​A Values-Driven Pivot​

Cardwell led national sales and marketing for a global telecommunications company. Outside work, he spent decades collecting LGBTQ+ historical artifacts. In 2022, he brought those strands together, applying his experience in strategy, communications, partnerships, and execution to build Badge Of Pride.

With Irving Archives & Museum, Cardwell curated and designed Badge Of Pride: From Silence…To Celebration!, the largest artifact-centered LGBTQ+ history exhibition ever presented in Texas. The exhibition received six national and state honors, including awards from the American Alliance of Museums, the National Council on Public History, and the American Association for State and Local History.

Cardwell also created, executive produced, and co-wrote CORRESPONDENCE: Letters of Queer Resistance, Love & Revolution, a three-part performance built from LGBTQ+ letters, speeches, manifestos, and political writing. He has presented at national museum and public-history conferences and co-authored forthcoming articles with Jennifer Landry for Exhibition Journal and Informal Learning Review.

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Pivoting With Purpose

A later-career move amid corporate uncertainty
 

How do you make a purposeful move when your career's future feels uncertain, and the next field is unfamiliar? Drawing on 25 years in corporate leadership and his decision to found Badge Of Pride, Cardwell shares what experience carried over, what he had to learn on the job, and how he chose a next chapter aligned with his values.
 

Turning a Collection Into Public History

Building Badge Of Pride from the ground up
 

How does a personal collection become the foundation for an organization and a major exhibition? Cardwell traces the path from founding Badge Of Pride to partnering with a museum to create a landmark exhibition. He shares practical lessons in strategy, partnership, and building an organization in an unfamiliar field.
 

Claiming Space for LGBTQ+ History

Community memory amid political pressure
 

What does it take to present LGBTQ+ history when political pressure is pushing institutions to retreat? Drawing on Badge Of Pride’s work with Irving Archives & Museum, Cardwell examines the choices leaders and staff make when they decide to stand behind contested histories—and how community partnership can strengthen that work.
 

FORMATS

Keynotes, conference sessions, fireside conversations, panels, and workshops for businesses, universities, museums, libraries, nonprofits, LGBTQ+ organizations, and employee resource groups. Content can be tailored to the audience and event.
 

BOOKING AND FEES

Speaking engagements are paid. Fees vary by format and scope, with all proceeds benefiting Badge Of Pride. Hosts cover agreed travel, lodging, meals, and local transportation.​