Motivation & Inspiration
Motivation
Motivation:
Adventurer & Best-Selling Author
Chris Bertish has broken world records in numerous big wave surfing, Stand Up Paddle Boarding and many other water-based disciplines just as he has shattered perceptions in everything he does of what is possible.
Academy Award Winning Producer, Period. End of Sentence.
An Academy Award winning producer for Best Documentary Short (2019), Melissa Berton taught English at Oakwood Secondary School, where she inspired her students to make the film Period. End of Sentence. to raise awareness about menstrual health.
Founder & President, World Without Hate, 9/11 Hate-Crime Survivor
Rais Bhuiyan has a remarkable story — one that continually inspires people to interview him about his campaign, World Without Hate. His captivating speeches educate others on the regenerative power of forgiveness.
Social Services Advocate, Community Activist
A vibrant community activist, Lonise Bias has turned the losses of her two sons (including basketball star Len Bias) into a calling to help remedy the social ills of today.
Mother of Olympic Gold Medalist Noah Lyles & Certified Life Coach
30.6 million! That is the amount of people who watched the Paris 2024 Olympics on television. Keisha Caine Bishop was arguably the “Mom of the Olympic Games.”
Former Running Back, Pittsburgh Steelers
Rocky Bleier overcame severe combat wounds to play for the Steelers. His story is a tale of courage on both the football fields of America and the battlefields of Vietnam.
First African American Astronaut
As the first African American astronaut, Guion S. Bluford logged over 688 hours in space. He is now president of the Aerospace Technology Group.
Creator of the U.S.’s First Antiquities Trafficking Unit
A homicide prosecutor, boxer and scholar, US Marine Colonel Matthew Bogdanos made it his mission to recover stolen treasures of the Iraq National Museum. His best-selling memoir is Thieves of Baghdad.
Founder & CEO of Black Girls Rock!
A DJ and model, Beverly Bond is the Founder of Black Girls Rock!, which empowers inner-city girls through the arts. She was named one of Essence's "40 Fierce and Fabulous Women Who Are Changing the World.
Founder, Homeboy Industries
Father Gregory Boyle is the founder and CEO of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention and re-entry program in Los Angeles County.
Selected As Top 101 Leadership Speakers
Peter Bregman is CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc., a company that strengthens leadership in people and in organizations. People who hear him speak often make changes that have an immediate and enormous impact.
Communication Expert & Sailing Champion
A leadership coach to Fortune 500 companies as well as Olympic sailing teams, speaker Dean Brenner teaches organizations how to lead more effectively.
Television Producer & Writer
A trailblazer for women in TV, Brock-Akil is the creator of Girlfriends, The Game, Being Mary Jane and her latest show, Love Is on OWN. She inspires audiences to find—and use—their voice.
Entertainers
The Raspyni Brothers, Dan Holzman and Barry Friedman, offer an original blend of mirth, mayhem and madness. Their Vaudevillian humor has been displayed at corporate events and on late-night television.
Founder of The Empowerment Temple
Reverend Jamal-Harrison Bryant is the founder of the fastest growing AME church. He empowers believers spiritually and activates them politically through his cutting-edge teachings.
CEO of Robin Hood
Richard is the CEO of Robin Hood and former Chief Executive Officer of Achievement First, a network of 37 public charter schools providing an excellent education to 15,000 students across New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island.