Paul Ryan served ten terms in the U.S. House of Representative and as Speaker of the House from 2015 to 2019. Known for his meteoric rise in politics and often praised for his seriousness and honesty, Ryan is a committed conservative and public servant who has spent his life advocating for real solutions that expand opportunity for Americans. Before serving as Speaker of the House, he was Chair of the House Budget Committee, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and a U.S. Vice Presidential candidate. He is exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau.

Doug Holtz-Eakin has a distinguished record as an academic, policy adviser, and strategist. Currently he is the President of the American Action Forum. Since 2001, he has served in a variety of important policy positions including as Chief Economist of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. He also served as the 6th Director of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office and offers audiences a complete, 360-degree view of the economy.

Peter Morici is an economist and professor of business at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business. A three-time winner of the MarketWatch Top Forecaster Award, his track record has made him a go-to source. He is the author of 18 books, is widely published in leading journals, and has been featured on myriad news programs. Morici is also the former director of economics at the U.S. International Trade Commission. He addresses the U.S. and global economies, economic policy, macroeconomics, business strategy, trade, regulatory issues, and industrial policy.

Dr. Michael S. Piwowar served as a Commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from August 15, 2013 to July 6, 2018. Previously, Dr. Piwowar was the Republican chief economist for the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where he was the lead Republican economist on the four SEC-related titles of the Dodd-Frank Act and the JOBS Act. He also worked on a number of important SEC-related oversight issues under the jurisdiction of the Committee, such as securities, over-the-counter derivatives, investor protection, market structure, and capital formation. During the financial crisis and its immediate aftermath, Dr. Piwowar served in a one-year fixed-term position at the White House as a senior economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama Administrations. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Dr. Piwowar is an economic outlook and financial policy keynote speaker, addressing fiscal trends, investments, and regulation.

A mission-driven innovator and entrepreneur, Seth Goldman is the founder of Eat the Change, a planet-friendly snack company and platform to inform and empower consumers to make dietary choices aligned with their concerns around climate and health. The first business launched under the Eat the Change umbrella was PLNT Burger, which is a plant-based quick-serve restaurant that offers delicious burgers, sandwiches, fries, and soft-serve. Goldman also serves as chair of the board of Beyond Meat, a publicly traded California-based enterprise on the cutting edge of plant-based protein.

Former Marine Platoon Commander Jake Harriman is the founder and former CEO of Nuru International, a U.S.-based social venture that empowers poor individuals in remote, rural areas to end extreme poverty in their communities. Inspired to act by the poverty and tragedy he witnessed during four operational deployments throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, Bronze Star winner Harriman retired from active duty and enrolled at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business before founding Nuru in 2008 and then living in 3rd world countries to put systems and models in place that save innocent families in war torn regions by teaching and building structure for leadership, agriculture, education, and survival. Harriman has now turned his attention to helping protect the American Democratic experiment. In 2020, he founded More Perfect Union to disrupt and reform the current political system, heal our divided nation, and give the government back to the American people.

A seasoned leader and gifted entrepreneur, Nate Mook knows what it takes to turn words into action and ideas into impact. For five years, Mook was the CEO of World Central Kitchen, working alongside world-renowned activist and humanitarian Chef José Andrés on the frontlines to ensure people in disaster zones have access to fresh meals and building food resilient systems with locally led solutions. Widely recognized for his expertise in technology, filmmaking, and building nonprofit organizations, Mook brings a Swiss Army knife approach to crafting powerful stories that bring people together and drive change in the world.

Sandra Taylor is CEO of Sustainable Business International LLC, a consulting business that assists clients at various stages of environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility in the food and beverage sectors. Previously Sandra was a senior executive with Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle, where she led global responsibility and sustainability in coffee and cocoa supply chains. She is the author of The Business of Sustainable Wine, published in July 2017. Sandra received her BA from Colorado Women’s college, JD from Boston University School of Law and MBA program from the Bordeaux School of Management/Kedge Business School in France.

Ambassador Michael Froman is the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, dedicated to elevating Americans’ participation in matters related to trade and foreign policy decisions. He formerly served as the 17th United States Trade Representative, sworn in under President Obama in 2013. In this capacity, he served in the Cabinet as President Obama’s principal advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on international trade and investment issues. He also led the Office of the United States Trade Representative in its work to open global markets for U.S. goods and services, enforcing America’s rights in the global trading system and fostering development through trade.

Senator Trent Lott, the former U.S. Senator (R-MS) and Senate majority leader, was a formidable presence in the halls of the U.S. Capitol for 34 years – 16 years in the House and 18 years in the Senate. He helped produce the historic 1997 budget that balanced the federal books for the first time in nearly 30 years and spearheaded legislation on health care, social security, global trade, and tax policy. Lott has an unparalleled legislative legacy, and he is the author of Herding Cats: A Life in Politics. He addresses politics, leadership, transportation, energy, defense, taxes, and security.

Brian D. Quintenz was nominated by both Presidents Obama and Trump to serve as a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in August of 2017 and served four years in his role at the agency until stepping down in August of 2021. During his time at the CFTC, Mr. Quintenz advocated for narrowly tailored, risk-focused regulation and was a champion of innovation, specifically relating to crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi). He led agency’s Technology Advisory Committee, which hosted the most comprehensive set of public crypto-related policy discussions and briefings of any federal financial regulator. During his service, the first U.S. regulated Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts listed on derivatives exchanges, and DeFi expanded rapidly. Mr. Quintenz also contributed consequential ideological perspectives to regulatory debates through dozens of domestic and international keynote speeches, conference panel discussions, and meetings with regulatory counterparts. Additionally, he successfully negotiated critical policy provisions relating to swap dealer capital regulation, the cross-border application of swap dealing rules, position limits on new commodity futures contracts, and automated trading activity. In partnership with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, Mr. Quintenz spearheaded a CFTC-SEC harmonization effort which achieved multiple successes in data reporting and security-based swaps margining and capital requirements. Prior to his appointment to the CFTC, Mr. Quintenz founded and served as the Managing Principal and Chief Investment Officer of Saeculum Capital Management, a registered Commodity Pool Operator that specialized in technical analysis investment strategies.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, John Harwood is a widely respected expert in presidential politics and an admired voice in American homes renowned for his compelling explorations into headline-grabbing events in Washington, as well as his must-see interviews with some of the most influential leaders shaping the future of our nation. A household name on screen and in print for several decades, Harwood has served as White House correspondent for CNN and chief Washington correspondent for CNBC, and has offered political analysis for The New York Times, NBC, MSNBC, NPR, and PBS. Harwood has his finger on the pulse of the latest in the White House and on Capitol Hill, offering an insightful and nonpartisan look at today’s political landscape. Having covered each of the last ten presidential elections, he breaks down the Washington political scene as a whole, drawing on decades of journalistic experience to provide hard-hitting analysis of the current state of Beltway politics and how factors such as elections, current events, and congressional culture will impact the current presidential administration as well as the American public.