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 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.

Passionate about making social science relatable to real-time political events, Victoria DeFrancesco Soto is an analyst, academic, and social scientist with expertise in campaigns and elections, immigration, Latinos, women, racial and ethnic minority politics, and political psychology. A contributor to MSNBC and Telemundo, she is currently Dean of the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas – working with university leadership to cultivate and expand diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has previously provided on-air analysis for CNN, Fox, PBS, Univision, NPR and has appeared on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. Applying high-quality social science research to on-the-ground political realities, she provides a unique, outside-the-Beltway view to today’s real-world issues. Using her nuanced understanding of key electorates – including women, Latino, and youth demographics – she thoughtfully unpacks the factors shaping the political landscape and expertly analyzes the state of the nation’s politics & elections.

Tim Alberta is the former chief political correspondent for POLITICO Magazine, where he covered the Donald Trump presidency, Capitol Hill, the ideological warfare between and within the two political parties, demographic change in America, the evolving role of money in elections, and what lies ahead for the current administration. He is now a staff writer for The Atlantic and the author of the best-selling book, American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Donald Trump, as well as The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in the Age of Extremism.

Hailed as "Chief Troublemaker" by some of the world's largest corporations, Dustin Garis is a master of blending innovation and marketing together. His disruptive ideas have been put into play with companies all across the globe, including P&G, Coca-Cola, and many others. With his unique background and larger-than-life personality, Garis helps businesses across industries to deliver new and exciting products and services to consumers.

Ron Fournier is an award-winning and nationally-acclaimed political columnist formerly of National Journal and The Atlantic. He is a 20-year veteran of the Associated Press who served as their Washington bureau chief. Called “a consistent news-breaker” and “one of the savviest political journalists of his generation,” he is also the author of the best-selling book Applebee's America: How Successful Political, Business, and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community. A familiar voice around the Beltway and widely respected by his peers, he is known for his hard-hitting reporting on Congress, the White House, and actions of both major parties. He is currently President at Truscott Rossman.

Few individuals embody the spirit of unwavering dedication and service as Gregory Archbold. A U.S. Army veteran who served for more than three decades, Archbold possesses an extensive background in physical security, internal investigations, emergency and crisis management, and servant leadership. In his own words, impactful leadership can transcend generations and organizations. Having led diverse groups in various high-ranking positions throughout his military career, Archbold champions purpose-driven leadership principles that bring out the best in teams and individuals.

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."

Currently, David has taken over as Beijing Bureau Chief for The Economist. David was the Washington bureau chief and "Lexington" columnist of The Economist from 2012 to 2018. Before that he was UK political editor and "Bagehot" columnist of The Economist and before that he was EU correspondent and "Charlemagne" columnist of The Economist. No other journalist at the magazine has written all three of those columns. The postings have given David a front-row seat as economic woes and populist political forces have upended the global world order that some had thought was settled. Over the years David has interviewed heads of state, heads of government, cabinet secretaries, and countless elected politicians and newsmakers, and reported from more than 50 countries.

Captain Larry Brudnicki presentation style is fast paced and interesting, striking a perfect balance between humor and real-life drama, as he tells a true story of leadership, teamwork, courage and risk management strategies. He is the real-life Captain of the Coast Guard ship that performed two dramatic rescues during the worst storm in more than 100 years, which became known as "The Perfect Storm" and inspired the book that was on The New York Times best-seller list and the blockbuster movie.

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.

Scott Deming takes his twenty years of business ownership, board positions, working with small, independently owned companies as well as multi-national corporations and employee relationship expertise. Scott Deming speaks for and trains companies across the globe – big and small, in just about every industry. From CEOs to business owners to managers to sales people to customer service reps, Scott Deming’s programs have transformed individuals and organizations alike, showing them the real process for customer evangelism and lasting customer loyalty.