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World-Famous Animal Scientist, Autism Self-Advocate, Author of "Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism"
Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is one of the most accomplished and well-known adults with autism in the world. Her life, with all its challenges and successes, was brought to the screen…
Choosing Happiness, Author, Entrepreneur and Award-Winning Blogger
Author, entrepreneur, award-winning blogger, Emmy-winning producer, and inspirational speaker, Shane Burcaw brings a spirited, humorous approach to everything he does. Born with a progressive neuromuscular disease, Shane has been battling…
Executive Director, Stanford University Technology Ventures Program
Dr. Tina Seelig is Professor of the Practice in the Dept of Management Science and Engineering (MS&E) at Stanford University. She is also the Executive Director for the Stanford Technology…
Author of "Get Down" & "Disgruntled"
Assistant Professor of English at Haverford College Asali Solomon is the author of Get Down, for which she received the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, and Disgruntled. Previously, Solomon taught…
ABC News Senior Health & Medical Editor
Dr. Richard Besser, M.D., is ABC News' Chief Health and Medical Editor. In this role, he provides medical analysis and commentary for all ABC News broadcasts and platforms, including World…
Radio Host, Author, Activist, Nutritionist, and Conservative Political Commentator
Dr. Michael Savage is a multimedia icon in the conservative movement, heard by 10 million listeners a week on “The Michael Savage Show” and syndicated across the U.S. in more…
Co-Host of 'Good Morning America,' Fox NFL Sunday Analyst, NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl Champion
Emmy winner and Super Bowl Champion Michael Strahan currently co-hosts ABC’s Good Morning America and serves as an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday. This summer, Strahan hosted the top-rated primetime…
Grammy-Winning Singer/Songwriter/Author and Daughter of Johnny Cash
Rosanne Cash is a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter. Her 16 albums, released over the last 25 years, have charted 11 No. 1 singles. She has earned numerous accolades for songwriting…
Author, Hall of Fame Wide Receiver and Three-time Super Bowl Champion
Super Bowl MVP Jerry Rice has compiled his list of the most iconic, strategic, and record-breaking moments in football history from the Super Bowl’s inception to today—from the Green Bay…
Sports Columnist, Analyst, Author and Podcaster; Editor-in-Chief for TheRinger.com
Bill Simmons is a writer, TV host, analyst, and podcaster. He recently signed a multi-year, multi-platform deal with HBO, where his new weekly talk show that aired in 2016 and…
Co-Host, CBS's "The Talk" Colon Cancer Survivor and Wife of Ozzy Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne can currently be seen as one of the six women on CBS series The Talk. The show has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2011, 2012, 2013…
Co-Host, CBS's "The Talk"
Sara Gilbert serves as host and executive producer of THE TALK, CBS’s Daytime Emmy Award-nominated talk show that examines topical events and contemporary issues through the eyes of five female…
Award-Winning Reporter and Culture-Critic
Jimi Izrael is an award-winning reporter and culture-critic from Shaker Heights, Ohio who currently moderates “The Barbershop” for National Public Radio’s “Tell Me More with Michel Martin” and blogs “The Hardline”…
Critically Acclaimed Author and World Renowned Speaker, Motivator and Educator
Eric Thomas, PhD. or “ET”, as he is better known, has taken the world by storm,with his bold & creative, high intensity, positive life changing messages!
Fashion Designer, TV Personality & Author
Perhaps most widely known for MTV’s reality-hit shows, The Hills and The City, California-born Whitney Port is intent on blazing her own trail in the fashion industry. Throughout 6 seasons…
Entrepreneur, Author, Coach and Winner of the CBS reality show, Big Brother
Dan Gheesling is a public speaker, entrepreneur, author, coach and winner of the CBS reality show, Big Brother. After two stints on reality TV, he was called the "best Big…
Physician and New York Times Best-Selling Author
Mark Hyman, M.D. has dedicated his career to identifying and addressing the root causes of chronic illness through a groundbreaking whole-systems medicine approach, known as Functional Medicine. He is a…
Co-Founder, Def Jam Records
Acknowledged as the Godfather of Hip-Hop, Russell Simmons is the visionary behind Def Jam, the legendary label that launched the careers of such artists as Run DMC, the Beastie Boys,…
TV Icon & Host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show
A beloved television icon and entertainment pioneer, comedian Ellen DeGeneres has a distinctive comic voice that has charmed audiences worldwide from her first stand-up comedy appearances through her recent work…
Leader of The Hustle Movement
James Chapman is a well-known innovator in both the civic and entrepreneurial community. He was nominated for the 2015 White House Demo Day for being Founder of Oil Drop; an…
Drummer for The Roots, In-House Band Jimmy Fallon Band & Author
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, drummer, author, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, music journalist, and record producer. Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson is the drummer and co-founder of the Grammy award-winning hip hop band The Roots. He's…
New York Times Best-Selling Author
Allegra Goodman’s novels include Intuition, The Cookbook Collector, Paradise Park, and Kaaterskill Falls (a National Book Award finalist).
Entertainment Journalist, Fashion and Beauty Expert & Breast Cancer Survivor
New York Times best-selling author and the winner of the Fan Favorite award at the 2014 Daytime Emmy Awards, Giuliana Rancic is an entertainment journalist, author, fashion and beauty expert…
Co-Host of TLC and OWN's hit show Extreme Weight Loss
Heidi Powell, wife of transformation specialist Chris Powell, is no exception. Empowering thousands across the globe, Heidi works side by side with Chris to carry out their vision of transforming…
Former Biker Turned European Militant Islamist Turned al-Qaida Associate Turned Whistleblower
Morten Storm a former Biker Turned European Militant Islamist Turned al-Qaida Associate Turned Whistleblower. Morten Storm was an unlikely Jihadi. A six-foot-one red-haired Dane, Storm spent his teens in and…
CEO of Notional, Co-founder of CollegeHumor, CEO of CollegeHumor and Vimeo Co-Founder
Keynotes by Ricky Van Veen provide insightful information about the relationship of people and the type of content they consume online. Van Veen's interest in comedy led him to co-found…
Educator and Historian. Founding Director, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Lonnie G. Bunch III is the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Award-winning Author and Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet
Pulitzer Prize-winner Natasha Trethewey served two terms as the 19th Poet Laureate of the United States (2012-2014). In his citation, Librarian of Congress James Billington wrote, “Her poems dig beneath…
Broadway Actor, Inspirational Speaker, Recording Artist, Entrepreneur, Author, and Nationally Recognized Storyteller
Charles Holt is a native of Nashville, TN and a graduate of Rhodes College. Charles is a gifted Broadway actor and dynamic speaker. He inspires audiences around the world including…
Founding Chair of John Jay's Art & Music Department, as well as an accomplished curator, author, and art historian
Lisa E. Farrington, Ph.D., is the founding Chair of John Jay's Art & Music Department, as well as an accomplished curator, author, and art historian. In 2010 she won the…
American Short Story Writer and Novelist
Ann Beattie, American writer of short stories and novels whose characters, having come of age in the 1960s, often have difficulties adjusting to the cultural values of later generations. Beattie…
Political Historian and Teacher at American University in Washington, D.C.
Allan J. Lichtman received his PhD from Harvard University in 1973 with a specialty in modern American history and quantitative methods. He became an Assistant Professor of History at American…
Historian best known for his study of the Holocaust
Richard Breitman received his B.A. from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He is author or co-author of ten books and many articles in German history, U.S. history,…
President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore
Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, has served as President of UMBC (The University of Maryland, Baltimore County) since 1992. His research and publications focus on science and math education, with special…
Public Relations Expert & Activist
Terrie M. Williams, one of Ebony magazine’s “Power 150” for Activism and Woman’s Day magazine “50 Women On A Mission To Change The World,” is an advocate for change and…
Renowned Award-Winning Top Motivational Speaker Known For Motivating People at Business, Schools and other events. Founder of Headbands of Hope
During the summer of 2011, Jess Ekstrom participated in an internship at a wish-granting organization for kids with life-threatening illnesses. During this incredible experience, she quickly discovered that there were…
Medical Geneticist, Author and Co-Director of the Down Syndrome Program at Massachusetts General Hospital who has dedicated his career to children with cognitive and development disabilities
Dr. Brain Skotko has dedicated his professional energies toward children with cognitive and development disabilities. In 2001, he co-authored the national award-winning book, Common Threads: Celebrating Life with Down Syndrome…
Has energized almost two million leaders, educators, volunteers, and students worldwide with his authentic, inspiring messages of hope
An original Freedom Writer whose story is told in part in the 2007 hit movie, Freedom Writers, Manny Scott has energized over a million leaders, educators, volunteers, and students worldwide…
Politician
Former Minnesota Congresswoman, Michele Bachmann became the first Republican woman elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives. She was listed in Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People”…
America's No. 1 Crisis Management Expert and Inspiration for ABC's Hit Show, "Scandal"
As a result of her wide ranging and ground breaking career, Shonda Rhimes, creator of ABC’s hit television dramas Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, developed a television drama about the…
Cultural Activist, Award-Winning Journalist, Documentary Filmmaker and Author of the book, “ Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina”
Born in Harlem to Dominican parents, award-winning journalist, cultural activist, podcaster, and documentary filmmaker Raquel Cepeda is the author of Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina. Equal parts memoir…
Actor, Writer and Carpenter; Best Known for his Breakout Role as Ron Swanson on "Parks and Recreation"
Actor Nick Offerman, best known for his role as Ron Swanson on NBC's “Parks and Recreation” Offerman is also a humorist, woodworker and the author of the New York Times…
Stand-Up Comedian, host of the podcast, "WTF with Marc Maron" and starred in his own IFC television comedy series, Maron, for which he also served as executive producer and occasional writer
For over twenty years, Marc Maron has been writing and performing raw, honest and thought-provoking comedy for print, stage, radio, online and television. A legend in the stand-up community, Maron…
Professor, Africana Studies, English and Comparative Literature, Cornell University
Dr. Carole Boyce-Davies is a student-first, Caribbean-American radically intellectual committed to social justice. Currently, Professor of Africana Studies and English at Cornell University, from the mid1980’s and throughout the 1990’s,…
Award-Winning Author, Poet, Musician and Native American Cultural Educator is a member of the Nipmuc Tribal Nation
Larry Spotted Crow Mann, is a internationally acclaimed writer, poet, cultural educator, Traditional Story Teller, tribal drummer/dancer and motivational speaker involving youth sobriety, cultural and environmental awareness. Mann is also…
Comedian, Writer, Actor, and Television Producer
Since starting out on the NY comedy-club scene, the Brooklyn native's dry, off-kilter sensibility has been found in his writing as well as his (more infrequent) acting. In 1999 Larry…
Youngest-Ever Nobel Prize Winner; Advocate for Girls' Education & Women's Equality; Author of the International Bestseller "I Am Malala"
Malala Yousafzai made headlines when she was shot by the Taliban in 2012 at the age of 15 while traveling home from school on the bus with her friends in…
