One of the true legends of baseball, "Iron Man" Cal Ripken, Jr. broke several professional records during his 21 seasons, but none is as sacred as his consecutive-games-played record. Shattering Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,131 games by more than 500, Ripken displayed perseverance, endurance, and an everyday work ethic that endeared him to fans, transformed him into a national icon, and some argue, even saved baseball at its darkest moment. An inspirational speaker, philanthropist, businessman, and best-selling author, Cal Ripken, Jr. is the personification of leadership, commitment, and excellence. In warm and witty presentations filled with stories from his illustrious career, he shares how his keys to success apply to both the business world as well as the baseball field.

A testament to the power of the human spirit, Kath Koschel is a survivor who has overcome incredible odds and unimaginable tragedy to inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Koschel is formerly an elite cricketer and Ironman competitor whose world came crashing down when she broke her back twice in the span of five years and was told she’d never walk again. Instead, she faced the challenges head-on and defied all medical prognoses by teaching herself to walk again on three separate occasions. Driven by a passion to spread gratitude in the world, she founded Kindness Factory with the goal of encouraging one million acts of kindness and helping people find the light during dark times — just as she has done so many times.

A trailblazer in female leadership, Lieutenant General (ret) Nadja West is the 44th Army Surgeon General and the former Commanding General of US Army Medical Command. She is the first African American woman 3-star General in the Army’s history, the first African American Army Surgeon General, and currently the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from West Point. West shares her story of grit, perseverance, strength, and breaking boundaries, even when faced with adversity. Taking audiences on her journey to becoming the Army’s first African American woman 3-star General, she motivates them to overcome challenges with self-belief, bravery, and balance. With more than 20 years of experience in executive leadership, crisis management, and disaster response – including crafting the DOD medical response to the Ebola crisis – West speaks expertly on leadership tactics to effectively lead teams through times of uncertainty and crisis.

Jeff Skiles, the co-pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 (otherwise known as “The Miracle on the Hudson”), is no stranger to intense training, re-training, preparation, and organization. Before the fateful collision with the Canadian geese that caused the plane’s engine failure, Skiles had logged over 20,000 hours in the sky and had worked more than 23 years as a U.S. Airways pilot and first officer. Skiles recounts how he reacted to the crisis and the events that led to the Hudson River landing and addresses leadership, teamwork, adaptability, and the need for training and preparation.

Club DJ, Author and Speaker Tom Nash lost all four of his limbs after a devastating brush with a deadly disease over twenty years ago. Coming as close to death as one ever can, he spent over 18 months in hospital, surviving a coma, life support and having to re-learn to walk using prosthetics. Since then, Tom has learned not just to survive but to thrive. Navigating life with prosthetic hooks for hands, Tom launched a career as a musical artist, first as a guitarist in a band, later as a nightclub DJ. Tom subsequently went on to enjoy remarkable success in the music industry, starting his own nightclub brand in 2006, curating music as DJ Hookie and producing numerous records. Tom is now an Global Keynote Speaker, inspiring audiences with thought-provoking takes on Antifragility —moving beyond resilience — and how embracing challenges can turn adversity into advantage. He has graced the stages of some of the world’s largest conferences and festivals including TED and SXSW. Tom’s unique talent for captivating people with his personal story, his dark sense of humor and his incredible wit are distilled into grounded philosophies for life from which everyone can draw wisdom.

After a debilitating car crash sent Brian Boyle to the ICU, his future looked bleak. This athlete beat the odds and had one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. His message will inspire and amaze any audience.

Dr. Lior Zoref is a researcher, advisor, TED speaker, and author of the best-selling book, Mindsharing – the art of crowd sourcing everything about the power of collective intelligence. His book was translated to many languages and was listed by Inc. magazine as one of the best books for entrepreneurs along with books by Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and Tony Hsieh. Dr. Zoref has been invited to speak at some of the world’s most innovative organizations, including Google, MIT Media Lab, Columbia University, The White House, Nike, Microsoft, and LinkedIn.

People are inspired by great adventure and the name Hillary is synonymous with adventure. Peter Hillary ably connects such dramatic achievements to the challenges faced by individuals and teams striving for excellence, coping with change, and overcoming obstacles in their own fieldsPresentations combine humor and heart-stopping excitement with practical applications and are supported by superb video footage & Peter Hillary ably connects such dramatic achievements to the challenges faced by individuals and teams striving for excellence, coping with change, and overcoming obstacles in their own fields.

Bonnie Blair is a retired American speedskater. She is one of the top skaters of her time, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, and in her Olympic career won five gold medals and one bronze medal.

Kevin Kallaugher (Kal) is the international award-winning editorial cartoonist for the Economist and The Baltimore Sun. His diverse portfolio includes more than 8,000 cartoons, 140 covers, and six books. In lively, illustrated presentations, Kal draws on stage while touching on themes like the uniqueness of our political system and the role of cartoons in free speech. He shares insights on current events, politics, and the economy and offers audiences a unique surprise to take home after his talks. He has lectured at TED, Harvard, Pixar, and Google among others. Offering an exciting twist for meetings and events, his presentations are always funny, interactive, and memorable.

With a distinguished and highly decorated career spanning more than three decades of service to his country, Lieutenant General Scott Dingle stands as an embodiment of resolute leadership and an unyielding commitment to excellence. In 2019, Dingle was appointed as the 45th Army Surgeon General and Commanding General of US Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM), becoming the first African American male to serve in these roles, and spearheading the development and execution of the Army’s medical programs while leading complex teams through even more complex environments and advancing military healthcare infrastructure for the millions of people who depend on it.

Dr. Leana Wen is an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. A nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, she is also a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, writing on health policy and public health, and an on-air commentator for CNN as a medical analyst. The author of the critically-acclaimed book on patient advocacy, When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests (St. Martin’s Press, 2013), she has a forthcoming memoir to be published July 27th, Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health (Metropolitan Books, 2021). Previously, she served as health commissioner for the city of Baltimore, where she led the nation’s oldest continuously operating health department to combat the opioid epidemic and improve maternal and child health. She has also worked as director of patient-centered care research in the department of emergency medicine at George Washington University; president of Planned Parenthood; global health fellow at the World Health Organization; consultant to the China Medical Board; and distinguished fellow at the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity.