2026 Speakers

Born to a poor immigrant family in New York City, Richard Carmona experienced homelessness, hunger, and health disparities during his youth. The experiences greatly sensitized him to the relationships among culture, health, education and economic status and ultimately shaped his future.

After dropping out of high school, Dr. Carmona enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967 where he received a GED. By the time he left active duty, he was a Special Forces, combat-decorated Vietnam veteran. He then pursued a college degree and entered medical school at the University of California – San Francisco where he won the prestigious Gold Cane award as the top graduate.

Dr. Carmona became a surgeon with a sub-specialty in trauma, burns and critical care and was recruited to Tucson to establish the first trauma system in southern Arizona which he did successfully. Later, while working full time as a hospital and health system CEO, he earned a master’s degree in public health policy and administration at the University of Arizona.

Dr. Carmona served for over 35 years with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Tucson, including as deputy sheriff, detective, SWAT team leader and department surgeon. He is one of the most highly decorated police officers in Arizona, and his numerous awards include the National Top Cop Award, the National SWAT Officer of the Year, and the National Tactical EMS Award. Dr. Carmona is a nationally recognized SWAT expert and has published extensively on SWAT training and tactics, forensics, and tactical emergency medical support. Dr. Carmona has also served as a medical director of police and fire departments and is a fully qualified peace officer with expertise in special operations and emergency preparedness, including weapons of mass destruction.

In 2006 Vice Admiral Carmona successfully completed the statutory four-year term as Surgeon General and was named vice chairman of Canyon Ranch, CEO of the health division and president of the Canyon Ranch Institute. Dr. Carmona continues his Canyon Ranch leadership role as the Chief of Health Innovations. He also serves on several community and public corporate boards and works with private equity and venture capital firms to identify emerging science and technology to translate to market for economic and public benefit.

Dr. Michelle A. Williams stands as one of the most influential epidemiologists of her generation, combining rigorous scientific research with transformative academic leadership to advance global public health. Currently serving as Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University's School of Medicine, she brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective shaped by her background in biology, engineering, and epidemiology.

Dr. Williams' distinguished career includes her tenure as Dean of the Faculty at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she provided strategic leadership for one of the world's premier public health institutions. Prior to this role, she served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard Chan School and led the Population Health and Health Disparities Research Programs at Harvard's Clinical and Translational Sciences Center. Her research portfolio, encompassing more than 550 scientific publications, focuses on reproductive, perinatal, pediatric, and molecular epidemiology with particular emphasis on addressing health disparities. This work has positioned her as a leading voice in understanding how social determinants and biological factors intersect to influence population health outcomes.

Dr. Williams' contributions to science and education have earned her election to the National Academy of Medicine in 2016, marking her as one of the most respected voices in her field. Her commitment to mentoring the next generation of public health leaders has been recognized through numerous prestigious awards, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring from the White House in 2012, Harvard Chan School's Outstanding Mentor Award in 2015, and the American Public Health Association Abraham Lilienfeld Award for education in epidemiology in 2007.

Dr. Williams maintains active membership in several prestigious professional organizations, including the National Academy of Medicine, the Society for Epidemiologic Research, and the American Epidemiological Society. Her academic credentials include an undergraduate degree in biology and genetics from Princeton University, a master's degree in civil engineering from Tufts University, and both master's and doctoral degrees in epidemiology from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Gloria Caulfield holds multiple leadership roles, including Vice President of Strategic Alliances at Tavistock Development, President of the Lake Nona Institute, and Founder & Executive Director of the Lake Nona Impact Forum. She is responsible for developing corporate partnerships and collaborating with stakeholders in the Lake Nona community that advance medical innovation, technology, and leading-edge strategies for health & wellbeing in the built environment. Gloria is the chief architect and creative force for the Lake Nona Impact Forum, a revered global health innovation summit which is comprised of some of the world’s most pre-eminent thought leaders.

Serena Williams embodies style, power, beauty, and courage. The longest-ranked No. 1 player in history, she has won 23 career Grand Slam singles titles, making her the most successful female player of the Open Era and the most decorated WTA player of all time. Her athletic prowess, combined with her off-court presence, has made her one of the most recognizable names and faces in the world. Her success extends beyond tennis to venture capital, film, and television. Serena has won titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments, earning 73 singles championships and 23 doubles championships. A four-time Olympic gold medalist, she won medals at the 2000 (doubles), 2008 (doubles), and 2012 (singles and doubles) Olympic Games. In 2015, Serena won four Grand Slams— Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Open, and the 2014 U.S. Open—a feat known as the “Serena Slam,” and was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year. In 2017, she clinched her 23rd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. August 2022 marked Serena’s final matches at the U.S. Open, as she announced her evolution away from professional tennis. She has since focused on opportunities as an entrepreneur and investor. In 2017, she established Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on investing in women and founders of color. The firm’s portfolio includes over 85 companies, including 14 unicorns. Serena has appeared on the covers of Fast Company’s Most Productive People issue and Forbes’ Self-Made Millionaires issue and was named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people in 2025. In April 2023, she launched Nine Two Six Productions, a multimedia production company dedicated to elevating female and diverse voices. Nine Two Six produced ESPN’s IN THE ARENA: SERENA WILLIAMS, an eight-episode docuseries that premiered in July 2024, followed by ABC’s broadcast of the 2024 ESPYS, hosted by Serena. Nine Two Six projects also include the video podcast Stockton Street, featuring Williams and her sister Venus, which debuted on X in September 2025, and upcoming Amazon docuseries, THE CEO CLUB. Serena released her children’s book, “The Adventures of Qai Qai,” in 2022. She will next author two more books: an intimate memoir set to publish in 2026, and a companion guide shaped by her experiences on and off the court.

Michael R. Pompeo served as the 70th Secretary of State of the United States, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and was elected to four terms in Congress representing the Fourth District of Kansas. Mike graduated first in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986. He served as a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army, leading troops patrolling the Iron Curtain. Mike left the military in 1991 and then graduated from Harvard Law School, having served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Up next was almost a decade leading two manufacturing businesses in South Central Kansas—first in the aerospace industry and then making energy drilling and production equipment.

In 2010, Mike watched the government grow too big and decided to run for Congress. He won and was re-elected three more times to represent South Central Kansas—the heartland of America. Becoming America’s most senior spy, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, was Mike’s next chance to champion American values. President Donald Trump saw that good work and decided to make Mike America’s 70th Secretary of State. As our nation’s most senior diplomat in the Trump Administration and President Trump’s chief negotiator, Mike helped to craft U.S. foreign policy based on our nation’s founding ideals, emphasizing religious freedom as central to human dignity. During this time, America became a massive energy exporter and a force for good in the Middle East, with real peace cemented in the Abraham Accords.

Since leaving government, Mike has remained active on the global stage advancing American interests. Currently, he serves as a partner in Niobrara Investment Partners, a private equity firm he co-founded, is of counsel at Torridon Law, and chairs the Helms School of Government at Liberty University.

Married to Susan, Mike and his wife have one son, Nick. Mike and Susan were thrilled to see their family grow to include a daughter-in-law when Nick married his wife, Rachael, in 2022, and then welcomed their first grandson, Jack Michael, in 2025. Mike and Susan’s two retrievers, Sherman and Mercer, each named after important American generals, are patriots too!

Emma Heming Willis is a mother, stepmother, wife, advocate, and cofounder of Make Time Wellness, a brand devoted to women's brain health. After her husband, Bruce Willis, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), she became a passionate voice for care partners and families navigating neurodegenerative disease. Working with the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, Emma’s advocacy includes pushing for government action to formally recognize FTD’s unique impact on families, patients, and healthcare systems. Most recently, she supported New York Senator Michelle Hinchey in passing America’s first state-level FTD registry, a historic milestone in public health policy and law. Emma is the author of the New York Times bestselling book The Unexpected Journey, a compassionate guide for caregivers navigating dementia. In May 2025, she was recognized by Maria Shriver’s Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement (WAM) at the Cleveland Clinic with the organization’s Caregiving Award.

Jon Batiste is a seven-time Grammy and Academy Award–winning singer, songwriter, and composer. His ninth studio album, BIG MONEY (released August 22 via Verve/Interscope) is rooted in American traditions spanning gospel and soul to blues, folk, and rock & roll. Featuring special guests including No I.D., Randy Newman, and Andra Day, the album is nominated for three 2026 GRAMMY® Awards including Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song.

Batiste recently wrapped his national headlining tour in support of the project, which stopped at over 30 venues across the U.S., including Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN.

BIG MONEY caps a landmark year that included Batiste’s Super Bowl performance and the chart-topping success of his album Beethoven Blues, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical Albums chart and delivered his biggest sales week to date. Beethoven Blues followed 2023’s World Music Radio, which earned five Grammy nominations including Album of the Year. In 2021, Batiste released We Are, an album that earned 9 Grammy nominations and five wins including Album of the Year. His life during that period—marked by both career highs and his wife’s return of long-dormant cancer—is captured in the moving 2024 Netflix documentary American Symphony. Batiste co-wrote the film’s original song “It Never Went Away,” which earned a GRAMMY® Award and Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

Batiste’s accolades also include an Academy Award for Pixar’s Soul and a seven-year tenure as bandleader and musical director of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

As CEO of Oracle, Mike Sicilia is focused on helping customers across every industry accelerate growth and drive business success with AI-powered applications and infrastructure. He is responsible for sales, go-to market strategy, and continued development of Oracle’s multi-billion-dollar vertical industries business. Since joining Oracle from Primavera Systems in 2008, Mike has held several leadership positions and was pivotal in delivering industry-specific cloud and embedded AI solutions that empower organizations to adapt, innovate, and make a positive impact on society. He also managed some of Oracle’s most strategic acquisitions, delivering critical new offerings to customers. Mike holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Saint Joseph's University.

Dr. Regina E. Dugan is an internationally recognized business executive, producer, engineer-artist, taskmaster, and product developer. Dr. Dugan currently serves as President & CEO of Wellcome Leap Inc, a non-profit that builds and executes bold, unconventional programs, funded at scale, with the aim of increasing the speed and number of breakthroughs in human health.

Dr. Dugan has led world-class, global teams, and hundred-million to multi-billion dollar efforts to deliver novel products at Meta, Alphabet, and as the 19th Director, and first woman to lead, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The NYTimes noted that Dr. Dugan is "credited with having a knack for inspiring, and indeed insisting on, creative thinking,” and for her unwavering approach to innovation that advances research and solves practical problems. FORTUNE described her as one of the world’s leading experts on product innovation, “the kind that unhinges old ways of operating, juices competition and creates new growth.” She has been named to the Verge 50 list, Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business 1000', CNN's ‘Top 10 Thinkers’, and CNBC’s ‘NEXT LIST’. As executive producer, she has received 4 Annie Awards, 1 Emmy, and an OSCAR nomination.

Dr. Dugan earned her PhD from Caltech and was named a Distinguished Alumna in 2017, joining noted honorees such as Carver Mead and Gordon Moore. She earned her BS/MS from VaTech, where she is a member of the Academy of Engineering Excellence, and in 2022, received the University Distinguished Achievement Award.

Dr. Dugan is the co-author of Issues in Science and Technology article, ‘Changing the Business of Breakthroughs,’ and the co-author of Harvard Business Review cover article, ‘Special Forces Innovation,’ a 2013 HBR McKinsey Award finalist. She has spoken at events such as Code Conferences D9 and D11, Washington Post Summit on U.S. Competitiveness, PopTech, and TED. More recently, Dr. Dugan spoke at Philanthropy Asia Summit, Fortune Brainstorm Health, and Abundance 360 Summit.

Dr. Dugan previously served on the boards of Varian Medical Systems, Zynga, and Cruise; she is currently a director on the boards of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Siemens AG.

Mr. Rasesh “Sesh” Thakkar serves as Senior Managing Director of Tavistock Group and has been with the Group for 25+ years. Mr. Thakkar’s areas of experience ranges across industries such as life sciences, financial services, real estate, and leisure services as well as corporate finance and structures, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning and operations. He’s also known for being one of the main visionaries behind Lake Nona.

Currently, he serves on the Board and Governors Council of the Orlando Economic Partnership. He is also on the Board of Directors of GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation and TECO Energy and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Tavistock Foundation and the Florida Governor’s Council of 100.

Safi is a physicist, a former public-company CEO, a biotechnology entrepreneur, and author of the international bestseller Loonshots.

He received his BA from Harvard summa cum laude, completed his PhD in physics at Stanford, and served for three years as a consultant at McKinsey and Company. In 2001, Safi founded a biotechnology company developing new drugs for serious medical conditions. He led its IPO, served as its CEO for 13 years, and was named a New England Biotechnology Entrepreneur of the Year. The company, now valued at over $10 billion, received the first FDA approval for a drug to treat MASH (fatty liver disease).

Safi’s book Loonshots, an instant WSJ bestseller, shows how phase changes in group behavior can help explain the rise and fall of companies and nations. It has been translated into 21 languages and was the #1 most recommended book by CEOs and entrepreneurs in Bloomberg’s annual survey. It was selected as a Financial Times, Forbes, and Washington Post best business book of the year, and has been recommended by Bill Gates, Daniel Kahneman, Malcolm Gladwell, and many others.

Safi worked with President Obama’s council of science advisors (PCAST) on the future of national research, and has presented on strategy and innovation to leadership teams at Amazon, the CIA, Goldman Sachs, Google, Microsoft, the US Army, the US Navy, Walmart, and others, as well as business schools and science, mathematics, or medical departments at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Caltech, Cornell, MGH, and the NIH. He continues to advise, invest in, and help launch new technology companies, and is working on his next project, which brings together physics, economics, and markets. He lives with his wife and three children in Washington, DC.

Dr. Sian Leah Beilock (SEE-ahn BYE-lock) is the 19th President of Dartmouth, an Ivy League institution dedicated to developing leaders through one of the nation’s best undergraduate liberal arts education programs and five world-class research and professional schools.

Since President Beilock’s arrival in 2023, she has positioned Dartmouth as a global leader on critical issues facing higher education and the world, including affordability, cold-weather climates and the energy transition, and advancing a campus-wide strategy for mental health and wellbeing. She also launched “Dartmouth Dialogues,” a signature initiative equipping students with the skills to navigate difficult conversations and build trust across differences. In 2024, she led Dartmouth in adopting a first-of-its-kind policy of “institutional restraint,” reaffirming the university’s commitment to freedom of expression as a foundation for intellectual and civic health.

A core priority of her presidency has been elevating Dartmouth’s long-standing leadership in rural health care. The Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine is the most rural academic medical center in the nation, home to an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center — uniquely, the only one located outside a major U.S. city. Geisel is also in the top 10% of all medical schools in sending its graduates into rural practice, reflecting its deep commitment to improving care in communities that are often the hardest to reach.
President Beilock is a leading cognitive scientist whose research examines how people think, perform, and thrive under pressure — work with clear implications for clinicians, caregivers, and health systems. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Sciences Letters. She has authored more than 120 scientific papers and two acclaimed books, Choke and How the Body Knows Its Mind. Her TED Talk on performing under pressure has reached nearly 3 million viewers worldwide.

Christopher Boerner is board chair and chief executive officer at Bristol Myers Squibb. Prior to assuming his current role, he served as executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief executive officer designate from April to November 2023.

Chris previously served as executive vice president, chief commercialization officer since August 2018, where he led the worldwide Commercial and Medical organizations and was responsible for driving growth across the company’s key franchises. Prior to that role, Chris was head of international markets at Bristol Myers Squibb, accountable for international commercial activities. Before that, he was head of U.S. commercial markets, responsible for U.S. sales and marketing, government affairs and market access. He joined the company in February 2015.

"We work every day to make sure we're delivering medicines for patients. With the pace of scientific innovation and the best workforce in the industry, my confidence in our future is stronger than ever,” he says.

From 2010 to 2015, Chris held leadership roles of increasing responsibility at Seattle Genetics, Inc. From 2002 to 2010, he served in marketing leadership roles at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, focused on strategy, development and commercialization across multiple oncology products and immunology. Earlier in his career, Chris worked for McKinsey & Company, serving global pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients.

Chris received his PhD and MA in business administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a BA in economics and history from Washington University in St. Louis.

Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D., FACOG, is President and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), where she advances health equity through education, research, clinical care, and community engagement. A renowned infertility specialist and researcher, she became the first woman to lead MSM in 2014 after joining as Dean and Executive Vice President in 2011.

Under her leadership, MSM has expanded degree programs, strengthened research capacity, and secured record philanthropic support, including a $175 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies. She has forged national partnerships, enhanced enrollment, and launched initiatives with lasting impact on health equity.

Dr. Montgomery Rice serves on the boards of UnitedHealth Group, Nemours Health Foundation, Georgia Power, and previously on the boards of 23andMe, Moffitt Cancer Center, and Wellpath. An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, she advises nationally on health policy, diversity in the biomedical workforce, and innovation in medical education.

She earned her M.D. from Harvard Medical School, completed her OB/GYN residency at Emory University, and her fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Hutzel Hospital in Detroit. She holds honorary degrees from multiple institutions and is a sought-after keynote speaker on leadership, workforce development, and health equity.

Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., is a Clinical Psychologist and both a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a Fellow of The American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He is one of only 168 psychologists in the world to have passed the Sleep Medical Specialty board without going to Medical School. Dr. Breus was recently named the Top Sleep Specialist in California by Reader’s Digest, and one of the 10 most influential people in sleep. Dr. Breus is on the clinical advisory board of The Dr. Oz Show and on the show (40 times).

Dr. Breus is the author of 4 books with his newest to be released in Dec of 2024 called Sleep, Drink, Breathe: Wellness is too complicated. This book gives an easy to follow 3 week program to teach everyone how these 3 simple biobehaviors are the foundation for wellness.

He is an expert resource for most major publications doing more than 300 interviews per year.

Vardit Ravitsky is President and CEO of the Hastings Center, an independent, nonpartisan bioethics research institute that is among the most prestigious bioethics and health policy institutes in the world. She is Senior Lecturer on Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and was a Full Professor at the Bioethics Program, School of Public Health, University of Montreal. She is Past-President of the International Association of Bioethics, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and of The Hastings Center.

Ravitsky’s research focuses on the ethics of genomics and reproduction, as well as AI in health. It has been funded by Canada’s leading funding agencies and the NIH. She published over 250 articles and commentaries on bioethical issues and has given over 300 talks world-wide and over 400 media interviews.

Her research covers a variety of topics such as public funding of In-Vitro Fertilization; pre-implantation and prenatal genetic testing; sperm and egg donation; epigenetics; germline and somatic gene editing; and the use of Artificial Intelligence in biomedical research. She has been involved in research and policy regarding pandemic ethics and was invested in public outreach during COVID-19.

Ravitsky is a Principal Investigator on two Bridge2AI research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health that expand the use of AI in biomedical and behavioral research. She served on the steering committee of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) to develop an Artificial Intelligence Code of Conduct (AICC).

Ravitsky holds a BA from the Sorbonne University in Paris, an MA from the University of New Mexico in the US, and a PhD from Bar-Ilan University in Israel. Previously, she was Fellow at the Department of Bioethics at the NIH, and faculty at the Department of Medical Ethics, School of Medicine, at the University of Pennsylvania. She was also a Senior Policy Advisor at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in Canada.

Noubar Afeyan is a visionary entrepreneur, inventor, educator, and philanthropist whose career exemplifies the transformative power of science-driven innovation. As the Founder & CEO of Flagship Pioneering and the Founder & Chairman of Moderna, he has played a defining role in shaping the modern biotechnology landscape. Across more than three decades of company creation, Dr. Afeyan has co-founded over 70 life sciences and technology ventures, helping to advance groundbreaking platforms, medicines, and scientific fields.

A biochemical engineer by training, Afeyan earned his Ph.D. from MIT after completing his undergraduate studies at McGill University. He holds more than 100 patents and has built a reputation for identifying bold scientific propositions and cultivating them into influential, category-defining companies. Early in his career, he founded PerSeptive Biosystems, guiding it to significant commercial success before its acquisition by PerkinElmer/Applera. During his tenure there as senior vice president and chief business officer, he contributed to the formation of Celera Genomics, a company instrumental in the early mapping of the human genome.

Through Flagship Pioneering, Afeyan continues to lead the creation of forward-thinking enterprises, including Generate:Biomedicines, Tessera Therapeutics, Alltrna, Apriori Bio, and ProFound Therapeutics. His earlier ventures—such as Chemgenics Pharmaceuticals, Color Kinetics, Adnexus Therapeutics, and Affinnova—were ultimately acquired by major global corporations, underscoring his longstanding impact as an innovation catalyst.

Afeyan is also a devoted educator. He served as a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan for 16 years and later taught at Harvard Business School, sharing his expertise in entrepreneurship, technology development, and systemic innovation. He currently sits on the MIT Corporation and remains an influential voice in discussions on global health, economic development, and renewable energy.

His philanthropic commitments are equally significant. He co-founded the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, the FAST Foundation, and the UWC Dilijan School, championing humanitarian aid, education, and community resilience worldwide. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

A proud immigrant and advocate for inclusive opportunity, Afeyan has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Golden Door Award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and election to the National Academy of Engineering. His career stands as a testament to the profound impact that bold scientific imagination, purposeful entrepreneurship, and global humanitarian commitment can achieve.

Gary Brecka, the visionary founder of The Ultimate Human, is a renowned Human Biologist, biohacker, and longevity expert. With over two decades of experience in analyzing human biomarkers, Gary's unique approach combines the precision of science with the personal touch of individual wellness.

Before creating The Ultimate Human, Gary served as a leading mortality researcher for the life insurance industry, where he honed his expertise in predicting health outcomes based on comprehensive data analysis.

However, Gary's passion lies not in forecasting life spans but in extending them — in enhancing the quality and vitality of every life.

Through The Ultimate Human, Gary shares his deep knowledge and innovative strategies to help individuals navigate their health journeys. His work is driven by a profound belief in the power of informed, personalized health interventions to transform lives. With Gary's guidance, The Ultimate Human continues to inspire and equip people to become the best versions of themselves, inside and out.

Dr Olajide Williams is co-Founder and Board Chair of Hip Hop Public Health, an award-winning internationally recognized New York-based nonprofit organization that leverages music, art, and science for health promotion. He is a Vice Dean at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, a tenured Professor of Neurology and Public Health, and Director of the Columbia Center for Community Health. A health disparities researcher, implementation scientist, and community-based behavioral interventionalist, Dr Williams has led many successful large NIH-funded trials. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards including the European Stroke Research Foundation Investigator of the Year award, Columbia University Outstanding Teacher of the Year award, National Humanism in Medicine award from the Association of American Medical Colleges and was featured on Fast Company Magazine’s 100 Most Creative People in Business list.

Joaquin Duato is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson & Johnson. Under his leadership, J&J is now exclusively focused on tackling the toughest health challenges by developing innovative medicines and medtech solutions.

The company’s 138,000 employees work to transform health by building a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured—and where solutions are smarter, less invasive, and more personalized. Under Joaquin’s leadership, Johnson & Johnson is accelerating healthcare innovation using data science and the latest technology to create breakthroughs in care, from cell therapy to robotic-assisted surgery.

Before becoming CEO in January 2022 and Chairman in January 2023, Joaquin served as Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee, where he led the company’s pharmaceutical and consumer health businesses, as well as technology and global supply chain teams. Over three decades with the company, working across multiple geographies, functions, and business segments, Joaquin developed a deep understanding of the unique role J&J serves in solving patients’ health challenges.

A dual citizen of the U.S. and Spain, Joaquin earned an MBA from ESADE in Barcelona, Spain, and a Master of International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2023 King Felipe VI of Spain bestowed upon him the Order of Civil Merit, Commander by Number.

Dr. Renee Wegrzyn serves as Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Transfyr, an AIxBio start-up focused on making science interpretable, robust, and transferable. Transfyr aims to be able to reproduce and optimize scientific methods an order of magnitude faster than traditional methods, accelerating the path to scientific breakthroughs and real-world applications. Prior to Transfyr, Wegrzyn served as the first director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) from 2022 to 2025. She led the building of the agency, managed a $4 billion portfolio for health innovation, and created a culture of innovation to accelerate better health outcomes for everyone. Previously, she served as a vice president of business development and Head of innovation at Ginkgo Bioworks (Biosecurity) where she focused on applying the tools of synthetic biology to outpace infectious diseases. Wegrzyn also worked for over a decade at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), including as a program manager with a $250 million portfolio focused on gene editing and biomanufacturing, and as a technical advisor to the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). Wegrzyn received the Superior Public Service Medal for her work and contributions, and was recognized in Time’s list of Top 100 Innovators. Before joining DARPA, she led teams in private industry across a range of specialties including biosecurity and gene therapies. Wegrzyn served on the scientific advisory board for the National Academies Standing Committee on Biotechnology Capabilities and National Security Needs, as well as several public and private boards. She holds doctoral and bachelor’s degrees in applied biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology and completed her postdoctoral training as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in Heidelberg, Germany.

Dr. Conway was named CEO of Optum in 2025. Optum has 300K employee team members who serve over 127 million people with annual revenue exceeding $250 billion. It includes three main business units. Optum Health, with nearly 90,000 doctors and other clinicians, delivers clinical care and services in clinics, homes, ambulatory surgical centers, behavioral health, and other settings across the country and serves payers, large employers and the government. Optum Rx serves over 62 million people providing pharmacy care services and over 1.6 billion prescriptions per year. Optum Insight is a data and technology business that serves payers, health systems, life sciences, and others across the country. Collectively, Optum delivers health care services to help make the health system better for everyone.

Previously, Patrick served as chief executive officer of Optum Rx. In this role, he led an integrated pharmacy care services organization that is making drugs more affordable and creating a better experience for consumers, filling more than 1.6 billion retail, mail and specialty drug prescriptions annually. He joined Optum in February 2020 and previously served as the chief executive officer of Care Solutions, where he led a portfolio of care continuum businesses serving over 70 million people across acute and post-acute care, care in the home in-person and virtually, mental and behavioral care benefits and delivery, broad population and complex disease health management, specialty care and government health services.

Dr. Conway was president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina from 2017-19. From 2011 to 2017, he served as Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and as director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and the agency’s Chief Medical Officer. Before joining CMS, he oversaw clinical operations and quality improvement at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Dr. Conway is a practicing pediatric hospitalist. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2014, received the President’s Senior Executive Distinguished Service Award, and was a White House Fellow from 2007 to 2008. He earned his MD with high honors from Baylor College of Medicine, residency training at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Master of Science in clinical epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Juju Chang is an Emmy® Award-winning co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline.” She also reports regularly for “Good Morning America” and “20/20.”

Chang has been recognized for her in-depth personal narratives set against the backdrop of pressing national and international news. From mass shootings to the Opioid Epidemic, Chang is a veteran journalist with a wide-ranging body of work. Chang reported on the recent rise of hate crimes toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community as anchor of the ABC News Live special “Stop The Hate: The Rise In Violence Against Asian Americans” and the “20/20” special “Murder In Atlanta” following the Atlanta mass shooting.

Chang’s decades-long career has been recognized with numerous awards, including multiple Emmy’s, Gracie’s, a DuPont, a Murrow and Peabody awards. In 2017, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Front Page Awards.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Northern California, Chang graduated with honors from Stanford University. A former news anchor for “Good Morning America,” Chang joined ABC News just after college. Chang is a co-founder of the Korean American Community Foundation and a recipient of the Justice in Action Award from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. She is a pandemic gardener, devoted wife and mother to 3 sons who identify as “50% Korean and 100% Jewish.”

Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan leads the world’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization representing nearly 125 million Americans who are 50-plus.
Dr. Minter-Jordan is an accomplished physician and innovative leader who brings a passion for social impact and a demonstrated ability to make strategic decisions, foster collaboration and lead organizations through periods of rapid change and growth.

Throughout her career, she has shined a national spotlight on the importance of social equity and the far-reaching impact of philanthropy. Her journey to transform the healthcare industry includes a successful early career in academic medicine at Johns Hopkins and service as President and CEO of the Dimock Center, one of the largest community health centers in Massachusetts, and CareQuest Institute for Oral Health in Boston, MA.

A graduate of Brown University School of Medicine, Dr. Minter-Jordan takes pride in community engagement and serves on the boards of leading organizations and state advisory councils.

Joseph F. Coughlin, PhD is the founding director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. As a researcher, teacher, and advisor, his work explores how global demographics, technology, and evolving behaviors are transforming business and society. Dr. Coughlin teaches in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies & Planning and frequently speaks to Fortune 500 boardrooms as well as to convention halls of 40,000, delivering his distinct style of insight and humor.

Dr. Coughlin advises major companies worldwide across industries such as finance, healthcare, hospitality, real estate, and transportation. He has served on advisory boards for British Telecom, Daimler, Fidelity Investments, and Sanofi-Aventis, as well as on advisory committees for the White House, the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, and the World Economic Forum. He currently services on the board of directors of AARP.

The Wall Street Journal recognized Dr. Coughlin as a pioneer in reimagining the future of retirement, and Fast Company Magazine named him one of the “100 Most Creative in Business.” He is also a member of World Minds, a prestigious Zurich-based community of global leaders in science, arts, and business. Investment News named him one of the financial services industry’s leading “Icons & Innovators.” In 2024, he received the Investment & Wealth Institute's Impact Award for revolutionizing longevity planning approaches.

Author of over 250 academic publications, Dr. Coughlin is a Senior Contributor to Forbes and writes for MarketWatch. His 2017 bestselling book, The Longevity Economy: Unlocking the World’s Fastest Growing, Most Misunderstood Market, is a must-read for leadership teams across various industries, including Best Buy, CVS, Humana, Marriott International, and more. His new book, co-authored with MIT AgeLab’s Luke Yoquinto, is Longevity Hubs: Regional Innovation for Global Aging (MIT Press, 2024). Connect with Dr. Coughlin on LinkedIn: @drjoecoughlin.

Dr. Ankur Crawford is Executive Vice President and Portfolio Manager of the Alger Capital Appreciation, Alger Focus Equity, and Alger Spectra Strategies and she launched the Alger Concentrated Equity Strategy in 2024. She joined Alger in September 2004 and has 21 years of investment experience. Ankur began her career at Alger as a Research Associate and successfully completed Alger’s in - house analyst training program. Over the next several years, Ankur was promoted to Associate Analyst, Analyst, and, ultimately, Senior Analyst. She was named portfolio manager of the Alger Mid Cap Growth strategies in 2010 and promoted to Head of the Technology sector team in January 2013 (until April 2016). In 2015, Ankur was added as a portfolio manager of the Alger Capital Appreciation, Alger Focus Equity and Alger Spectra strategies and is a member of the Alger Partners Plan. During her tenure at Alger, she has been featured and quoted in InvestmentNews, Investor’s Business Daily, Fortune, CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox News. In 2022, Ankur was named a “See It, Be It Role Model” by InvestmentNews as part of their Excellence in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Awards. In 2020, Ankur was recognized as a “Top Women in Asset Management” honoree by Money Management Executive. Ankur was elected to the board of The Knowledge House, a Bronx-based charity with the mission of teaching underprivileged communities a skill set in technology that enables them to enter the “gig” economy. Ankur was awarded a fellowship from the prestigious Intel PhD Fellowship Program and worked as an engineer with Intel. She holds several U.S. patents and was also awarded a fellowship from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Ankur earned a B.S. in both Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and also received an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University.

John F. Crowley is the President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the
world’s largest biotechnology advocacy organization. Crowley, a longtime BIO board member, was most recently the Founder and Executive Chairman of Amicus Therapeutics, a global biotechnology company focusing on developing treatments for rare genetic diseases. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Amicus from 2005 to 2022.

John’s decades of biotech experience and deep passion for the field have made him a strong supporter of policies that empower innovation, enable entrepreneurship, and put people and patients first. His involvement with biotechnology stems from the 1998 diagnosis of two of his children with Pompe disease—a severe and often fatal neuromuscular disorder.

John and his family have been profiled numerous times by The Wall Street Journal. The 2010 major motion picture, Extraordinary Measures, starring Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford, and Keri Russell, is inspired by the Crowley family journey. John also served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 2005-2016. He is a veteran of the global war on terrorism, and his assignments included service with the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

John attended the U.S. Naval Academy and went on to earn a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

Alexander Cartwright was selected as UCF’s sixth president by the UCF Board of Trustees on March 20, 2020. He began his role on April 13, 2020, bringing with him more than 20 years of higher education leadership experience.

Under Dr. Cartwright’s leadership, UCF is growing as Florida’s Premier Engineering and Technology University — a place where ambition turns into action and knowledge
transforms into breakthroughs. With imagination and collaboration, UCF is boldly inventing the future by advancing industries and technologies that move the world forward.
Already recognized as one of the nation’s most innovative universities, UCF is committed to academic and research excellence that unleashes the potential of students, faculty, employees, and the community.

As a first-generation college student whose journey to higher education was not traditional, Dr. Cartwright prioritizes creating pathways to student success.

An internationally recognized researcher and scholar in the area of optical sensors, Dr. Cartwright is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, SPIE, and the National Academy of Inventors. He is a prior winner of both the National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award. In addition, he earned the 2002 SUNY Chancellor’s award for excellence in teaching.

A native of the Bahamas, Dr. Cartwright holds a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Iowa. He and his wife Melinda have two children, Alyssa and Andrew, and a rescue dog, Artemis.


Alexander N. Cartwright, Ph.D.
PRESIDENT AND PROFESSOR OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING



SAMPLE INTRODUCTION

Alexander Cartwright began his role as UCF’s sixth president on April 13, 2020, bringing with him more than 20 years of higher education leadership experience. As president, Dr. Cartwright has established UCF as Florida’s Premier Engineering and Technology University
— a place where ambition turns into action and knowledge transforms into breakthroughs. Already recognized as one of the nation’s most innovative universities, UCF is boldly inventing the future by advancing industries and technologies that move the world forward.

As a first-generation college student whose journey to higher education was not traditional, Dr. Cartwright prioritizes creating pathways to student success. He is committed to UCF’s academic and research excellence, which unleashes the potential of students, faculty, employees, and the community.

SAMPLE SHORT INTRODUCTION

Alexander Cartwright, UCF’s sixth president, joined the university in April of 2020. As president, Dr. Cartwright has established UCF as Florida’s Premier Engineering and Technology University a place where ambition turns into action and knowledge transforms into breakthroughs. He is committed to unleashing the potential of UCF students, faculty, employees, and the community.

SHORT BIO (150 WORDS)

Alexander N. Cartwright, Ph.D., UCF’s sixth president, is an internationally recognized researcher and scholar in the area of optical sensors, with more than 20 years of higher education leadership experience. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, SPIE, and the National Academy of Inventors.

Under Dr. Cartwright’s leadership, UCF is growing as Florida’s Premier Engineering and Technology University — a place where ambition turns into action and knowledge
transforms into breakthroughs. With imagination and collaboration, UCF is boldly inventing the future by advancing industries and technologies that move the world forward.
Already recognized as one of the nation’s most innovative universities, UCF is committed to academic and research excellence that unleashes the potential of students, faculty, employees, and the community.

As a first-generation college student whose journey to higher education was not traditional, Dr. Cartwright prioritizes creating pathways to student success.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the award-winning chief medical correspondent for CNN, host of the CNN podcast Chasing Life, and a practicing neurosurgeon.

Since 2001, Dr. Gupta has covered some of the most important health stories around the world. On March 9, 2020, Dr. Gupta penned an op-ed announcing the network would refer to the novel coronavirus outbreak as a “pandemic,” ahead of the WHO and the CDC. Throughout 2020 into 2021, Dr. Gupta reaffirmed his role as a trusted guide to viewers worldwide navigating between facts and fiction surrounding Covid-19 and the pandemic.

Dr. Gupta is an associate professor of neurosurgery at Emory University Hospital and associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. He serves as a diplomat of the American Board of Neurosurgery. In 2019, Dr. Gupta was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, considered one of the highest honors in the medical field. He is a best-selling author, including It Doesn’t Have to Hurt: Your Smart Guide to a Pain-Free Life, published in 2025.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and a Doctorate of Medicine degree from the University of Michigan Medical School.

The work of theatre-maker and mentalist Vinny DePonto uses a combination of psychological tricks, visual art, and immersive storytelling. His critically acclaimed show Mindplay has toured the US with an Off-Broadway run in NYC. His work has been presented by Ars Nova, American Conservatory Theater, American Repertory Theater at Harvard, Arena Stage, Huntington Theatre, and the Geffen Playhouse. His work has been nominated for a Drama Desk Award for “Unique Theatrical Experience.” In addition to his live performances, DePonto’s consulting work was featured in the most recent production of Angels in America and Mother Play on Broadway, in Lincoln Center’s Ghost Light, and in hit television shows on the Discovery Channel, NBC, and Netflix. He is also a member of the Bessie-Award-winning theatre group Third Rail Projects. He enjoys burrata, colorful socks, and your deep, dark secrets. He currently lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.

@VinnyDePonto

Jean Chatzky is the founder and CEO of HerMoney, as well as the coaching programs FinanceFixx and InvestingFixx. She’s the host of the podcast "HerMoney With Jean Chatzky" and appears on the TV show Opportunity Knocks, which airs on PBS. Jean is a columnist for AARP and an education fellow for The Alliance for Lifetime Income. She was also the Financial Editor on NBC's Today Show for 25 years. Jean is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, and a fierce advocate for financial literacy. Her latest books include Money Rules, Women with Money, and How To Money. Find her at HerMoney.com or @JeanChatzky everywhere.

Alexandra Drane is co-founder and CEO of ARCHANGELS — a women-owned, Public Benefit Corporation whose omni-channel platform that engages and supports caregivers across all 50 states through partnerships with states, health systems, payviders, employers, consumer brands, and communities.

Alex previously co-founded other companies including Rebel Health, Eliza Corporation, and Engage with Grace (all-bootstrapped). Her board roles include the Joint Commission Resources Board of Directors, RAND Social and Economic Policy Advisory Board, Vice Chair of the Trustee Advisory Board at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and she is a founding member of the Board of Directors of C-TAC. She serves on Harvard Medical School’s Executive Council of the Division of Sleep Medicine and the Board of Advisors for Boston Children’s Hospital Innovation and Digital Health Accelerator in addition to other advisory boards.

Alex’s honors include being named a Top Women in Healthcare’s Entrepreneur of the Year, one of Disruptive Women in Health Care’s Women to Watch, one of Boston Globe’s Top 100 Women Leaders, and the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.” She is also an inventor on numerous patents and has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed journal articles, including publications with the CDC, the Journal of Affective Disorders, BMC Primary Care, and NEJM Catalyst. She also joined Prudential Financial as a host and wellness expert for a national ad campaign “The State of US” which generated over 2 billion impressions.

Outside of healthcare, she enjoys car racing, slicing anything with her Berkel Red deli slicer, and fiercely loving on anyone and everyone she can.

Tyson is the fifth head since 1935 of the world-renowned Hayden Planetarium in New York City and the first occupant of its Frederick P. Rose Directorship.

He is also a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History.

Geoff is the Science and Technology Editor of The Economist. His professional interests include evolutionary biology, genetic engineering, the fight against AIDS and other widespread infectious diseases, the development of new energy technologies, and planetology. His personal interests include using total eclipses of the sun as an excuse to visit weird parts of the world (Antarctica, Easter Island, Amasya, the Nullarbor Plain), and watching swifts hunting insects over his garden of a summer’s evening, preferably with a glass of Cynar in hand.

As someone who loathed English lessons at school, he says he is frequently astonished that he now earns his living by writing. “That I have written a novel, albeit a technothriller rather than anything with fancy literary pretensions, astonishes me even more, since what drew me into writing in the first place was describing reality, not figments of the imagination. On the other hand, perhaps describing reality is what fiction is actually for.”

Nita Farahany is an internationally acclaimed thought leader who bridges law, ethics, and technology to champion ethical progress in science and technology. As the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy at Duke Law School and the Founding Director of Duke Science & Society, she spearheads research on law, and ethical implications of emerging technologies for society. Her landmark book, The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology, offers a roadmap for cognitive freedom in our increasingly interconnected world.

A highly sought-after keynote speaker, Farahany presents to diverse academic, legal, corporate, and public sector audiences. Her impactful insights have reverberated on stages from TED and the World Economic Forum to the Aspen Ideas Festival and beyond. She consistently shapes public discourse and policy on neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and societal impacts through her rigorous scholarship, influential public engagements with academics, policymakers, corporations, and regular contributions to national media, podcasts, and radio shows.

President Obama appointed Farahany to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues in 2010, a role she served until 2017. Today, she holds influential positions in the US BRAIN Initiative and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and collaborates with international organizations including the World Economic Forum and OECD. As an ethics consultant, her expertise is sought by corporations and governments worldwide. Her contributions have been recognized through election to prestigious bodies including the American Law Institute, the Uniform Laws Commission, and the AAAS.

Her interdisciplinary expertise is built on an AB in Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology from Dartmouth College, an ALM in Biology from Harvard University, a JD and MA from Duke University, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Beginning her career with a clerkship for Judge Judith W. Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, she also held prior academic appointments at Vanderbilt University and Stanford Law School.

As a co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law and the Biosciences, and a member of the Board of Advisors for Scientific American, Farahany is a powerful voice guiding academic, policy, and public discourse on law, ethics, and emerging technologies.

Ajani (AJ) Dunn, FACHE, has been chief administrative officer of Mayo Clinic in Florida since Dec. 1, 2021. In partnership with Kent Thielen, M.D., CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida, Mr. Dunn provides leadership and oversight for Mayo Clinic in Florida.

Mr. Dunn began his career at Mayo in 2002 as an administrative fellow and most recently was chair of the Advanced Care at Home. He holds the academic rank of assistant professor of health care systems engineering, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, and is a member of the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees, Board of Governors, and the Mayo Clinic Executive Operations Team. He is the secretary of the Executive Operations Team at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

Mr. Dunn earned his bachelor’s degree in physical therapy and a master’s degree in health care administration at the University of Florida. Board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, Mr. Dunn is passionate about education, leadership development and civic engagement.

Mr. Dunn has deep roots in local, regional and national nonprofit service. He serves on the Board of Governors for the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Board of Directors for the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville.

Helmy Eltoukhy is the chairman and co-CEO of Guardant Health, a leading precision oncology company he co-founded in 2012. He is also an active investor and is involved in over 30 startup companies across the technology and healthcare sectors. In December 2024, Eltoukhy expanded his ventures into sports ownership by co-leading the acquisition of Sheffield United Football Club through COH Sports of which he is currently co-chairman. Beyond his entrepreneurial endeavors, Eltoukhy is deeply committed to various philanthropic efforts and serves on the boards of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), and the UCSF Cancer Leadership Council. Prior to founding Guardant Health, Eltoukhy co-founded Avantome in 2007 to commercialize semiconductor sequencing, which was later acquired by Illumina. He has been recognized by Fortune (40 under 40), the World Economic Forum (Technology Pioneer) and Time (100 Most Influential People in Healthcare). Eltoukhy is a named inventor on over 100 patents and holds PhD, MS, and BS degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

The luscious, deep voice of American mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves has graced nearly all the major world opera house stages and concert halls during her three-decades-long career. Her top-label recordings are numerous, and she has been a featured artist on national public television in everything from Great Performances to Sesame Street. A champion of new works, Ms. Graves has premiered operas and song cycles, won competitions, and countless awards. Her signature opera roles include Carmen and Dalila and the more contemporary Margaret Garner.

In addition to her singing career, Denyce Graves is a much sought-after teacher at The Juilliard School, Peabody Conservatory, and University of Toronto. The Emmy and Grammy award winner has also received many honorary Doctorates of Musical Arts. She has served as a cultural ambassador, and arts advocate on behalf of this country, which she dearly loves. A stunning portrait of Ms. Graves can be seen as part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute's National Portrait Gallery and her image is also represented in the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The opera star was inspired to form The Denyce Graves Foundation at the beginning of 2021 to elevate the lives and work of singers at all stages of their careers while honoring the history and contributions of those who have gone before. Born as a bright light during a dark year, the Foundation is cultivating unique programs aimed at encouraging exceptionally talented vocal artists of all backgrounds to fulfill their potential. Thanks to the inspiring energy and vision of Ms. Graves, the philanthropic arm of this new organization has in just two short years, seen remarkable success in raising awareness and funds to save the National Opera House in Pittsburgh, an essential but neglected piece of American history.

While Ms. Graves still enjoys an active performing career, she sees her legacy extending far beyond her recordings through her work with the Foundation, empowering the next generation of outstanding singers and re-introducing the world to the critical but forgotten musical heroes of our past. With its slogan,

"The soul of a nation is reflected in its commitment to the arts," The Denyce Graves Foundation - and its luminous founder - are on their way to lifting the soul of America.

During his time in Congress, Patrick J. Kennedy was the lead author of the landmark Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Federal Parity Law), which requires insurers to cover treatment for mental health and substance use disorders no more restrictively than treatment for illnesses of the body, such as diabetes and cancer. In 2013, he founded The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit that unites advocates, business leaders, and government agencies to advance evidence-based practices, policies, and programming in mental health and addiction. In 2015, Kennedy co-authored the New York Times Bestseller, “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction,” which details a bold plan for the future of mental health care in America. In 2023, The Kennedy Forum launched the Alignment for Progress, a movement to align leaders from across industry and across the aisle to achieve 90/90/90 by 2033: 90% of all individuals will be screened for mental health and substance use disorders; 90% of those screened will be able to receive evidence-based treatment; 90% of those receiving treatment will be able to manage their symptoms in recovery. Kennedy’s second co-authored book “Profiles in Mental Health Courage” available April 2024 will delve into the compelling stories of a diverse group of Americans who have struggled with their mental health – many of whom are sharing their stories for the first time.

Kennedy is also the founder of DontDenyMe.org, an educational campaign that empowers consumers and providers to understand parity rights and connects them to essential appeals guidance and resources; co-founder of One Mind, an organization that pushes for greater global investment in brain research; co-chair of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Mental Health & Suicide Prevention National Response to COVID-19 (National Response); and co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Behavioral Health Integration Task Force.

Harlem born, but internationally known on the microphone as "The Original Human Beat Box", Barbadian-American rapper Doug E. Fresh has amassed countless awards for his mesmerizing beatbox abilities, catchy rhymes, signature dance moves, and masterful command of audiences. Nearly a dozen millennial rappers have written songs in tribute to Fresh, most notably the breakout hit “Teach Me How to Dougie,” which spawned the “Dougie” dance craze, a nod to moves Fresh created in the 80s.

On and off the road, Fresh is a lifelong activist with a proven commitment to using his talents and resources to unite and inspire social justice. He is the founding artist and honorary board member of Hip Hop Public Health.

Ever reverent to those who have inspired him and ever ready to use his art to uplift, educate and ignite positive change, Doug continues to be an ever so breath of Fresh air.

Sue Hitzmann is an internationally recognized fascia educator, manual therapist, and exercise physiologist whose work has helped shape the global conversation around pain, longevity, and self care. She is the CEO of Longevity Fitness, Inc. and the founder of the MELT Method®, a fascia focused self care system that began as clinical homework for her private clients and has since evolved into a worldwide movement empowering people to restore their bodies and regulate their nervous systems.

A founding member of the Fascia Research Society, Sue is widely regarded as a pioneer in fascia education. Her New York Times bestselling books The MELT Method and MELT Performance introduced the public to accessible, science-rooted strategies for improving fascial integrity, autonomic balance, and long term mobility. Her work bridges cutting edge research with real-world practice, helping people understand how fascia shapes how we move, feel, recover, and age.

For more than two decades, Sue has worked with professional athletes, Olympic gold medalists, major league teams, and Hollywood performers, as well as thousands of everyday individuals seeking to live pain free and resilient lives. Her streaming platform, MELT On Demand, and her global community of over 3,500 trained instructors extend her mission across more than 30 countries.

Sue is also the host of Anatomical Gangster, a podcast that brings together innovators in fascia, movement and health sciences, quantum biology, and human performance and longevity. Through high energy keynotes, immersive workshops, and transformative conversations, she distills complex science into practical tools that help people reclaim ownership of their bodies and their health span.

Her mission is simple and profound: awaken body wisdom, simplify self care, and redefine what it means to heal, move, and thrive in the modern world.

Sam has spent his career building companies at the cutting-edge of the video game industry. As the founder and CEO of Level Ex, his team of elite game developers and physician experts create neuroscience-based games that accelerate the adoption curve of new products and techniques in medicine.

Offering the only games certified to provide AMA Category 1 CME credit, Level Ex's content is played by over a million medical professionals. Sales, marketing, and education teams at 30 out of the top 40 medtech and life science companies use Level Ex game technology to market their products and train their users. Level Ex's games are used by leading medical societies - and NASA - to disseminate the latest guidelines and techniques for topics ranging from dermatology to Space Health.

Before Level Ex, he was the CEO of the leading independent game publisher in Hollywood, releasing games based on popular films, including The Hunger Games and Mission: Impossible. Sam also led the DirectX graphics team at Microsoft, where he accepted a Technical Emmy on behalf of his team for advancing the visual realism of video games across the industry. His career began at LucasArts, creating Star Wars games for PlayStation and Xbox. Sam serves on numerous industry advisory boards and speaks internationally on video games in medicine.

Sam is credited on a series of technology patents and popular video game titles and currently sits on major technology and video game industry advisory boards.

Articles about his experiments with Generative AI at the intersection of gaming and healthcare have caught the attention of a large audience across multiple industries. He speaks internationally on a variety of topics at the intersection of video games, medicine, and generative AI.

Michele Bratcher Goodwin is the Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy. She is also Co-Faculty Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. Previously, she served as a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Irvine where she was the founding director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy. She is the 2022 recipient of the American Bar Association’s Margaret Brent Award as well as the 2022 Trailblazer Award from the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles. In 2020-21, she received the Distinguished Senior Faculty Award for Research, the highest honor bestowed by the University of California. She was also the first law professor at the University of California, Irvine to receive this award. In 2021-22, she was named the Provost’s Distinguished Visiting Faculty Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute as well as an elected Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Hastings Center.

Professor Goodwin is the author of Policing The Womb: Invisible Women and The Criminalization of Motherhood. She is also host of the popular podcast On The Issues at Ms. Magazine.

Kate Snow is the co-anchor of the #1 afternoon news program on TV, NBC News Daily, and an award-winning Senior National Correspondent for NBC News. She contributes regularly across all NBC News platforms, including Nightly News, TODAY, Dateline NBC and NBC News NOW. Previously, she anchored the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News for more than eight years.

Snow co-anchors NBC News Daily alongside Zinhle Essamuah on NBC and NBC News NOW. Launched in 2022, the program delivers the top headlines of the day, breaking news, and consumer-focused stories impacting viewers’ wallets, well-being, homes, and families. Her recurring segment, “Good News,” highlights positive, heartwarming stories. In 2025, NBC News Daily received the Gracie Award for “Best News Program.” Snow also hosts NBC News’ The Drink with Kate Snow, a digital series and podcast featuring innovators and influencers. Since 2017, she has hosted Dateline: Secrets Uncovered on Oxygen.

Snow is widely known for impactful reporting, including her coverage of mental health, for which she was honored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In 2019, she won an Emmy for her exclusive interview with Andrea Constand following the Bill Cosby conviction. That followed her 2015 Dateline special with 27 Cosby accusers, which won both Emmy and duPont awards. Her Emmy-winning 2014 series, Hooked: America’s Heroin Epidemic, helped spur congressional hearings and legislative action.

Snow has covered seven presidential elections, the White House, and Congress, interviewing newsmakers from President Obama to Bono, Jeff Bezos to Ringo Starr. Prior to joining NBC News in 2010, she anchored the weekend edition of ABC’s Good Morning America and served as a White House correspondent for ABC News and a Congressional Correspondent for CNN.

Snow is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Daniel Kraft is a Stanford- and Harvard-trained physician–scientist, investor, innovator, and futurist working at the intersection of medicine, AI, digital health, biotech, and emerging technologies. For more than 25 years, he has focused on how convergent tools—from AI and multi-omics to sensors, robotics, XR, and techbio—can transform healthcare and shift care from reactive to proactive, personalized, and data-driven.

His foundation is both clinical and academic. After graduating from Stanford Medical School, Daniel completed the Harvard Combined Internal Medicine & Pediatrics Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital, followed by Stanford fellowships in hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplantation. His stem cell and immunology research, conducted in Irv Weissman’s lab, has been published in Nature, Science, and other leading journals. He later served on the faculty at Stanford University, as clinical faculty at UCSF, is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Health Innovators Fellowship, and is founding faculty and Chair of Medicine at Singularity University.

In 2011, Daniel founded NextMed Health (formerly Exponential Medicine) to build a global, cross-disciplinary community advancing the future of health. The annual gathering convenes innovators from 30+ countries and explores “What’s Now, Near & Next” across emerging technologies and new care models.

He also founded Digital.Health, a platform designed to discover, evaluate, and integrate digital health and AI-enabled solutions—reducing fragmentation and enabling smarter adoption across healthcare.

As Co-Founder and General Partner of Continuum Health Ventures, and a Kauffman Fellow, Daniel invests in early-stage companies building technologies that aim to democratize health and medicine. Emerging from Stanford Biodesign, he also founded RegenMed Systems after inventing the FDA-cleared MarrowMiner, a minimally invasive stem-cell–harvesting device.

Daniel has contributed to global impact initiatives with XPRIZE, including leading health-related prize development and chairing the XPRIZE Pandemic & Health Alliance. A sought-after speaker, he has delivered six TED and TEDMED talks and frequently keynotes global forums including HIMSS, CES, Medica, and Aspen Ideas.

He previously served 14 years as an officer and flight surgeon with F-15 and F-16 fighter squadrons in the Air National Guard, conducted aerospace medicine research with NASA, and was a finalist for astronaut selection—experiences that shape his systems-based approach to innovation, safety, and human performance.

Marc Harrison, M.D., is a global healthcare leader and physician executive focused on transforming how care is delivered, financed, and experienced. He is Chair of the TowerBrook Healthcare Institute and Senior Advisor to TowerBrook Capital Partners, and continues to serve as a Strategic Advisor to General Catalyst.

Previously, Dr. Harrison was the founding CEO of Health Assurance Transformation Company (HATCo), where he helped build a global network of health systems collaborating on digital transformation and led the acquisition of Summa Health as a model for scalable, systemwide change.

Dr. Harrison also served as President & CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, leading growth and innovation across the Mountain West, expanding access through telehealth and rural health strategies, and advancing value-based care, interoperability, and new forms of public-private collaboration.

Earlier in his career, he held senior executive roles at Cleveland Clinic, including founding CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Chief Medical Operations Officer, and Chief of International Business Development.

A pediatric critical care physician by training and 20 years of practice Dr. Harrison is a two-time cancer survivor, nine-time Ironman participant, and an All-American triathlete who represented the U.S. at the World Championships. He is the author of Possibility Unleashed, and a proud husband and father of three.

Atif Zaim is Deputy Chair and Managing Principal at KPMG US.

Atif is a trusted leader who solves big problems, listens to learn and has the courage to act on what’s right for the long-term interest of the firm. He is celebrated as a strategist and a meticulous thinker by his clients, and he is dedicated to the growth and development of his teams.

Throughout his career at KPMG, Atif has been recognized for demonstrating excellence, innovation, leading and inspiring our people, supporting partners and professionals through mentorship, living the firm's values and collaborating across the U.S. firm and globally. He served high-profile financial services clients in roles as Advisory Lead Partner, US Lead Partner and Global Lead Partner.

He previously served as the US Consulting Leader where he was integral in transforming the operations and people processes of the business, successfully landing the largest operating model change in over a decade and driving greater accountability across the practice. This new model improved performance and business results.

Prior to that, Atif was the national managing principal of the Advisory practice. He led Advisory partners and professionals in developing and evolving the Advisory strategy, guiding the firm’s investment program, overseeing client and engagement risk, handling quality escalations, and orchestrating internal communications. He also contributed to the Advisory One Americas programs and played a key role in client and deal shaping. Additionally, Atif was a member of the Global Advisory Steering Group, representing Americas Advisory.

As the US Customer and Operations Service Line leader for the firm's Consulting practice, he was instrumental in driving growth by developing client relationships, expanding service offerings, forming strategic alliances and recruiting and integrating partners and employees into the practice. Atif also served as the Financial Services Industry Leader for Consulting while continuing to lead engagement with key clients in senior partner roles.

Atif joined KPMG in 1994 in London, moved to New York in 1998 and was admitted to the partnership in 2003.

Atif served on the board of Ascend from 2021 to 2023 and was recognized as a top consultant by Consulting Magazine in 2023. Atif holds a Diploma in Accountancy with Distinction from London Metropolitan University, is a Chartered Accountant (ACA), and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

For the past two decades, Emmanuel’s work has interrogated the intersectionality of Architecture, Urban Design, Urban Planning, Agroecology, Art, and Human Development. Emmanuel Pratt is the co-founder and Executive Director of Sweet Water Foundation (SWF), a community-rooted nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago.

Since 2014, SWF has re-generated and re-storied six contiguous city blocks in the South Side of Chicago into what is now known as The Common|Wealth. Today, The Common|Wealth is a bio-dynamic Communiversity campus for Urban Ecology, Human Development, Civic Arts, and Regenerative Neighborhood Development (RND). RND is an interdisciplinary and intergenerational practice that offers a unique blend of design, agroecology, and lifelong education that cultivates the physical spaces, programs, and resources necessary to heal and nurture people across cultures, geographies, and generations.

Emmanuel is a Harvard GSD Loeb Fellow, a Joyce Award recipient, a MacArthur Fellow, and is on the advisory council for the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative.

After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Dr. Randall W. Hill Jr served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, with assignments in field artillery and military intelligence, before earning his Masters and PhD in Computer Science from USC. He worked at NASA JPL in the Deep Space Network Advanced Technology Program, before joining the USC Information Sciences Institute to pursue models of human behavior and decision-making for real-time simulation environments. This research brought him to ICT as a Senior Scientist in 2000, and then promoted to Executive Director in 2006. Dr. Hill is a member of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and has authored over 80 technical publications.

Dr. Jacqueline Shreibati, MD, is a cardiologist and Head of Clinical for Google’s Platforms & Devices division. She leads the clinical teams developing consumer health experiences for wearables, including a new AI-powered personal health coach built with Gemini, and an expanding portfolio of software as a medical device for Pixel Watch and Fitbit. She was previously Chief Medical Officer at AliveCor, a leading ECG and AI company.

In addition to her corporate leadership, Dr. Shreibati is adjunct faculty at the Stanford University School of Medicine and practices cardiology at a federally qualified health center. She promotes the implementation of digital health through advocacy with the American College of Cardiology and teaching with the Stanford and UCLA Biodesign programs. She also serves as Chair of the American Heart Association Bay Area Board of Directors. Dr. Shreibati earned her BA from Columbia University and her MD and MS in health services research from Stanford University.

Walter Isaacson is a Professor of History at Tulane and an advisory partner at Perella Weinberg, a financial services firm based in New York City. He has been the CEO of the Aspen Institute, the CEO of CNN, and the editor of Time Magazine.

Isaacson's most recent biography, Elon Musk (2023), is an intimate chronicle based on spending two years by Musk's side. He is also the author of The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race (2021), Leonardo da Vinci (2017), The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution (2014), Steve Jobs (2011), Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), and Kissinger: A Biography (1992), and coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made(1986).

He is a host of the show "Amanpour and Company" on PBS and CNN, a contributor to CNBC, host of the podcast "Trailblazers, from Dell Technologies."
Isaacson was born on May 20, 1952, in New Orleans. He is a graduate of Harvard College and of Pembroke College of Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He began his career at The Sunday Times of London and then the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He joined TIME in 1978 and became the magazine's 14th editor in 1996. He became CEO of CNN in 2001 and the CEO of the Aspen Institute in 2003.

He is chair emeritus of Teach for America. From 2005-2007 he was the vice-chair of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, which oversaw the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. He was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which runs Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and other international broadcasts of the United States. He has also been a member of the U.S. Defense Innovation Board.

In 2023, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Joe Biden. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of the Arts, and the American Philosophical Society. He serves on the board of United Airlines and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Charles “Chuck” Hull is the inventor of stereolithography (SLA) and the co-founder of 3D Systems, widely recognized as the father of 3D printing. His groundbreaking 1983 invention of using ultraviolet light to solidify photopolymer resin layer by layer became the foundation of modern additive manufacturing. In 1986, he patented the technology and launched 3D Systems, which introduced the world’s first commercial 3D printer, the SLA-1, the following year.

Hull’s vision revolutionized product development by enabling rapid prototyping, custom manufacturing, and complex geometric designs across industries including aerospace, automotive, healthcare, and consumer goods. He also co-created the STL file format, now the standard digital interface for nearly all 3D printing technologies.

Holding more than 85 U.S. patents, Hull has continually expanded the capabilities of additive manufacturing throughout his career. His recent work explores advanced applications in regenerative medicine, including bioprinting human tissues, where he serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer – Regenerative Medicine at 3D Systems.
Hull’s contributions have earned him some of the highest honors in engineering and innovation, including induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, the European Inventor Award, the ASME designation of the SLA-1 as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, the Manufacturing Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award, election to the National Academy of Engineering, and the United States National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Across four decades of innovation, Chuck Hull has transformed 3D printing from a laboratory concept into a global industry that continues to reshape how the world designs, manufactures, and heals.

Randi Kaye joined CNN in 2004 and has reported on numerous breaking news events, presidential campaigns, as well as in-depth investigative stories. In 2025, her coverage has included the attempted assassination of President Donald, Trump, ICE raids, the Epstein files and more.

Kaye joined CNN from WCCO-TV in Minneapolis where she anchored the 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts and reported as part of the station’s investigative team. She began her television career at ABC in New York City, working alongside World News Tonight anchor Peter Jennings.

Kaye’s reporting has earned numerous Journalism awards, including two Emmy for her CNN investigation into infertility drugs being sold on the black market and for “Finding Hope: Battling America’s suicide crisis,” a town hall to raise suicide awareness after the deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade. She also contributed to the network’s Peabody Award winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina (2005) and the Gulf Oil Spill (2010), and has received a Headliner Award, a GLAAD and a NLGJA Award.

She graduated cum laude from Boston University with a degree in broadcast journalism.

Hacker turned inventor—Pablos has had a wild career implementing science fiction, from cryptocurrency in the 1990s to AI for stock market trading to building spaceships at Blue Origin for Jeff Bezos. Pablos helped start the Intellectual Ventures Lab for Nathan Myhrvold, where his team was awarded 6,000 patents on their own inventions, including a machine to suppress hurricanes, a nuclear reactor powered by nuclear waste, and a laser that can shoot mosquitoes out of the sky—an effort to eradicate malaria with Bill Gates.

Today, Pablos leads Deep Future, an Invention Capital firm that backs the kind of mad scientists, rogue inventors, and maverick entrepreneurs who are crazy enough to try building a better future. His podcast and new bestseller Deep Future – Creating Technology that Matters are inspiring hearts and minds to see the hopeful potential of deep tech to help solve some of the biggest problems in the world.

J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, became President of the University of Pennsylvania in March 2025 after serving as Interim President since December 2023. He previously served more than a decade as Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and Dean of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine.

Dr. Jameson champions Penn’s strategic priorities of access, innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and societal impact. Early milestones include the launch of Penn’s new hub for data science, the nation’s first Ivy League undergraduate degree program in artificial intelligence, major initiatives in climate science and the arts, strengthening undergraduate financial aid through the Quaker Commitment, and the expansion of Penn’s presence in Washington, D.C., to support civic engagement and policy leadership.

During his tenure leading Penn Medicine, Dr. Jameson oversaw the opening of the largest capital project in the University’s history and the creation of the Serving a Changing World strategic plan. His leadership helped accelerate breakthroughs in CAR T cell therapy, gene-based treatments, and mRNA technology, while fostering a culture of excellence in patient care, research, and education.

Before joining Penn in 2011, Dr. Jameson was Dean of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs. Earlier, he rose through the ranks at Harvard Medical School to become an associate professor of medicine and chief of the Thyroid Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.
A leading physician-scientist, Dr. Jameson has made seminal contributions to understanding the genetic basis of hormonal disorders. He has authored more than 350 scientific publications, co-edited Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, and held leadership roles in major medical and scientific organizations. His honors include election to the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as awards from the Endocrine Society, the American Thyroid Association, and the American College of Surgeons.

Jane Metcalfe is the CEO and founder of proto.life, a weekly newsletter, website, book, and events company tracking how digital tools and an engineering mindset are revolutionizing human biology. She is chair of the Human Immunome Project, a global non-profit working to decode the immune system in order to transform how we prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. She is also co-chair of the Futures Council of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation and advises various startups.

Prior to that, Metcalfe made chocolate on a pier in San Francisco as the President of TCHO Chocolate, whose TCHO Source program has transformed the lives of cacao farmers in Latin America and Africa.

She is probably best known for her role as the co-founder and former president of Wired Ventures, Inc., a diversified media company whose businesses included Wired Magazine (US, UK, and Japanese editions), Wired Digital, and Wired Books. Metcalfe is an entrepreneur, editor, publisher, investor, and advisor, experienced in harnessing new ideas to create strong brands, rapidly grow businesses, and lead healthy, creative, mission-driven organizations. She was recently honored with a Webby Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Kirk Kaminsky serves as Executive Vice President, Group President, North American Pharmaceutical Services, which includes McKesson’s North American Pharmaceutical and Oncology and Multispecialty segments. He is also a member of McKesson’s Executive Operating Team. Kirk possesses extensive expertise in driving solutions that address challenges across the healthcare continuum, from drug research and development to commercialization. In his role, he oversees both McKesson’s wholesale drug distribution businesses across North America, and McKesson’s portfolio of oncology and multispecialty solutions and services, ensuring life-saving therapies reach the patients who need them most. Since joining McKesson in 2003, Kirk has spent more than 20 years in various roles and functions throughout the business, gaining a keen understanding of McKesson’s impact in advancing health outcomes for all. Kirk previously served as President of McKesson’s U.S. Pharmaceutical business. Prior to that, he led McKesson’s Specialty Provider Organization, a division of U.S. Pharmaceutical. He also served as President of The US Oncology Network, led the U.S. Pharmaceutical packaging business and was a member of the Corporate Strategy and Business Development function. Kirk currently serves on the board and executive committee for the Healthcare Distribution Alliance. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of McKesson’s joint venture with Sarah Cannon Research Institute, and Chairman of the Board of PRISM Vision Holdings, a leading provider of general ophthalmology and retina management services. Kirk holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics for Business from Occidental College and a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School.

Kara Swisher is the host of On with Kara Swisher and co-host of the award-winning Pivot podcast. She serves as editor-at-large at New York Magazine and is a CNN contributor. Widely regarded as one of the most influential and fearless journalists covering technology, Swisher has been reporting on Silicon Valley since the early 1990s—when Amazon was a fledgling online bookseller, Google operated from a garage, and Netflix was a small startup.

Once described by New York Magazine as “Silicon Valley’s most feared but revered journalist,” Swisher has earned a reputation as the oracle of the tech world, known for her incisive interviews and unparalleled access to the industry’s most powerful figures. She co-founded Recode and the acclaimed Code Conference, the nation’s premier gathering for in-depth conversations with leaders such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Ted Sarandos.

Her 2024 book, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, is part memoir, part history—a sharp, witty, and deeply insightful account of the modern tech era. The book explores how the commercial internet came to dominate global life, offering both a celebration of innovation and a critique of the hubris that has shaped it. While unflinching in her assessment of Silicon Valley’s failures, Swisher remains optimistic, urging the next generation of technologists to make more ethical, thoughtful choices as artificial intelligence and new technologies reshape our world.

Previously, Swisher hosted Sway and Recode Decode, was a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, and co-produced The Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference series, the precursor to Code. She also hosted HBO’s Succession podcast—named Adweek’s 2023 “Podcast of the Year”—and appeared as herself on HBO’s Silicon Valley and Fox’s The Simpsons.

Her earlier books include aol.com (1998) and There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere (2003). Swisher has been recognized on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Podcast Power Players” list, the Out 100, and received the iHeart Podcast Awards’ “Pioneer Icon” honor. She holds degrees from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

An entrepreneur in every sense of the word, Daymond John has come a long way from taking out a $100,000 mortgage on his mother’s house and moving his business operation into its basement. John is CEO and Founder of FUBU, a much-celebrated global lifestyle brand, and a pioneer in the fashion industry with billions in product sales world-wide. Former President Barack Obama appointed Daymond John a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) to harness his energy, ideas, and experience to help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs both at home and abroad.

John is an award-winning entrepreneur and has received 100s of awards including the Brand Week Marketer of the Year, Advertising Age Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign, Ernst & Young’s New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and was named #2 on LinkedIn’s Top 20 Voices. Most recently, Real Leaders Magazine ranked Daymond John one of the Top 20 Keynote Speakers in the World for 2024!

His marketing strategies and ability to build successful brands has made him a highly influential consultant and motivational speaker today. His marketing firm, The Shark Group, offers advice on how to effectively communicate to consumers through innovative means and connects brands with the world’s top celebrities for everything from endorsements to product extensions.

John is also an author of 6 best-selling books including his New York Times best-sellers, The Power of Broke (2016) and Rise and Grind (2018). He released his fifth book, Powershift in 2020 that walks through his tried-and-true process of how to transform any situation, close any deal and achieve any outcome.

John's most recent book, Little Daymond Learns to Earn (2023) is his first for kids, reached the New York Times and Amazon best-seller list the first week of its release. The book addresses the current void of educating our children about money in a fun and engaging story for parents and kids to connect.

John’s mission is to continue challenging the status quo and leave a lasting legacy of inspiring other leaders to do the same.

Finally, John is celebrating his 15th season on ABC TV’s critically acclaimed business reality show Shark Tank by renowned producer Mark Burnett, which has reinvigorated entrepreneurship around the world. Shark Tank has now gone on to win five Emmy® in the US and millions of weekly viewers world-wide tune into the show as John demonstrates his marketing prowess and entrepreneurial insights.

Matt Kaplan has been retained by The Economist as a science correspondent for nearly two decades and contributed over half a million words to the newspaper during that time. Fascinated by the weird and often less well respected members of the animal kingdom, he has made a habit of writing about how these species make life better for humanity.

He has explored how the humble jellyfish made it possible for glowing proteins to track the behaviours of cancer cells. He has described how the saliva of the sandcastle worm (which builds the structures that its name implies) made it possible for researchers to develop a glue that can hold bits of bone together in salty environments (like those found on bloody operating room tables). He has written about how biological batteries are being modelled after the cells found in electric eels. Over the years, he has also written extensively for National Geographic, The New York Times, Scientific American, Nature and New Scientist.

Shortly after writing Time To See The Blight, a lead story published in The Economist in 2019 that explored the interaction between plant diseases and climate change, Matt started collaborating with the United Nations Environmental Program to help the organisation better craft the executive summaries and speeches that it delivers at important climate and biodiversity meetings. Aware of the threat that climate change and biodiversity loss present to human health, he has continued that collaboration to the present day.

Long intrigued by the ways in which ancient people tried to explain mysterious aspects of the natural world with mythology, he is the author of two books on the subject: Science of the Magical and Science of Monsters. He was awarded a Knight Fellowship in 2014 and used the opportunity to study immunology at MIT and folklore at Harvard. His next book, I Told You So: Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled and Imprisoned For Being Right, is currently being edited by Macmillan and will publish later this year.

An avid outdoor enthusiast, he has hacked his way through the Alaskan bush, fended off tiger snakes in Tasmanian bogs, nearly fallen into a crevasse and got his scuba respirator hose snagged on the sunken wreck of a British minesweeper.

James E.K. Hildreth, Ph.D., M.D. is the 12th president and CEO of Meharry Medical College, the nation’s largest independent historically Black health sciences center. Dr. Hildreth obtained a B.A. from Harvard and became the first Black Rhodes Scholar from Arkansas. He obtained a Ph.D. from Oxford University and an M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1987, Dr. Hildreth joined the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine faculty as assistant professor and in 2002 he became the first Black tenured full professor in basic sciences in the school’s 125-year history. In 2005, he became founding director of Meharry’s NIH-funded Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research. In 2011, Dr. Hildreth became dean of the College of Biological Sciences at UC Davis, the first Black dean at the university, founded in 1905. Dr. Hildreth’s HIV research has resulted in more than 120 publications and 11 patents. He has received numerous NIH grants including a Pioneer Award. Dr. Hildreth has been appointed to two FDA advisory committees: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee. In 2021, he was appointed by President Biden to the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. Dr. Hildreth has served on NIH study sections, NIAID Board of Scientific Councilors, NIDA Council, Advisory Council to the NIH Director, and CSR External Advisory Committee. He is past chair of the VA National Academic Affiliations Council. Dr. Hildreth has received numerous awards for his research, commitment to diversity in medicine, biomedical research and service to communities.

Louise P. King is the director of reproductive bioethics at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics. She is an assistant professor of obstetrics gynecology, and reproductive medicine and has a surgical gynecology practice at Mass General Brigham.

Dr. King is a national leader in reproductive bioethics. She is the former chair of the ethics committee for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She serves on boards related to ethics and justice, most notably the AMA Journal of Ethics and the Public Rights Project. She serves as an ethics consultant to multinational corporations on issues ranging from professionalism to ethical clinical practice in reproductive medicine. She has been quoted extensively in the media on issues concerning reproduction, ethics, and law.
As a lawyer, Dr. King clerked for two state supreme courts and worked in public interest law. She has expertise in constitutional, criminal, and family law. This unique perspective enriches her work in ethics and medicine. As a clinical researcher she looks carefully at inequities in access to optimal surgical services and proposes solutions to encourage equity even in the setting of systemic injustice.

As an educator, Dr. King is a co-director of a first-year medical school course in ethics and co-teaches reproductive bioethics for masters-level students with Hastings Center for Bioethics President Vardit Ravitsky. She is the associate fellowship director for the surgical training fellowship in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In this role she weaves ethical teaching with mentorship and guidance to surgeons learning advanced surgical techniques. Research projects within her division have focused on racial inequities in access to minimally invasive surgery and pay disparities for female surgeons.

Isaac Bentwich M.D. is Founder and CEO of QurisAI, a world-leading BioAI company using artificial intelligence to revolutionize personalized wellness and longevity. QurisAI has built the world’s most advanced personalized drug safety platform, validated and embraced by leading global pharmaceutical companies, and is now applying this technology to transform longevity - empowering individuals to personalize their health and live healthier, longer lives.

Backed by SoftBank and other leading investors, QurisAI’s leadership includes a Nobel laureate, former FDA Science Chair, and former CEOs of Pfizer and Biogen. QurisAI was recognized by Frost & Sullivan as the #1 global leader in AI-driven longevity, and has received the pharmaceutical industry’s highest innovation award, for ‘closing the clinical prediction gap’.

Bentwich is a physician, entrepreneur, and innovator in bio-AI and life sciences. Prior to QurisAI, he has founded and led three pioneering AI tech companies that led revolutions in medicine, genomics, and conservation, leading to a NASDAQ IPO and two successful acquisitions. One of these applied artificial intelligence to the human genome, discovering hundreds of novel microRNA genes, which were then used to deliver novel cancer diagnostics. He is passionate about integrating AI with advanced biology, and translating scientific and computational advances into real-world impact in personalized pharma, healthcare and wellness.

At the Lake Nona Impact Forum, Dr. Bentwich joins Prof. Langer for a fireside conversation on how the convergence of biology and AI is shaping a new era in longevity and human health.

An author, entrepreneur, and advisor to executive leaders, Frans Johansson has inspired audiences worldwide – in virtually every industry and across disciplines, from creatives to engineers, financiers to scientists, and politicians to humanitarians – with his ideas on leadership and success, innovation, and diversity, while his practical insights have empowered thousands to take action.

Johansson’s debut book, The Medici Effect, was hailed by innovation legend Clay Christensen as “one of the most insightful books on managing innovation that I have ever read,” while his follow up, The Click Moment, was cited by Fast Company as the book that challenges traditional business-school thinking. Since its publication, The Medici Effect has become the definitive book on diversity driving innovation, influencing numerous industries and fields such as architecture, design, economic development, education, scientific research, and investing.

As an innovation thought leader, Johansson has advised executive leadership at Fortune 500 companies such as Walt Disney Company, IBM, Nike, Pfizer and Synchrony Financial. He has been featured on ABC, CNN, CNBC, the PBS Newshour, and National Public Radio. Currently, Johansson is the CEO of Medici Next, which he recently launched to disrupt traditional behavior change management in the workplace.

Raised in Sweden by his African-American/Cherokee mother and Swedish father, Johansson has lived all his life at the intersection. He has written articles on healthcare, information technology, and the science of sport fishing. Throughout his career, Frans has founded a software company, an international healthcare firm, and a hedge fund. Johansson holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Emerging as classical music’s boldest 21st century star, Korean-American virtuoso pianist and sought-after composer Chloe Flower ushers classical music into the future on her own terms. She has distinguished herself as a powerhouse performer equally at home on stage at the Kennedy Center Honors in front of the President of the United States as she is accompanying the likes of Cardi B, 2 Chainz, Nas and more. Beyond a litany of unforgettable performances, she has released original music at a prolific pace in between composing for films, television series, and major brand campaigns including Netflix, Volvo, Krug and Estée Lauder. Simultaneously, she has earned widespread recognition for her efforts to fight human trafficking and support music education receiving awards from Gloria Steinem and CAST (The Coalition to Abolish Slavery).

Thanks to Chloe Flower, classical music may never be the same now. “Truthfully, I just want classical music to be relevant again, especially for the younger generation,” she leaves off. “Classical musicians are rockstars, period.”

Dr. Bob Langer is one of nine Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), MIT’s highest faculty honor. His pioneering work, which has benefited millions worldwide, includes isolating the first angiogenesis inhibitors (with Dr. Judah Folkman) leading to new treatments for cancer and blindness. He also created the first nanoparticles and microparticles for delivering large molecules, including nucleic acids and helped establish the field of tissue engineering which enabled artificial skin for burn victims and organ-on-a-chip technology. Despite initial skepticism—his first nine grants were rejected, and no engineering department would hire him—Langer has authored more than 1,600 papers, cited more than 466,500 times. With an h-index of 334, Langer is the most cited engineer in history. His patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 400 companies and he has co-founded more than 40 ventures, including Moderna.

Langer chaired the FDA’s Science Board from 1999–2002 and has received over 220 awards, including the U.S. National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation (one of only three living individuals to receive both). His accolades include the Draper Prize (considered engineering’s Nobel Prize), Queen Elizabeth II Prize for Engineering, Albany Medical Center Prize, Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, Kyoto Prize, Wolf Prize, Millennium Technology Prize, the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience and the Double Helix Medal from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He holds 46 honorary doctorates from institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and the University of Oxford and has been elected to the National Academies of Medicine, Engineering and Sciences, as well as the National Academy of Inventors.

Jack is the CEO of SandboxAQ which focuses on enterprise SaaS solutions at the convergence of AI and quantum tech. SandboxAQ is backed by Eric Schmidt, who serves as Chairman of the company, T. Rowe Price, Marc Benioff, Jim Breyer, Guggenheim Partners, Amadeus Capital, and other leading investors. Jack worked previously at Alphabet leading AI and quantum teams. Jack is the author of Quantum Computing: An Applied Approach, published by Springer. This work, now in its second edition, is one of the leading textbooks in the field and is used both in undergraduate and PhD programs, as well as corporate training sessions. Jack is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of several tech companies, including EarthWeb/Dice (NYSE: DHX), which he led from its founding through IPO. He also co-founded Vista Research, a fintech company, which he and his team sold to S&P/McGraw-Hill. Jack is a trustee of the X Prize Foundation and has been a board member of Trickle Up, which helps thousands of entrepreneurs start small businesses each year. His foundation, The Hidary Foundation, is dedicated to medical oncology research and has supported work at Sloan Kettering and UCSF. Jack has been recognized for his leadership by organizations such as the World Economic Forum and is a member of YPO. Jack studied neuroscience at Columbia and subsequently received the Stanley Fellowship in Clinical Neuroscience at NIH where he worked on functional brain imaging and neural networks.

Dr. Jeff Karp (www.jeffkarp.com) doesn’t just observe nature, he learns with it. An Endowed Chair at Mass General Brigham and Professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT, Jeff is a biomedical innovator, best-selling author, and lifelong pattern disrupter who transformed undiagnosed ADHD into a catalyst for creativity and leadership.
From his lab, Jeff has co-founded 14 companies, holds more than 100 patents, and helped bring forward medical breakthroughs including a sutureless, bio-inspired device for peripheral nerve repair. His team’s inventions span high-tech skincare, photocurable polymers for tissue reconstruction, 3D printed medical devices, immunomodulating materials, regenerative drugs, cannabinoid therapeutics, child safety technologies, self-stopping needles, bioengineered GI coatings, and pathogen-neutralizing nasal sprays. A Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, his work shows what becomes possible when medicine follows nature’s blueprints.

But Jeff’s story is not just about technologies, it is about tapping into the life-force energy of creativity and curiosity. Lessons from geckos, jellyfish, porcupines, and snails have inspired innovations that leap from the lab into people’s lives. Along the way, he has mentored dozens of trainees who are now bringing their own discoveries into the world, extending what he calls “the most scalable technology of all: mentorship.”

Today, Jeff brings his skills and vision to Geoversity, Nature’s University in Panama. This work is close to his heart, serving as an antidote to a current way of being that isn’t working. On a living campus in the jungle, he shapes immersive experiences rooted in nature and Indigenous wisdom. He is also the author of LIT: Life Ignition Tools, and a contributing writer for Psychology Today with his blog How Do You Think About That?, where he invites readers to explore curiosity as a spark for connection.
Jeff’s mission is simple and radical: to awaken a way of living where barriers spark creativity, challenges become invitations to grow, and the intelligence woven through nature restores our connection to ourselves, each other, and beyond. He believes every person carries the potential to ignite breakthroughs, whether quiet shifts in daily life or bold advances in the world, each creating ripples by recognizing the unique gifts embedded in their own way of being.

Peter Lee is President, Microsoft Research, leading research across 14 worldwide laboratories. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and serves on the boards of several institutions in AI and medicine, including the Board of Trustees of the Mayo Clinic and the Board of Directors of the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. Under President Obama, he was a Commissioner on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. In 2023, he coauthored “The AI Revolution in Medicine, GPT-4 and Beyond” and hosted the podcast series “The AI Revolution in Medicine, Revisited.” a follow-up to the book. He was named by Time magazine in 2024 as one of the 100 most influential people in health and life sciences.

Amy Gleason is the Acting Administrator of the U.S. DOGE Service and Strategic Advisor to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), where she leads national initiatives to modernize healthcare technology and improve data interoperability. Previously, she served as Chief Product Officer at Russell Street Ventures, where she led digital health innovation at Main Street Health and CareBridge. Amy also served with the U.S. Digital Service at the White House, where she created the national COVID-19 database and led major efforts such as the Pandemic Ready Interoperable Modernization Effort (PRIME) and Data at the Point of Care. She began her career in nursing and has spent her career advancing healthcare through technology. Amy brings a deeply personal perspective to her work, shaped by her experience as a caregiver to her daughter, who was diagnosed with a rare disease at age 11.

Richard Lui is an award-winning news anchor, board director, and business founder whose work in the care economy began in 2015—built on two decades in corporate business and two decades in global media. At NBCU News Group and CNN Worldwide, he anchored five U.S. elections and major global crises, engaging leaders across policy, health, and technology. A journalism-AI researcher and member of the newstech communities Hacks/Hackers and Humans in the Loop, he focuses on AI for news and the strategic use of data in complex health systems. Lui is Principal of CAREGenome, a University of Michigan–based spatial-AI dataset that maps caregiver–recipient interactions—the “last three feet” of care—to unlock measurable value in the $11 trillion care economy. Modeled on ImageNet and the Human Genome Project, CAREGenome is building a large-scale primary dataset spanning 10+ disease value chains for AI, B2B, and public-sector applications. As Chief Impact Officer of the Caregiving Moonshot in partnership with Startup Health, he helps founders turn mission, data, and narrative into solutions that scale. Earlier, he co-founded and patented a Citi-backed global payments backbone and led a Silicon Valley AI firm to exit, bringing a commercialization lens to health, data, and policy collaborations. A longtime caregiver himself, he directed two Oscar- and Grammy-qualifying films on mental health and caregiving—Sky Blossom and UNCONDITIONAL—which premiered at the White House, U.S. Congress, United Nations, and European Parliament. He is currently developing two additional features: “Dr. Hope,” a cinematic documentary on Dr. David Ho’s antiretroviral breakthroughs, and “To the Moon,” a portrait of elected leaders balancing public service with caregiving. Rooted in service, Lui’s father was a Presbyterian pastor who later became a social worker, and his mother a school teacher—family paths that inform his community and policy work. His bestselling HarperCollins book, Enough About Me, explores selflessness and caregiving and has received more than a dozen literary honors. Recognized five times with Peabody and Edward R. Murrow distinctions as part of network teams, Lui is also a U.S. State Department Traveling Speaker, an NACD Board Leadership Fellow, and a caregiving ambassador for the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, AARP, and the Alzheimer’s Association.

Lerrel Pinto is the CEO of Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI) and a Professor of Computer Science at NYU. His research is aimed at getting robots to generalize and adapt in the messy world we live in. To this end his work focuses broadly on robot learning and decision making, with an emphasis on large-scale learning (both data and models), representation learning for sensory data, developing algorithms to model actions and behavior, reinforcement learning for adapting to new scenarios, and building open-sourced affordable robots. This work has received best paper awards at ICRA 2016, RSS 2023, and ICRA 2024. Lerrel has received the Samsung AI researcher of the year award, Sloan Fellowship, Packard Fellowship, CIFAR Fellowship, TR35 innovator under 35, IEEE RAS Early Career and NSF CAREER awards. Several of his works have been featured in popular media such as The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, MIT Tech Review, Wired, and BuzzFeed among others. His recent work can be found on www.lerrelpinto.com.

I earned my chops the old-fashioned way—by shooting feature-length assignments around the world for National Geographic Magazine. The stories varied, but the mandate was always the same: work with every kind of person, under any kind of condition, and create timeless yet contemporary images for a client with the highest visual standards on earth. My assignments took me to six continents and often required 200 days on the road each year.

People often think the best part of being a National Geographic photographer is the exotic travel, and I get that. But what I’ve always valued most is the time spent with people whose lives are completely unlike my own. A lifetime in other people’s worlds continues to be my greatest professional gift—it keeps me curious and continually strengthens the empathy that defines my work. Because I genuinely care, people sense that I deserve their trust. That trust allows them to open up and be vulnerable, and that vulnerability creates the authenticity at the heart of all my work. You can’t fake this or learn it quickly—true authenticity isn’t a goal; it’s a byproduct of these things.

I’m interested in original reporting that explores complex issues in the context of real people and their everyday lives. My work spans seven National Geographic Magazine features, the #1 New York Times best-selling Blue Zones Kitchen (now a top-20 best-selling cookbook of the century), campaigns for major brands like Sony, and the SXSW-premiered documentary Bounce and a 10-part series on health equity in America. At the core of it all is attentiveness—to others, my craft, and my clients.

I live with my wife, artist Anne McLain, in a 220-year-old Maine farmhouse with a post-and-beam barn where we share studio space. Our children, Finn and Myla, grew up here—one builds post and beam barns in Maine, the other a teacher in San Francisco. My family, my home, and Maine ground me and fuel the boundless sense of possibility and hope I bring to my work. I continually marvel at how endless the opportunities are. Now is the time to start exploring them.

Martine Rothblatt is the Chairperson & CEO of United Therapeutics Corporation (UT). She started UT to save her youngest child's life from a rare illness after having previously created SiriusXM satellite radio and other satellite communications systems. She is also responsible for several innovations in aviation and architecture, including the design and piloting of an electric helicopter to Guinness world records and creating the world's largest zero carbon footprint building.

Her company is now saving hundreds of lives a year with medicines for pulmonary hypertension and neuroblastoma, and by restoring otherwise discarded donor lungs to transplantability. UT is also in pre-clinical development of manufactured kidneys, hearts and lungs to be delivered via autonomously flown electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) systems. Dr. Rothblatt led the efforts to create the first genetically-modified porcine hearts and kidneys transplanted into humans (xenotransplantation).

Dr. Rothblatt earned her Ph.D. in Medical Ethics from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, after earning JD and MBA degrees from UCLA, which also recently awarded her the UCLA Medal, its highest honor. She is an inventor on several patents and the author of several books, the most recent of which pertain to artificial cognition and cyber-consciousness.

Jamie Metzl is one of the world’s leading technology and healthcare futurists and strategists, Founder and Chair of the global social movement OneShared.World, a Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council, a faculty member of NextMed Health, and a Singularity University expert. He appears regularly on national and international media and his syndicated columns, podcasts, and interviews on AI, science, technology, and global affairs have reached hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Jamie is the author of six books, including the newly-released Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech and AI Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World, the international bestseller, Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity, and the sci-fi thrillers Genesis Code and Eternal Sonata. His new books, The AI Ten Commandments and Virtuosa, will both be released in 2026. In 2025, Jamie was appointed as a Commissioner of The Lancet Commission on Precision Medicine, which will over the next four years develop a definitive report on the future of technology-enhanced healthcare. Jamie previously served in the U.S. National Security Council, State Department, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, with the United Nations in Cambodia, and on the World Health Organization expert advisory committee on human genome editing. A former partner in a global private equity firm, he sits on advisory boards for multiple biotechnology and other companies and co-established the WisdomTree BioRevolution Exchange Traded Fund (ticker: WDNA). Jamie holds a Ph.D. from Oxford, a law degree from Harvard, and an undergraduate degree from Brown and is an avid ironman triathlete and ultramarathon runner.

Daniel Lawson is the Senior Vice President of Global Solutions in the Verizon Business Group (VBG). In this role, he is responsible for leading the primary technology practice areas and GTM motions that make up the VBG portfolio. This includes Cybersecurity, Connected Experiences, and High Density Networking as well as Complex Deal Executives, Global Technology Partners, Pre-Sales Solution Architects, and Engineers to drive revenue & enable growth across Global Enterprise & Public Sector through opportunity ownership, solution design and thought leadership. Global Solutions serves as the voice of the market, the customer and the field back into the Verizon ecosystem.

In his previous role as Vice President of Solutions Architecture, Daniel drove results, customer relationships, and thought leadership within Verizon’s US-based Enterprise and Public Sector segments by leading a unified team of engineers and architects working across the VBG portfolio to deliver technology-enabled outcomes that were critical to our customers' organizational objectives. During earlier leadership roles over 20+ years with Verizon, Daniel has led the Signature client segment SA's; run the Network, Applications, and Innovation team; supported private and public sector customers; the financial, manufacturing, and healthcare industries; and many internal initiatives. He has extensive background in business strategy; finance & accounting; strategic sourcing; enterprise networking; mobility; IoT; cloud; outsourcing and managed services; optical transport; unified communications and collaboration; contact center; and security technologies.

Daniel is an active supporter of local Dallas charities benefitting the American Heart Association and Alzheimer's research. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Applied Mathematics from Texas A&M University and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Southern Methodist University.

Dr. Dawn M. Mussallem, DO, DipABLM, is the Chief Medical Officer of Fountain Life, where she helps lead a prevention-first model that integrates advanced diagnostics, precision biomarkers, multi-omics, and AI-enabled longitudinal care to detect disease earlier and deliver highly personalized strategies for healthspan optimization at global scale.
A double board-certified lifestyle medicine physician and integrative medicine specialist, Dr. Mussallem most recently served at Mayo Clinic Florida as a Consultant in Hematology/Oncology and Assistant Professor of Medicine. She founded Mayo Clinic’s Integrative Medicine & Breast Health Program, launched the Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum, and co-led international breast education initiatives. She also served as Medical Director for Employee Well-being and Humanities in Medicine, building institution-wide programs that elevate vitality, connection, and meaning while improving measurable well-being outcomes.

Her clinical, research, and leadership focus is tightly aligned with Fountain Life’s mission: driving healthy aging and earlier disease detection through lifestyle medicine paired with precision diagnostics, multi-omics, and AI-enabled longitudinal care translating evidence into pragmatic, scalable prevention pathways with measurable impact. Her approach integrates nutrition, movement, sleep, stress resilience, and social connection with continuous measurement and precision analytics. She is an author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and is a frequent podcast and media guest, recognized for making complex longevity science clear, actionable, and deeply human.

Dr. Mussallem’s work is profoundly shaped by lived experience. She is a stage IV cancer survivor and heart transplant recipient, perspectives that fuel her conviction that the future of medicine must be both technologically advanced and genuinely compassionate. In a defining milestone, she became the first person to complete a marathon one year after heart transplantation, reflecting what is possible when clinical excellence meets disciplined training, community support, and comprehensive lifestyle practice.

A sought-after keynote speaker and advisor across the wellness and longevity ecosystem, she partners with leaders and organizations worldwide to move healthcare from reactive sick-care to proactive flourishing. Her mission is simple: extend lifespan, elevate healthspan, and help people feel fully alive through data, compassion, and disciplined execution.

Jeff DiLullo is Executive Vice President and Chief Region Leader of Philips North America. Drawing on more than 30 years of leadership experience, Jeff is passionate about improving the quality of life for all people through health technology, innovation and sustainability. At the heart of his approach to leading high-impact teams at Philips is his belief that the opportunity to improve healthcare for patients and clinicians alike is a privilege.

Jeff joined Philips in 2019 as Head of North America Operations, leading revenue strategy, demand planning, sales operations, sales incentives, commercial contracts and analytics for the North America region. In 2021, Jeff’s responsibilities expanded to include leadership of the North America services and solutions delivery teams that provide remote and onsite service to Philips customers, as Head of North America Services and Solutions Delivery and Operations.

Jeff advanced the transformation of the Philips North America Services & Solutions Delivery organization, empowering its talented group of professionals while using technology to improve efficiency, customer, and patient experience.

Prior to joining Philips, Jeff held executive leadership roles in sales strategy, operations and planning at Hewlett-Packard, Avaya and Dell, after serving as an Infantry Officer in the United States Army.

Jeff was born in the US. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, with a bachelor’s degree in history. He also holds an MBA in marketing, logistics and supply chain from the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee. Jeff is married with three children. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Professor Kreiss is Director General of Sheba Medical Center, the largest hospital in Israel and the Middle East, which is ranked 8 th on Newsweek magazine's World's Best Hospital rankings. Since assuming the role of Director General in 2016, Professor Kreiss has led the transformation of Sheba Medical Center into the "City of Health"- from strategic planning and hospital design, to operations, policy and leadership. To drive his vision of making healthcare more efficient, effective, and equitable he founded ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate), Sheba’s global innovation platform, which fosters collaboration between healthcare institutions, industry, and startups to advance digital health and AI-driven solutions. Prior to assuming his position at Sheba, Professor Kreiss served in the Israel Defense Forces assuming overall leadership of the Medical Corps, as the IDF's Surgeon General. Professor Kreiss has initiated and led many disaster scenarios and humanitarian missions including the Israeli humanitarian mission for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, the creation of a field hospital for the Kosovo refugees in Macedonia and heading an advanced field hospital treating thousands of civilians in Western Ukraine. Professor Kreiss has received various awards for his outstanding contributions to world medical efforts during humanitarian crises during both war and peacetime, amongst them the Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award in recognition of his career in humanitarian aid. His research focusing on: health management of field hospitals; leadership and ethics has contributed significantly to the development of current concepts and approaches. He co-authored the book Field Hospitals: A Comprehensive Guide to Preparation and Operation. During the Covid-19 pandemic Professor Kreiss was the first to provide a comprehensive emergency response on campus and was responsible for introducing novel modalities of treatment. Professor Kreiss received his MD degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, holds a MHA degree from Tel Aviv University and a MPA degree from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Professor Kreiss is a Professor of Medicine at Tel Aviv University and is cofounder of the MBA in Healthcare Innovation program at the Arison School of Business, Reichman University in Herzliya.

Beth Shapiro is a world-renowned expert in ancient DNA and an evolutionary biologist who specializes in the genetics of ice age animals and plants. As the Chief Science Officer at Colossal Biosciences, she leads groundbreaking efforts to bring back extinct species and protect endangered ones. At Colossal, Shapiro applies cutting-edge genetic technologies to restore lost species and strengthen conservation efforts for animals at risk of extinction. She is internationally recognized for pioneering work in ancient DNA, having recovered genetic material from extinct species like the dodo and mammoth. Her research spans ancient pathogens, Ice Age ecosystems, and the evolution of domestic animals, advancing genomic technologies for both conservation and medicine.

Shapiro is a MacArthur Fellow and member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a Rhodes Scholar, and an award-winning author and science communicator. Before joining Colossal full time, she was Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Associate Director for Conservation Genomics at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, as well as an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Oxford, where she was a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow and Director of the Henry Wellcome Biomolecules Centre.

Jocko Sims starred in NBC’s hit medical drama, New Amsterdam, where he played Dr. Floyd Reynolds, the head of the cardiac surgical department. Recently, he co-starred in NBC’s murder mystery dramedy, Grosse Pointe Garden Society opposite Aja Naomi King, Melissa Fumero and AnnaSophia Rob.

In 2026 Sims will star in Netflix’s reboot of Little House On The Prairie, where he will portray Dr. George Tann, a generous and kind-hearted man with a charming bedside manner that makes him a connector within the community. Based on a real person, Tann is featured in the Little House novels as a doctor on the Osage Diminished Reserve who saved the lives of the Ingalls family when they got malaria.

Sims’ first series was a lead role opposite Dennis Hopper in the Starz original series Crash, and from there he went on to play Lt. Carlton Burk for five seasons in the TNT network hit, The Last Ship.

Sims’ other notable credits include High Potential, The Resident, NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy and Masters of Sex where he received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Robert Franklin, opposite Michael Sheen, Lizzy Caplan and Caitlin Fitzgerald.

Before gracing television screens, Sims acquired his B.A. in theater from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. Soon after, he had roles in films such
as Dreamgirls, Jarhead, and Dawn of The Planet of the Apes.

Jocko Sims also recently stepped behind the camera, having written, directed and produced his indie pilot, Grown, which won the jury prize at SXSW (2023), and other accolades at the American Black Film Festival and SeriesFest, where he won best writer, and the audience comedy award.

Joshua Roman is a cello soloist and composer, hailed for his “effortlessly expressive tone… and playful zest for exploration” (The New York Times), as well as his “extraordinary technical and musical gifts" and “blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom… that goes straight to the heart" (The San Francisco Chronicle). His genre-bending programs and wide-ranging collaborations have grown out of an “enthusiasm for musical evolution that is as contagious as his love for the classics" (The Seattle Times).

Roman released the ambitious and deeply personal Immunity in October 2024 on Bright Shiny Things. The album—his first as a solo artist—is an intimate musical exploration of Roman’s life-altering experience of ongoing Long COVID, with music ranging from J.S. Bach to George Crumb to Caroline Shaw, as well as Roman’s own compositions. Since the album’s release, he has continued raising awareness of the condition and the importance of finding strength in vulnerability through performances and speaking engagements in the U.S. and abroad. These engagements have included residencies at Stanford University and Yale University; participation in the Aspen Ideas Festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum; and well-being concerts at Carnegie Hall. Roman is set to launch a second musical project in spring 2026, building on the success and impact of Immunity.

Roman’s 2025-26 season features the continuation of his Immunity project, both on tour and with Long COVID clinics throughout the East Coast in December 2025; as well as ongoing trio performances with violinist Tessa Lark and double bassist Edgar Meyer in festivals and recital halls across the U.S. Additional highlights of the 2025-26 season include concerto appearances with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony, Heartland Festival Orchestra, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and Bellingham Symphony Orchestra.

Steve Schwab is a national leader in military healthcare and a passionate champion for military and veteran caregivers, their veterans, and families. As an expert on these issues, Steve has advised the White House and policy makers, addressed global audiences, and represented the concerns of military families in national media appearances, including on NBC's TODAY, 60 Minutes, Fox & Friends, and NPR.

As CEO of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Steve spearheads the country's preeminent organization empowering, supporting, and honoring military and veteran caregivers. Since 2014, he has grown and developed the Foundation from its start-up phase into an established national nonprofit responsible for impactful reforms, programs, and legislative and regulatory solutions supporting military families.

Steve has led the Foundation as it launched the Hidden Heroes campaign, established the Hidden Heroes Cities & Counties program, successfully championed the expansion of the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, and created Heroes & History Makers, a signature fundraising event that has raised millions of dollars for caregiver resources.

In 2021, Steve was named by the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dennis McDonough to serve on the Veterans' Family, Caregiver, and Survivor Federal Advisory Committee.

Steve is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, member of the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute Advisory Board, and member of the Reach Resilience Board of Directors. Steve is also a member of the Board for the Whitman-Walker Foundation.
He also served as Chairman of the Board for PsychArmor, the nation's premier nonprofit for providing free education and support for all Americans to engage effectively with the military community, for a decade until he transitioned to a member of the Board in 2024.

Carolee Lee is an innovative trailblazer dedicated to transforming the health of women. In 2020, she founded WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters), a non-profit organization committed to accelerating research and investment in women’s health. WHAM is implementing strategies to eliminate the inequities and bias in research and enterprise, while accelerating scientific discovery and economic impact. Carolee assembled a board of 25 leading businesswomen to launch this initiative and commissioned the RAND Corporation to create The WHAM Report, which quantified the economic benefits of investing in woman’s health research.

As a well-recognized, highly respected leader, she has shifted the dialogue on women’s health by looking at the ethics, empirical data and economic impact of women’s health while coalescing others to spearhead effective change.

As an entrepreneurial thinker, Carolee believes that convening and motivating thought leaders from all parts of the ecosystem will be key in creating the needed sustainable and lasting change to drive innovation and action while addressing the inequities which still exist today.

Prior to founding WHAM, as a creative force and visionary leader in the fashion world, Carolee built a preeminent global brand and successfully sold it to Luxottica in 2001
Carolee has served on numerous public and private boards and currently serves on the boards of: The La Jolla Institute for Immunology; The Women’s Health Advisory Board, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and The Women’s Leadership Board at The John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is a past president of the Committee of 200 and served as the Chair of its Foundation Board. Carolee also was a director on the board of DSW, Inc., the Museum of Arts and Design, NY, and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation where she played several board leadership roles.

Michael is the Chief Revenue Officer and a Partner at Plug and Play. He leads sales (~$100M) and corporate partnerships globally, with a client list of over 500 $1B+ companies. Michael is responsible for market expansion, including launching Plug and Play's first offices in Paris, Munich, Amsterdam, and Africa. Michael is the Managing Partner of the Plug and Play Future Commerce Fund, a commerce focused fund with LP's including Kohl's, PVH, and TJX.

In 2013, Michael founded the Brand & Retail program, Plug and Play's first ever industry specific startup accelerator. Through this program, Michael has sourced and led over 50 commerce focused seed stage investments, including Honey ($4B acquisition by PayPal), Kustomer ($1B acquisition by Facebook), and Rappi ($8B valuation). This program paved the way for Plug and Play launching 17 additional industry specific programs including Fintech, Insurtech, Mobility, Sustainability and Smart Cities in the years following.

Prior to Plug and Play, Michael was VP of Marketing at Zuli, a Bluetooth automation startup backed by Menlo Ventures and Logitech.

Michael graduated Cum Laude from Whittier College with a B.A. in Business Administration, a concentration in Marketing and International Business and distinction as Most Outstanding Graduate In Business Administration, Most Outstanding Student in International Business Concentration, and Presidential Scholar - Athlete of the Year.

Brian Pieninck is President and Chief Executive Officer of GuideWell, a not-for-profit health care leader headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. GuideWell serves more than 36 million customers across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including over 6 million individuals in Florida.

GuideWell subsidiaries and affiliated companies include Florida Blue, Florida’s Blue Cross Blue Shield plan and the state’s leading health insurer; Triple-S Management, Puerto Rico’s Blue Cross Blue Shield plan and a leading health care services company on the island; GuideWell Health, a portfolio of integrated care delivery organizations providing primary and urgent care at more than 100 Florida medical centers and affiliate clinics, including Florida Blue | Sanitas Medical Centers, GuideWell Emergency Medical Doctors, and Florida Health Care Plans. Other GuideWell subsidiaries include GuideWell Source, which provides administrative services to federal health care programs, and WebTPA, a market leading administrator of self-funded employer health plans. GuideWell also has a majority stake in several companies, including Lucet, a behavioral health care company that offers tech-enabled support to payers, providers, and health plan members, as well as home-based, whole-person care for high-risk patients.

Under Pieninck’s leadership, GuideWell is advancing as an integrated, innovative organization focused on making health care more affordable, personalized, and seamlessly connected for the people and communities it serves. Through a technology-enabled and human-centric approach, Pieninck is positioning GuideWell as a leader in delivering a health care experience that empowers people to live their best lives.

Prior to joining GuideWell, Pieninck served as President and CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, where he led operational transformation to improve affordability and accessibility for 3.5 million individuals across Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. He also spent 19 years in key leadership roles at Aetna Inc., including Director of Professional Employer Organizations, President of Southeast National Accounts, and President of the Americas for Aetna International.

Active in professional and community organizations, Pieninck is Board Chair of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and serves on the boards of AHIP, BCS Financial Corporation, and Morgan State University. He is also a member of the Florida Council of 100 and Jacksonville Civic Council.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in business studies and business administration from Southern New Hampshire University.

Dr. Jordan Shlain is a physician, entrepreneur, and influential voice shaping the future of healthcare for today’s most discerning individuals and organizations. He is the founder and executive chairman of Private Medical, the best-in-class model of concierge medicine, established in 2002 to fundamentally redesign how care is delivered.

With offices in New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Miami, Private Medical cares for leaders in finance and business, icons in media, entertainment, and sports, and their families. Under Dr. Shlain’s leadership, the practice maintains the lowest patient-to-physician ratio in healthcare, with each doctor caring for around 100 members. This structure enables deeply personalized, proactive, and continuous 24/7 care anywhere, going far beyond traditional medical models.

Private Medical leverages a proprietary global network of more than 4,000 physicians and specialists across 200 cities worldwide, built over decades. This allows members to receive coordinated, best-in-class care wherever they live, work, or travel, and to navigate complex medical decisions with clarity and confidence. Increasingly, leading companies offer Private Medical memberships as an executive health benefit, now widely regarded as the gold standard for attracting and retaining top talent.

Dr. Shlain believes health should be managed with the same foresight, discipline, and strategic thinking as any long-term investment. His work focuses on integrating advanced diagnostics, emerging therapeutics, and trusted clinical relationships into a coherent, member-centered system.

Beyond Private Medical, Dr. Shlain is a pioneer in digital health and systems innovation. He founded Healthloop, an early AI-enabled patient engagement platform, and is co-founder and chair of EatREAL, a nonprofit transforming school food systems nationwide. He is also co-founder of DOC, a healthcare conference focused on scientific breakthroughs, and a frequent speaker at institutions including Stanford, Columbia, Princeton, and UC Berkeley.

Asha Sharma is President of Product Development for Microsoft’s CoreAI division. In this role, she leads the teams and technologies that power AI and developer experiences for Microsoft and its enterprise customers, spanning critical infrastructure, foundation models, and end to end toolchains for building, managing, and deploying applications. Her portfolio includes GitHub, Visual Studio Code, Azure App Services, and Microsoft Foundry.

Asha has spent her career at the intersection of large-scale technology platforms and machine learning. Previously, she was COO at Instacart, where she helped transform the company into a scaled and profitable ML driven ecommerce platform. At Meta, as VP of Product, she built and scaled global products including Messenger, Instagram Direct, Messenger Kids, and Remote Presence, laying the foundation for real time, ML powered communication experiences. Earlier, as COO at Porch Group, she helped build the company’s product platform, with data and predictive modeling as a core growth lever.

Today, Asha serves on the boards of The Home Depot, the largest home improvement platform in the world, and Coupang, a data driven ecommerce innovator transforming logistics and customer experience in Asia.

David Kwabena Wilson, Ed.D., is the 10th president of Morgan State University, Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University. For more than a decade, he has led Morgan through significant transformation, elevating its national standing and championing the essential role of HBCUs.

A higher education administrator for more than 30 years, Dr. Wilson is a nationally recognized leader and the 2023 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education recipient. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association of Colleges and Universities. His board service includes the Lumina Foundation, T. Rowe Price Charitable, TIAA, Excelsior University, and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.

Dr. Wilson has also served on the NCAA Board of Governors and Division I Board of Directors; the National Institute of Standards and Technology Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology; the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Board; and the National Science Foundation Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering.

His leadership has earned numerous honors, including the Maryland Senate’s First Citizen Award and the Transcendent Order of the African Eagle Award. He has been named a Baltimore Business Journal Top 10 CEO, an AFRO ‘Person of the Year,’ a Baltimore Sun Business and Civic Hall of Famer, a Maryland Daily Record “Power 30” leader in Higher Education, and a 2024 “Most Admired CEO.” Forbes also recognized him as a “Top Black Higher Ed CEO to Watch in 2023.” Dr. Wilson is the author of two books and more than 20 scholarly publications.

Before joining Morgan, he served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges and University of Wisconsin Extension; vice president for University Outreach and associate provost at Auburn University; assistant and associate provost at Rutgers University–Camden; and director of Minority Programs at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

Dr. Wilson earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s in education from Tuskegee University and holds a master’s and doctorate in education from Harvard University. Tuskegee has also awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Guided by a student-centered philosophy and a commitment to transparency, he is advancing Morgan’s mission of “Growing the Future, Leading the World.”

Glen Tullman is the Chief Executive Officer of Transcarent, the first comprehensive, consumer-directed health and care platform that makes it easy for people to access high-quality, affordable health and care. Transcarent is transforming healthcare with WayFinding, an experience powered by clinicians and generative AI where Members can “Just Ask Transcarent” to instantly get trusted health and benefits navigation, take the next step with personalized clinical guidance, and access on-demand care delivery.

Tullman is the former Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder of Livongo Health, the first at-scale consumer digital health company to truly empower people with chronic conditions to live better and healthier lives using data science. In his final year, Glen led Livongo through the largest consumer digital health Initial Public Offering in history, a secondary offering, a convertible debt offering that raised over $550 million, and the industry’s largest merger to date between Livongo and Teladoc Health, valuing Livongo at $18.5 billion and beginning a new era of consumer-directed virtual care.?

A visionary leader and entrepreneur, Tullman previously ran two other public companies that changed the way health care is delivered. During his time as Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts, the Company was the leading provider of electronic prescribing, practice management, and electronic health records for physician practices. Glen led Allscripts IPO and Secondary offerings. Prior to Allscripts, he was Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Systems, the leading resource management systems for hospitals, which he also took public and then sold to McKesson/HBOC. Before entering healthcare, Glen served as President and COO of CCC Information Systems, a provider of computerized systems for the property and casualty insurance sector.?

Glen is also one of two Founding Partners at 7wire Ventures, one of the highest-returning venture capital funds in Illinois. He is the author of On Our Terms: Empowering the New Health Consumer, in which he proposes new solutions to address the chronic condition epidemic facing our country.?

A strong proponent of philanthropy, Glen was honored in 2019 with a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award for his career focused on improving the safety, empathy, and efficiency of our healthcare system. He also serves as a Life Director of the Illinois Chapter of Breakthrough T1D, the leading organization advancing life-changing breakthroughs for Type 1 Diabetes.?

Glen has three amazing children and four grandchildren who inspire him every day.

Brooks Tingle is President and Chief Executive Officer of John Hancock, one of the largest life insurers in the United States. Before taking on his current role in 2023, Mr. Tingle served as President and CEO of John Hancock Insurance, where he led John Hancock to embrace and implement the company's now market-leading behavioral insurance solution — John Hancock Vitality — which offers life insurance customers significant savings and rewards for taking everyday steps towards a longer, healthier, better life.

Mr. Tingle serves as President and Chairman of the boards for John Hancock’s insurance companies, including John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) and John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York. Additionally, he is a member of the boards of the American Council of Life Insurers and LL Global and serves on the Tufts Nutrition Council for the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

Drew is a Partner in KPMG’s Audit practice and the U.S. National Leader for KPMG’s Healthcare practice, based in the firm’s Portland office. He brings more than 30 years of experience serving large, complex healthcare organizations, including integrated delivery systems, payors, and academic medical centers.

Drew has served as lead audit partner for some of the nation’s largest health systems, including Providence St. Joseph Health, Intermountain Health, HealthPartners, and Adventist Health West, and as engagement quality control reviewer for Bon Secours Mercy Health. His work spans financial statement audits, governance oversight, and enterprise risk management across the Western United States and nationally.

In addition to his client service experience, Drew has held several senior leadership roles at KPMG. He served as Office Managing Partner of KPMG’s Portland office from 2020 to 2023, previously led the firm’s Healthcare practice across the San Francisco Hub, and has held multiple national and regional leadership positions within the firm. He has also guided clients through significant healthcare mergers and acquisitions, including the landmark affiliation of St. Joseph Health System and Providence Health & Services, forming Providence St. Joseph Health.

Drew is a recognized thought leader in board and audit committee imperatives, trusted AI, cybersecurity, and risk management. He leads national and local initiatives at KPMG focused on training, quality, and audit excellence and participates in the firm’s National Quality Performance Review Program.

He is an active board member of Bloodworks Northwest and has previously served in board leadership roles with CASA for Children and education-focused nonprofit organizations.
Drew holds a BA from Pacific Lutheran University and is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Oregon and Washington. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Yossi Matias is Vice President, Google, and the Head of Google Research.

Under Yossi’s leadership, world-class global teams are leading breakthrough research on Foundational Machine Learning & Algorithms, Computing Systems & Quantum, Science, AI for Health, Climate, Sustainability, Education and Socio-technical research, and advancement of Generative AI - driving real-world impact and shaping the future of technology.

Yossi was previously on Google Search leadership for over a decade, driving strategic features and technologies, and pioneered Conversational AI innovations to help transform the phone experience and help remove barriers of modality and languages. He was also the founding lead of Google center in Israel, and supported other global sites. During his tenure at Google Yossi founded and spearheaded initiatives such as Google's AI for Social Good, Crisis Response, Google for Startups Accelerator, social and cultural initiatives, seeding Google Arts & Culture,and programs fostering startups, sustainability, and STEM and AI literacy for youth.

Prior to Google Yossi was on the Computer Science faculty of Tel Aviv University, a visiting professor at Stanford, and a Research Scientist at Bell Labs. A prolific computer scientist with publications in diverse fields, Yossi is a recipient of the Gödel Prize, the ACM Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award and is an ACM Fellow. A world-renowned expert in artificial intelligence, Yossi has a track record of impact-driven breakthrough research, innovation, advancing society-centered AI to help address global challenges with impactful and transformative technologies, and extensive product leadership. He is committed to advancing research and AI to help improve lives, transform society, and create a better future for all.

Shawn Buchheit is a global executive and longevity champion with over two decades of leadership at the intersection of precision health, medical innovation, and high-performance wellness. As President of Fountain Life and a Board Member, he leads transformative efforts to shift healthcare from reactive treatment to proactive, tech-enabled longevity optimization. Under his leadership, Fountain Life has raised $80 million in Series A funding and generated $70 million in revenue—scaling breakthrough diagnostic and preventive care solutions for an elite, global clientele including Fortune 1000 leaders, professional athletes, and celebrities.

Shawn launched his career in health and wellness with The Ritz-Carlton, serving as Fitness Director, where he developed luxury fitness programs and led high-performing teams of personal trainers and instructors. He later became Vice President of Global Business Development at Technogym, where he designed bespoke wellness environments for iconic hospitality clients such as Disney, Virgin Voyages, and PGA Tour HQ. These roles laid the foundation for his expertise in building world-class, branded experiences that blend wellness, design, and operational excellence.

Known for aligning vision with execution, Shawn drives organizational growth, cultural clarity, and strategic innovation across commercial and operational domains. He holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Sport Management—graduating Summa Cum Laude from the California University of Pennsylvania—with specializations in wellness, fitness, and athletic administration. He also holds a Federal Aviation Administration Multi-Engine, Instrument, and Commercial Pilot License, reflecting his commitment to discipline, precision, and performance across all dimensions of life.

A lifelong athlete and advocate for peak performance, Shawn was crowned Light-Heavyweight Champion at the 2004 NPC Gulf Coast Bodybuilding Show. Today, he remains passionately committed to living—and leading—the principles of longevity, vitality, and proactive well-being.

Chris Wharton is a 3x founder with over 20 years of experience in the health and wellness industry and is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on human performance.

He is the CEO & Founder of WndrHLTH, a NYC-based concierge longevity company developed in collaboration with the world’s largest board of aging researchers—a global network of 60 academic leaders across 34 scientific domains, from genomics and geroprotection to resilience and regenerative medicine.

WndrHLTH is on a mission to turn cutting-edge longevity science into real-world results—helping people live longer, healthier, and higher-performing lives. Through deep scientific partnerships, advanced diagnostics, and precision interventions, the company is shaping the future of proactive, personalized healthcare.

Chris is deeply committed to cutting through the noise and misinformation that permeate the
$6 trillion wellness industry. By working directly with the scientists behind the research—not just the headlines—he helps people separate fact from fiction, translating complex science into simple, actionable strategies that drive measurable change.

Since founding WndrHLTH, Chris has delivered keynotes and closed-room briefings to the CEOs and Founders of dozens of the world’s most influential companies, including Google, Dropbox, Microsoft, Walmart, and YouTube—as well as working directly with more than 50 globally recognized actors, musicians, and athletes. His goal is to help leaders integrate cutting-edge longevity practices into their lives, enhancing their health, performance, and impact on the people they lead.

Dr. Nataliya Kosmyna is a Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab’s Fluid Interfaces group and a Visiting Faculty Researcher at Google. She has more than 15 years of experience developing and designing end-to-end brain–computer interfaces (BCIs). With a background in artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and human–computer interaction (HCI), her work is driven by a vision of creating a partnership between AI and human intelligence, merging machine capabilities with the human brain.

Dr. Kosmyna earned her Ph.D. in 2015 from Université Grenoble-Alpes, France, specializing in non-invasive brain–computer interfaces. Her research spans a wide range of BCI applications, including brain-to-image decoding, as well as measuring cognitive states such as engagement, fatigue, and confusion. Her projects explore ways to support individuals with ALS, minimally verbal autism spectrum disorder (mvASD), and other health challenges, enabling communication with families and caregivers and interaction with homes, robots, and digital environments. Several initiatives also focus on fostering a growth mindset in children.

More recently, Dr. Kosmyna’s work has examined the broader cognitive and societal implications of emerging technologies, including research on “cognitive debt” associated with the use of large language model (LLM) chatbots. She is committed to shaping a future in which neurotechnology and AI benefit all of humanity.

Her solutions and art-driven research projects have been deployed across classrooms, hospitals, workspaces, aerospace environments, Low Earth Orbit, and on the Moon. These projects have been presented to the public and tested by more than 15,000 people between 2015 and 2025. Dr. Kosmyna has received multiple honors, including the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award in 2016 and recognition as one of the MIT Innovators Under 35 “Top French Talents” in 2017.

Dr. Kosmyna has served as one of 24 international experts selected by UNESCO to help prepare the first draft of the Recommendation on the Ethics of Neurotechnology, adopted in November 2025. She has also served on UNICEF’s Expert Advisory Group on Neurotechnology and Children. Her work has been featured in more than 450 television appearances and global media outlets, including The New York Times, CNN, Time, Nature, The Economist, and MIT Technology Review.

Prof. Cohen is the Deputy Dean and James A. Attwood and Leslie Williams Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and serves as the Faculty Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics. He is one of the world’s leading experts on the intersection of bioethics and the law, as well as health law. He also teaches civil procedure. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. He has served as a faculty scholar for the Greenwall Foundation. He has spoken to NATO on biotechnology and human enhancement, addressed the OECD and members of the US and the Korean Congress on medical AI policy, and advised then- U.S. Vice President Harris on reproductive rights. He has provided bioethical advising and consulting to some of the largest healthcare companies in the world including Bayer, Otsuka, and Illumina. He has given grand rounds and lectured to medical and industry conferences across the world. His work has been frequently covered by or appeared in media venues such as PBS, NPR, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Boston Globe.

He is the author of more than 300 articles and leading law, medicine, and science journals and the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than 20 books. Prof. Cohen’s current projects relate to medical AI, mobile health and other health information technologies, abortion, reproduction/reproductive technology, the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs, research ethics, organ transplantation, rationing in law and medicine, health policy, FDA law, translational medicine, medical tourism and many other topics.

A mother, an actress, an activist, a speaker, and a meditation teacher with a long-standing humanitarian engagement. A co-founder of the Never Alone, suicide prevention and mental wellbeing initiative of The Chopra Foundation. A movement that reduces mental health stigma and democratizes access to mental health hygiene tools. A Global Goodwill Ambassador to Skypower and the Honorary President of a grassroots charity in Myanmar. Wright lent her voice to UN Women and the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women.

Wright is the innovator of the Mental Hygiene Toolkit, a collection of mind cleansing and self-awareness tools to help individuals nurture their bodies, minds, and spirits, and develop inner guidance to consciously choose the best path for their lives. She has been a long-life student of Tibetan Buddhism and Vedanta.

Wright's acting and humanitarian projects bring her closer to understanding human nature and what binds consciousness to reality. She is the founder of the production company Conscious Intent, which supports different media formats to promote the human story. Her recent projects include "I Am Never Alone," which is the impetus for the Never Alone campaign with Dr. Deepak Chopra, Michael Beckwith, Temple Hayes directed by Michel Pascal.

As a motivational speaker, Wright has participated in numerous events, talk shows, podcasts, and social media outlets. Her recent engagements include UN Women conventions in London and Los Angeles, the First UN Trust Fund Grantee Convention in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Difficult Dialogues forum in India, a suicide prevention seminar, and the Lake Nona Impact Forum. She is the annual host and co-founder of the Never Alone Summit, which features over 100+ speakers who share their strength and resilience tools in the mental health space.