Adeel Khan is the Founder and CEO of MagicSchool AI, a leading generative AI platform designed to support educators and students. Since its launch in May 2023, MagicSchool has grown rapidly, with over 6 million educators across more than 13,000 schools and districts worldwide utilizing its tools to streamline tasks such as lesson planning, assessment creation, and differentiated instruction. The platform also includes MagicStudent, a suite of AI tools managed by teachers to help students build AI literacy in a safe and guided environment. Prior to founding MagicSchool, Adeel served as the Founding Principal at DSST: Conservatory Green High School in Denver's Central Park neighborhood. Under his leadership, the school achieved 100% four-year college acceptance for its senior class and was recognized as the #1 performing public high school in Denver Public Schools. Adeel's journey in education began after graduating from Virginia Tech, where he was the university's youngest Student Body President and led the campus through the tragic events of April 16, 2007. His commitment to service led him to Teach for America in Atlanta, Georgia, where he taught in underserved communities. He later moved to Denver to pursue his dream of opening a new school focused on expanding opportunities and addressing educational inequity.

Brian K. Bond became Executive Director of PFLAG National in 2019, leading the organization through major growth amid rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. Under his leadership, PFLAG took unprecedented legal action, including suing Texas over investigations into families of transgender children and filing PFLAG v. Trump to challenge anti-trans healthcare policies. He launched PFLAG Connects: Communities and led investment into minority-owned banks, earning praise for innovative DEI efforts. Brian has a strong background in coalition-building and held key roles in government, including at the EPA and as Deputy Director for the White House Office of Public Engagement under President Obama. In 2024, he was appointed to the non-partisan President’s Commission on White House Fellows.

Casey McQuiston is a New York Times bestselling author known for queer romantic comedies like Red, White & Royal Blue, One Last Stop, and I Kissed Shara Wheeler. Originally from Louisiana, they studied journalism at LSU and later moved to New York City. Their work blends heartfelt romance with sharp wit and vibrant characters. McQuiston identifies as queer and nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.

Nadra Kareem Nittle is the author of the books “bell hooks’ Spiritual Vision” and “Toni Morrison’s Spiritual Vision” (Fortress Press), and she also wrote “Recognizing Microaggressions” (Enslow Publishing). An award-winning journalist with a background reporting on a wide range of topics, including education, religion, public policy, food, health and the arts, she is now an education reporter for The 19th News. She is a former senior reporter for Civil Eats and a former staff writer for Vox.com, the Los Angeles News Group, and the USA Today Network. As a contributor, she has written for publications and news sites such as The Guardian, NBC News, KCET, The History Channel, Outreach Magazine, Insider, and The Atlantic.

Sam Helmick is President of the American Library Association and Community & Access Services Coordinator at the Iowa City Public Library. With a background in human services and library science, they have served as President of the Iowa Library Association and on key ALA committees. Sam is a strong advocate against censorship and for library funding, focusing on community building, advocacy, storytelling, and education. Their leadership centers on promoting access, equity, and inclusive storytelling.

Roya Mahboob is an entrepreneur and Afghanistan’s first female tech CEO. She has used her success to educate and empower Afghan women and girls through technology. She founded the Digital Citizen Fund, co-founded the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, and built tech centers across Afghanistan. She advocates for STEAM education and women’s rights globally. Roya was named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, and has received awards from Tribeca, WEF, Doha Forum, and others for her leadership and impact.

Mara Fleishman is CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation, a leading national nonprofit championing fresh, scratch-cooked meals in K–12 schools. Her 20‑year career spans natural foods and school food systems—from initiating marketing efforts at Whole Foods Market on both the U.S. East Coast and Europe to serving as Global Director of Partnerships. In 2013, after witnessing her child’s processed school lunch, Mara transitioned fully into school food reform. For over a decade at Chef Ann, she’s engineered system-level solutions—integrating partnerships, workforce training, procurement strategies, and policy advocacy—to ensure healthier meals, strengthen educational outcomes, promote equity, and support sustainable local food systems.

Maya Miller is a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in Environmental Studies. Passionate about food, health, climate, and justice, she is committed to critically assessing these systems both in the U.S. and globally. Her work spans food policy, sustainability, and youth advocacy, including internships with Friends of the Earth and the S M Sehgal Foundation in India. As a fellow with the Plant Powered Youth Steering Committee and New Roots Institute, Maya uplifts student voices in the national conversation on school food reform and plant-forward policy.

Norbert Wilson is Director of the World Food Policy Center at Duke University and a leading voice on food equity, access, choice, and domestic food system reform. He is Professor of Food, Economics, and Community at Duke Divinity School with a joint appointment at the Sanford School of Public Policy. His research and leadership focus on strategies to build resilience in the face of food waste and climate change. He works at the intersection of academic research and real-world impact, shaping equitable, evidence-based food policies that promote access, dignity, and sustainability.

Congressman Jim McGovern represents Massachusetts in the U.S. House and is the Ranking Member of the Rules Committee and a senior member of the Agriculture Committee. A passionate advocate for ending hunger, he co-chairs the bipartisan House Hunger Caucus and co-authored the McGovern‑Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which has provided more than 31 million meals to vulnerable children globally. He also introduced the "Healthy Meals Help Kids Learn Act," boosting school meal reimbursements to improve nutrition and academic success. In 2022, he worked with President Biden to convene the second White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, to bring together stakeholders and people with lived experience to craft a roadmap to end hunger.

Celina Stewart is the chief executive officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States. She leads the century-strong voting rights organization in its mission to empower voters and defend democracy. She oversees the League’s operations, resources, and strategy in this defining moment for American democracy. Appointed CEO just three months before the 2024 election, Celina guided the organization through one of the most consequential election cycles in modern history. Under her first year of leadership, the League reached more than 30 million voters and invested over $1 million in nonpartisan election education. She unveiled a bold vision at the 2024 National LWV Convention, outlining goals to strengthen the League’s leadership in voting rights, align its national network of 700+ affiliates, and grow its membership and financial capacity through an equity-centered transformation. Celina also launched Unite and Rise 8.5, an ambitious campaign to mobilize 8.5 million voters and assert the League’s role as a backbone organization for nonviolent civic action and defense of democracy. Her leadership emphasizes racial equity, organizational culture, and the need to modernize civic engagement for the current era. Celina joined the League in 2018 as director of advocacy and litigation. In that role — and later as senior director and chief counsel — she developed a nationally recognized legal advocacy program. She was the architect of the “People Powered Fair Maps™” redistricting campaign and One Person One Vote, a long-term campaign to end the Electoral College. Her work expanded the League’s presence on Capitol Hill and built key legal partnerships nationwide.

Erin Geiger Smith is a legal writer and editor in the Brennan Center’s Communications and Strategy Department and a contributor to State Court Report, a Brennan Center publication focused on state courts and state constitutional law. Geiger Smith is the author of Thank You for Voting: The Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring Truth About Voting in America (Harper, 2020) and its companion young readers’ edition. She has written for many top publications, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and was previously a legal reporter at Reuters. She has provided commentary on elections and voting on ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN’s Reliable Sources, and other television news programs, as well as on multiple national radio shows and podcasts, including NPR’s Think and Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert. Geiger Smith graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas School of Law, and Columbia Journalism School.

Harper Seldin is a Staff Attorney in the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project. Before joining the ACLU, Harper practiced at Cozen O’Connor, where he was a partner in the firm’s commercial litigation department. Along with his pro bono work for transgender rights, including serving as co-counsel in Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, Harper represented large technology clients in state and federal court, both at trial and on appeal. In 2021, he was named one of the “Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” by the LGBT Bar Association. Harper also served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Stewart Dalzell of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Harper received his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was an Articles Editor for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. He holds a BA in American History from the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts & Sciences.

Julia founded Our Children’s Trust in 2010 and leads our programmatic work, including the development of cutting-edge legal strategies and program-driven communication campaigns that advance our mission. Julia leads our legal efforts against the U.S. federal government and oversees and provides strategic support for our global and domestic programs. She serves as lead counsel in Juliana v. United States, Genesis v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Lighthiser v. Trump. In 2016, Juliana made history when, for the first time, a court declared a constitutionally protected, climate-specific right—a historic ruling that has inspired courts around the world. Julia is an accomplished speaker, sharing her story and unwavering commitment to children’s rights with audiences ranging from business leaders at Tiger21 to global forums such as We Don’t Have Time, created to influence world leaders on climate solutions. Julia is regularly quoted as a leading climate litigation expert in national and international media stories and featured in podcasts like The Daily of The New York Times. She is the author of several publications, including “Children’s Rights to a Life-Sustaining Climate: The Foundational Rule of Law to Achieve Sustainable Abundance for Humanity” (Northeastern University Law Review, 2023) and “Our Response to the Climate Crisis Will Determine Our Children’s Future” in The Next 25: A Collection of Essays on the Future of Human Rights for Article3.org in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She authors amicus briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court on the equal rights of children. Julia has received numerous honors, including the Montana Trial Lawyers Association Public Service Award (2024), the Berkeley Law Environmental Leadership Award (2024), Katharine & George Alexander Law Prize (2022), Rose-Walters Prize for Global Activism (2018), and the Kerry Rydberg Award for Environmental Activism (2017). In 2023, TIME100Climate called her one of the world’s most influential leaders driving climate action following our historic win in Held v. Montana—the first constitutional climate trial in the United States. Julia became an Ashoka Fellow in 2025. Julia is a member of Rachel’s Network Circle of Advisors. She received her JD from University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly Hastings), and her BA from University of Colorado, Boulder. In 2025, Julia was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Vermont Law and Graduate School.

Deneyse Kirkpatrick is president and CEO of the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC), a state-based network of public and private universities advancing campus internationalization. A former U.S. foreign service officer, she most recently served as the highest-ranking U.S. official to Guinea-Bissau. She was Senior Advisor to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy and has led initiatives supporting international higher education globally. She is a recipient of the Civilian Army Achievement Award and the Public Diplomacy Association of America Award. Kirkpatrick serves on the Howard University Board of Visitors and contributes to Meridian International Center. She holds an M.A. from Georgetown, a B.A. from Howard, and certificates from USC and Harvard Business School.

Jason Czyz became IIE’s President in 2025, leading an organization that for the past 100 years has helped advance scholarship, build economies and promote international exchange. He chairs the IIE Odyssey Scholarship selection committee, a comprehensive scholarship for student refugees and displaced individuals from around the world. Mr. Czyz also serves on the board of the Indonesia International Education Foundation, the Fulbright Scholar Advisory Board, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Throughout his tenure at IIE, Mr. Czyz supported the expansion of the Institute’s programs in the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, as well as with private foundations and corporations. As IIE’s Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, he helped solidify IIE’s position as a strategic partner to the U.S. government’s public diplomacy and educational exchange initiatives. During this time, IIE’s endowment grew substantially, resulting in the Institute’s increased capacity to fund a variety of rescue and emergency initiatives that support displaced artists, scholars and refugees. Before joining IIE, Mr. Czyz worked extensively in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and Central and South Asia on legal reform, utility regulation and infrastructure privatization projects. Mr. Czyz has previously been responsible for operations in Angola, Bangladesh and Ukraine for American companies. In addition, he worked at an international law firm in the energy, project finance and development practice groups. Mr. Czyz has served on the board of an international investment fund and as Chair of the Energy Bar Association’s International Energy Law & Transactions Committee. Mr. Czyz holds a B.A. in History and Modern Languages from Knox College, an M.A. in Russian and East European Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a J.D. from Catholic University.

Dr. Lawrence Schovanec has served as the 17th president of Texas Tech University since 2016, guiding its recognition as both a Carnegie "Tier One" Research Institution and a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution. Under his leadership, Texas Tech has expanded its global engagement, launching Texas Tech University–Costa Rica, broadening study abroad opportunities, and receiving national honors such as the Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization from NAFSA and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award. A longtime advocate for cross-border collaboration, Dr. Schovanec is the current U.S. Regional Vice President for the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education and a former chair of the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC) Board of Directors. He previously served on the NAFSA board, contributing to internationalization policy across higher education. Prior to his presidency, Dr. Schovanec held multiple academic and administrative roles at Texas Tech, including chair of the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, provost, and interim president. He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Indiana University and has published in the areas of biomechanical and physiological control systems and solid mechanics. Throughout his career, he has emphasized student success, teaching excellence, scholarship support, and the advancement of global higher-education partnerships.

The former Executive Director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, Dr. Vivian S. Walker is Practitioner in Residence at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, Adjunct Professor in GU’s MSFS degree program, Chair of the Foreign Service Journal Editorial Board, co-editor of the Palgrave Macmillan Series in Global Public Diplomacy, and Faculty Fellow at USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy. Previously, she taught at the Central European University, the National War College, and the National Defense College of the UAE. A retired senior FSO, she twice served as a Deputy Chief of Mission (Croatia and Armenia), twice as an Office Director (Southeastern European Affairs and the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy for Europe), a Public Affairs Officer (Kazakhstan, with coverage of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan), a Cultural Affairs Officer (Tunisia) and an Information Officer (Haiti). Other assignments include a two-year professorship in strategic studies at the National War College, a yearlong assignment as the State Department’s Regional Border Coordinator in Afghanistan, and a fellowship on the U.S. Atlantic Council, where she led the first interagency discussion on public diplomacy in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks. Dr. Walker publishes and lectures extensively on the practice of public diplomacy in complex information environments. She has a PhD in English from the University of Chicago.

Jess Zafarris is the author of several books on word origins, including Once Upon a Word, Words from Hell, and Useless Etymology. Alongside YouTuber Rob Watts, she is the cohost of the etymology podcast Words Unravelled, and she has built a devoted following of etymology learners on TikTok. She also co-hosts the podcast Words Unravelled, which draws around 25,000 daily views and listens across YouTube podcast platforms. Her blog, UselessEtymology.com, has been educating curious word lovers for more than a decade. She is an Editor-at-Large for Ragan Communications and PR Daily, where she regularly writes online content about words, word origins, social media, and communications. She speaks annually at writing conferences and teaches writing- and social media-centric classes for a range of universities and online platforms, and she has developed word-origin content for Dictionary.com. She serves as an adjunct professor in the Writing, Literature, and Publishing department at Emerson College. She has contributed to a range of books on writing, social media, tabletop games, and general interest topics. She and her work have been featured across The New York Times, The Guardian, The Boston Globe, NPR, Harper’s Magazine, BBC World Service Radio and Boston Public Radio.