A custom message for Sidwell Friends School
Helping Sidwell Friends Students Turn Reflection Into Courage, Stories Into Superpowers, and Concern for the World Into Meaningful Action
Planet Courage is a student-centered speaking and storytelling experience that helps young people build resilience, discover their voice, and connect who they are with how they serve, lead, and make a difference.
Today's students are navigating pressure, uncertainty, anxiety, big questions about the future, and a world that can often feel overwhelming. At Sidwell Friends, students are already invited to think deeply, listen carefully, act with integrity, and consider how their lives can speak.
Planet Courage builds on that foundation.
Through storytelling, reflection, media, and real-world examples of changemakers, Planet Courage helps students recognize that their lives already hold the raw material for courage, leadership, service, and impact.
This is not just a talk students listen to. It is an experience that helps them reflect on who they are, name what they care about, and take one meaningful step toward serving their school, community, and world.
Why Planet Courage Fits Sidwell Friends
Planet Courage connects directly to the values Sidwell Friends already nurtures in students: reflection, inquiry, empathy, service, stewardship, community, and the courage to live with purpose.
Purpose, Reflection, and Resilience
Helping students navigate uncertainty, pressure, fear, self-doubt, and big life questions through reflection, story, and a stronger sense of purpose.
Student Leadership and Service
Helping students see leadership not just as a title, but as a way of using their voice, values, and gifts in service to others.
Hope, Belonging, and Emotional Strength
Offering a non-clinical but deeply human message about courage, grief, anxiety, belonging, self-worth, and the power of being seen and heard.
Equity, Justice, and Community Impact
Helping students move from awareness to action by asking: What do I care about? Who is affected? And where can I begin?
Climate Courage and Environmental Stewardship
Helping students face climate anxiety with stories, solutions, and real-world examples of stewardship, responsibility, and possibility.
The Student Experience
Planet Courage is designed for Sidwell Friends students who may be wondering:
- Who am I becoming?
- What do I care about?
- How can I use my voice with courage and care?
- What does it mean to serve my community?
- How do I face the future without feeling overwhelmed by it?
- How can my life speak?
By the end of the experience, students are invited to see themselves as people with real-world superpowers:
What Students Walk Away With
A stronger sense that their story matters
A clearer understanding of their "real-world superpower"
Language for naming what they care about
A hopeful way to think about fear, pressure, and uncertainty
A deeper connection between reflection, service, and action
Examples of everyday people making meaningful change
A practical invitation to serve their school, community, and world
A reminder that courage can begin with one honest question, one true story, or one brave next step
Featured Work
Explore examples of storytelling, speaking, hosting, and media work connected to the Planet Courage approach, including stories of climate solutions, community leadership, and everyday changemakers.
Drawdown's Neighborhood
A storytelling series highlighting climate solutions and everyday heroes in communities across the country.
Watch / Learn More
The Global Solutions Diary
Stories of changemakers around the world turning climate solutions into action.
Watch / Learn More
20s & Change: San Francisco
A pilot film passing the mic to changemakers who often go unheard. Join the conversation on identity, inspiration, and impact.
Watch / Learn MoreTrusted by Colleges, Universities, and Institutions Including:
What Students, Educators, and Partners Are Saying
"Matt's 'pass the mic' project is beyond inspiring. It is so smart, so creative, so needed. Several students said to me how much they enjoyed Matt's presentation and conversations… And how much they learned from him. Getting to know him and working with Matt has been an immense pleasure and privilege. He is such a special and gifted person. I have enjoyed our collaboration – and look forward to much more."
Frank Sesno
Emmy-winning journalist; Director, School of Media & Public Affairs and Alliance for a Sustainable Future
The George Washington University
Talk Experiences
Planet Courage can be adapted for Sidwell Friends assemblies, advisory programming, service-learning initiatives, student leadership programs, climate and sustainability events, wellness days, retreats, and community-wide conversations.
Pricing note: Lower-end investment reflects an experience with Matt Scott (based in the DC area). Higher-end investment reflects an experience with both Matt Scott and Erik Douds (based in the Denver area).
Keynote Experience
$2,500–$5,000
+ travel & lodging
Half Day
A powerful single talk designed for a Sidwell Friends assembly, leadership event, Earth Day program, mental health and wellness initiative, service-learning day, or student inspiration event.
Includes:
Best for: Schools looking for a high-impact assembly or featured speaker experience.
Inquire About KeynoteDay of Talks
$5,000–$10,000
+ travel & lodging
Full Day
A full-day experience that brings Planet Courage to multiple Sidwell Friends student groups across the school community.
Includes:
Best for: Schools that want to reach multiple grade levels, leadership groups, clubs, or student communities in one visit.
Inquire About Day of TalksPlanet Courage Embed
$10,000–$20,000
+ travel & lodging
5 Days Total
A deeper engagement designed to build momentum with Sidwell Friends students over time. Typically across two visits of approximately 2.5 days each.
Includes:
Best for: Schools that want Planet Courage to support a larger initiative around student leadership, civic engagement, purpose, sustainability, or community impact.
Inquire About EmbedPlanet Courage Residency
$25,000–$50,000
+ travel & lodging
10 Days Total
A signature multi-visit experience that helps Sidwell Friends students move from inspiration to storytelling, action, and community celebration. Three campus visits.
Includes:
Best for: Schools looking for a transformational, community-wide experience that builds student voice, leadership, courage, and impact over time.
Inquire About ResidencyA Message for Sidwell Friends Leaders
You are not just booking a speaker. You are creating a moment for students to pause, reflect, listen deeply, feel seen, and connect their own stories to a larger sense of purpose.
Planet Courage meets students at the intersection of the questions they are already carrying: Who am I? What matters to me? How do I deal with fear? What kind of future is possible? What role can I play in building it? And how can my life speak?
For Sidwell Friends, this experience can support the values already woven through school life: reflection, inquiry, service, equity, justice, community, environmental stewardship, and global citizenship.
Planet Courage gives students language, stories, and tools to begin answering those questions with courage.
Customize This Experience for Sidwell Friends
Every Planet Courage visit can be shaped around Sidwell Friends' goals, values, calendar, and student needs.
Bring Planet Courage to Sidwell Friends School
Help Sidwell Friends students turn reflection into courage, stories into superpowers, and concern for the world into meaningful action.