
Lewis is a sought-after public speaker whose mainstage TED Talk has garnered over three million views. She has delivered keynote commencement addresses at venues ranging from the UN General Assembly and the Edinburgh International Festival to World Business Forum and Yale University, as well as numerous universities and organizations across the United States and abroad.
DREAM, 22nd Annual Convening, Keynote
Hutchins Center, Harvard University, Reflections in Black, Deborah Willis in conversation with Sarah Lewis
Institute for Black Intellectual and Cultural Life & Dartmouth Society of Fellows, Dartmouth University, Keynote
Learning Through Photography Symposium, Princeton University
The Getty, Los Angeles, “What does blackness mean?”
University of Iowa, Writers' Workshop, Creative Matters series, Keynote
Conversation with Ford Foundation President, Darren Walker, on Art and Inequality, Rothko Chapel
Boston Book Festival
Duke University, Jean Fox O'Barr Distinguished Lecture, The Rise
American Library Association, San Francisco, CA, President’s Keynote
National Association of Independent Schools, Annual Conference, Boston, MA, Keynote
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Houston, TX, Keynote
Texas Municipal League, Annual Conference Delegate Luncheon, Keynote
Covenant Church, Flourish Conference, Keynote
Berkshire Partners, Investor Conference, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Keynote
Arts Orange County, Santa Ana, CA, Keynote
American Studies Department, Un-Conference on Racial Passing, Brown University
Brooklyn Historical Society, Conversation with Nell Painter
The Getty, Los Angeles, CA, “The Art of Justice,” Keynote
University of Houston, Freshman Reading in Common, Keynote about The Rise, selected as the Provost Summer reading for all incoming freshman
Case Western Reserve University, Keynote
Aspen Institute Arts Summit at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
Contemporary African Art at Cooper Gallery, Hutchins Center, Harvard University, [Co-organizer]
Sundance Film Festival, Panel with Robert Redford, Dave Eggers, Chris Stone, and Jill Soloway, (Moderator), book launch event for The Rise
Guest on The Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC, segment about The Rise
Appearance on Late Night with Seth Myers, interview about The Rise
Featured on Minnesota Public Radio, segment about The Rise
Boston Book Festival, The Rise, Keynote
Guest on NPR: TED Radio Hour