After a celebrated career spanning three decades, Sue Bird left her mark on the WNBA, women’s basketball, and the broader world of women’s sports.

Bird retired in 2022 after a historic run as the world’s premier point guard, during which she won five Olympic gold medals, four World Championship medals, two NCAA championships, and four WNBA titles. She is also a five-time EuroLeague champion, a thirteen-time WNBA All-Star, the 2021 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year, the WNBA’s all-time leader in assists, and was voted by fans as one of the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All Time.

In 2024, Sue’s jersey was retired by the Seattle Storm (making her only the second player in franchise history to receive that honor) and she officially joined the team’s ownership group. Bird will be inducted into both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this year and it was recently announced that she will serve as the first-ever Managing Director of USA Basketball for the upcoming Olympic cycle.

In 2021, Bird co-founded TOGETHXR—a women-centered media and commerce company—alongside Alex Morgan, Simone Manuel, and Chloe Kim, to further the progress, culture, representation, and coverage of all women and girls in sport. Through TOGETHXR, Sue produced Power of the Dream, a documentary by director Dawn Porter on the WNBA’s fight for social justice, which had a significant impact on U.S. politics in 2020; Row of Life, a feature documentary following Angela Madsen—a former Marine, three-time Paralympian, and renowned ocean rower—on her attempt to solo row unsupported from Los Angeles to Hawaii; and the six-part podcast series Summer of Gold, which chronicled the American female athletes who dominated the 1996 Atlanta Games. It was recently announced that Summer of Gold will be adapted into a television limited series, with Bird serving as one of the executive producers.

Last year, Sue hosted Sue’s Places, a basketball-focused take on Peyton Manning’s signature ESPN+ original series, where she explored the history and traditions of college basketball. Over the past several years, she and best friend Diana Taurasi have co-hosted the popular ‘alterna-cast’ The Bird & Taurasi Show during coverage of the Women’s Final Four and Sue Bird: In the Clutch, a documentary chronicling her groundbreaking career, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is currently streaming on Netflix.

At the end of 2022, Sue and her fiancée, soccer legend Megan Rapinoe, launched A Touch More, a production company focused on elevating stories about revolutionaries who move culture forward. The company champions narratives centered on identity, activism, and underrepresented communities. Their first scripted TV series, Playing the Field—based on the bestselling novel Cleat Cute—is currently in development. The ensemble series is set in the world of women’s soccer and follows a young player navigating life as a rookie, her dream of making the national team, and a budding romance with the team captain.

Bird and Rapinoe re-launched their podcast, A Touch More: The Podcast, last year. Originally an Instagram Live series that began during the height of the pandemic, the show quickly gained a large following for its candid and wide-ranging conversations, which has continued since the re-launch of the show. Sue and Megan serve as executive producers of the podcast through their A Touch More banner. The show was recently named one of Apple’s “Shows We Love” for 2024 and won the Webby Award for Best Sports Podcast this year. Bird just launched her first solo podcast, Bird’s Eye View, focused on the upcoming WNBA season.

Sue has quickly established herself as a trailblazer among former athletes transitioning into mainstream media. Her sharp perspective and vocal advocacy for racial, gender, and LGBTQIA+ equity have made her a cornerstone in athlete representation and allyship. She continues to be a visible and outspoken activist for Black lives, LGBTQ+ rights, gender equality, health and wellness, and expanding opportunities for girls and marginalized communities.

Bird currently resides in both New York and Seattle.

Two-time World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, Megan Rapinoe is a true soccer legend. 

A vocal leader in every aspect of her life, Megan helped lead the US Women’s National Team to the 2019 Women’s World Cup Championship, where she took home the tournament’s two top honors – the Golden Boot for top scorer, and the Golden Ball for the best player in the tournament. Megan retired in 2023 and among numerous soccer accolades, is also a New York Times Best-Selling author, one of Time100’s Most Influential People, and a recent Presidential Medal of Freedom award recipient. Rapinoe had her jersey retired by the OL Reign (the first player in franchise history and the second player in the entire NWSL to have this honor) and was inducted into the University of Portland Hall of Fame.  

At the end of 2022, Megan and her fiancé, basketball icon Sue Bird, launched A Touch More, a production company focused on elevating stories about revolutionaries who move culture forward. The company champions narratives centered on identity, activism, and underrepresented communities. Their first scripted TV series, Playing the Field—based on the bestselling novel Cleat Cute - is currently in development. The ensemble series is set in the world of women’s soccer and follows a young player navigating life as a rookie, her dream of making the national team, and a budding romance with the team captain.

Rapinoe and Bird re-launched their podcast, A Touch More: The Podcast, last year. Originally an Instagram Live series that began during the height of the pandemic, the show quickly gained a large following for its candid and wide-ranging conversations, which has continued since the re-launch of the show. Megan and Sue serve as executive producers of the podcast through their A Touch More banner. The show was recently named one of Apple’s “Shows We Love” for 2024 and won the Webby Award for Best Sports Podcast this year.

Megan is renowned for her advocacy in LGBTQ+ rights, racial equality, and gender equity and has been able to intersect her passion for humanity and authenticity. 

When a handsome young senator showed up at her door in the seventies, Jill Biden never imagined that it would be the start of a love story that would one day take her to the White House—twice. She had no idea how quickly she would have to learn how to balance life as a political spouse, a lifelong educator, and a mother, then a grandmother, and now a great-grandmother.  

Jill Biden, Ed.D, served as First Lady of the United States from 2021-2025. She also served as Second Lady of the United States from 2009-2017. She worked as a full-time community college professor as Second and First Lady, making her the first presidential spouse to maintain a career while living in the White House. 

She was a leading messenger for the Biden-Harris Administration’s most urgent priority of navigating out of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic: urging communities to get vaccinated, safely reopening schools, and supporting President Biden’s agenda to rebuild a shuttered economy. 

As First Lady, Dr. Biden championed the causes that have defined her public life: supporting military families like her own; advocating for workforce development programs, community colleges, and the teaching profession; ending cancer as we know it through the Biden Cancer Moonshot; and galvanizing overdue investments and structural changes to women’s health research. She traveled to more than 40 states, 200 towns and cities, and 19 countries. By adding interactive technology and educational content to the White House public tour route, Dr. Biden reimagined the visitor experience and made the People’s House open and accessible to more Americans than ever before.

A proud and self-described Philly girl, Dr. Biden published her New York Times Bestselling memoir, Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself, in 2019, and has published three children’s books, most recently in 2024, WILLOW the White House Cat.

Emmy Rossum – Actress, Activist, Artist

Emmy Rossum is a dynamic force in the entertainment world whose influence extends far beyond the screen. Best known for her unforgettable role as Fiona Gallagher in the acclaimed series Shameless, Rossum is a classically trained opera singer, accomplished actress, director, and passionate advocate for social change.

A compelling and articulate speaker, Emmy brings a rare blend of artistic insight, personal authenticity, and advocacy to every stage. She speaks candidly about her journey in Hollywood, the pressures of fame, the power of storytelling, and what it means to take control of your narrative as a woman in a male-dominated industry. Her work off-screen is equally impactful—championing causes including women's rights, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability.

Whether discussing creativity, resilience, or activism, Emmy Rossum inspires audiences with her thoughtful perspective, emotional honesty, and unwavering dedication to making a difference. Her voice is one of empowerment, transformation, and purpose.

Achieving the impossible is just a normal day’s work for Zarna Garg, whether it’s escaping an arranged marriage at 14, or most recently, selling out theaters across the country as a stand-up comedian while building a lucrative social media empire–after raising her kids as a stay-at-home mom for 16 years!

Zarna is here to tell you that whatever your dream is, the time to achieve it is now, and she can share some of the strategies she’s developed to get there.

Zarna Garg is “One in a Billion,” and that's not the just name of her first comedy special. She’s also the only Indian mom comedian taking on her mother-in-law. Her memoir, This American Woman, is a laugh-out-loud, deeply honest exploration of identity, belonging, and the courage it takes to finally become who you were always meant to be. She was recently profiled as one of the gutsiest women in comedy on Apple TV’s new “Gutsy Women” series, and featured on “This American Life” with Ira Glass. When she’s not doing 15 shows a week at Comedy Cellar in New York City, she is touring the world with her show. She is the winner of Kevin Hart's Lyft Comics, the winner of the 2021 Ladies of Laughter Award, and has over a million followers across social media platforms. Her debut feature screenplay, Rearranged won Top Comedy Feature award at Austin Film Festival in 2019 and was a 2019 Nicholl Fellowships Semi-Finalist. Zarna proudly performs clean family-friendly comedy while wearing her kurta and bindi on stage and draws you into her authentic Indian world full of ironies, merciless maternal advice, and fresh observations on American life. Visit zarnagarg.com for more details.

Multiple Emmy, Peabody, and DuPont Award-winning journalist Suzanne Malveaux is the CEO and President of Malveaux Global Media. Malveaux spent two decades at CNN, bringing ground-breaking journalism to the network. There, she covered the White House for 10 years, interviewed 5 U.S. Presidents, embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and reported on the war in Ukraine from the front lines. Malveaux was recently recognized by Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism for covering "One of the Top 50 Stories of the Century" for her reporting on then-Senator Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Malveaux is also a profound advocate for ALS patients, winning a Gracie Award for her work documenting her mother’s journey with the condition.

Malveaux is Co-Chair of the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), sits on the Board of Trustees for HBCU Xavier University, and is a former board member of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She has been named “Journalist of the Year” by Essence Magazine and one of “America’s Most Powerful Players under 40” by Black Enterprise. Malveaux has been named an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow as well as an Aspen Global Leadership Network fellow and has participated in numerous panels at the Aspen Institute Ideas Festival.

Grammy-Award winning R&B artist Ciara is a multi-platinum musician, songwriter, philanthropist, entrepreneur, mom of 4 children, and force of fashion. Over her two decades in music, she has sold over 23M records and 30M singles worldwide. Ciara was recently honored an NAACP Image award for her role as Nettie in 2023 adaptation film of The Color Purple. Ciara is an entrepreneurial female founder with brands launched both independently and with her husband Russell Wilson. She is the CEO of Beauty Marks Entertainment, Ten To One Rum, and OAM (On A Mission) skincare.

Ciara is also a philanthropist who co-founded the Why Not You Foundation with husband Russell Wilson, which is dedicated to fighting poverty through education and empowering today’s youth. This cause is close to her heart as a working mom and wife. Onstage, Ciara shares her perspectives on achievement, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy.

An iconic figure in entertainment, Selma Blair is known for her impact on screen, in fashion, and as an activist. Blair’s film career began with her comedic roles in pop culture classics Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde. Her film credits include Todd Solondz’s Storytelling, Roger Kumble’s The Sweetest Thing, Robert Benton’s Feast of Love, and John Water’s A Dirty Shame. Selma has reprised her role as “Liz Sherman” in Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army, after starring in the original Hellboy. On television, Blair played “Kris Jenner” in FX’s The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story. On stage, Blair starred in Gruesome Playground Injuries and was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Spoken Word Recording” for her reading of The Diary of Anne Frank. On Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars, Blair won the award for The Competition Contestant of 2022 at the People’s Choice Awards. She released her first memoir to critical acclaim, The New York Times bestseller, Mean Baby. Blair can also be seen on screen as the subject of the award-winning documentary feature Introducing, Selma Blair.  In 2024, Blair was celebrated as one of British Vogue's 40 “Megastars.” Beloved by audiences globally, Blair’s work across several high-profile projects has solidified her reputation in Hollywood.

Today, Blair is the Chief Creative Officer of Guide Beauty, a multi-award-winning cosmetics company, and a tireless advocate for the causes close to her heart such as disability justice and diversity in media. For her advocacy, Blair was honored with the Equity in Entertainment Award by The Hollywood Reporter, the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award, and the Media Access Visionary Award. She has also been honored with Glamour's esteemed Women of the Year award for her courageous commitment to challenging norms and shattering barriers. Blair has been recognized as one of TIME Magazine’s People of The Year, further solidifying her impact on social change. Blair has shared her vision for a better world with hosts including the Massachusetts Conference for Women, TBC United Nations, the University of Buffalo, and many more.

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall has tackled the world’s most pressing global and domestic challenges for four decades. Leading in top public roles, including as White House Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy National Security Advisor (2021-2025), Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Energy (2014-2017), White House Coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Arms Control (2013-2014), Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs (2009-2013), and at the Pentagon as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia (1994-1996), Sherwood-Randall has worked on the most complex and consequential global challenges, participating in the highest levels of international and domestic decision-making. Sherwood-Randall’s expertise spans a broad range of topics that are highly relevant today, including leading through crises, securing critical infrastructure, driving energy innovation, and conducting international diplomacy with both allies and adversaries.

Offering unique insights and unparalleled expertise across a spectrum of issues, from homeland security to national security, Sherwood-Randall presents the threats and opportunities that lie ahead through a compelling insider’s lens. Her work in both the top levels of the American government and with private sector partners highlights her ability to bring innovative solutions to complex challenges. She offers insights on reducing threats, navigating uncertainty, managing emergencies, and making tough decisions under pressure in the media spotlight. With first-hand experience as a defense and energy policy leader, global crisis manager, and proven female executive, Sherwood-Randall has inspired numerous teams to achieve ambitious goals, facing dynamic times with courage, steadiness, and grace under pressure.

Multiple #1 New York Times bestselling author Angie Thomas is a beloved voice on both the page and the screen. Her award-winning, acclaimed debut novel, The Hate U Give, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and major motion picture. Her second novel, On the Come Up, is a film on Paramount Plus. In 2021, Angie returned to Garden Heights with Concrete Rose, a prequel to The Hate U Give. Her latest bestselling work, Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy, is Angie’s first foray into the fantasy genre. Thomas speaks on the importance of finding your voice, representation in media, and how communities unite through storytelling.

Thomas is the namesake behind the Angie Thomas Writer’s Scholarship, a fully-funded BFA in Creative Writing at Belhaven University. Thomas was the inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. She is a William C. Morris Award Winner, a National Book Award Longlist, a Printz Honor Book, and a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. She is also a former teen rapper with a profile feature in Right-On Magazine and can still rap if needed. Thomas has headlined the Mississippi Book Festival, FOLD Kids Book Fest, and many more.

Olivia Munn is an actor, activist, and mother who was recently named to 2024’s "TIME: 100 Most Influential People." Earlier that year, Munn posted the story of her ongoing battle with breast cancer; urging women to advocate for early detection by taking a Breast Cancer Lifetime Assessment risk test. The National Cancer Institute said that Munn’s outreach “led to a surge in visits to the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool site.” The rate of women taking this formerly little-known test increased 4000%. For her advocacy, Munn was honored with the Woman of Impact Award at InStyle's Imagemaker Awards. 

Best known for her brilliant work across three seasons of Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom, Olivia Munn also starred in such iconoclastic films as Magic Mike, The Predator, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Office Christmas Party.  Munn was then hired as the first East Asian Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and appeared on the show for two Emmy-winning seasons. Olivia Munn was an early and active Silence Breaker in the #MeToo movement. She exposed predatory behavior in Hollywood and championed other victims who came forward to share their stories. For her efforts to shed light on abusers and give voice to victims, Munn was honored by the United Nation Foundation. After a startling rise in Anti-Asian violence following the COVID-19 outbreak, Munn, who is half Chinese-Vietnamese, tackled the issue on multiple fronts. She became a leader in the #StopAsianHate movement; raising money, filming public service announcements, and coordinating with mayors and police departments throughout the United States. She was invited to the White House by President Biden to be in attendance when he signed the COVID 19 Hate Crimes Act into law. Whether discussing the challenges of Hollywood, the power of authenticity, or her advocacy work, Munn’s discussions resonate deeply and provide valuable perspectives that inspire positive change.

Tracee Ellis Ross is an award-winning actress, producer, founder, and CEO.  

For eight seasons, Ross starred in ABC’s SAG and Critics Choice Award-nominated and Emmy, Golden Globe, NAACP Image Award, and Peabody-winning comedy series “black-ish.”  She also starred in the Emmy and GLAAD Award-nominated and NAACP Image Award-winning series “Girlfriends” for eight seasons. Ross has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including a Golden Globe Award, nine NAACP Image Awards, and the 2020 People’s Choice Awards “Fashion Icon Award.” She was also named a Disney Legend for making an extraordinary contribution to The Walt Disney Company. 

Ross is the owner, founder, and co-CEO of PATTERN Beauty, the global multi-million dollar brand she created for the curly, coily & tight-textured community in 2019. PATTERN is the #1 BIPOC brand and #2 curl brand sold at ULTA Beauty. PATTERN is also sold at Sephora, Nordstrom, Target, Macy’s, and Amazon, in the US; Sephora in Canada; and Boots, Look Fantastic and Cult Beauty in the UK. With PATTERN, Ross is changing the paradigm of how the textured hair community is marketed to and supported. The company's content and messaging are a celebration of Black beauty & joy. PATTERN proudly supports organizations and programs that empower women and people of color. 

Ross will next be seen in season 7 of the critically acclaimed Netflix series “Black Mirror.” In addition to Ross, the new season also features Paul Giamatti, Jesse Plemons, Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd and Emma Corrin, among other returning cast favorites. The new season will stream on April 10th. 

Ross is currently in post-production on her Roku original series “Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross.” The series will chronicle Ross as she meticulously, laboriously, and sometimes ridiculously prepares for and travels solo to spectacular locations. Ross will serve as an Executive Producer on the docu-series under her banner Joy Mill Entertainment. Joy Mill Entertainment has a deal with 20^th and is dedicated to telling joyful, fun, and grounded stories exploring how we see ourselves and how we connect to one another. “Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross” will premiere later this year. 

Ross recently wrapped production on “Blow The Horn,” an indie psychological drama from Nacho Arenas. The project is an adaptation of “Bajo Terapia,” the acclaimed Argentinian play by Matias del Federico, which has previously been adapted by Spanish filmmaker Gerado Herrero. Others in the cast include Lake Bell, Wrenn Schmidt, Dallas Roberts, Joshua Boone and Ken Leung. In addition to starring in the film, Ross also serves as an Executive Producer. 

Ross was last seen opposite Jeffrey Wright in the Oscar-winning drama “American Fiction,” directed by Cord Jefferson. It was nominated for Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Independent Spirit Awards, and was named one of AFI’s movies of the year. Last December, Ross was seen starring opposite Eddie Murphy in Amazon’s holiday film, “Candy Cane Lane.” The film became the most-watched Amazon movie debut in the U.S. and among the top 10 worldwide film debuts ever on the service.  

Earlier this year, Ross starred in the thriller “Cold Copy” and is currently lending her voice to Amazon’s animated comedy “The Second Best Hospital in The Galaxy,” alongside Keke Palmer, Kieran Culkin, Maya Rudolph, and Natasha Lyonne. 

Ross advocates for joy, self-acceptance, inclusivity, and equity. In 2017, Ross gave a powerful speech about claiming your own life at Glamour’s Women of the Year Summit that went viral. In 2018, Ross opened the TED Conference, the first Black woman to do so, with a speech about the wisdom of women’s fury. 

In 2022, Ross was given the “Racial Justice Trailblazer” Award by The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law for her demonstrated commitment to racial and social justice and upholding values that promote an inclusive democracy. She has also moderated stops on both of Michelle Obama’s book tours. Ross recently received a 2023 Webby Special Achievement Award for her ingenious use of the Internet to share multidimensional stories of belonging, increasing Black representation in the beauty industry, and serving as a constant, positive force on the Internet, and was named a 2023 Cosmetic Executive Women Female Founder honoree. She was recently honored with the Trailblazer Award by 15 Percent Pledge, as a 2024 CNBC Changemaker, and was given the 2024 Achievement Award for Excellence in the Arts by the National Museum of Women in the Arts for being a leader in the entertainment industry and a passionate advocate for gender equity. 

Ross received honorary Doctorate degrees from Spelman College in 2023 and Brown University, her alma mater, in 2015. 

MIT-trained engineer and tech entrepreneur Krisztina “Z” Holly, curator of the first ever TEDx event, has been at the forefront of innovation throughout her career. She started her career as a serial tech entrepreneur in Boston and Silicon Valley before spending over a decade building pioneering innovation centers at MIT and USC. The White House subsequently invited her to help spread her novel model across the United States. Today, she invests in early-stage complex science and technology startups as an operating partner at Good Growth Capital and is a sought-after advisor and speaker to organizations around the world. She has been recognized by Rolling Stone, Forbes, WIRED, and Entrepreneur Mag for her ability to scout and cultivate talent and catalyze global initiatives. With a proven track record of fostering innovation, Z’s insights come from real-world experience.

Z has spoken at Davos, the White House, YPO Entrepreneurial Energy, NBC Universal, and the National Academy of Sciences Innovation Summit; she has facilitated numerous sessions for the World Economic Forum with heads of state and CEOs of Fortune 100 companies. She regularly appears as a public expert and interviewer, leading conversations with tech “rockstars” such as Biz Stone and Tim O'Reilly, interviewing world-famous extreme athletes, and facilitating panels with university presidents and global leaders. Z’s authentic style and tailored messages resonate with a wide range of audiences, from students and aspiring entrepreneurs to academics and top executives.