Byron Auguste Speaking Fee: $20,000 to $30,000

Byron Auguste is the CEO and Co-Founder of Opportunity@Work, a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the U.S. labor market to better recognize and utilize the talents of individuals skilled through alternative routes—known as STARs (Skilled Through Alternative Routes). Founded in 2015, Opportunity@Work aims to dismantle the "paper ceiling" that limits access to career opportunities for millions of Americans without four-year college degrees. Under Byron's leadership, the organization has launched initiatives like the "Tear the Paper Ceiling" campaign, leading to commitments from over 60 national partners to adopt skills-based hiring practices. Before co-founding Opportunity@Work, Byron served in the Obama administration as Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. In this role, he focused on job creation, labor markets, innovation, and infrastructure. Prior to his public service, Byron had a distinguished 20-year career at McKinsey & Company, where he became the firm's first Black senior partner in 2005. He led McKinsey’s High Tech Services sector and its global Social Sector, advising Fortune 500 companies and co-authoring influential reports on workforce development and economic growth. Byron's commitment to equitable economic opportunity is further demonstrated through his academic achievements and board service. He earned a B.A. summa cum laude in economics and political science from Yale University, where he was a Truman Scholar and recipient of the James Gordon Bennett Prize. He also holds an M.Phil. and D.Phil. in economics from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. Byron has served on the boards of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Yale University, and the Pacific Council on International Policy, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Through his work, Byron continues to advocate for a labor market that values skills over credentials, striving to unlock the potential of millions of Americans and create a more inclusive economy.