With an unwavering commitment to public service, The Honorable Gina Ortiz Jones has continually pushed boundaries, shattered glass ceilings, and left an enduring impact in the realm of national security, politics, and beyond.  She has held several high-ranking titles throughout her career, including becoming the first woman of color and first out lesbian to serve as the under secretary of a military department when she was appointed by President Joe Biden as the 27th Under Secretary of the Air Force in July 2021. Unanimously confirmed by the Senate, the appointment made her the second-highest ranking civilian in the Department of the Air Force, which includes the Air Force and the Space Force. She is a name synonymous with trailblazing leadership and an unyielding commitment to creating positive change.

Colin Coggins and Garrett Brown are agents of change who are known for their surprising and entertaining approaches to purpose-driven leadership and igniting culture shifts that reposition organizations to scale growth and make a profound impact in their teams, and with their customers. At the foundation of Colin and Garrett’s philosophy is the idea that the most successful leaders and teams are the ones who are able to evolve transactional encounters into transformational experiences where connections are made, solutions are created, and value is felt. After decades of collective experience as sales professionals, leaders, and executives, Colin and Garrett’s paths crossed at enterprise software company Bitium, where they played key roles in growing the business from relative obscurity to a prominent acquisition by Google. They now serve as adjunct professors of entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, where they teach the hugely popular, first-of-its-kind class, “Sales Mindset for Entrepreneurs.”

The first African-American woman to hold the top policing job in Seattle, Washington, Carmen Best served with the Seattle Police Department for 28 years. In 2018, Best was promoted to Chief of Police, a job she called “a dream of a lifetime.” Best quickly began efforts to diversify the police force, which had long been less diverse than the city, recruiting more than 40 new officers of color. Chief Best speaks on diversity, inclusion, and leadership lessons-learned guiding a police department during times of crisis.

Regarded as the “CEO-Maker,” “DEI Professor,” and the “Cubicle to Corner Office Empress,” Dethra Giles is a workplace and career optimizer who advises organizations and individuals on how to chart their unique paths to success. She is a four-time TEDx speaker who has been named a “Top 100 HR Influencer” by Engagedly, and was selected by HR Gazette’s “HRchat” podcast as one of the “Top 22 Most Influential Figures in HR.” With clients including Kaiser Permanente, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), The Army Corp of Engineers, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Salvation Army, Giles shares a unique blend of advanced education and industry experience that has been described as “university-tested and industry-approved,” and can be implemented by organizations of any size, and across industries.

A decorated combat veteran, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jason O. Harris is revered for his distinguished track record leading his air crews on successful missions and instilling a culture of trust in which each person owned his or her role in keeping the team out of harm’s way. Lt. Col. Harris brings his unique battlefield experience to his talks. Using real-world examples, he empowers audiences to unleash their untapped potential and sheds light about the invaluable talent each person brings to an organization and how this talent can be harnessed to positively impact the organization’s greater mission. His experiences served as the launching point for “No Fail Trust™,” a methodology Lt. Col. Harris created to empower executives and employees to foster an environment of mutual trust, responsibility, and productivity that uplifts organizations as they set out to achieve their goals.

Carla Harris is Vice Chairman of Wealth Management and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley. She was Chair of the Morgan Stanley Foundation from 2005 to 2014, and sits on the boards of several community organizations. In August 2013, Carla was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council. She is a gospel recording artist and a popular public speaker who gives impactful career guidance to corporate audiences based on her book, “Expect to Win.” Carla joined Morgan Stanley in 1987 after completing an AB in economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

A senior leadership/board advisor, educator, executive coach, and bestselling author, David Nour is internationally recognized as the leading expert on applications of strategic relationships in profitable growth, sustained innovation, and lasting change. The author of eleven books, including bestsellers Relationship Economics® (Wiley), and Co-Create (St. Martin’s Press), as well as the forthcoming Curve Benders (Wiley, 2021), Nour serves as a trusted advisor to global clients and coaches corporate leaders. He is an adjunct professor at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and was named to the Global Gurus Top 30 Leadership Professionals and the Thinkers 50 Radar Class of 2021 lists. A Forbes Leadership contributor on the Future of Work, and an Inc. contributor on Relationship Economics, Nour’s unique insights have been featured in a variety of prominent publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fast Company, Huffington Post Business, Entrepreneur, and Knowledge@Wharton. He’s also the host of the popular Curve Benders podcast. Born in Iran, Nour immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager with $100, limited family ties and no fluency in English. He graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor’s degree in business management and went on to earn an Executive MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He resides in Atlanta, GA, with his family.

Crystal Washington, CSP works with organizations that want to leverage technology to increase profits and productivity! As a technology strategist and certified futurist, Crystal takes complex social media, app, and web topics, and makes them easy to understand and accessible for everyday people. Crystal’s clients comprise Fortune 500 companies including Google, Microsoft, and GE and as a sought-after keynote speaker, she has entertained and educated audiences around the globe. She has appeared in numerous publications including Entrepreneur, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Forbes and is regularly called on by major television networks as a tech expert. Crystal is the author of the books One Tech Action and The Social Media Why.

At 22 years old, Lauren Simmons shattered the glass ceiling and made history by being the youngest and only full-time female equity trader on Wall Street for Rosenblatt Securities. Affectionately called the “Wolfette of Wall Street,” Simmons was also the second African American woman in history to hold the prestigious title. Since Lauren’s departure from the trading floor, she is now a multifaceted entrepreneur, an author, personal finance expert, global motivational speaker, producer, and director. She was also named to Harper’s Bazaar’s “Woman Who Dare” 2019 list. Currently, Simmons is executive producing a biopic of her life story with AGC studio – starring Kiersey Clemons and scheduled to release in summer 2021. Additionally, Lauren is the host of Going Public a new financial tv series on Entrepreneur.com coming out spring 2021.

Vincent K. Brooks is a retired four-star general who was in command of all US Forces in Korea, where he concurrently commanded United Nations Command as well as the Republic of Korea. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he led the 4,000 cadets as the cadet brigade commander or “First Captain.” A history-maker, Brooks is the first African American to have been chosen for this paramount position. He is also the eighth African American in history to attain the military’s top rank—four-star general in the United States Army. Widely respected as a speaker and leader of cohesive, innovative organizations, within and beyond the military, his areas of expertise are: leadership in complex organizations, crisis leadership, and building cohesive trust-based teams, national security, policy, strategy, international relations, military operations, combating terrorism and countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as diversity and inclusion.

Stephanie is Owner & CEO of Asutra, where we're passionate about helping people take care of themselves on purpose so they can get the most out of life – what we call active self-care. Asutra offers magnesium-powered remedies for pain relief, sleep and mood, so you can care for yourself well. At Asutra, we’re proud to provide good jobs with career pathways at a living wage with benefits. Asutra is women-owned and women-led; 60% of our team are people of color; and 100% of our staff would recommend Asutra as a great place to work. Stephanie is an enthusiastic board member of Hope Chicago, which sends students and their parents to college debt-free; Very Asian Foundation, which amplifies AANHPI stories; and Naturally Chicago, which creates an ecosystem for natural products companies to thrive. Stephanie was honored to be named to Inc.’s Female Founders 200 list in 2023 and Beacon Award Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021. In her spare time, she’s an avid urban gardener who grows everything from tomatoes to lilacs.

Clara is the Founder and Executive Chair of Hearsay Corporation, which provides software to help companies securely manage and measure their presence across Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. In 2007, Clara created the first business application on Facebook with her Faceconnector application, which integrates Facebook and Salesforce CRM.