Newark keynote speaker is ‘The $100,000 Pyramid’ contestant

A native Delawarean will try to climb Sunday night’s $100,000 Pyramid.

Henna Pryor is a 43-year-old woman born and raised in Newark who will be a contestant on “The $100,000 Pyramid” game show on ABC. She will be paired with comedian and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Bobby Moynihan and “Family Matters” star Jaleel White.

Pryor’s day job is as a keynote speaker, and she has done numerous TEDx Talks in her career about communication and workplace performance. She also is the author of “Good Awkward,” a book about embracing cringe-worthy moments in your life and using them to your advantage. She said the skills in her book and speeches played into her hands while on a nationally televised game show. Instead of being nervous in front of a camera, she felt prepared by her career to take the stage.

“I think I had an advantage as a player that bright lights, big stages are something I’m used to,” she said.

The Newark High School graduate received an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles for the January filming. She said she had many practice sessions before taking the stage, which were more fun than procedural for her. She had watched the show when she was younger and made a connection at a convention. From there, she applied on social media and started interviewing and practicing.

She said because of the tight community found in a small state like Delaware, she has never been starstruck.

“I do think some of that small state stuff gives you a little perspective; it’s just like meeting people from all walks,” she said.

The only thing she wanted to avoid was fumbling her moment on television, but she said she was prepared for the entire experience.

“If you give a keynote speech, even if there’s 800 people in the audience, the only people who really see that are the people that were in the audience,” she said. “No matter how this goes, it’s going to be on national TV, like it’s there’s no way around that.”

See how Pryor did at 10 p.m. Sunday on ABC.