Mona Patel is a dynamic, engaging entrepreneur with 17 years experience convincing leaders at some of the world’s biggest brands to understand, value, and optimize their customers’ experiences. She is the author of the bestseller, Reframe: Shift the Way You Work, Innovate, and Think, which inspires others and offers an actionable roadmap to innovation.

Sophie Hackford is a futurist, business builder, and speaker, synthesizing explosive and interconnected technology and science breakthroughs from around the world. From satellite swarms to AI demonstrating intuition, we are becoming entangled with machines and will be surprised by the consequences.

Sam Rad combines the mindsets of an anthropologist and technologist, bringing her “radical next” perspectives on what’s in store for the future. With the charisma of a rockstar, curiosity of an anthropologist, creativity of an entrepreneur, and calm confidence of an ex-professional skydiver, Sam effortlessly guides organizations and individuals to thrive in times of radical and accelerating change. Through her signature candid and clever delivery, Sam distills complex topics while leading the audience on a compelling, informative, and approachable journey of educational storytelling.

Kathleen Parker, the most widely syndicated columnist in the country, writes for The Washington Post twice-weekly on politics and culture. She is also a consulting faculty member at the Buckley School of Public Speaking and a regular guest on Sunday news shows. A columnist since 1987, Parker has worked for five newspapers, from Florida to California, and has written for several magazines. She also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary and was named one of the nation’s “Top Five Columnists” by The Week magazine. Parker addresses politics, culture, and contemporary issues.

Haiyan Wang is an expert on global business strategy, the managing partner of China India Institute, and the author of Getting China and India Right and the Quest for Global Dominance. Noted the world over for her vast expertise, she was among the first Chinese to study international business after China opened its doors to the outside world. She shares insights on the biggest global trends affecting business and how organizations can leverage the market and the resource opportunities presented by the China and India phenomenon to achieve global dominance within their industries.

Combat veteran Michelle “MACE” Curran led an impressive career as an F-16 fighter pilot during her 13 years in the United States Air Force. From 2019-2021, she flew as the only female pilot for the Air Force Thunderbirds and performed for millions across the country and internationally. Flying under the callsign “MACE,” she was the second woman ever to fly in the lead solo position for the Thunderbirds since the team’s founding in 1953. Before joining the Thunderbirds, Curran completed high-impact combat missions across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, where the challenges were tough, but the rewards were greater. Always a thrill seeker at heart, she has a passion for pushing her limits and changing lives.

With more questions than answers in today’s economic landscape, Dana Peterson, chief economist for the Conference Board, has established herself as a visionary, and the go to expert providing insightful analysis and predictions to corporations, associations, and government organizations looking for clarity and foresight into how economic drivers might impact their businesses in the short- and long-term. With over a decade of experience in the field, she serves as the globally recognized think tank’s public face and primary spokesperson on all things related to the economy.

As a motivational keynote speaker, author, and entrepreneur, Laura Gassner Otting helps innovators, idealists, and iconoclasts get “unstuck”, increase confidence, and achieve extraordinary results. Laura inspires change agents, entrepreneurs, investors, leaders, and donors to push past the doubt and indecision that keeps great ideas in limbo. She delivers strategic thinking, well-honed wisdom, and catalytic perspective informed by decades of navigating change across the start-up, non-profit, political, and philanthropic landscapes. Laura dares listeners to find their voice, and generate the confidence needed to tackle larger-than-life challenges, and ultimately leads them to seek new ways of leading, managing, and mentoring others. Excited by the audacity of The Big Idea and the larger-than-life goal you just can’t seem to shake, she's an instigator, a motivator, and a provocateur, and she’s never met a revolution she didn’t like.

A leader and confidence creator who is driving change in the workplace and creating more equitable and inclusive workplaces for all, Meggie Palmer is on a mission to help organizations in every industry recruit, retain, and develop top talent from diverse backgrounds through PepTalkHer, the consultancy she founded and leads as CEO. What began as a side hustle for Palmer has evolved into a thriving global business and movement with a strong community of 60,000 aspirational professionals from all walks of life who are breaking glass ceilings and leading organizations into the future.

We all want more wellbeing and less stress in our personal and professional lives. Many organizations allocate a great deal of resources to wellbeing programs, stress prevention plans and the development of resilient skillsets. But, despite all this effort, engagement and productivity stay low, relationships hinder progress, customer service suffers, innovation stalls, and chronic stress and burnout are becoming more and more common. So, what is going on? Is the global epidemic of stress a sign of our times? Is it a product of 21st-century living? Or have our current approaches passed their sell-by date? Dorothy Martin is an expert in national policy in areas of workplace health and wellbeing as well as mental health. She has consulted with organizations such as the NHS, John Lewis & Partners, M&C Saatchi, Dorchester Hotel, Regent’s University London and many more, and has received special recognition from the Mayor of London for her work on organizational wellbeing. She is uniquely placed not only to answer these questions, but more importantly to help people understand how to unlock wellbeing and turn stress into success to bring about the results they really want. Dorothy doesn’t teach techniques or strategies. She will not add to your ‘to-do’ list. She won’t even ask you to make any changes at work or in life. She invites you to look in a completely different direction – one that is completely overlooked and often missing in our current conversation about stress, mental health and wellbeing. She asks important questions such as: where do stress and wellbeing really come from? She blends research and neuroscience with heart-warming stories to explain the mechanics of the human mind, challenging our beliefs and deeply ingrained ways of thinking. Most importantly, she makes it easy to use this knowledge to transform chronic stress into a doorway of opportunity to more wellbeing, productivity and extraordinary success. A dynamic, passionate, and impactful speak

Molly Bloom is an inspirational keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and bestselling author of Molly’s Game. She is best known for her memoir, Molly’s Game, which was adapted into an award-winning film of the same name by Aaron Sorkin. Bloom’s memoir chronicles her journey from college student to LA waitress to building and operating the largest and most notorious private poker game in the world. Her games featured hundreds of millions of dollars and players like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, A-Rod, and Ben Affleck. Bloom began her career as a world-class skier. While training as a pre-teen she was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and had to undergo surgery that the doctors said would end her athletic career. A year later, fully recovered, she was back on the slopes. She later joined the U.S. Ski Team and at 21 years old was ranked No. 3 in North America in moguls, but her Olympic dreams would go unrealized as she left the team to pursue other projects. This led her to what she thought would be a year sabbatical in LA. Bloom was finishing her degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado – Boulder, and was in the process of applying to top tier Law Schools, when her assistant job turned her into an accidental entrepreneur, running one of the most exclusive, high-stakes underground poker games in the world, pulling in as much as $4 million per year. What happened next is where her story truly begins. The film Molly’s Game, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, stars Jessica Chastain (as Molly), Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Brian d’Arcy James, and Chris O’Dowd. Bloom has appeared on numerous shows and in media outlets such as Ellen, Vice, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, Vulture, and has been asked to speak at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women, for companies like Blackrock Financial, SiriusXM Radio, and will deliver the 2018 commencement speech at Colorado State University. Bloom is now focused on building WeWork for female entrepreneurs. For years

Stephanie is Owner & CEO of Asutra, where we're passionate about helping people take care of themselves on purpose so they can get the most out of life – what we call active self-care. Asutra offers magnesium-powered remedies for pain relief, sleep and mood, so you can care for yourself well. At Asutra, we’re proud to provide good jobs with career pathways at a living wage with benefits. Asutra is women-owned and women-led; 60% of our team are people of color; and 100% of our staff would recommend Asutra as a great place to work. Stephanie is an enthusiastic board member of Hope Chicago, which sends students and their parents to college debt-free; Very Asian Foundation, which amplifies AANHPI stories; and Naturally Chicago, which creates an ecosystem for natural products companies to thrive. Stephanie was honored to be named to Inc.’s Female Founders 200 list in 2023 and Beacon Award Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021. In her spare time, she’s an avid urban gardener who grows everything from tomatoes to lilacs.