Bruce J. Himelstein was previously the SVP, Sales & Marketing at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC and is currently Himelstein is Executive Vice President at Zimmerman Advertising and heads their new Hospitality, Travel and Tourism group. An award- winning 30 year veteran of the hospitality industry, Bruce J. Himelstein is a recognized authority on innovative brand marketing and creation of a luxury lifestyle image for the highest quality services and consumer products. As a speaker, his range of experience qualifies him to cover a range of topics from the importance of developing a culture of service, sales intensity and brand innovation.

Chris suffered a spinal cord injury while playing football at Luther College (Iowa). The doctors gave Chris a 3% chance of moving anything below his neck again. Four years later, he defied the odds and walked across stage at his college graduation. The video went viral twice, garnered 300 million+ views, and caught the eye of the country’s top media outlets (Good Morning, America, TodayShow.com, NBC Nightly News, CBS, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, etc.).

Eric Termuende is empowering category-leading brands, associations, and leaders to navigate uncertainty and build thriving places to work. A seasoned keynote speaker and best-selling author, Eric Termuende has been on hundreds of stages all over the world speaking about workplace culture and one-degree shifts that build communities at work. An entrepreneur his entire life, Eric has surveyed and interviewed thousands of people and brings a fresh perspective to workplace culture and the future of work.

Referred to by his fans as “the Artist for the People,” Phil Hansen is an internationally recognized multimedia artist, speaker, author and innovator—at the forefront of bringing art to a wider audience. Crashing irreverently through conventional boundaries, Phil works at the intersection of traditional art, electronic media, offbeat materials, and interactive experiences. He is most widely known for his meta-art, videos that document the creation process (sometimes even through destruction), showing millions that art is action, not just result. For the tens of millions who have seen Phil’s art on TV and online, it’s hard to imagine that his artistic journey nearly came to an end when a tremor developed in his drawing hand. In exploring new ways to create art, he discovered that by embracing his shake, limitations could become the passageway to creativity. His inspirational story was first shared on the TED stage to a standing ovation, and then shared around the world including on PBS, BBC and CCTV. He’s the author of Tattoo a Banana, a guide to exploring creativity through art with everyday materials and he’s the founder of Goodbye-Art Academy, providing high quality and free art education videos to teachers and students everywhere.

Tony is a former career intelligence officer, senior defense executive, and retired U.S. Navy Commander. He’s a seasoned field practitioner who serves as a professionally certified executive leadership coach, team trainer, and trusted advisor with a focus in leading people, managing systems, and designing organizations to deliver leveled-up performance. He’s supported leaders in U.S. and allied governments, U.S. Navy SEAL teams, academia, commercial business, security and law enforcement, and the health industry to deliver decisive competitive advantage under the most challenging operational environments.

Dr. Simone Bhan Ahuja leading authority on innovation and Intrapreneurship and global keynote speaker. She is the founder of Blood Orange, a Minneapolis-based global innovation and strategy firm, a best-selling author (Jugaad Innovation, and Disrupt-It-Yourself), and a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, Simone is an innovation advisor and consultant to organizations including 3M, UnitedHealth Group, Procter & Gamble, Target Corp, Stanley Black & Decker, and the World Economic Forum and a practitioner of improvisational comedy who loves to bring the energy and fun of improv to her live and virtual sessions.

A political powerhouse with a reputation for building consensus where it was deemed impossible, The Honorable Stephanie Murphy is widely regarded as an impactful legislator who cuts through the partisan gridlock to create meaningful results for our nation. In 2017, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Florida’s 7th congressional district in a remarkable tenure that concluded in 2023. A leader among the moderate Democrats, during her three terms in the House, she was consistently named one of the most effective and bipartisan members of Congress — working across both sides of the aisle to address key issues ranging from trade to national security policy. Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed her to the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, and she co-led the Select Committee’s seventh hearing alongside Representative Jamie Raskin. With extensive public service and private sector experience under her belt, Murphy is a widely respected strategic advisor to government officials and senior business leaders alike.

Shaquem Griffin became the first one-handed player to be drafted and to play in the NFL. When he was just 4 years old, he had his left hand amputated due to a painful condition called amniotic band syndrome, which prevented his hand from developing normally. He has never used his lack of two hands as a reason to feel sorry for himself or to give up when he was faced with a challenge. It actually fueled his desire to prove skeptics and haters wrong, pursue his dream of playing football at the highest level and inspire millions along the way. Shaquem was born just minutes after his twin, Shaquill. At an early age, they made a pact to always stay together, to be inseparable. Both boys went on to become standout athletes at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg and college at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where Shaquem was Conference Defensive Player of the Year and helped lead UCF to an undefeated, national championship season. He even received a vote for the Heisman Trophy given to the most outstanding college football player in the country. After college, Shaquem and Shaquill were remarkably both drafted by the same NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks, where they played together for three memorable seasons (2018 - 2020). Shaquem's most memorable on-the-field highlight was sacking current NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers during the playoffs in 2020. He signed with the Miami Dolphins for the 2021 season and then retired in 2022 to pursue his "Plan A" of making a positive impact in the world full-time.

What do you stand for? And let’s be clear here. The question isn’t: What would you like to stand for? What do you actually stand for? What do you represent? Or to ask it more bluntly: when you die, what will people remember you for? For twenty years now, Brad Meltzer has written best-selling thriller novels. And non-fiction. And comics books. And starred and produced his own TV shows. Indeed, it is tough to find anyone being so successful in so many different mediums of the popular culture. But why does Brad Meltzer thrive in all these different professions? Yes, it’s because he puts out quality (President Bill Clinton was one of his earliest fans). And yes, it’s because he fills his books with incredible research (President George HW Bush recently told USA Today, “All of Brad’s books are a fascinating read. He is a master storyteller who keeps all of us on the edge of our seats.”) But still, of all the fiction authors out there, why did the HISTORY Channel decide to give Meltzer a TV show—and why do nearly two million viewers tune in for each show—making him one of America’s most accessible historians? Because people know EXACTLY what Brad Meltzer stands for. “I believe ordinary people change the world,” Meltzer says. And that is Brad Meltzer’s core belief. He doesn’t care where you went to school. Or how much money you make. That’s nonsense to him. Brad Meltzer believes in regular people and their ability to effect change in this world. And it is that core belief that runs through every one of his projects.

JOSHUA HARE is Chief Sciences Officer, Senior Associate Dean for Experimental and Cellular Therapeutics, Director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI), and Louis Lemberg Professor of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Hare is a practicing cardiologist with board certifications in cardiology and advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation. During his research career, he has pioneered the use of allogenic adult cell therapy for multiple disease areas. Under his leadership, and in partnership with many faculty across the University of Miami campus, ISCI developed cell-based therapy programs in cancer biology, cardiology, aging, neonatology, skin diseases, bone diseases, neurologic diseases, ophthalmology, and a program devoted to the ethics of stem cell therapy.

Amanda Brinkman makes the Energizer Bunny look lethargic. Fueled by fountain Diet Coke and a meticulous daily water intake, she’s a revolutionary brand marketer, a passionate speaker and a respectable water skier. She believes all brands can build loyalty by doing good, and she’s constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to share her “Do Well By Doing Good” mantra with audiences large and small. In 2015, Amanda was recruited to transform Deluxe Corp.’s 100-year-old, $2 billion brand. She spearheaded the “Small Business Revolution,” first showcasing 100 businesses across America, then going on to award $500,000 transformations to inspiring small towns. She produced and stars alongside Trading Spaces and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s Ty Pennington in the acclaimed “Small Business Revolution – Main Street” series, which chronicles the program’s impact on communities and countless lives.

Mark Esper has led a distinguished career as a visionary leader, innovator, reformer, and change agent with a proven record of accomplishment in a wide range of roles and organizations. He attributes his success to the importance he places on character and values, coupled with boundless energy and a can-do spirit that puts the organization and its people first, and treating everyone with dignity and respect. A graduate of some of the nation’s top schools, Esper has led military organizations as small as platoons and companies, and as large as the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense. His private sector experience includes service as a senior executive in a Fortune 100 company and as a leader in major trade associations that represent a range of businesses and industries. He has an intimate understanding of the Executive Branch, Congress, and American politics, and has built a broad network of relationships globally. Mark Esper will offer any audience an array of insights, ideas, forecasts, and strategies that can help them improve as individuals and teams.