Presidential Leadership & Legacy

Pete Souza is now delivering a rare and unique program, “Presidential Leadership & Legacy.” He shares some of his favorite images of Reagan and Obama, providing candid moments that are windows into their humanity. What we see in Souza’s photographs are two presidents who clearly respected both the office they held and the people with whom they interacted, no matter the circumstance.

Eyewitness to History

As the Chief Official White House Photographer for President Barack Obama and Official White House Photographer for President Reagan from 1983-1989, Pete was in a unique position to spend rare and intimate moments in the Oval Office observing two transformative Presidents of the United States. He shares some of his iconic behind-the-scenes photographs, along with his poignant detailed stories, all leading to a bold and dynamic depiction of true leadership.

Pete Souza is a best-selling author, speaker and freelance photographer based in Madison, Wisconsin. He is also Professor Emeritus of Visual Communication at Ohio University. Souza was the Chief Official White House Photographer for President Barack Obama and the Director of the White House photo office for all eight years. He was also an Official White House Photographer for President Ronald Reagan, from 1983 until Jan. 20, 1989. In 2021, Souza was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame.

His book, Obama: An Intimate Portrait, was published by Little, Brown & Company in 2017, and debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It is one of the best-selling photography books of all time. His 2018 book, Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents, also debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Shade is a portrait in Presidential contrasts, telling the tale of the Obama and Trump administrations through a series of visual juxtapositions.

Souza‘s most recent photography book, The West Wing and Beyond: What I Saw Inside the Presidency, was published in September 2022. This book takes you inside the presidential bubble with photographs and stories of consequential moments and traditions with the people who define our nation’s highest office—from the senior White House staff to the Oval Office valets. It delivers new insights into the role of the Secret Service, the seriousness of decisive meetings in the West Wing, and even some fun moments aboard Air Force One.

Based on his best-selling books, Souza became the subject of documentary film in November 2020, The Way I See It.  Directed by Dawn Porter–and produced by Porter, Laura Dern, Evan Hayes and Jayme Lemons–the film takes an unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of the most iconic Presidents in history, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through Souza‘s eyes and camera. As Official White House Photographer for both these Presidents, Souza was an eyewitness to the unique and tremendous responsibilities of being the most powerful man in the world. The film also reveals how Souza transformed from a respected White House photographer and photojournalist to a searing commentator on the importance of having someone with empathy and dignity in the office of the Presidency. The film was nominated for an Emmy, premiering on MSNBC and became the highest rated non-news, non-live program ever. Souza also won the Critic’s Choice Award for Most Compelling Living Subject of a documentary.

Pete Souza is a best-selling author, speaker, and freelance photographer based in Madison, Wisconsin. He is also Professor Emeritus of Visual Communication at Ohio University. For all eight years of the Obama administration, Souza was the Chief Official White House Photographer and the Director of the White House photo office.

His book, Obama: An Intimate Portrait, was published in 2017, and debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It is one of the best-selling photography books of all time. Additionally, his book, Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents, also debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in October 2018.

Based on his best-selling books, Souza became the subject of documentary film in November 2020, The Way I See It. The film takes an unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of the most iconic Presidents in history, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through Souza’s eyes and camera. As Official White House Photographer for both these Presidents, Souza was an eyewitness to the unique and tremendous responsibilities of being the most powerful man in the world.

Pete’s next book, The West Wing and Beyond: What I Saw Inside the Presidency, will be released in late September 2022 and is filled with stunning photographs and powerful storytelling of the Presidency from his time inside the White House.

In addition to his work in the White House, Souza has covered stories around the world. After 9/11, he was among the first journalists to cover the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan, after crossing the Hindu Kush mountains by horseback in three feet of snow.

Souza is a native of South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in public communication from Boston University and received his master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Kansas State University.

Please join me in giving a warm welcome to Pete Souza.

AV Requirements for Pete Souza

High Definition Projector

The project must be front-projection HD with capability of 1080p/1080i and at least 15K lumens. 

• An HD video wall might be acceptable as another option for exhibit hall type venues where the room cannot be darkened. 
• Rear projection is NOT acceptable without prior consultation. 

Projection Screen is Dependent on Venue

For a theatre/auditorium venue, projection screen must be between 25 and 40 feet wide (in a 16×9 proportion) depending on size of theatre/auditorium.* 

For hotel ballrooms (depending on the size and width of the room) there must be a minimum of two screens between 25 and 40 feet wide. For a ballroom that has three sections, there must be three screens.* 

For classrooms or other rooms, projection screen (in a 16×9 proportion) is dependent on the size of classroom.* 

Other Requirements

A lectern with a microphone should be placed at either end of the stage during the presentation. The lectern should not block anyone in the audience from seeing the projected images in full. The spotlight on the lectern should be as narrow as possible so no light splashes onto the screen. 

Pete will be using his own Mac Air laptop and there must be an HDMI cable to connect to the projector at the lectern, and the output must be 1080p/1080i. Pete will have the proper adapter to connect his laptop to the HDMI cable. 

A mini-plug for sound must also be available at the lectern to plug into the Mac Air. 

The entire auditorium/theatre/room should be near total darkness during the presentation. 

AV check must be made available three hours before doors open and/or before Pete has other contractual responsibilities from the host. Light levels for this check need to be ready for show-time levels (i.e. near total darkness).

Q&A of 15-30 minutes will follow the approximately one-hour presentation. Pete will moderate this himself so he can interact directly with the audience. A wireless microphone is required for this portion of the program so Pete can move about the stage. 

Please have two centrally located microphones in two aisles and instruct the attendees to line up at the start of the Q&A. With an audience of 500 people or less, another option is to have two or three staff with roving microphones. 

*In addition, the following information must be provided prior to commitment from Pete Souza: 

• Diagram of the meeting space to include room dimensions and ceiling height as well as screen and projector locations and location of first row attendees.
• Room set up style (theater style, classroom style, round tables, other)
• Estimated number of attendees

“Pete Souza was one of the most engaging and moving speakers we have ever had at our conference. His ability to weave humor, history and humanity into a single slide was both a visual delight and a thought-provoking exercise. Several of our attendees commented on the emotional journey his presentation took them on, and we would highly recommend him for any conference.”

— Rob Gard | Director of Communications & Public Affairs, Visit Madison

“How about the most amazing speaker we have had in years! The students in particular were in awe and we have received multiple of email from the students and their faculty regarding the time he spent with them. In fact we served pizza to the students after-words and he joined them for another 45 minutes and continued to answer their questions. He was also amazingly cooperative with our captioning service that we offer to the community.”

— Private Client

“Pete was warm, relaxed, and engaging in his presentation and also in the preparation for the event itself. Our community was inspired and honored to get to connect with him and learn such incredible historical insights from his photos and stories.”

— Nathalie Wade | Guest Speaker Program, GetSetUp

“On behalf of the Black Women Photographers community, I want to thank Mr. Pete Souza for sharing his wealth of knowledge with us for nearly two hours. This was a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget. Pete’s down to earth nature, humor, and charisma were just a few of the characteristics that made this event a success.” 

— Polly Irungu | Founder, Black Women Photographers