Conference, Anaheim, CA
October 14, 2022: Keynote, BIA Bay Area 2022 Women in the Lead, San Ramon, CA
October 21, 2022: Keynote and workshop, The House That She Built, Salt Lake City, UT
October 26, 2022: Keynote, Women of Vision, Portland, OR
2021
December 2, 2021: TEDWomen, What If Women Built The World They Want To See? (watch)
March 8, 2021: Keynote Speaker at Thaddeus Stevens College International Women’s Day event
2020
Podcast: IDEO Creative Confidence, Build Courage Through Making (listen here)
Panel with Kate T. Parker and Katie Hughes: Strong Girls Building A New Kind of Feminism (watch here)
Bay Area Book Festival Berkeley #Unbound Panel: Protest + Print: Girls Using Words + Pictures as Activism (watch here)
Panel: The Power of Scrappy, A Conversation with Diana Kapp and Walter Thompson, San Francisco Public Library (watch here)
Workshop: TED2020 Discovery Session: Design Studio.
Panel: Girls, Guts, and Gadgets, Bay Area Book Festival (watch here)
Guest lecture: History and Ethics of Design, Stanford University Department of Mechanical Engineering
Panel: Girls Build! Day, Chicago Architectural Center, Chicago, Illinois
2019
Workshop: Girl Power and Power Tools, TEDWomen, Palm Springs, California (READ RECAP)
Panel: Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Conference, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
Keynote: American Association of University Women, Northern California Chapter Annual Conference, Novato, California
Keynote: Hospitality Design’s NextGen Forum Conference, Austin, Texas
Panelist: Creating Pathways To Success for Girls In STEM, UC Berkeley School of Engineering, Berkeley, California
Keynote: British Columbia Library Association Annual Conference, Surrey, British Columbia (WATCH VIDEO)
2018
Keynote: Alliance for Girls Annual Conference, San Francisco, California
Commencement Address and Honorary Doctorate: Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio (LISTEN)
Keynote: Furniture Society Annual Conference, San Francisco, California
Keynote: United States Green Building Council / Rocky Mountain Green Conference, Denver, Colorado
Plenary Keynote: International Conference of Education, Research, and Innovation, Seville, Spain (WATCH VIDEO)
2017
Featured Presenter, American Institute of Architects Annual Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Keynote: Smith College Design Thinking Initiative, Northampton, Massachusetts
Keynote: High Tech High Career and Technical Education Pathways Conference, San Diego, California
Keynote and Discussion with Ann Hamilton: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC (LECTURE and DISCUSSION)
Keynote: Adobe MAX Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada
2016
Featured Presenter, Pop!Tech Conference, Camden, Maine (WATCH VIDEO)
Keynote: Iowa Sate University Departments of Industrial Design and Graphic Design, Ames, Iowa
Hyde Lecture: University of Nebraska School of Architecture, Lincoln, Nebraska
Keynote, New York State Association of Independent Schools Conference, New Paltz, New York
Keynote, Health Care Design Forum, Santa Rosa, California
2015 and earlier
Keynote, National Week of Making at The White House, Washington, DC
Keynote, Nike Headquarters, Beaverton, Oregon
Keynote, Autodesk University, Las Vegas, California (WATCH VIDEO)
Keynote: SXSWedu, Austin, Texas (WATCH VIDEO)
35-city 75-day Design Revolution Road Show book tour and mobile exhibition (READ)
Main Stage Keynote: Maker FAIRE, San Bruno, California
Lunchtime Lecture: Facebook Headquarters, Menlo Park, California
Commencement Address: University of California Berkeley College of Environmental Design
Panel Discussion and Film Screening: Sundance Institute and Americans For The Arts Conference, Sundance, Utah
Keynote: Design For Life Conference, Salvador, Brazil
Keynote and Workshop: New Design University, Vienna, Austria