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Speaking Engagements:

August 03 - May 04: Guest Speaker at over 200 different high schools in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

July 2004: Keynote Speaker: Future Business Leaders of America State Convention (Indianapolis, IN)

September 2004: Keynote Speaker: Plymouth High School student body.   ISTEP Motivation Speech

April 2005: Guest Speaker/Performer: Head Start State Convention (Indianapolis, IN)

May 1996-2005: Dance Relief regional 2 day competition (Show host & Emcee)

June 2005: Toured Fort Wayne Community Schools summer clubs (educational rap)

June 2005: Guest Speaker: Bronx Leadership Academy Junior Class (Bronx, New York)

June 2005: Toured elementary schools in Trenton, New Jersey (educational rap)

July 2005: Guest Speaker/Performer: National Head Start 40th Ann. (Orlando, FL). Keynote = Sen. John Kerry

August 2005: Emcee/Performer: Community Action of Northeast Indiana Annual Family Day (Fort Wayne, IN)

August 2005: Performer: Toured all Indiana Head Start locations (educational rap)

September 2005: Emcee/Performer: CANI fundraiser "Building Hope on the Boardwalk" Don Hall's Gas House - Fort Wayne, IN

September 2005: Guest Speaker/Performer:   Fort Wayne Urban League "Rally for Reading" (Ft. Wayne, IN)

October 2005: Keynote Speaker: FBLA Regional Convention (Kokomo, IN)

November 2005: Guest Speaker: Redlands Christian Migrant Association Annual Convention (Orlando, FL)

December 2005: Guest Speaker/Performer: NHSA Annual Parent Training Conference (Washington D.C.)

January 2006: Guest Speaker: Good Shepard Youth Group (Huntington, IN)

February 12, 2006: I have a major surgery to repair everything that went wrong with the first "near-death" operation. It takes me longer to recover from this procedure that it did when I almost, well, when I died!

May 2006: The Motivational Rap Era Begins! I am finally strong enough to start working again and I give my first completely independent school presentation at Fairfield Elementary School the day before summer break.

August 2006: ISTEP WEEK! I tour Fort Wayne area schools in hopes of motivating young people to do their best on Indiana's State Proficiency exam. Schools presented to: Irwin Elementary, Lane Middle, Miami Middle, and Shambaugh Elementary.

October 2006: Repeat performance at Fairfield Elementary.

November 2006: Motivational REWARD performance for the students of Study Elementary for doing well on the ISTEP exam.

November 2006: Keynote Speaker: Farmers State Bank Annual Meeting, (Angola Indiana)

January 2007: Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday. Performed at MLK Montessori Pre-School.

March 2007: Appeared on Oprah's reality show "The Big Give". Hundreds of thousands auditioned and I made it into the top 50

March 2007: Forest Park Elementary School (Fort Wayne, IN) Motivational, Educational Hip-Hop performance with classroom visits.

April 2007: Guest Speaker: Palm Beach County Head Start Association, (West Palm, Florida) Fatherhood / Male Involvement Seminar

April 2007: Guest Speaker: Fort Wayne Association for the Education of Young Children (FWAEYC) Teacher Appreciation and Recognition Dinner for Early Childhood Professionals.

How it all started: May of 1996. I had just been released from my nearly three year vacation away from freedom. I was once again going to be a productive member of society! My batteries were fully charged and the state had certified me in every form of rehabilitation possible. As I say in my speeches: "I took Alcoholics Anonymous but I didn't drink. I took Narcotics Anonymous but I didn't do drugs. I took Anger Management and I wasn't even angry!" I was ready to start my life all over again; all I needed was a job! At the time I had no clue what kind of struggle that would entail.

Seven years passed and the only employment I could land was that of the minimum wage sort. Sure, I had landed a few big factory positions during that time, but it was usually only a matter of time before someone in the factory recognized me and the rumors would begin to circulate that I had once been in trouble with the law (14 years ago) . Shortly thereafter I would always be asked to leave the company. Because after years of constantly being turned down for checking "Yes" when asked if I had ever been convicted, I was convinced that the only way I was going to get a good job was if I lied about my past and checked "No." It's no wonder the recidivism rate is so high. Without the safety net that my parents provided me to fall back on, I would have been literally forced back into crime since I couldn't make ends meet otherwise. Never mind the fact that I had a family of my own to provide for, never mind the fact that I graduated from college with honors.

In 2003 I began working for small college as a traveling recruiter. The woman that hired me thought that it might be good for the students to hear bits and pieces about my struggle throughout the structured presentation. I put so much heart, fire, and passion into my speeches that it didn't take long for word to spread about me. Soon after, I was the most requested recruiter there. I learned very quickly that high school students these days don't want to hear about goals, accomplishments, or strife unless the individual speaking had really been through some things and that individual was me! The students would always describe their other speakers from other universities and groups as boring and dull. That was never a problem with me. The school I was working for wasn't happy about the fact that my presentations were slowly changing from their structured setup to "The Ethan Birch Story", but I was still bringing in more leads for potential students than anyone else. I gave over 200 speeches during the 2003-2004 school year. I did my own research on financial aid as well as the capabilities and potential of the human brain. By incorporating this into my presentations I was able to convince numerous students to attend college when they hadn't even planned on attending. Being able to hear first hand about what I went through motivated students in a way they never thought possible. Here is a brief biography that a local author wrote for me before one of my first major speaking engagements:

Want to know the definition of multi-talented? Look up Ethan Birch. The definition of passionate? Check out Ethan Birch. The meaning of perseverance? Track down Ethan Birch.

Birch, an Indiana native and graduate of Indiana University, is one of the most sought- after motivational speakers, voice-over and commercial artists in the Midwest. In 2004 alone, more than 20 educators from different high schools declared that Birch is one of the most outstanding speakers to ever address their students. Mr. Zeedyk, a teacher at Hicksville High School in Hicksville, Ohio writes: "Ethan is the best guest speaker I've had in over 20 years!" Mr. Hempen from Kankakee Valley High School in Wheatfield, Indiana writes: "Ethan is a tremendous, dynamic speaker. He speaks from his heart and really motivates students!"

Birch has spent most of the new millennium traveling the tri-state area, providing thousands of high school students with the inspiration to pursue dreams of a college education. As a consultant with a higher education program, Birch has a rich database of scholarships and grants to share with students so that their dreams can be realized. But it's not the database that leaves audiences breathless after seeing Birch. It's the way the 6'8" tall biracial son of adoptive white parents weaves in the dramatic tales of his youth to convince them that no matter their background or circumstances, they can change their lives for the better.

It was a lesson that Birch learned the hard way. Just six weeks into his tour of duty in the Army, an errantly fired artillery shell landed in front of Birch's platoon. Five were killed, 27 seriously injured. Birch's physical wounds were not as bad as the psychcological wounds. Two years later, he was honorably discharged for continuing battles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Life rapidly spiraled downhill after that. Birch found himself associating with the wrong crowds while rejecting the white parents who had reared him with love. Worse yet, in doing what wrong crowds do, he started operating outside of the law . He was caught after a short while, and faced a lofty sentence. His adoptive parents put up their $400,000 home to keep him free until trial. Birch was convicted, but miraculously received only 10 years, and ultimately served just three. A grateful Birch made every day redemption day. He earned a General Studies Degree from IU and participated in every social rehab program available.

After release, Birch struggled mightily to find employment. He did not give up or revert to old and destructive means, though. He pursued his childhood passion for the stage and performed for professional theatres in Warsaw and Syracuse, Indiana. He was Malcolm X in a 1996 production of "El Haj Malik" at the Fort Wayne Performing Arts Center. He was nominated in 2003 for an Anthony Award following his portrayal of Tom Robinson in a production of "To Kill a Mockingbird" at the Fort Wayne Civic Theater.

He eventually won employment in sales and marketing at a shoe store, car rental company, radio stations, and one of the city's most exclusive private clubs. Soon after, Birch's acting and vocal skills began being tapped in commercials for companies such as Dodge, BMW, Chevrolet, BET, & Kia.

Birch is now hard at work spreading his message across the country. He wants to keep others from getting trapped on the road that cost him many years of his life. Or if they've made the mistakes, he's determined to show them how to catapult the challenges.

Among his honors, Birch was voted "Teacher of the Week" at Marion High School in 2003. He was chosen as the keynote speaker for the Future Business Leaders of America State Convention in 2004. In the summer of 2004 he spoke to students in New York and New Jersey and toured Ft. Wayne Elementary Summer Clubs with his student adored "Educational Rap". He was a speaker at the 40th Anniversary National Head Start Convention along side Dr. Adolph Brown and Senator John Kerry in Orlando. In October he returned to Florida to be the keynote speaker at the Redlands Christian Migrant Association's Annual Convention. He also spoke in Washington D.C. for Head Start in early December.