Speaking at The Roxbury Latin School

Not the most ideal way for me to deliver my talks but due to Covid and everyone’s safety we had to settle for Zoom. Nonetheless it was an honor and privilege to be invited today by The Roxbury Latin School as their Veterans Day Speaker. As always it was a wonderful opportunity to not only engage with the over 350 staff and students present (some at the school and others from their homes) but also share a bit about the Muslim American story. The dialogue was of course a much needed one and the questions posed were awesome!

“Mansoor joined us as our school’s 2020 Veterans Day Commemoration speaker—an honored tradition at Roxbury Latin each year—where he spoke with students, faculty, staff and alumni, via Zoom, about his experience in the military, the relationships he formed, and his mission to help unify people in an increasingly divided world.

His powerful message and the way in which he delivered it—honestly, dynamically, authentically—resonated with so many of us. He has a clear and resounding love for America, respect for its institutions, and a deep passion for connecting people in real and meaningful ways. Several of my colleagues and the alumni veterans joining us commented on how much they enjoyed what Mansoor had to share. We were so grateful to have him join us and talk with our students. He’s a unifying force for good.”
— Erin Berg | Director of External Relations, The Roxbury Latin School

Speaking at Wilson College

Today I had the privilege to speak to the students and faculty at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. I shared a bit about my experiences as a Muslim and US Marine, the role of religion, as well as the impacts of current-day politics. I of course entertained as many questions as possible.

After taking a short break, later in the evening, I headed back to Wilson for a separate presentation to a class featuring students endeavoring to become teachers. I shared with the students the real-life impacts of Islamaphobia and offered them guidance on how to deal with the various challenges affecting our society. To make the presentation more interactive, I triggered questions as part of the presentation helping students to be better informed and educated on Islamic culture and society.

“Mansoor’s invitation to “Ask Anything” brought people together from across campus and the community. With  his open, kind, and personal demeanor, he generated a dialogue that reverberated across campus and into the larger community. He was amazing!”

- David True, Associate Professor of Religion

Speaking at Liberty University

Today I had the honor and privilege to speak at the largest Christian University in the world — Liberty University. My family (who I took with me) and I were treated with the utmost respect, love, kindness and compassion. Really amazing people! And we had so many wonderful conversations. This trip for me will probably go down as one of my favorite speaking engagements ever!

Oh if you’re wondering why I’m wearing the foot brace — Sunday football got the best of me! 6-8 weeks until I’m fully healed.

You can click here for the link to Liberty’s page which includes a write up of my visit along with the video recording.

“Our student body thoroughly enjoyed Mansoor’s visit to our university. The Muslim Marine was an inspiring guest that I can recommend to other institutes of higher learning without any hesitation.”

-David Nasser

Senior Vice President

Speaking at the NSA Headquarters

Today I had the privilege and honor to speak at the National Security Agency (NSA). My day started with being picked up at my home by a NSA representative and then driven to the Agency’s Headquarters in Fort Meade, MD. After some meet and greets, a photo op and lunch, I took to the stage to address over 100 NSA employees. The Deputy Director, Executive Director and Chief of Staff of the agency were a just few of the many participants present.

It was a wonderful experience to be inside one of the Nations most secure places and also meet with the extremely professional and dedicated staff. Hope to be back again one day soon! 

Speaking at Albany Law School

Today I was invited to speak at Albany Law School by the New York State Division of Veterans Affairs at their Human Rights Conference. Although I’d been to New York on many occasions, it was my first time in Albany! 

I shared with the audience a bit about Muslim American sacrifices, and the value of diversity and inclusion. I also brought up Fox News Host, Judge Jeanine Pirro, an Albany Law School graduate and her recent Islamaphobic comments on Air to which I recently addressed via twitter and on my live interview with CNN. All in all, I had a great time!

"Mansoor captivated an entire lecture hall of Veterans' advocates with his presentation. He made them laugh. He made them think. He made them question. Most importantly of all, he made them care."

-Benjamin Pomerance

Deputy Director for Program Development

Speaking at the JHU Carey Business School

It’s always been an honor for me to use my unique platform of “Muslim” and “Marine” to educate the masses. But to be invited to deliver a presentation at your alma mater (Johns Hopkins University, Carey Business School) was especially meaningful. The sold-out event facilitated by the Diversity and Inclusion Committee comprised of Hopkins faculty and staff. Two of my former professors were also present!

Here’s what one of the participants had to say:

“I enjoyed your presentation yesterday at the JHU Carey Business School. Islam is such a beautiful faith and what a wonderful way to introduce the faith to others in a fun, informative and engaging platform. It was especially nice for me when you played the prayer chant.”

-Megan Jeffrey

Program Manager, M.S. Finance

Speaking at Washington State’s Annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit

It was really a true privilege and honor to be selected by the State of Washington to present my “Unifying People Through Conversation” presentation to the hundreds of state employees at the Washington State’s Annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit. As I delivered two separate 75 minute long sessions, I was amazed to see the level of interest and engagement by the participants. 

I was extremely grateful to the State of Washington and its leadership for taking the lead in organizing an event of this high caliber. The fact is, the more conversations, the more dialogue, and the more informed we are, the more unified we will all be as a people! #Diversity #Inclusion #Equity

“The 2019 Washington State Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit was honored to have Mansoor present two sessions. Mansoor is incredibly knowledgeable, teaches about being a Muslim and the misconceptions that go along with it, and ensures that he is always coming from a place of learning, understanding and heart. If you ever want to learn more from someone that as served in the US military and represents his faith so very well, Mansoor is the person to have in front of the room!”

-Marika Barto

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Manager

Speaking at New York Law School

Today, I had the honor and privilege to be invited by the New York State Division of Veterans Affairs to make an address at their Human Rights Conference at New York Law School. I spoke of my experience as a “MuslimMarine” providing my insight and thoughts to the audience. I talked of the importance of staying true to that famous creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” My message of inclusion resonated well!

Also, had the cool honor to hang out with my fellow brother Veteran Kristofer Goldsmith of High Ground Veterans Advocacy as well as with the President of the ACLU, Susan Herman who delivered the keynote — awesome woman by the way!

Speaking at the University of California, Berkeley

This week Ori Brafman, the author of General Dempsey’s “Radical Inclusion,” invited me to come to California to speak at the Strategic Broadening Seminar, United States Army at UC Berkeley Extension. It was an honor to be included as a speaker/instructor as part of such an important program. It was a wonderful opportunity to share my many insights and experiences as a proud Muslim American US Marine with the active US Army members who participated. In addition, I also shared some of the experiences from the recent, and very powerful “29/29 Ramadan Initiative” which has garnered nationwide attention.

Speaking at Marine Corps University

Today I had the honor to address somewhere between 150-200 senior Enlisted/Officer Marines at Marine Corps University Quantico. These Marines, or shall I say, warriors, “literally” serve (in some way or another) as commanders and/or decision-makers to thousands of Marines under there leadership. Though this was my second visit to Marine Corps Base Quantico, this time it was extremely special, as I had the distinct honor to address a very prestigious crowd of Marines.

I recall as I was ready to get on my way back to Baltimore right after the speech, the President of Marine Corps University, General William Bowers — a man who I’ve especially come to admire and love, and the reason why I was here today at this very special event as his “VIP guest,” looked to me and says, “looks like we’ll probably be seeing you back again.” Hope so General! 

Thank you for having me!

Speaking to the Baltimore County Police Department

Today I spoke about Islam and law enforcement to Baltimore County police officers!

“It was a random run-in and conversation at a busy Baltimore Walmart on Black Friday that introduced me to Mansoor. A little over a month later, he volunteered his time to present a topic at the Baltimore County Police - Hostage Negotiation Team's monthly training. The engagement and open dialogue between him and my teammates was invaluable. Mansoor's charisma, fortified by his life experience, makes him powerful voice for a change in dialogue that every American should hear.”

- Sergeant Mohammed Goff, Baltimore County Police

Speaking to Marines

Today I had the honor and opportunity to address 70+ Marines. I shared with them my concerns as well as my thoughts on how we can all play a part in living up to the Marine Corps values of honor, courage and commitment. We talked about improvements the US Marine Corps could make to better reasonably accommodate future Muslim Marine’s so practicing of faith would never be an issue. I also addressed some of the questions as well as the challenges Marine Recruiters face in the 2017 area when it comes to recruiting Muslim candidates! All in all it was awesome to be amongst so many Marines!
 

Speaking at Westminster College

This Wednesday I gave a talk at Westminster College in Missouri! Initially I had some concerns with going, considering some of the decisions the local government had recently made, but I'm glad I went! I had good dialogue with students and staff alike, who came away with a new understanding of Islam. KOMU 8 local news also covered my talk, you can check out their article here!

Speaking at Welcoming Interactive in Atlanta

I headed down to Atlanta to speak about my travels across the U.S., and how to bring about tolerance in a time of polarization, at Welcoming America's Welcoming Interactive conference.

I spoke before an audience of about 200 local government and nonprofit professions who are concerned about issues related to anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and white supremacist rhetoric and legislation.