One of the brightest minds in economics, Matthew Slaughter addresses the near-term challenges facing the economy with an eye on the future. He is a member of the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Economic Advisors and was a member on the White House Council of Economic Advisors. Approachable and enthusiastic, he makes practical sense of economic data and shares insights on opportunities, emerging markets, trade, investments, and policy – offering organizations the numbers they need to put the economic situation in the right perspective.

Everyone has heard a Jim Sonefeld song – even if they don’t know it. He is the drummer of one of the top-selling rock bands of all time, Hootie & the Blowfish, as well as an award-winning songwriter and solo artist. Throughout his prolific career, his music has reached every corner of the globe and captured the imaginations of people from every walk of life. Sonefeld shares inspirational, never-before-heard behind-the-scenes stories from his life and the rise of Hootie & the Blowfish to illustrate how anyone is capable of overcoming any obstacle to achieve their purpose in life.

In 1987, John O’Leary was a curious nine-year-old boy. Playing with fire and gasoline, John created a massive explosion in his home and was burned on 100% of his body. He was given 1% chance to live. This epic story of survival was first showcased in his parents’ book, Overwhelming Odds, in 2006. Originally printing 200 copies for friends and family, his parents have sold 60,000+ copies, most in back-of-room sales at John’s speaking events. It was this book that first invited John to embrace his miraculous recovery and share it with the world. Consistently described as “the best speaker we’ve ever had,” John receives nearly 100% of his engagements from referrals. His schedule is a testament to the power of his message and who he is as an individual. His emotional story-telling, unexpected humor and authenticity make each of his presentations truly transformational.

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.

Ken Burns is a PBS documentary director of The Civil War, Baseball, The West, Thomas Jefferson. He has been making documentary films for more than twenty years and the most notable among his work is the PBS series Baseball. Among critical acclaim, Baseball earned Mr. Burns an Emmy, the Clarion Award, and The Television Critics Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sports and Special Programming.

Ethan Zohn is a former professional soccer player, cancer survivor, winner of the hit reality television show Survivor Africa, co-founder of Grassroot Soccer and a two-time cancer survivor. As demonstrated by his charitable work, volunteerism, and community involvement, Ethan believes that a better and healthier world can be achieved through education, advocacy and inspiration.

In 2018, Joe Cunningham became the first Democrat to be elected to South Carolina's First Congressional District in over 40 years. The Charleston Post and Courier called his victory the "biggest upset in modern South Carolina history." During his two-year term in office, Cunningham was widely recognized for his “people-first” approach to legislating. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranked him the 4th most bipartisan member of Congress and endorsed him in his re-election effort. The bipartisan Lugar Center ranked him as the most bipartisan freshman in the House in 2019. Delivering on a campaign promise to put “people over politics,” he made constituent services a bedrock of his tenure in Congress and his Congressional office closed more cases than any other freshman House Democrat. Cunningham served on the Veterans Affairs and Natural Resources Committees where he passed two bills into law in his first term, including the Veterans Tele-hearing Modernization Act and the Great American Outdoors Act. In 2019, Joe delivered on another signature campaign promise when the House passed his bipartisan bill banning offshore drilling. Cunningham was unafraid to make legislative points in creative ways. In 2019, he blew an airhorn in a Natural Resources subcommittee hearing to highlight the dangers of seismic airgun blasting to sea life. In his farewell speech in December of 2020, he became the first known member in Congressional history to crack a beer on the House floor in a toast to bipartisanship and cooperation. The video of Cunningham's farewell speech has been viewed over 1 million times. Even in defeat, Cunningham still enjoyed significant crossover support in his district. He lost his reelection bid by only 1% of the vote in a district that Joe Biden lost by 6%.

Milt Lowder, Ph.D. is the Founder and CEO of Amplos, a performance psychology practice whose primary focus is to enhance and optimize people, teams, and organizations. Dr. Lowder, a 1994 graduate of Clemson University, completed his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Organizational Development from the University of Kentucky. Since 2005, he has also served as the Sport Psychologist for the Clemson University Athletic Department, where he works with student-athletes, teams, and coaches to improve their performance and help them be their best, on and off the field. He primarily works with Football, Men's Basketball, Men's Soccer, and Men's golf and has created a monthly Leadership Academy for all of the Head Coaches. Coach Swinney stated, “Milt has done an excellent job in performing his role for our team and has been an integral part of our success since 2009.”