In keynote speeches and discussions catered to each group, award-winning author, filmmaker and activist Marra B. Gad shares profound ideas on belonging, overcoming bias and finding unity. Gad is the author of THE COLOR OF LOVE: A Story of a Mixed-Race Jewish Girl, a moving autobiography that won the Midwest Book Award for autobiography and describes her journey as a transracial adoptee.... read full bio
Serial entrepreneur Morgan DeBaun also serves as a corporate advisor. As the founder and CEO of Blavity Inc., the premier digital media company for black culture and millennials, Morgan has expanded the business into the market leader for black media, reaching more than 100 million readers each month through a growing portfolio of brands that includes: Blavity News, 21Ninety, AfroTech,... read full bio
Speaking, writing and media production professional Austin Channing Brown offers inspiring leadership on racial justice in America. She is the Executive Producer of the web series The Next Question and the author of the New York Times best-selling book I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, which was chosen as a Reese Witherspoon Bookclub choice. Her lectures and seminars... read full bio
Award-winning humanitarian Elizabeth Nyamayaro serves as the UN's Special Advisor for the World Food Programme. Through her leadership positions at the World Bank, World Health Organization, UNAIDS and UN Women, Elizabeth, who was born in Zimbabwe, has worked at the forefront of global development for more than 20 years, enhancing the lives of underserved populations. She has also been critical in... read full bio
The place to go for straightforward, seasonally appropriate food is Sweetgreen, whose co-founder and co-CEO is Jonathan Neman. Just three months after graduating from college, Jonathan and his co-founders, Nathaniel Ru and Nicolas Jammet, founded Sweetgreen and launched their first site in Georgetown, Washington, DC. Sweetgreen has become a national brand with more than 70 stores spanning the East Coast,... read full bio
Sekou Kaalund has more than 20 years of expertise on Wall Street with a demonstrated track record of growing revenue and building highly successful client relationships in start-up, turnaround and scale organizations. His diverse resume includes executive positions in line and staff positions in institutional and retail businesses. He has led complicated companies, executed major corporate deals and built market strategies. Sekou is... read full bio
Wallace Peeples, better known by his handle WALLO267, is an American public speaker, business owner, social media influencer, activist and marketer. After completing a 20-year prison term, Wallo caught lightning in a bottle by creating compelling viral material that encouraged people all over the world to step into their greatness and find their purpose. In just two short years, Wallo became a cultural phenomenon. Wallo's... read full bio
Masai Ujiri, vice chairman and president of the Toronto Raptors, is credited with leading the team to its most prosperous era in franchise history, which includes an NBA Championship. Few people speak as passionately and authoritatively about the strategy, teamwork development and entrepreneurial mindset required to accomplish a turnaround as Ujiri has done for various teams as an executive, coach and player.... read full bio
Aminatou Sow is well-known as the co-host of the popular podcast Call Your Girlfriend, which explores the nuances of feminism, pop culture and the most recent developments in politics. She is also a writer, cultural critic and businesswoman. Aminatou, a former leader of Google's Social Impact Marketing and a member of the Sundance Institute Director's Advisory Group, has been recognized as one of... read full bio
The author of the book Virtual Leadership is Bart Banfield. In addition, he oversees EPIC Charter Schools, the biggest public school in Oklahoma and one of the biggest online education centers in the country. Bart has been a pioneer, innovator and leader in the virtual learning-work environment ever since he became Oklahoma's youngest public school superintendent at the age of twenty-seven. He... read full bio
With a focus on food, hunger, humanitarian operations, political organizing, community development and resilience methods, Ertharin Cousin has more than thirty years of leadership experience in non-profit, government and business settings on a national and worldwide scale. Cousin served as the 12th Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) for eight years. At the same time that she championed and acted as... read full bio
Jessica Willis Fisher is a country and Americana singer/songwriter, performer and author. She thinks that by telling each other our stories, we may change the world. Jessica was the front woman of her renowned family band, The Willis Clan, until she left at the age of 23, having grown up as the oldest child in a strict and religious home. She is... read full bio
Famous wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant is a trailblazing conservationist whose thoughts about injustice, STEM and the power of nature inspire audiences of all kinds. She is also a champion for fairness and equality and a skilled storyteller. Dr. Wynn-Grant is a working scientist who spends a lot of time in the wild following and studying African lions in rural Kenya... read full bio
Inspiring storyteller and authority on tenacity is adventurer, dogsledder and author Blair Braverman. She has traversed tens of thousands of kilometers of wilderness with her canine team while racing in the renowned Iditarod race in Alaska, the Yukon and Scandinavia. The New York Times Book Review praised the author of Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube and Dogs on the Trail: A... read full bio
Christine Simmons is a trailblazing leader, businesswoman and executive who has extensive experience working for some of the most prestigious institutions in the world. The Latin phrase "she who flies with her own wings" refers to the consulting firm Alis Volat Propriis, LLC, which provides advice to companies of all sizes on operational excellence, strategic planning, business growth and representation projects, among other... read full bio
Linsey Davis is a two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, correspondent for ABC News and ABC World News Tonight radio, best-selling writer and recipient of numerous accolades for her timely and objective reporting, including two Emmy Awards and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award. In the world of political discussion, Davis is famous for her tough but fair moderating abilities as well as... read full bio
Award-winning brand marketer Seth Matlins is recognized as a leading authority on purpose and value driven advertising. Seth has spent more than 20 years developing brand, human and culturally driven answers to some of the most pressing issues that confront global corporations; his concepts have influenced businesses, brands and even the very nature of culture. He is a fearless innovator who, in his... read full bio
Julia Boorstin, a journalist for CNBC and an author, provides intelligent analysis with an emphasis on the meeting point of media and technology. As Senior Media & Tech Correspondent for CNBC, Boorstin has a key role in the network's bicoastal tech show TechCheck. She worked as a reporter for Fortune magazine and interned in Vice President Gore's domestic policy office... read full bio
Professor Jena is an internal medicine physician, health economist and professor of health care policy. His research spans a range of topics in health economics and policy, including the economics of medical innovation, the behavior of physicians and the physician workforce, medical malpractice and the economics of productivity in the health care system. In a number of cases involving the pharmaceutical and... read full bio
LeVelle Moton, a well-known head basketball coach, philanthropist and activist, is an expert in creating values-based missions, tactics for productive teamwork and discovering your purpose. Moton gained the moniker "Poetry 'n Moton" and graduated from North Carolina Central University with the third-highest scorer in school history. He came back as an assistant coach before taking over as head coach and leading the... read full bio
