A decorated veteran of the sea, air, land, and outer space, Captain Chris Cassidy is among the leaders of an exclusive and distinguished group of accomplished military astronauts who have made an impact on and beyond this world. Recognized for his leadership and achievements as a United States Navy SEAL and a NASA astronaut, CAPT Cassidy’s various military deployments and spaceflight missions provided the catalysts for an action-packed career where he made the most of every opportunity presented to him, even in challenging and high-stakes environments.

Mr. E. William (Bill) Priestap is a recognized thought leader in national security, with a particular expertise in the growing threats posed by certain foreign nations, especially Russia and China. After twenty-one years, he concluded his FBI career in April 2019. For the last three years, he was responsible for all aspects of the FBI’s counterintelligence mission as Assistant Director, including the development and implementation of the agency’s global strategy to counter foreign nations’ intelligence efforts. Under his leadership, the division also conducted the Hillary Clinton email and Russia election influence investigations. Priestap provides audiences an in-depth overview of the current threats posed by nation-states today. His presentations also include a description of the gravity and complexity of these intelligence and counterintelligence threats as well as an easy-to-understand explanation about why every American should be concerned about them.

Most widely recognized for her service on September 11, Heather “Lucky” Penney is a renowned speaker on topics ranging from personal courage; decision-making under stress; leadership; organizational transformation; inclusivity; high performance teams; national defense issues; and aviation. She grew up around aviation and warbirds, but women couldn’t be fighter pilots when she went to college; congressional statute excluded women from combat. Pursuing her love of aviation, she stood up the first collegiate team to race in the Air Race Classic at Purdue University, where she earned her B.A. and M.A. She was in graduate school when she learned that Congress had opened combat aviation to women.