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.

Acclaimed for her indomitable tenacity and daredevil skills, Olympic silver medalist MyKayla Skinner burst onto the American gymnastics scene when she won the junior individual all-around title at the 2011 American Classic. At 24, she became the oldest U.S. Olympic gymnast since 2004 when she competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she brought the trademark resilience and competitive spirit that have earned her a reputation as a powerhouse performer and model teammate, vaulting her way to a silver medal on the global stage. Her optimism, fire, and flair can be felt throughout the room as she provides an Olympian’s perspective on performing at a championship-level in high-pressure situations, overcoming adversity, and charting your own path to achieving your goals.

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.

A globally recognized brand-building innovator and a champion both of creativity and challenging the status quo in the workplace, Marisa Thalberg is 1 of only 18 to be inducted into the Forbes CMO Hall of Fame. She is considered one of the most dynamic and versatile marketing executives in the field, displaying versatility and adaptability that has led to her being an exceedingly successful leader in a diverse portfolio of industries, ranging from luxury beauty (The Estée Lauder Companies) and fast food (Taco Bell) to big box retail (Lowe’s Home Improvement) and theme parks and entertainment (SeaWorld/Busch Gardens). Her passionate advocacy for women at work led her on the path to social entrepreneurship as the founder of Executive Moms, an organization created to connect and support accomplished women who are both professionals and moms. In this capacity, Thalberg became an early leading voice and supporter for women, and particularly mothers, in the workplace, appearing across a range of media outlets including The TODAY Show, FOX, CNN, NBC News, and many more.

From the youth to the corporate world, Thurl Bailey, a former NBA player for the Utah Jazz, inspires others to win whatever the odds or disappointments. A master storyteller and an accomplished speaker, he inspires companies and individuals to focus on what matters most: to persevere, build winning teams, encourage peak performance, develop leadership, and discover opportunity in change. He is also a gifted inspirational singer and songwriter who has had multiple successful and best-selling albums.

One of the greatest drivers and more colorful personalities in NASCAR history, retiring full time at the end of the 2005 season, Wallace will remain one of the most visible ambassadors for the nation's fastest growing sport and brings a star quality to every presentation.

Known as the Iron Cowboy, James is an endurance athlete who has breaking records for years. In 2012, he completed 30 Ironman triathlons (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) in one year. No one had ever done anything close to this. In 2017, he did the unimaginable, completing 50 Ironman triathlons in 50 consecutive days in 50 different states, all while raising money to reduce childhood obesity. It was an amazing physical feat, an astounding logistics challenge and fair bit of chaos, all at the same time. You can watch the trailer here for the critically acclaimed Amazon Prime documentary; Iron Cowboy | The Story of the 50.50.50. But that wasn’t enough. In 2021, he pushed further, a lot further, beyond what doctors and physiologists thought was humanly possible, and completed the CONQUER 100…100 Ironman distance triathlons in 100 consecutive days, this time raising money to combat sex trafficking. That’s 140.6 miles per day, every day, for 14 straight weeks, for a total of 14,060 miles!

A fellow with the London-based Royal Society of Arts, Boinodiris has focused on inclusion in technology since 1999. She currently leads IBM Consulting’s Trustworthy AI Practice, she is the AI ethics board focal for all of consulting, and leads IBM’s Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence. She is the co-author of the book ‘AI for the Rest of Us’. Boinodiris is a co-founder of the Future World Alliance, a 501c3 dedicated to curating K-12 education in AI ethics. In 2019, she won the United Nations Woman of Influence in STEM and Inclusivity Award and was recognized by Women in Games International as one of the Top 100 Women in the Games Industry as she began one of the first scholarship programs in the United States for women to pursue degrees in game design and development.