
Available for
Keynote, Virtual Presentation, Fireside Chat, Panel, Moderator, Emcee, Webinar, Workshop and TrainingFee Ranges
Domestic In-Person (USA): $12,500*
International In-Person: Please inquire
Virtual: $7,500*
* Ranges are presented as a guideline only. Speaker fees vary by engagement type and are subject to change without notice. For an exact quote, please contact Gravity Speakers.
Traveling From
South Carolina, USAAbout
Shontavia Johnson serves as a highly acclaimed writer, speaker, and commentator thriving at the intersection of law, innovation, and pop culture.
Twice named one of the top young lawyers in America, Shontavia’s unique background in intellectual property law, technology, education, and business makes her the perfect strategist for working professionals who are also creatives, side-hustlers, and entrepreneurs.
As host of The Shontavia Show, a conversational web series and podcast, Shontavia tackles the most common questions about starting, operating, and growing a business and personal brand.
Shontavia has also built the Brand+Business Academy, which teaches working professionals how to start their business and build their brand so that they can create new income streams and do more of the things they love.
Shontavia is a teacher and advisor at heart. She has spent more than a decade in faculty and academic leadership roles. Shontavia was the first African-American woman to receive full tenure at Drake University Law School, and she is currently the Associate Vice President for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Clemson University.
Prior to entering higher education, Shontavia practiced intellectual property law at one of the largest law firms in the United States. She is licensed to practice in South Carolina, Iowa (inactive), and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Shontavia has also been recognized as an Inspiring Women in STEM by INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine, granted the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, and named one of 42 Under 40 Alumni by the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
Her work has been extensively featured in the media, including in Fortune, CNN, TIME, and the Washington Post. Her article on America’s black inventors was re-printed and archived in audio form by the Smithsonian Magazine in 2017. Shontavia’s academic publications have appeared in journals including the Berkeley Technology Law Review, the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, and the Arkansas Law Review. In 2014, Shontavia’s article, Trademark Territoriality in Cyberspace: An Internet Framework for Common Law Trademarks, was awarded the International Trademark Association Ladas Memorial Award, a competition that identifies the best article in the world on a trademark law topic.
As a speaker, Shontavia has given the closing talk at TEDxAtlanta, spoken at SXSW multiple times, and taught law and innovation principles in Europe, Asia, and across North America. She has appeared in TIME, the Washington Post, the LA Times, and on NPR, and in 2018 she was named one of 200 black women in tech to follow on Twitter.
Topics
Leverage: How Women Can Build Personal Brands and Businesses Around Their Expertise
Women are often underrepresented as experts in the media and in industry, even though they have developed deep expertise. Shontavia has cultivated her years of experience and become a highly-regarded expert in the male-dominated fields of intellectual property law, tech, and internet culture. She will share thoughts and strategies on how women can build a personal brand around their expertise, how to create a business based on that expertise, and how to become a known expert who has editors and journalists constantly knocking at your door (or in your inbox!).
Meme Culture: How Memes are Changing the World...and Controlling Us
We tend to think of memes as funny images, gifs or videos, with the popular ones dominating our social media feeds. But, memes go deeper that this. Memes are scientific units of cultural information that impact our collective humanity. And, they are using our brains and the internet to spread themselves as widely as possible. Shontavia will provide a background on the science of memetics, an explanation about how we interact with, and can be controlled by, memes on a regular basis, and observations on how memes are using us to drive human culture. She will also suggest strategies for recognizing when memes are influencing human behavior and what, if anything, can be done about it.
Why Content Creators Need to Understand Intellectual Property Law
There has been a seismic shift in the way brands and companies view content. We are in the midst of a content renaissance–blogs, vlogs, podcasts and images are capturing the attention of nearly everyone with a laptop or cell phone. The people creating this content must be savvy when it comes to patents, trademarks, copyrights, and publicity rights–commonly collectively referred to as intellectual property rights. Shontavia will explain what each of these types of intellectual property protect and how content creators can develop strategies to protect the work they are creating for themselves and others.
A Seat at the Table: Why Intellectual Property Law must Diversify
Law is America’s least diverse profession. According to the American Bar Association, 85 percent of all lawyers in America are white, and 65 percent are men. And lawyer demographics have not changed much in at least a decade. While the profession has made some efforts toward increasing diversity and embracing inclusion, its membership does not yet reflect the increasingly global and diverse clientele that it serves. As a result, the percentage of women of color practicing law in every sector remains disproportionately small and undeniably stunted.
Nowhere is this more apparent than within the field of intellectual property. Women of color, in particular, are significantly underrepresented in a practice area where population growth and globalization are making diverse legal representation increasingly important, if not critical, for business success. Shontavia will share current data on the practice’s demographics, why it is important to diversify the field, and strategies to bring more women of color to the table.
Topics for Students and Educators
Shontavia has spent a significant portion of her career in higher education and is comfortable speaking to all levels of students and faculty, from K-12 through the college/university level. Shontavia has spoken at schools around the United States and in places like England, France, China, and Haiti.
For Student
Connecting with Students has changed incredibly over time – between cell phones, short attention spans, and access to the world via the internet, it takes a specially cultivated conversation to connect with young people on a meaningful level. It also requires working knowledge of social media, Fortnite, and new technology. Shontavia can help students see not just how these things connect with them to their immediate circles, but also the world.
Topics with a student focus include:
- Social Media Literacy
- Entrepreneurship for All Ages
- Paying for College
- Finding Your Passion
For Faculty
Shontavia has held academic roles at all levels: including fellowships, assistant/associate/full professor, named chair, and university-level administration. As a scholar and teacher, she has particular expertise in connecting academic scholarship to public outlets.
Topics with a faculty focus include:
- Publicizing Your Research
- Navigating the Tenure and Promotion Process
- Bouncing Back from Missteps in Academia
- Telling Your Story
- How to Get the Most out of a Scholarly Agenda
- Being a Person of Color in the Academy
Other signature presentations include:
- How Entrepreneurs Can Leverage Blockchain Technology
- Using Intellectual Property Law to Pursue Social Justice
- The Science of Why Things Go Viral
- The History of Black Inventors in the United States
- Finding Personal and Professional Success
- The Changing Faces of Entrepreneurship