National Speakers Association North Texas Chapter

What National Speakers Association North Texas Chapter does

The National Speakers Association of North Texas (NSA-NT) is a nonprofit professional association chapter founded in 1981, serving professional and aspiring speakers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and global virtual members. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, the chapter operates with a small core staff of 9 and a volunteer Board of Directors, currently led by President Arlene Gale (2025-2026 term). It is an official local chapter of the National Speakers Association national body, with John Kosanke as its founding president and Betty Garrett as the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in 2023. The organization marked its 45th anniversary in 2026.

NSA-NT's core products are membership and programming rather than technology. The signature offering is a tiered annual membership that grants access to monthly in-person meetings at Las Colinas Country Club with hybrid Zoom streaming, plus an evolving slate of programs including CPAE Spotlights (a virtual Hall-of-Fame speaker series in its 4th year), Business Building Labs, Masterclasses, social events, and the Last Story Standing storytelling competition. A $180 annual vendor membership serves service providers to the speaking industry. The Find a Speaker database on espeakers.com and an online bookstore function as distribution channels connecting member speakers with event organizers and readers.

Revenue mechanics combine recurring annual membership dues, the $180 vendor upgrade fee, and per-event registration charges ($25-$79 for guests). The go-to-market motion is community-led: word-of-mouth, member referrals, and event-driven engagement rather than paid acquisition. Marketing spans organic social (LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube), email, the speaker.org website, and event-based outreach. Governance is member-elected with a structured board covering President, President-Elect, Past President, Treasurer, Secretary, and functional director roles for Technology, Membership, Marketing, and Programs.

Name

National Speakers Association North Texas Chapter

Legal name

National Speakers Association of North Texas

Website

https://speaker.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NSA North Texas is a nonprofit professional association chapter serving professional and aspiring speakers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and globally via virtual programming, operating since 1981 with monthly meetings, speaker education programs, and a Find a Speaker marketplace.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Speaking Association Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Workshops, Webinars & Live Masterclasses (MPACALAD)

Keywords

• Professional speaking association
• Membership association services
• Speaker training programs
• Networking events
• Professional development community

Headquarters

HQ city

Irving

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for professional speakers and aspiring speakers, with various tiers including standard membership and vendor memberships.
2. Vendor Membership: $180 annual upgrade charge for vendors who support the speaking industry, in addition to current annual dues.
3. Event Registration Fees: Guest registration fees for monthly meetings and events: $79 Face 2 Face, $39 Virtual, $25 member upgrade. Work sessions $39 for guests.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

NSA-NT is a nonprofit professional membership association that connects, educates, and promotes professional and aspiring speakers through monthly in-person meetings at Las Colinas Country Club with virtual streaming, business building labs, masterclasses, storytelling competitions, and a Find a Speaker directory. Members pay annual dues and gain access to networking, educational programming, promotional platforms, and recognition awards, while vendors serving the speaking industry can purchase a separate Vendor Membership.

Product overview

NSA North Texas Chapter offers a membership-based professional development ecosystem for speakers. The core offering centers on NSA-NT Membership, which provides access to monthly meetings (held in-person at Las Colinas Country Club and virtually via Zoom), educational events including Business Building Labs, Masterclasses & Special Events, and Social Events. Key programs include the annual Last Story Standing Storytelling Competition (entry point to NSA Influence national stage), CPAE Spotlights virtual series, and a Bookstore featuring member-authored books. The Vendor Membership add-on ($180/year) extends benefits to professionals supporting the speaking industry. The Find a Speaker Service connects event organizers with member speakers through a database and request system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NSA-NT Membership Professional membership program for individual professional and aspiring speakers that provides access to monthly meetings, educational events, networking opportunities, member resources, and recordings. Targeted at independent professional speakers in the North Texas region and virtual attendees worldwide.
• Monthly Meetings Signature in-person program held monthly at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, TX, streamed virtually via Zoom for members worldwide. Each meeting combines connecting, educating, and promoting components, with member access to session recordings.
• CPAE Spotlights Virtual Series Virtual series in its 4th year that brings members into the lives and businesses of Hall of Fame Speakers, facilitated by long-time NSA-NT member and Charbonneau recipient Niki McCuistion, CSP. Targeted at chapter members seeking inspiration from top-tier professional speakers.
• Business Building Labs Tactically oriented, skill-building virtual sessions facilitated by NSA-NT member Tara Clancy, designed to help speakers learn and grow the operational and marketing aspects of their speaking businesses. Targeted at members seeking practical business development.
• Social Events Annual social programming including the Speakers Showcase, Holiday Party, and Year End Awards Gala & Dance Party, providing members informal networking and recognition opportunities beyond formal monthly meetings.
• Masterclasses and Special Events Members-only advanced training events delivered in Masterclass format, with surprise value-add programming throughout the year. Membership is required to attend or receive recordings.
• Last Story Standing Storytelling Competition Annual storytelling competition (entering its 3rd year in 2026) where chapter finalists advance to regional and national recognition at the NSA Influence main stage. Members compete for the Storytelling Chapter Champion title as a path to national exposure.
• Member Bookstore Online directory featuring books authored by NSA-NT members, organized alphabetically by author with purchase links. Provides promotional platform for member-authored publications.
• Find a Speaker Service Directory service connecting event organizers with NSA-NT professional speakers, including a request form and searchable speaker database accessible via espeakers.com. Targeted at corporate event planners and meeting professionals seeking vetted speakers.
• Vendor Membership Annual $180 membership upgrade for professionals and businesses that support the speaking industry (e.g., photographers, coaches, designers, event planners). Includes website directory listing, name tag recognition, and table display at monthly chapter meetings for marketing collateral.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National Speakers Association (National)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1981NSA North Texas is an official chapter of the National Speakers Association, the premier professional association for speakers. The chapter maintains a formal affiliation with NSA National, participates in national programs like the Last Story Standing Storytelling Competition, and honors members at the national NSA Influence Annual Convention.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Toastmasters International: Global nonprofit that helps members develop communication and leadership skills, including public speaking. Targets a broader base of aspiring speakers rather than paid professional speakers, but overlaps substantially with NSA-NT's aspirational speaker segment.
• National Speakers Association (National): The parent national body that NSA-NT is officially affiliated with. Operates the broader membership ecosystem, the annual Influence convention, CSP/CPAE certification programs, and national storytelling competition that the North Texas chapter feeds into.

Direct peers

• Public Relations Society of America (PRSA): Professional association for PR and communications professionals, including many who also serve as paid speakers. Operates a similar chapter-based, dues-funded, monthly-event model and serves overlapping member personas.
• American Marketing Association (AMA): Large professional membership association serving marketers with local chapters, monthly meetings, member directories, and educational programming. Closely analogous chapter-based operating model and revenue structure to NSA-NT.
• International Association of Speakers Bureaus (IASB): Industry association for speakers bureaus that connect event planners with paid speakers. Directly intersects NSA-NT's Find a Speaker marketplace and shares the same end customer (event organizers booking speakers).
• Meeting Professionals International (MPI): Global association for meeting and event professionals with a chapter network, monthly events, member education, and marketplace-style services. Direct structural twin to NSA-NT in the events/speakers buyer ecosystem.
• Global Speakers Federation: Federation of national speaker associations worldwide. NSA National is a member, and NSA-NT sits within this global professional speaking ecosystem with shared standards, awards, and speaker marketplaces.
• National Speakers Association Houston Chapter: Sister chapter of NSA in Houston, Texas. Closest geographic and structural peer, with the same parent affiliation, similar membership model, and directly competing for Texas-based professional speakers.

Others

• American Society of Association Executives (ASAE): Industry body for association professionals. Comparable as a peer operating model (nonprofit professional association) and as a resource/standards body that governs how chapters like NSA-NT are run.

Emerging players

• eSpeakers: Online marketplace platform that powers NSA-NT's Find a Speaker service and competes more broadly for speaker-booking workflows. Tech-enabled emerging alternative to traditional association directories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nsanorthtexas
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/nsanorthtexas
• Facebookfacebook.com/nsanorthtexas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nsa-northtexas
• Instagraminstagram.com/nsanorthtexas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Speakers Association North Texas Chapter