An adventurer, record-setter, and boundary-breaker, Darcy Gaechter is best known as the first woman - and member of the first team - to kayak the Amazon River from source to sea. The journey required her crew to paddle over 4,000 miles across the widest part of South America, a voyage that took 148 days to complete. She is also the author of The Kayaker’s Guide to Ecuador and Amazon Woman, an adventure memoir detailing her Amazon River expedition and the life challenges she faced to get there – the rights of which have been purchased to turn her story into a movie. Gaechter inspires audiences with her personal journey of overcoming obstacles and making the impossible possible – sharing useful tactics to take on even the most daunting of challenges and demonstrating how a strong belief in yourself and in your goal are key ingredients to any success. "Such an inspiration! Darcy is an amazing storyteller. Her presentation was perfect. It was so refreshing to hear her candor account of the journey, yet she finds the perfect opportunity to inject motivation and inspiration. Wishing her to keep her spirit and love for adventure for decades to come!!!" - Association "Darcy was phenomenal! I had the opportunity to hear her entire keynote and she was very inspiring!" - Software Company

Described as “a trailblazer, and the most determined, tenacious, and motivated woman,” Preet Chandi holds the record of being the fastest woman to complete a solo unsupported ski expedition to the South Pole, as well as the distinction of being the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition on the continent. Driven by an unending desire to push her mental and physical boundaries, Preet is any Army officer, physiotherapist, Nordic skier, ultramarathon runner, and endurance athlete with an iron will that has led to her making history and breaking barriers in the world of adventuring.

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. "Joan Higginbotham was outstanding! She was confident and told her story with humility and grace. There were a lot of questions from the audience, which indicates that they loved her. I would not hesitate to recommend her to any group." - Insurance Company "Really interesting and motivational talk. Clearly an all-time leader. Loved how she described it from her perspective and then related it to what it means to all of us. It was the highlight of the day for me." - Software Company

In her 15-year career as a professional adventure racer, Robyn Benincasa has competed in close to 40 expedition-length events, biked through jungles in Borneo, climbed Himalayan giants in Nepal, trekked across lava fields in Fiji, rafted rapids in Chile, and racked up multiple world championship titles along the way. In her spare time, Robyn, is a full-time firefighter in San Diego, on the nation's first all-female crew, and has been revered as one of “California’s Fittest Women”.

Jessica Cox has famously eliminated the words “I can’t” from her vocabulary. Despite being born without arms due to a birth defect, she has never allowed that to be a limiting factor. While Jessica suffered from self-esteem issues and physical challenges, she managed to overcome and achieve by graduating from college, learning to swim, drive a car, surf, scuba dive, and fly an airplane, becoming a Tae Kwon-Do State Champion, and living independently using her feet in ways others who take their hands for granted can only imagine. Jessica holds the title of the first person without arms to get a black belt in ATA Martial Arts and the Guinness World Record for the first pilot to fly with her feet. Her keynote speech focuses on turning “impossible” into “accomplishment.” As a person who has never viewed herself as a victim of her condition, Jessica shares humorous stories of struggles and success living in a “two-handed” world. She provides critical insight on how best to approach a challenge, redefining the concept of innovative thinking. She helps people reconnect with their own inner strengths and aptitudes.

Most widely recognized for her service on September 11, Heather “Lucky” Penney was part of the first wave of women who to fly Air Force fighter jets. As the first female fighter pilot in her unit, she scrambled on 9/11 against Flight 93. Unarmed, had she and her flight lead been successful, they would have had to sacrifice their lives by ramming the airliner. Penney is combat-tested fighter pilot, flying on the opening night of Operation Iraqi Freedom and serving two combat tours. Today, she is a senior resident fellow for the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, where she conducts extensive research on cutting edge defense policy and technologies with a focus on the leveraging the critical advantage that only aerospace power affords.

Susan Ershler tours the world sharing with others her secrets for success, determination, and achieving seemingly impossible goals. Susan is the fourth American Woman to climb the Seven Summits and the twelfth American Woman to climb Mt. Everest. When she got to the top of Mount Everest on May 16, 2002, she and her husband Phil became the first couple in history to climb the Seven Summits. Susan illustrates how she utilized her experience as a sales leader as the foundation to her training for climbing mountains.

There is no better way to acquire advanced expertise on self-mastery, resilience, and stress management than to spend up to 5 months alone at sea on a 23-foot rowboat, thousands of miles from land and humanity, at the mercy of winds, waves and currents. Since 2005 Roz has become the world's foremost female ocean rower, having rowed - solo - across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.