Brewster Kahle Speaking Fee: $10,000 to $20,000

Brewster Kahle is the founder and Digital Librarian of the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing universal access to all knowledge. Born in 1960 in New York City, Kahle graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1982 with a degree in computer science and engineering. His early career included co-founding Thinking Machines, a company that developed parallel supercomputers, and creating the Wide Area Information Server (WAIS), the first system to enable searching of internet-connected databases. In 1996, he co-founded Alexa Internet, a web traffic analysis company that was later acquired by Amazon in 1999. Motivated by a vision to preserve the rapidly expanding digital landscape, Kahle established the Internet Archive in 1996. The organization began by archiving web pages and has since expanded to include a vast collection of books, music, videos, software, and other cultural artifacts. One of its most notable features is the Wayback Machine, a tool that allows users to view archived versions of web pages dating back to the mid-1990s. Today, the Internet Archive preserves over 70 petabytes of data and collaborates with more than 750 libraries and universities worldwide to ensure the longevity and accessibility of digital content. Kahle's contributions to digital preservation and open access have earned him numerous accolades. He was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2012 and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has received honorary doctorates from institutions such as Simmons College and the University of Alberta. In 2024, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement in Building Internet Infrastructure Award by the Internet Infrastructure Coalition. Beyond his technical achievements, Kahle is a passionate advocate for public internet access and the preservation of digital heritage. He continues to lead the Internet Archive with the mission of ensuring that knowledge remains freely available to all, reflecting his belief in the transformative power of information.