Maria Konnikova is a Russian-American writer, psychologist, and poker player. She is author of two New York Times best-selling books, “Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes” and “The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It… Every Time”. Konnikova has a B.A. in psychology and creative writing from Harvard University and a Ph.D in psychology from Columbia University. Upon graduating... read full bio
Tarell Alvin McCraney is an American actor and playwright from Liberty City, Florida. He has been the chair of playwriting at the Yale School of Drama and is a member of Teo Castellanos/D Projects Theater Company in Miami and has been the RSC/Warwick International Playwright in Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company. McCraney has co-written the Academy Award award-winning film... read full bio
Yusef Salaam was wrongfully convicted along with four other teens for a crime they didn’t commit. They became known as the Central Park Five and at the time, Salaam was only 15 years old when his life was changed forever. The Central Park Five spent between seven and 13 years of their lives behind bars before their sentences were overturned.... read full bio
Brendan Kane is a best-selling author, business and innovation strategist who empowers brands to scale, expand, and accelerate their business influence. Over the years Kane has worked with Fortune 500 corporations, brands, and celebrities such as Paramount, Taylor Swift, Yahoo!, MTV, Sony, Vice, CMT, Rihanna, Lionsgate, NHL, and many more. Kane is also author of “One Million Followers”, which tells... read full bio
Jessica Bruder is an American journalist who writes about subcultures and social issues and has taught narrative writing at Columbia Journalism School. She graduated from Amherst College and received a master’s in journalism from Columbia University. Bruder has contributed to outlets such as, WIRED, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and more.... read full bio
Radha Agrawal is co-founder of THINX and co-founder, CEO and Chief Community Architect of Daybreaker. Daybreaker is an early morning dance and wellness movement that is currently in 25 cities and is held in over a dozen college campuses around the world. THINX is an underwear company that supports women during their menstruation and it has now grown into a... read full bio
Nina Tandon is a biotech specialist. She is the CEO and co-founder of EpiBone, a “grow your own bone,” bone reconstruction company. Utilizing patient stem cells, EpiBone is able to reconstruct and repair bone-related injury. Apart from her work with EpiBone, Tandon is a professor of Electrical Engineering at the Cooper Union and an electrical and biomedical engineer at Columbia... read full bio
Jeff Kaplan is founder of Cloud Computing Showplace and managing director of THINKstrategies, Inc. He founded THINKstrategies to focus on the new on-demand services such as Cloud Computer, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Managed Services on IT, Big Data, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Kaplan graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Urban Planning and went on to earn his... read full bio
David Robertson is an innovation and product management expert. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management. Robertson is well-known for his study of the LEGO Group. He was the LEGO Professor of Innovation and Technology Management at the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland. Robertson authored the award-winning Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the... read full bio
Kimberly Bryant is an American electrical engineer who has founded Black Girls Code, which is a training course that teaches basic programming to underrepresented black girls in technology careers. Since the founding of Black Girls Code, Bryant has been featured in Business Insider as one of the ’25 Most Influential African-Americans In Technology’. Bryant graduated from Vanderbilt University with a... read full bio
Ross Smith is an author, thought-leader, innovator, and Director of Test at Microsoft. He has been working in the technology industry for over 20 years and has worked on everything from handheld devices, PC’s to mainframe systems. He started his career with Microsoft in Product Support and has since gone on to be a Test Lead, Test Manager, and Test... read full bio
Michael Nelson is the former IBM Director of Internet Technology and White House IT Advisor, Cloud Computing Expert, and Georgetown Technology Professor. At Georgetown, Nelson has researched and taught courses on “The Future of the Internet” and technology trends, consulting, and speaking on Internet technology and policy. While working at IBM, Nelson helped implement IBM’s Next Generation Internet strategy. He... read full bio
Dr. Hugh Thompson is a computer security expert who has been an Adjunct Professor in the Computer Science Department at Columbia University and the Chief Technology Officer of Symantec. He has also been the Program Chairman of RSA Conference and is co-author of the book “The Plateau Effect”. Thompson is also well known for his role in the HBO documentary... read full bio
Michael Hugos is the Co-founder of SCM Globe and the CIO at Large and Agility Mentor at Center for Systems Innovation. Hugos earned his B.S. in Urban Planning and Design at the University of Cincinnati and went on to earn his M.B.A. in Finance and Information Systems from the Northwestern University-Kellogg School of Management. Hugos started his career working as... read full bio
Thornton A. May is a futurist, educator, anthropologist, speaker, and author. As a speaker, May speaks on understand and managing big data and analytics, strategies for innovation, transitioning from now to next, IT leadership, digital transformation, future of security and privacy, and many more. As an author, he has published the book, “The New Know: Innovation Powered by Analytics”. He... read full bio
John David Hoppe, also known as David Hoppe, is a Capitol Hill politician who is apart of the Republican party, and a lobbyist who has previously been the Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He has been known for crafting tax cuts for Ronald Reagan including the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981,... read full bio
Madison Cowan is a British-American chef who gained popularity after becoming the first-ever Grand Champion of the television series “Chopped”. Apart from his fame in Chopped, Cowan has also been a contestant in television series such as “No Kitchen Required” and “Guy’s Grocery Games”. He’s also been a judge on series such as “Extreme Chef”, “Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off”,... read full bio
Liz Hernandez is a Mexican-American journalist and television personality. Hernandez graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in communications and psychology. She started her career there interning for a local radio station and went on to co-host a morning radio show before joining Big Boy. She gained popularity over the years as a well known long-time co-host... read full bio
Heather McGhee is an expert in racial healing. She is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos, a cutting edge, progressive agency. McGhee has presented her speeches on stages nationally, covering topics of race, social justice, and politics. Her work has influenced public policies and issues. She is a frequent contributor to NBC News and appears on shows like Meet the... read full bio
Kara Brown is a writer and co-host for Crooked Media’s podcast, “Keep It”. Brown has been featured in Forbes list of ‘30 Under 30’. As a television writer, Brown’s credits include, “Grown-ish” and “In the Dark”. She has previously been a writer at Jezebel and has contributed to outlets such as The Fader, Time Magazine, Nylon, Billboard and Glamour. Brown... read full bio
