About Powell Speakers

Darrin Powell – Founder

Don’t be fooled by Darrin’s laid-back, easy-going, ‘steady Eddie’ disposition. Behind the scenes, Darrin works tirelessly to deliver the type of service that garners trust and reliability among our clients and bureau partners.

Darrin is a 23-year veteran to the speaking industry. He  dedicated 15 of those years working with a top rated speakers bureau, serving as its VP. He transitioned into Speaker Management in 2013 after signing one of the world’s top influencers, Mel Robbins, to the roster.

A Texas native, Darrin rolls with his two Bernese Mountain dogs and his pickup truck.  His wife of 25 years and three children are his ultimate pride and joy.

Jeanette Fernandez – President

Jeanette stumbled upon the speaking biz in 2012, where she worked at one of the industry’s most respected bureaus.

In her previous life, she managed Chicago’s premiere indie-house music record label where she oversaw business affairs and negotiated worldwide licensing, recording and publishing deals.

While in search for a more purposeful existence, she opened a restaurant (insane idea, I know) in Chicago, which served worldly, street food & sponsored cultural events. She took a brief hiatus to raise her kiddies and to rediscover a meaningful work-life balance.

Jeanette feels blessed to be surrounded by everyday people living courageously. She enjoys volunteering her time toward initiatives that empower communities, raising monarch butterflies, snuggling with her dogs, baking killer cookies & embarrassing her two children.

Donna Buttice – Managing Partner

Over the last two decades, Donna has managed events of every size in just about every industry imaginable. She takes pride in developing relationships with her clients and hearing them rave about their seamless experiences from start to finish. Donna has three children, a loving husband, and a lot of fur babies.

Lori Powell – Accounting Manager

Lori is an entrepreneur, wife and mother of three who values time spent with friends and family.

She worked as a CPA for one of the big 5 accounting firms before venturing into the entrepreneurial world as a Founding Partner at J. Hilburn.

She volunteers in her community both in leadership roles at her children’s school and her family church.  Lori loves a good game show, suspenseful tv series, and the latest business book or podcast. Her non-negotiable must-have is a Margarita on Friday night.

Kelli Hunter – Contracts Administrator

Kelli Hunter has almost two decades of experience in administrative management and operational oversight from the nonprofit world, higher education and speaker management.

A jill-of-all-trades, Kelli believes that an excel spreadsheet and a well-organized to-do list can solve most of life’s problems.

Kelli is fascinated by people and the stories they share. She believes that the most interesting parts of life (and people) are found when you are able to live into the grey and embrace the chaos. She feels privileged to be working with speakers using the narrative of their experiences to do just that.

Kelli lives in Nashville, Tennessee. When not organizing the world, she can be found chasing her two small kids, finding new recipes for her husband to cook, slowly going for a run, and yelling at the cats to get off the kitchen table.

Anna Lawrence – Talent Logistics Coordinator

Born and raised in Nashville, Anna is no stranger to the entertainment industry. In addition to her experience coordinating logistics for hundreds of events, she has developed a true passion for the speaking industry and strives to always stay one step ahead; anticipating a need before someone even knows there is one.

Anna is a big believer in process improvement. She has impeccable attention to detail (perhaps also a bi-product of the 605 episodes of Dateline that she has watched). That is as creepy as it sounds.

She has two children, a daughter and a newborn son, as well as a dog that is part wolf. This means the coffee is brewing all day, every day.

When she’s not living through a pandemic, she enjoys kayaking, traveling with her husband, and trying new restaurants.

Janina Soriano – Sales Associate

Integrity, determination, hard-work and dedication are hallmark traits that Janina strives for in every aspect of life. Applying these principles to her business has allowed her to impact and help so many people in her real estate practice, which she also carries into the speaking world.

Janina is an experienced Real Estate Broker and a business woman. Driven by her passion of helping others, she takes pride in providing the best service possible. She’s a proud and adoring mother of two girls. She loves to travel the world. Health and wellness are incorporated into her daily activities. Her hobbies include playing sports – like tennis and golf.

Michelle Lamba – Logistics Coordinator

Michelle is a woman with a Plan A, B, C, and D. An inner geek obsessed with all things technology, she was previously an IT consultant, troubleshooting hardware and software issues for clients.

Michelle enjoys a minimalistic lifestyle where she travels the world. When not glued to her digital devices, she rides motorcycles, reads Bukowski, learns about quantum theory, and celebrates life.

Lydia Limas – Logistics Coordinator

Lydia has been an artist for the vast majority of her life, primarily as a painter and photographer, where the curiosity for the natural world redirected her art into a career of learning as a neuroscience student, with a string of interests that include: life science visualization, cognition, astronomy, music, endurance running, gardening, and—the list seems endless.

Embedded in the list of passions is a commitment to understanding others and self-improvement, which seems like the best way to embrace opportunities and gain insight about the challenges we face in today’s world.