What do you learn about power when you’ve seen it from inside the White House, the Pentagon, and the national media? Alyssa Farah Griffin has had a front-row seat to how consequential decisions get made, communicated, and challenged at the highest levels. The only person to have served as the top spokesperson for the President, Vice President, and Secretary of Defense in a single administration, she has navigated national security crises, advised senior leaders under extraordinary pressure, and communicated when every word carried weight.

Now, as a co-host of The View and CNN Political Commentator, Farah Griffin brings that insider experience to the conversations shaping America today. With candor, perspective, and a willingness to engage across differences, she takes audiences beyond the headlines to explore how power really works, what leadership demands when the stakes are highest, and how we can find a way forward in an increasingly divided world.

Cynthia Rowley built a global consumer brand by trusting instinct where others waited for proof. She started as a painter at the Art Institute of Chicago, landed in New York with barely enough money to stay afloat, and turned a creative point of view into a company with real cultural and commercial weight that continues to evolve.

Her label broke through traditional categories, introducing surf-leisure before the market had language for it and moving early into e-commerce to build direct relationships with customers. From cereal boxes to Band-Aids for Johnson & Johnson and Barbies for Mattel, Rowley consistently pushes beyond narrow ideas of what her brand is “allowed” to be. Along the way, Rowley became a bestselling author of the Swell books, dressed celebrities like Julianne Moore, Kim Kardashian, Alan Cumming, and became a familiar face on television, including guest judging on Project Runway and appearances on late-night talk shows.

As a speaker, Rowley explores what it really takes to build and sustain a business without a roadmap. She speaks about judgment under pressure, embracing fear, and pushing boundaries when playing it safe can stall progress. Audiences gain access to the thinking behind a brand that learned how to move early and keep its edge.

Columbia Business School professor Dr. Sheena Iyengar is a world expert on choice and decision-making. Her book The Art of Choosing received the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year and inspired an eponymous TED Talk.  Her subsequent book, Think Bigger, was a Gold Medal Winner of the 2024 Axiom Business Book Award. Her research is regularly cited in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Economist as well as in popular books, such as Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink and Aziz Ansari’s Modern Romance. Dr. Iyengar has also appeared on television, including The Today Show, The Daily Show, and Fareed Zakaria’s GPS on CNN. Her TED Talks have collectively received 7M views and her research continues to inform markets, businesses, and individuals around the world.

Dr. Iyengar has been named a member of Thinkers50, a global ranking of the top 50 management thinkers. She won the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Core Teaching from Columbia Business School in 2012 and was named one of the World’s Best B-School Professors by Poets and Quants. She has also given keynotes and consulted for companies as wide-ranging as Deloitte, Google, Bloomberg, Blizzard Entertainment, J.P. Morgan & Chase, and The North Face.

Alysa Liu retired from figure skating at sixteen, returned years later for the joy of it, and ended up on top of the Olympic podium.

A certified prodigy who became the youngest U.S. Figure Skating Champion at just 13, Liu made the rare decision to walk away at the height of global attention. She chose college, anonymity, and distance from the pressure that had shaped her childhood. Stepping outside elite competition allowed her to rediscover something the sport often erodes: genuine joy.

When she returned two years later, the pressure was gone. So was the need to conform to a sport long defined by rigidity and perfectionism. Skating to disco with unmistakable joy and unapologetic individuality, Liu transformed elite competition into something audiences could feel. Her viral performances captured attention not just for technical brilliance, but for freedom rarely seen at the highest level.

The comeback became historic. Liu claimed the 2025 World Championship before delivering a performance for the ages at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, securing gold and becoming the first American woman in more than two decades to win the Olympic figure skating title.

On stage, Liu reflects on what changed when excellence was no longer driven by fear. She speaks openly about stepping away from expectation, rebuilding confidence outside competition, and returning with a healthier relationship to performance. Her story challenges the idea that pressure creates champions, proving that freedom can.

When the rules of global trade are being rewritten, Kirsten Hillman is in the room.

As Canada’s Ambassador to the United States, she managed one of the world’s most important economic relationships through volatility, political turnover, and shifting trade doctrine. Trusted across party lines, she became a steady hand in Washington at a time when stability was anything but guaranteed.

She helped shape major international agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and played a key role in delivering USMCA—one of the most closely watched trade negotiations in recent history.

On stage, she breaks down what global uncertainty actually means for leaders, offering a clear, experience-backed view of how to navigate risk, protect partnerships, and make decisions when the landscape keeps changing.

What happens when you stop letting the world define you and start choosing yourself?

For more than three decades, Jennie Garth has lived that question in public. She became one of television’s most recognizable stars as Kelly Taylor on the cultural phenomenon Beverly Hills, 90210, growing up in front of millions while an entire generation formed an idea of who she was. Today, she has reclaimed one of her character’s most iconic declarations, “I choose me,” and transformed it into a deeply personal philosophy about identity, reinvention, and having the courage to decide what comes next.

Garth has navigated extraordinary fame, motherhood, divorce, aging in Hollywood, and the challenge of building a life beyond the role that made her a household name. Her instant New York Times bestseller, I Choose Me: Chasing Joy, Finding Purpose & Embracing Reinvention, and I Choose Me With Jennie Garth podcast turn those experiences into candid conversations about letting go of expectations, embracing change, and finding purpose in a new chapter.

An actor, producer, bestselling author, podcaster, entrepreneur, and designer, Garth has continually evolved without losing the authenticity that first connected her with millions. Onstage, she brings a refreshingly relatable perspective to the moments when the life you built no longer fits and choosing yourself becomes the first step toward building what comes next.

What does a healthy childhood look like in a world where screens are almost impossible to escape? Katherine Martinko is an author and leading voice on helping families and schools rethink kids’ relationships with smartphones, social media, and technology.

Author of Childhood Unplugged and Hold the Phone, and a speaker for Jonathan Haidt’s Anxious Generation campaign, Martinko moves the conversation beyond warnings about screen time to what parents, educators, and communities can actually do about it. She offers practical strategies for delaying smartphones, navigating social media, addressing technology in the classroom, and creating more space for independence and free play.

With more than 70 talks across the U.S. and Canada, Martinko brings an accessible, solutions-focused approach to one of the most pressing questions facing families and schools today. Audiences leave with concrete tools they can use immediately and a hopeful vision for raising more independent, resilient kids in the digital age.

Suzy Welch brings a rare combination of rigorous business expertise and deeply human insight — as an award-winning professor at NYU Stern School of Business, acclaimed management researcher, and New York Times bestselling author (most recently with Becoming You: A Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career, which debuted as a #1 bestseller on Amazon). A graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Business School, she’s a frequent guest on the Today Show, an op-ed contributor to The Wall Street Journal, and now leads the NYU | Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing. Her groundbreaking “Becoming You” methodology — and related tools such as The Values Bridge and PIE360  — gives audiences an actionable framework for aligning purpose and performance, helping individuals and teams stop asking “What should I do?” and start living the life they want at home and work.

Leading through transformation is difficult. Doing it with hundreds of thousands of people is something else entirely. Kathryn McLay knows what that takes.

As former President and CEO of Walmart International and Sam's Club, McLay led one of the world's largest and most complex organizations through a defining period of change. Responsible for operations across 18 countries, more than 500,000 associates, and millions of customers each week, she helped align global teams behind a shared strategy while navigating disruption, accelerating growth, and driving execution at extraordinary scale.

On stage, McLay makes transformation tangible. Rather than offering theories, she shares the leadership principles she relied on to align hundreds of thousands of people around a common goal, execute through uncertainty, and sustain performance at extraordinary scale. Audiences leave better equipped to lead change inside their own organizations—whether they're responsible for fifty people or fifty thousand.

Cheryl Reeve is one of the most accomplished leaders in professional sports. As Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Lynx, she built a dynasty defined by sustained excellence. In 2024, she led the USA Women’s National Team to gold at the 2024 Olympic Games Paris, extending the longest Olympic gold medal streak in a traditional team sport. Across her career, Reeve has earned six WNBA championships, four Coach of the Year awards, and Executive of the Year honors through results delivered across eras, rosters, and competitive cycles.

As a speaker, Reeve brings the perspective of a leader who has made high-stakes decisions from the top of the organization, not just the sideline. She speaks with clarity about building winning cultures, holding standards over time, and performing when expectations are highest. Her insights resonate with organizations facing pressure or transition because they come from decades of experience leading teams where accountability is visible, decisions are public, and outcomes are non-negotiable.

Funny, provocative, and endlessly engaging, Harvard Business School professor Leslie John has a gift for making people rethink what they thought they knew about human behavior. An award-winning behavioral scientist, she studies the choices people make in conversation and why our instincts about trust and influence are often spectacularly wrong.

John is the James E. Burke Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, but her work starts with questions that are anything but academic. How much is too much to share? Why can asking questions be more powerful than making an argument? Her forthcoming book, Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing, turns one of our most familiar social anxieties into a surprising case for greater openness.

On stage, John brings the energy of a great storyteller to the rigor of a Harvard researcher. Through humor and counterintuitive findings, she gives audiences a fresh way to understand the people around them and practical ideas for becoming more effective leaders and communicators.

Jennifer Granholm is an American lawyer, educator, author and politician who served most recently as the 16^th United States Secretary of Energy, and previously as the two-term governor of Michigan. As governor, she spearheaded Michigan’s economic recovery after the Great Recession by diversifying the state’s economy to focus on clean energy and revitalizing the auto industry to build electric vehicles. 

As Secretary of Energy (2021-2025), Granholm restructured the U.S. Department of Energy to focus on research and development of advanced clean energy solutions and, importantly, deployment of zero-carbon technologies. She oversaw $200 billion of U.S. DOE investments into companies and projects to accelerate the clean energy transition. During her tenure as Secretary, thanks to the policies and laws that she helped to shape, the country saw record deployment of clean energy — adding the equivalent of 30 Hoover Dams of zero-carbon energy to the nation’s electricity grid in 2024, more than twice as much solar power deployed as ever before. Due to incentives to manufacture in America, businesses announced almost 1,000 factories were coming or expanding in the U.S. to build clean energy products -- solar panels, EVs, batteries, small nuclear reactors, clean hydrogen, geothermal and more. Thanks to DOE’s work, the nation’s transmission grid is seeing an 11X expansion of new transmission miles.

During her tenure as Secretary, DOE with its 110,000 employees was ranked among the Top 10 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government. Secretary Granholm was named in 2024 to the "TIME 100 Most Influential People" list, and Forbes’ list of "Top Climate Leaders."

Secretary Granholm taught law and public policy at UC Berkeley from 2011-2020, specializing in clean energy and public leadership. A former Attorney General of Michigan (1998-2002) and an honors graduate of Harvard Law School (1987), she is the author of A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America’s Economic Future, has penned scores of articles and opinion pieces on clean energy, and continues to play a leading role in shaping America’s energy future. Heralded for her forward-looking insight, Granholm brings a balanced and nuanced perspective sorely needed in today's divisive times. 

Jess Sims went from serving as a school principal to becoming one of the most recognizable faces in global fitness.

Sims began her career in education, rising through Teach For America to become a principal in Harlem, where she led with structure, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to underserved communities. Then she made a bold pivot, stepping away from a stable leadership track to pursue fitness full time. At Peloton, she transformed that educator’s discipline into a worldwide platform, coaching millions through running, strength, and bootcamp while expanding family fitness content that blends movement and learning. 

History does not come with explanation. Martha MacCallum has made a career of providing it in real time.

Across six presidential elections and decades of breaking news, Martha MacCallum has served as a steady voice in moments that shape public understanding. From September 11th to January 6th, from the funeral of George H. W. Bush to the coronation of King Charles III, she has anchored coverage when the stakes are high and the picture is still forming.

As Anchor and Executive Editor of The Story, she has conducted consequential interviews with presidents, cabinet officials, and Supreme Court justices, including exclusive access at defining moments. Her style is direct and controlled, built for environments where clarity matters and trust is tested.

On stage, MacCallum brings that same perspective. She offers a behind-the-scenes view of how narratives take shape in real time, how leaders communicate under pressure, and what separates information from understanding when it matters most.

When the stakes are highest, there is no time for perfect information. Dr. Darria Long has spent her career making life-or-death decisions anyway.

That's what emergency medicine demands. As a Harvard and Yale-trained emergency physician, Dr. Long has spent years making consequential decisions in an environment where hesitation has real consequences. Today, she brings that experience beyond the hospital, revealing how the mindset that saves lives can help leaders navigate uncertainty with greater confidence and better judgment. Her keynotes turn the realities of the emergency room into practical lessons for a world where change is constant and the pressure never lets up.

A trusted medical expert for CNN, NBC, and Netflix, bestselling author, and national spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians, Dr. Long has a rare ability to make high-pressure decision-making both compelling and immediately useful. Audiences leave with practical tools they can apply the moment they're back at work—and a new perspective on what it really means to lead when the answers aren't obvious.

From her roots in Oklahoma and Texas, Jennifer Welch has become a powerhouse digital media star, attracting hundreds of millions of views to her political straight talk and social satire. As co-host of the I’ve Had It podcast, she speaks directly to the post-2024 political landscape and has built a massive (and influential) following by asking tough questions of our leaders. Journalist Mehdi Hasan has called Welch, “perhaps the most influential women in the Democratic Party right now,” while the New York Times asked if Welch is “the Democrats’ toughest critic,” reflecting her ability to shape conversation through authenticity and fearlessness.

As a speaker, Welch delivers blunt, unscripted analysis for audiences who want straight answers instead of talking points. Drawing on her finger-on-the-pulse read of public sentiment, Welch explains why political language stopped working, what voters are responding to now, and why leaders lose trust when they refuse to state the obvious. Audiences leave with a clearer sense of the moment they are living in and why honesty carries more weight than polish.

Allison Ellsworth is the visionary behind poppi, the modern soda brand that reinvented an entire category and reshaped how the next generation thinks about better-for-you beverages. She went from experimenting in her kitchen to creating one of the fastest-growing drinks in the country, turning a farmers-market side project into a cultural staple with a Shark Tank deal and a landmark sale to PepsiCo. Ellsworth built poppi’s unmistakable presence online and in pop culture, cultivating a massive community, billions of views, and celebrity fans who turned the brand into a phenomenon. Her work has earned recognition from TIME, Inc., Modern Retail, and the broader consumer world as a blueprint for how modern brands break through.

As a speaker, Ellsworth talks about trusting ideas before they make sense on paper and navigating the pressure of the public eye. Her story shows people how to stay grounded, take smart risks, and keep pushing forward even when the path is unpredictable.

Madison Keys is one of professional tennis’s most commanding and admired players, known for her explosive power, composure under pressure, and authenticity on and off the court. A Grand Slam champion, Olympic semifinalist, and consistent Top 20 competitor, she’s built a career defined by excellence and heart.

Her 2025 Australian Open victory—where she upset four Top 10 seeds, including world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka—cemented her as a force of focus and resilience. It was a breakthrough that showcased not just athletic dominance, but mental mastery at the highest level of competition.

Beyond the game, Keys has become a leading voice for mental health and kindness in sports. As the founder of Kindness Wins, she uses her platform to champion empathy and the value of staying grounded in high-pressure worlds. As a speaker, Madison translates the lessons of elite competition into insights on leadership, resilience, and performing with clarity when the stakes are high.

Most people think they understand beauty. Winnie Harlow made a career proving how narrow that definition really is.

A globally recognized supermodel and beauty entrepreneur, Harlow did not just break into fashion. She changed what it looks like. Diagnosed with vitiligo at age four, she turned visibility into power, becoming one of the most recognizable faces in the industry and a defining voice on representation. From her groundbreaking Madame Tussauds figure to global honors like Canada’s Global Citizen Award, her influence moves well beyond the runway.

She is also building what comes next. As the founder of Cay Skin, launched with $4.1 million in funding, Harlow is creating products and a brand that reflect a more inclusive vision of beauty.

On stage, Harlow is sharp, candid, and disarming. She challenges audiences to rethink who sets the standard and why it matters now, leaving them with a clear edge: the brands and leaders who stand out are the ones willing to be seen differently.

Anna Wintour is one of the most influential leaders in modern media. For more than thirty years, she has led Vogue and Condé Nast, demonstrating an uncommon ability to read the cultural and commercial moment. As a speaker, Ms. Wintour talks from the vantage point of someone who has spent decades making consequential decisions and steadying institutions through disruption.

Her name signals authority and discernment. That judgment extended beyond publishing, transforming the Met Gala into a global philanthropic engine and raising more than $400 million for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her work also spans public health and philanthropy, including long-standing advocacy in the fight against HIV and AIDS, recognized by the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and her role as Co-Founder of the Center for Youth Mental Health.

Wintour’s influence has been recognized at the highest levels internationally. She has received a damehood from Queen Elizabeth II, been appointed a Companion of Honour by King Charles III, awarded France’s Légion d’Honneur by President Nicolas Sarkozy, and honored with the CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Audiences hear from a voice whose experience is singular and whose influence has defined how modern media operates at scale.

An Academy Award. A billion-dollar franchise. A presence the camera cannot ignore.

Lupita Nyong’o commands space in any medium she enters. Her Oscar-winning breakthrough in 12 Years a Slave announced a singular talent. Black Panther helped redefine what a global blockbuster could look like. In Us and A Quiet Place: Day One, she anchors high-stakes storytelling on restraint and control alone, holding audiences in complete silence or collective breath.

Her reach extends well beyond Hollywood. The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sulwe and host of the Webby Award–winning podcast Mind Your Own, Nyong’o shapes global conversations about identity and belonging. Her advocacy for women’s health, including funding research for uterine fibroids, reflects a clear throughline: influence is most powerful when used with intention. 

Tiffany Derry is a nationally recognized chef and entrepreneur who has built and scaled successful hospitality businesses in highly competitive markets. Known to broad audiences through MasterChef and Top Chef, Tiffany has developed a portfolio of business ventures that includes co-founding T2D Concepts, a purpose-driven hospitality company that develops and operates restaurant brands, as well as the ‘Shef Tiffany spice line and the DerryWear apparel brand. Her experience is directly relevant to organizations operating under scrutiny, where execution matters and missteps are visible.

As a speaker, Derry brings an operator’s perspective on leadership under pressure. Denied her first cooking job at 15 because of race and gender, she built credibility through execution rather than permission. She speaks about making decisions when the margin for error is thin and results are immediate. Her perspective resonates with organizations responsible for performance and long-term durability.

In a culture that talks endlessly about wellness, Tay Lautner focuses on what people can do that makes a difference. A registered nurse and mental health advocate, Lautner has become a trusted voice for people looking for more than surface-level advice. As co-host of The Squeeze with her husband Taylor Lautner, she leads conversations that feel direct and unfiltered, revealing what real support looks like when life is messy. She also founded the Lemons Foundation to make mental health resources easier to access.

Her work is shaped by clinical training and by seeing how stress and isolation pull people away from who they want to be. She shows audiences how caring for their mental health strengthens everything else: work, relationships, energy, purpose. In 2025 she received Maybelline and NAMI’s Be Brave Award for her leadership in mental health advocacy.

Onstage, Lautner talks about what works when habits have collapsed and familiar strategies do not help. She shows audiences how to stay grounded under pressure, support others without losing themselves, and build routines that hold up.