A NASA astronaut, Joan Higginbotham is a trailblazing electrical engineer who in December 2006, flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery to become the third African American woman to travel into space. Over the nearly 13-day mission, she joined the seven-member crew to continue construction of the International Space Station (ISS), embarking on four space walks and operating the station’s robotic arm. Sharing captivating insights from her 20-year distinguished career with NASA, Higginbotham inspires audiences with her personal journey of breaking barriers into space and beyond. Taking groups aboard the International Space Station and sharing her lessons-learned along the way, she highlights the keys to succeeding in her missions – including preparation, perseverance, and never giving up – and how these tactics can be applied to any endeavor.

With a profound passion for technology and its potential to transform business and society, Noelle Russell has dedicated her career to helping organizations uncover the possibilities artificial intelligence presents to their businesses, and guiding them through the intricacies of AI adoption. In her daily work Russell advises companies across industries on how to integrate emerging technologies — including AI, Web3, and the Cloud — into their operations and workplace strategies. She is an award-winning technologist with an entrepreneurial spirit who has led innovative tech teams at Accenture, NPR, Microsoft, IBM, AWS, and Amazon Alexa, and is among the world’s leading voices on data and AI literacy.

A board-certified physician, award-winning speaker, and nationally recognized wellness expert, Dr. Romie Mushtaq is on a mission to transform mental health and wellness in the workplace. She is the founder of brainSHIFT Institute and advises Fortune 500 leaders, professional athletes, and global associations on performance, leadership, and mental health for individuals and teams. She combines more than two decades of authority and leadership in neurology, integrative medicine, and mindfulness to deliver cutting-edge programs and create tangible cultural change. In addition to founding brainSHIFT, Dr. Romie is the first chief wellness officer for Great Wolf Resorts, where she spearheads programs and initiatives designed to build a wellness-focused culture for more than 10,000 employees, as well as curate unique wellness experiences for guests. As one of the faces of the movement toward a new, more effective concept of workplace wellness, she has been featured in NBC, CBS, FOX, Forbes, NPR, Inc., and Huffington Post, as well as dozens of other national media outlets.

Cassandra “Cassi” Chandler is an innovator, strategist, investigator, and leader who has broken barriers, led diverse teams, and built cultures of motivational leadership and inclusivity at some of the world’s most important organizations, including Bank of America and the FBI. In a career that has included many “firsts” across the U.S. government and financial services industries, she served as the FBI’s first African American female special agent assistant director as well as the Bureau’s first female national spokesperson and director of public and community affairs. In addition to defining the tools motivational leaders need to mindfully build more high-performing cultures, Chandler provides actionable insights on how to move the needle while leading with empathy.

Ana Navarro is a well-known Republican strategist and a political analyst for CNN, CNN en Español, Telemundo, and co-host of ABC's The View. Tampa Bay Times called her “a sought-after voice in Republican politics and an adviser for any presidential hopeful,” saying, “with confidants Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio she is poised to play a big role in the GOP response to immigration reform and Hispanic outreach.” Respected on both sides of the aisle for her straight shooting and candor, Navarro is frequently called upon for her spot-on commentary. She is in touch with the political issues people are talking about, and in presentations, she discusses the latest hot button issues in politics, giving audiences an insider’s view of the upcoming elections and a roadmap for where the country is headed.

In an illustrious career that reads like a chronicle of global impact, The Honorable Raj Panjabi has spearheaded groundbreaking policies and programs that have transcended borders on a quest to protect the health of people around the world. Recognized by TIME as one of its “100 Most Influential People in the World,” Dr. Panjabi is a renowned physician and entrepreneur who led President Joe Biden’s pandemic office at the White House National Security Council. Operating at the center of the Covid-19 pandemic response, he played a pivotal role in steering the ship of American health security back on course and helped orchestrate the largest global vaccination campaign in history. Dr. Panjabi’s transformative impact and ability to drive results serve as an effective blueprint for how leaders in any industry can work within their teams to develop solutions to the most pressing challenges they face in their organizations and industries.

A pioneer in medicine and leadership, Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall has been on the frontlines of healthcare for more than four decades as a clinician, researcher, and leader in the biopharmaceuticals and life sciences industries. Dr. Lewis-Hall is an incredible storyteller with a flair for well-timed humor who shares with audiences her powerful story and inspiring path to becoming a leader in the healthcare industry. Her talks motivate audience members to embrace pressure and determine their own destinations, just as she did on her path to being the first in her family to attend college, becoming a physician and, subsequently, a biopharmaceutical executive. Dr. Lewis-Hall’s message of perseverance, tenacity, equity, inclusion, and transparency is one that resonates with all audiences and diverse backgrounds.

Maurice Ashley made history in 1999 when he became the first African-American chess grandmaster. He is a three-time national championship coach, author of Chess for Success: Using an Old Game to Build New Strengths in Children and Teens, ESPN commentator, iPhone app designer, puzzle inventor, and motivational speaker. Maurice is well known for providing dynamic live tournament coverage of world-class chess competitions and matches.

Never one to be bound by the limits society has set for him, Demond “Dom” Mullins is a pioneering adventurer whose remarkable feats of grit and endurance against all odds are inspiring the next generation of diverse adventurers. He is a member of Team Full Circle, which made history by becoming the first all-Black expedition to summit Mount Everest in the spring of 2022. Mullins is among the most influential voices in the outdoor adventure community known for his endeavoring spirit and unyielding tenacity, as well as his ability to impart these traits into his teams on the journey to unlocking peak performance to achieve a shared purpose.

For a fresh take on today’s business landscape, paired with creative analysis on hot topics in tech; innovation; the economy; policy, media; and more, look no further than widely respected journalist, broadcaster, and author Roben Farzad. Farzad hosts public radio’s “Full Disclosure,” where he takes listeners on an audio exploration into the business of culture and the culture of business. In an exceptional career spanning more than two decades, Farzad has established himself as one of the most authoritative and influential voices on the matters that are driving industry and society forward in every corner of the globe.

Tall and thin, with remarkable onscreen energy and ease, the actor possessed intense malleable features that he used to good effect in both dramatic and comedic roles. Despite this gift, he surprisingly began his career with off-screen pursuits. Jones worked as writer and story editor for NBC's college-set comedy "A Different World" from 1991 to 1992. In 2000, he took on a role in a sports-themed feature set in the recent past in "The Replacements" and in 2002, Jones portrayed a band director out to prove that he has the best band/drumline that the historical black colleges and universities have to offer in the drama "Drumline." Jones has appeared in numerous television series including "Rules of Engagement," "Necessary Roughness," "House M.D." and "Pushing Daisies."

Kaihan Krippendorff is an acclaimed business strategist. He has insider knowledge of the world’s most innovative businesses through his popular Fast Company blog and is the best-selling author of Outthink the Competition. With actionable content and tremendous stage presence, he teaches audiences how to think about problems differently and apply those lessons to business. His goal is to help his audience create “fourth options” for themselves – the strategic advantages their competitors don’t see, don’t expect, and cannot (or will not) emulate.