Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi has three degrees, 8 U.S. patents, four E.U. patents and has hosted shows on the Science Channel and on Discovery. But more impressive is his life story. Oluseyi grew up in the roughest neighborhoods of America, learned to survive on the street, and still taught himself Einstein’s theory of relativity from an old set of encyclopedias. At every turn he was presented with a compelling option to quit and yet he persevered. Today, he is a NASA astrophysicist, a global educator, and the author of the highly-anticipated memoir A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Streets to the Stars where he recounts his journey from the streets to the stars. Dr. Oluseyi is exclusively represented by Leading Authorities. “Hakeem was phenomenal!! He was engaging, interesting, insightful, and HILARIOUS!! Our members really enjoyed hearing him speak. Many stood in line to get a selfie with him before he left for the airport.” - Association “Hakeem Oluseyi was a big hit with our housers! He received a standing ovation at the conclusion of his address, the crowd bought out the books, and the book signing line to meet him was the longest I’ve ever seen at one of our events. Hakeem connected with each person in that line, jumped up and greeted them warmly, engaged personally, and took photos. It was amazing to be a part of.“ - Nonprofit

Katie Ledecky is a 14-time Olympic Medalist and 21-time World Championship Gold Medalist, the most for any female swimmer. She has broken 17 World Records and 38 American Records in her career. Katie was the most decorated female athlete at both Tokyo and Rio Games and had the most decorated single Olympics performance ever by a U.S. female athlete in Rio. Katie’s success has earned her USA Swimming’s Golden Goggles Award as Female Swimmer of the Year an unprecedented eight times. A recent graduate of Stanford University, Katie is passionate about the importance of education, especially STEM and leadership programs for girls. Katie went home with more hardware at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - two gold medals and two silver medals, making her the most decorated female swimmer in individual events of all time. She also made history by winning gold at the first ever 1500m women’s event. "Katie Ledecky ROCKED! She was poised and authentic, relating her personal story to our business and competitive state. With more than 1,500 of our expanded team engaged in the virtual chat, Katie drew upon relevant examples and translated them in a meaningful way that resonated with our colleagues seeking to achieve their broader goals. She really connected while tackling personal questions from our virtual audience. I can’t say enough good things about Katie and how smooth and genuine her session was delivered.” - Telecommunications Company

Erik Weihenmayer is a world-class adventurer, the first blind man to summit Mount Everest, and one of only 150 mountaineers to climb the Seven Summits. His latest and most demanding adventure is kayaking the 277 miles of the Grand Canyon. One of the most exciting and well-known athletes in the world, he never let his lack of vision interfere with his quality of life. Weihenmayer’s feats have earned him incredible press coverage and dozens of awards. He is also the author of two books and addresses leadership, teamwork, overcoming adversity, motivation, and inspiration. “Erik Weihenmayer was phenomenal! He left our audience speechless, and in tears. We can’t stop talking about him – really amazing. Made me want to quit my job and go see the world!” -Investment Company “Erik Weihenmayer is one of those unique human beings who has the ability to touch everyone personally and inspire all of us to tap the power which lies within. He is a speaker who can transform an event into an unforgettable experience.” - Banking Company

One of the true legends of baseball, "Iron Man" Cal Ripken, Jr. broke several professional records during his 21 seasons, but none is as sacred as his consecutive-games-played record. Shattering Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,131 games by more than 500, Ripken displayed perseverance, endurance, and an everyday work ethic that endeared him to fans, transformed him into a national icon, and some argue, even saved baseball at its darkest moment. An inspirational speaker, philanthropist, businessman, and best-selling author, Cal Ripken, Jr. is the personification of leadership, commitment, and excellence. In warm and witty presentations filled with stories from his illustrious career, he shares how his keys to success apply to both the business world as well as the baseball field. "Loved the unique perspective his speech offered. Gives you a great perspective on how others succeeded and gives you the opportunity to relate it to your own motivations." - Agribusiness "He was awesome and the client was absolutely thrilled. Cal is a true pro and I continue to pitch him often to our other clients. Hopefully we land something else soon with him as well." - Sports Media Company

Widely respected as an innovator in unlocking high performance in teams and individuals, Dr. Wendy Borlabi possesses expert-level understanding of the mental aspects of peak performance and works alongside the world’s top athletes to help them reframe their mindsets to reach their full potential. She is the sport psychology consultant for the Chicago Bulls where her mindset-centered philosophy to mastering your field is embedded in the team’s success and prevalent at all levels of the organization and its culture. A leading sports psychologists and performance coach, Dr. Borlabi is also an independent consultant with the NBA and is the founder of performance psychology firm Borlabi Consulting, through which she advises organizations in any industry on teamwork, elevating mental toughness, and inspiring unwavering confidence in their teams. Previously, she served as senior sports psychologist for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), preparing the country’s top athletes for dominant performances at two Winter Olympics and one Summer Olympics. “Our event on Mental Toughness and Mental Health with Dr. Wendy Borlabi was powerful, eye-opening, and fantastic all around. We learned so much, and there were many valuable take-aways that we hold with us today. Dr. B is dynamic, engaging, and gifted in her field” - Consulting Company "Wendy gave a fantastic talk to our group. We had over 1,500 employees join live and could tell through the chat feed that the audience was engaged and loving her stories and wisdom. The post-show survey results have been very favorable. It was a pleasure having her speak at this event!” - Insurance Company

Tracy Walder shares her incredible true story of a young woman who went straight from her college sorority to the CIA where, as a covert operative for CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, she assumed aliases, thwarted terrorist attacks, and debriefed terrorists at black sites. After the CIA, she went on to become one of the few women to work both at the CIA and FBI, serving as a Special Agent at the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office and specializing in Chinese counterintelligence operations. Walder details her riveting journey with audiences, offering her unique perspective of a woman in the male-dominated field of special operations. A TED speaker, Walder expertly discusses a range of topics including national security, foreign policy, education, and the role of women in law enforcement and intelligence and shares her impactful message: don't try to change who you are to fit what you think the job wants you to be. "Tracy had a full house and did an amazing job! When I was leaving the hall after the session, one of our attendees told me he has followed her throughout her career and was grateful to see her in person. I really enjoyed her!" - Professional Organizations Company

Scott Mann is a master storyteller and former Green Beret who inspires leaders to build trust, manage change, and foster psychological safety through the power of storytelling. After confronting his own struggles of war, Scott discovered storytelling as a path to healing and human connection. Now, he talks to leaders about how they can leverage storytelling to create trust in an increasingly fast-paced world. Drawing on high-stakes leadership experiences, Mann advises organizations of all kinds — from Fortune 100 corporations (including Capital One, Walmart, Raymond James, and Fannie Mae) to local small businesses — on how to mobilize their teams, forge deeper connections with their people, and gain a more complete understanding of the opportunities that exist to create high-trust, high-performance cultures. “I don’t think we could have picked a better person to close out this year’s convention. Scott has a fresh and approachable perspective on leadership that resonated with everyone in the room — not to mention, he almost had the audience in tears. Our Vice President of Government Affairs told me that he thought Scott was the best keynote speaker he has ever seen.” - Real Estate Company "Scott was one of the best speakers we have had in several years! Everyone raved about how good he was. In fact, many of the panels and speakers that came after him referenced take aways they had gotten from his presentation. He really pulled on the heart strings too! Lots of rapid blinking holding back tears… He gets a 5 star ++++ rating. I came home and bought his book!" - Storage Company

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.

Mick Ebeling is an American film, television and commercial executive producer as well as an author, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was named as on one of the Top 50 Most Creative People of 2014, won the SXSW Innovation Award twice in a row (2014 and 2015), and was awarded the 2014 Muhammed Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award. He is the CEO of Not Impossible, an organization that develops creative technology solutions to address real-world problems.

Lisa Jaster is one of only three women to graduate from the first integrated United States Army Ranger program, which is one of the most difficult combat training courses in the world, and she was the first female Army Reserve officer to become Ranger qualified. Lisa continues to demonstrate that barriers are meant to be broken and exemplifies how perseverance and hard work are absolutely essential to achieving your goals. Filled with humorous stories and moving anecdotes, her talks leave audiences inspired to push past adversity no matter the cost and better their lives.

Nikkia Reveillac is a trailblazing executive insights and innovation leader, business consultant, and speaker. She has overcome significant obstacles throughout her career to deliver exceptional results at some of the world’s most influential tech, entertainment, and consumer packaged goods companies. She draws on her years of experience building global, industry-leading teams to leave audiences with insightful ways to instill people-first workplace cultures. Reveillac was instrumental in helping Netflix define its first-ever brand promise, created a safer organizational culture at Twitter during the one of the most turbulent times in the company's history, and helped develop innovative oral care solutions for consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa at Colgate. Today, she advises businesses of all sizes to leverage research, data, and insights for disruptive innovation and brand building. "Not only is Nikkia a wonderful and accomplished human, in just a couple of conversations she changed my entire thought process about digital marketing to help me anchor it within a stronger strategic foundation. She's someone to keep close who can help your company and strengthen your leadership." - IT Company

With a career dedicated to addressing inequities in education and helping young women of all backgrounds succeed, Dr. Tarika Barrett is at the forefront of expanding the pipeline of women entering tech and removing the obstacles that stand in the way of them reaching their full potential. As the CEO of Girls Who Code, an international non-profit organization disrupting the tech industry and transforming perceptions of what a programmer can look like, she spearheads initiatives aimed at closing the gender gap in technology by inspiring, educating, and equipping young women with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. “We have had such an overwhelming amount of inspiring messages after yesterday’s session. Tarika’s message and delivery touched the hearts of many people, and what I love most is that they feel compelled to act and drive change! Truly amazing.” - Software Company “Wow. Such an inspiring discussion. Incredibly thought provoking and moving. Tremendous job. Blown away by the preparation and execution. So well done.” - Software Company