Commencement Speaker

On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President – a historic achievement as the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American…

Charles Barkley is an iconic figure in the basketball world, earning recognition as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl serves as the senior rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City and is the first woman to lead Central’s Reform congregation in its 180-year history.

Tony® and Emmy Award®-winning comedian, actor, producer, writer and director BILLY CRYSTAL is known to audiences around the world as the star of such feature films as When Harry Met Sally…, City Slickers and Analyze This; as…

What is the Ann Curry difference? She is more than a highly esteemed, award-winning journalist. Ann brings stories to life. Her reporting is raw, bold, and deeply personal, because she…

Chrissy Teigen is a New York Times #1 bestselling author, TV personality and the founder of Cravings.  In 2019 Teigen was included on TIME Magazine’s prestigious annual list of the “100 Most Influential People” as…

Martin Short, a celebrated comedian and actor, has won fans and accolades in television, film and theater since his breakout season on Saturday Night Live almost 30 years ago and…

Steve Forbes is Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media, and an internationally respected authority in the worlds of economics, finance, and corporate leadership. With the economy at the forefront of…

Rami Malek won an Oscar for his ground-breaking performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Mark Wahlberg earned both Academy Award® and Golden Globe® nominations for his standout work in the family boxing film, The Fighter, and Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed drama, The Departed. He has played diverse…

Hillary Rodham Clinton served as the 67th Secretary of State of the United States from January 21, 2009 until February 1, 2013, after nearly four decades in public service as…

Academy Award-Winning Actor Matthew McConaughey's impressive career has spanned 40 feature films that have grossed over $1 billion dollars. A Texas native heralded for his constant career reinvention, McConaughey is…

Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States. Few presidents have walked a more improbable path to the White House.

Simon Sinek is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Sinek teaches…

Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is one of the most accomplished athletes of the past two decades. With 18 Division Titles and ten Super Bowl appearances.

Bradley Cooper produced, wrote and directed the critically acclaimed remake "A Star is Born" (2019) which earned him 3 Oscar nominations.

Academy Award winning actress Nicole Kidman first came to the attention of American audiences with her critically acclaimed performance in Phillip Noyce’s riveting 1989 Australian psychological thriller Dead Calm. Kidman has since…

Multi-talented actress/producer/writer and singer Rita Wilson first donned her producers cap for the record breaking box-office hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

In a career spanning over five decades, legendary actor Al Pacino has received many accolades, including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, becoming one of the few performers to…

Pierce Brosnan is a legendary Irish-American actor, film producer, environmentalist, philanthropist, artist and two-time Golden Globe Award nominee known for his rich and extensive career in front of the camera…

Ryan Seacrest holds preeminent positions in nationally syndicated radio and local radio, as well as broadcast and cable television.

Sandra Bullock is one of Hollywood’s most sought after leading ladies and has received universal acclaim for her work. Over the course of her career Bullock’s films have grossed over…

Sacha Baron Cohen is an actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, and film producer known for creating and portraying fictional satirical characters, including Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard and Admiral General…

Lenora Billings-Harris, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) is a CPAE Hall of Fame speaker and a recognized authority in the areas of inclusion, diversity, and bias.

Uma Thurman is an actress best known for her starring roles in Pulp Fiction and the two-part Kill Bill films.

Will Smith is an actor, producer, and musician, two-time Academy Award nominee, Grammy Award and NAACP Image Award winner who has enjoyed a diverse career encompassing films, television, and multi-platinum records. Launching…

Cindy Crawford is known to the world as one of the original supermodels who defined that pivotal moment when fashion models became stars in their own right.  

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation’s most popular directors.

After first entering America's homes regularly as the title character, Doogie Howser, MD., Neil Patrick Harris has been a fixture of American pop-culture for nearly three decades.

Emma is best known for playing the iconic character of Hermione Granger in the eight enormously successful HARRY POTTER films. Her performance in the first film of the series, HARRY…

Tom Hanks is an award-winning actor, producer, and director.

British actor James Corden is known around the world as a Tony Award-winning performer on Broadway, a BAFTA-winning comedy star, a feature film actor, and an acclaimed host, writer, and…

Robert De Niro is an Italian-American actor, producer, and director. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award.

Audiences always leave Henry's presentations inspired and entertained. Through humorous anecdotes and inspirational life lessons about overcoming adversity to his storied career in television and entertainment, groups of all ages…

Owen Wilson is one of contemporary cinema’s most successful actors, having won great acclaim for his memorable turns in mainstream and independent films.

Emma Lovewell is a Martha’s Vineyard raised, Brooklyn based health & wellness expert and fitness professional with 10 + years of experience. Lovewell has been a top instructor at Peloton…

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a global icon; a mammoth of public life, sports, and entertainment.

At the lecture podium, Gov. Pataki is one of the nation's most articulate and knowledgeable speakers on the environment, climate change, energy and the current domestic political atmosphere.

His career is the story legends are made from. Media Maven Chad Hurley is the co-founder and former CEO of YouTube, the world’s largest and most popular video sharing site…

Theo Epstein was the President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs until 2020. In 2002, he became the youngest GM in the history of Major League Baseball when the…

Mellody Hobson has been the Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, LLC, an investment management firm, since 2019 and President and Director since 2000. She has also served as Chair of the…

Kevin Kwan was born and raised in Singapore, where he attended Anglo-Chinese School in the mornings and spent his afternoons either hiding from his Chinese tutor or chasing after neighborhood…

Perhaps no one in Hollywood works harder to defend the value and integrity of the arts quite like Kevin Spacey. A lifelong artist, Spacey began his acting career in Jr.…

One of today's most important novelists, Terry McMillan has always written from an honest place, creating fresh, lively, and often poignant works that are enthralling and inspirational tonic for many…

Sterling K. Brown was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended the prestigious St. Louis Country Day School. He then attended Stanford University, where he earned a B.A. in…

Justin Hartley can currently be seen starring on NBC’s record-breaking hit series “This Is Us"

On April 15, 2013, what is referred to as Marathon Monday in Boston, Heather Abbott of Newport, RI set out on an annual tradition with six friends.  They would attend…

Henry Golding is a British–Malaysian actor, model and television host. He rose to prominence after his leading role in Jon M. Chu's 2018 film "Crazy Rich Asians."

Award-winning CBS journalist Maurice DuBois, a respected journalist who received the New York Association of Black Journalists’ Trailblazer Award, is an anchor at CBS-2. Over the course of an impressive…