Emily Calandrelli is the 100th woman in space, an Emmy-nominated science TV Host, and #1 NYTimes Best Selling Author, known as @TheSpaceGal online to her 3M+ followers.

Sinead Bovell is a strategic foresight advisor and the founder of WAYE, an organization that prepares youth for a future with advanced technologies, with a focus on non-traditional and minority markets. Sinead advises c-suite executives and senior leadership across governments, global business giants and startups alike. She is an 11x United Nations speaker; she has given formal addresses to presidents, royalty and Fortune 500 leaders on topics ranging from cybersecurity to artificial intelligence, and currently serves as a strategic advisor to the United Nations International Telecommunication Union on digital inclusion. Sinead is also a regular tech commentator for CNN, NBC, and talk shows on the societal impact of emerging technologies. Prior to founding WAYE, Sinead received her MBA from the University of Toronto and worked as a management consultant for A.T. Kearney.

Natalie Monbiot is an emerging technology strategist and pioneer in AI, virtual humans, and generative video technologies. As a founding team member and head of strategy at Hour One, she has helped create the AI avatar and video category from vision to ethics to commercialization. A leading voice in the industry, Natalie advocates for a 'virtual human economy' where real people profit by putting their virtual selves to work, and advises VC funds, corporations, and startups in the virtual human space. She has a strong track record as a futurist for companies like Samsung and in digital transformation for companies like BMW, Coca-Cola, and Spotify

Elisa began her journey with Teach For America as a 1998 corps member in Phoenix. She joined staff in 2001 to lead the organization’s work in her hometown in the Rio Grande Valley. Four years later, she became chief operating officer, overseeing field operations as Teach For America expanded to more than 300 urban and rural communities and more than tripled its network of leaders while improving student outcomes each year. Today, under her leadership as CEO, Teach For America’s network of over 70,000 corps members, tutors, and alumni are working inside and outside the classroom to ensure that all children have the access and opportunity to learn, lead, and thrive. Elisa sits on the boards of the Holdsworth Center, City Fund, GoGuardian, and Leadership for Educational Equity, and serves as a JOURNEY to Lead Champion and a Founding Partner of Starts With Us. She chairs the U.S. Homeland Security Academic Partnership Council, which provides recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on campus safety and security, strategic research, innovation, career development, partnership opportunities, and other topics. She is nationally recognized as one of the Top 20 Voices in Social Impact by LinkedIn and one of the 50 Most Powerful Latinas by ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals for America). Elisa holds a B.A. in sociology from DePauw University. She lives in Houston with her husband, Jeremy, and their four sons.

Ana Homayoun is an academic advisor and early career development expert working at the intersection of executive functioning skills, technology, and personal energy management. She is the author of four books, including her most recent, Erasing the Finish Line: The New Blueprint for Success Beyond Grades and College Admission, which focuses on the fundamental skills all students and young adults need to thrive. Her three previous books That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week, The Myth of the Perfect Girl and Social Media Wellness focus on helping students develop executive functioning skills, overcome the culture of perfectionism, and learn how to navigate social media and technology. She has spent over two decades working directly with young people and has worked with schools and consulted with companies around the world. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets including Good Morning America, New York Times, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Fast Company, and NPR. She is the founder of Silicon-Valley based Green Ivy Educational Consulting and the executive director of Luminaria Learning Solutions, a non-profit initiative focused on bringing executive functioning skill development to every classroom. She lives in San Francisco.

Jennifer Breheny Wallace is an award-winning journalist and author of the instant New York Times bestselling book Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic – and What We Can Do About It. Her forthcoming book Mattering: Building A Life of Value At Home, Work, and in the Larger World is based on five years of research and an original global mattering survey. Wallace is the founder of The Mattering Institute, whose mission is to create cultures of mattering in homes, workplaces, and communities, and co-founder of The Mattering Movement, a nonprofit whose mission is to create cultures of mattering in schools. Wallace is a consultant with The LEGO Group and is a BCG BrightHouse Luminary. She is also a Journalism Fellow at The Center for Parent and Teen Communication at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and serves on the Advisory Board for Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. After graduating from Harvard College, Wallace was a broadcast producer for CBS “60 Minutes" and part of the team that won The Robert F. Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism. She is a contributor to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post and frequently appears on national television programs to discuss her work. Wallace serves on the board of the Coalition for the Homeless in New York City, where she lives with her husband and their three children.

Jean-Claude Brizard is President and CEO of Digital Promise Global, a global, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on shaping the future of learning and advancing equitable education systems by bridging solutions across research, practice, and technology. He is former Senior Advisor and Deputy Director at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where he focused on PK-16 education. He also led several strategies supporting Washington State's educational system. The Carnegie Corporation of New York honored Brizard in the 2023 class of “Great Immigrants, Great Americans,” a prestigious honor celebrating naturalized citizens who have enriched and strengthened our society. He received the distinguished Aspen Institute 2024 John P. McNulty Prize for his work with Anseye Pou Haiti. The award recognizes courageous leaders tackling critical issues, from environmental injustice and disaster recovery to addressing a national crisis of leadership and education. He is former Chief Executive of Chicago Public Schools. Prior to his appointment in Chicago, he was Superintendent of Schools for the Rochester, NY School District. Mr. Brizard’s experience also includes a 21-year career as an educator and administrator with the NYC Department of Education. He served as a Regional Superintendent, supervising more than 100 schools in the Borough of Brooklyn and he also served as the system’s Executive Director for its 400 secondary schools. He is a Fellow of the Broad Center, a Fellow of the Pahara-Aspen Institute, and a member of the Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network.

Allison leads the Minecraft Education team at Mojang Studios with a mission to build a better world through the power of play. She is invested in cultivating game-changing experiences and partnerships that empower young people with knowledge and skills they need to understand the world’s toughest problems and imagine a better future. A passion for empowering all students with technology drives Allison's focus on sharing how game-based learning impacts motivation, engagement, problem solving and social-emotional skills. She especially enjoys talking to new audiences about the power of Minecraft and other video games to make a positive impact on young people’s lives through meaningful, immersive learning experiences. Allison is a coaching leader who works with people to cultivate a healthy mindset and believes that pairing passion with curiosity is the key to unlocking potential. Prior to joining the Minecraft team, Allison worked in various roles at Microsoft gaining experience in product development and building go-to-market strategies in the fitness, gaming, retail, and device industries. Born and raised in Canada, Allison received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Waterloo before moving to Seattle to begin her 20-year career with Microsoft.

JOSE ANTONIO TIJERINO is president and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, a national nonprofit focused on education, workforce, social impact and culture, through the lens of leadership, which he describes as a “malleable mission.” Under Tijerino, HHF has been honored by The White House, US Congress, Fortune 500 companies, other nonprofits, and even the Government of Mexico. Tijerino is also executive producer of the Hispanic Heritage Awards at the Kennedy Center, which are broadcast on PBS. Prior, he was an executive at Fannie Mae Foundation, Nike, Burson Marsteller, and Cohn & Wolfe. Tijerino was honored with the “Ohtli Award,” which is the highest honor by government of Mexico; “Lifetime Achievement Award” by National PTA; Hispanics in Philanthropy “Giver Award;” “Vision Award” by Silicon Valley Latino Leadership; MALDEF “Human Rights Award;” Telemundo’s “Community Service Award;” “Civilian Impact Award” by US Army; “Brillante Award” by NSHMBA; “Digital Hero Award” by MMTC; “Cesar Chavez Award” by NHLI; multiple BRAVO Awards; and by the Greater Washington Hispanic Business Hall of Fame; among others. Tijerino has served and serves on various boards and advisory committees inlcuding Harvard’s Latino Leadership Initiative at the Kennedy School; University System of Maryland Foundation; HHTP (Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership); National Girls Collaborative; America’s Promise Alliance; Games for Change; Ayuda; CSforAll; KID Museum; Notre Dame’s Exoneration Justice Clinic; Nielsen’s Latino Advisory Counsel; Crittenton Services; Equity and Accountability Council for Coca-Cola; Disney’s Community Advisory Committee; and the FCC’s Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC); WhiteBoard Advisors; among others. As a proud immigrant from Nicaragua, Tijerino was recognized by FWD.US for his work with migrant families on the border including his support of the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, TX, and has helped build a center on the Mexico side. He also co-founded the American Project; #WeDreamAmerica campaign; #Masks4Farmworkers, which provided more than 2 million masks for farmworkers during the pandemic; DREAM LEAD for DACA recipients; and supported Imagination Stage’s Theatre For Change featuring the Oyeme! Project portraying the plight migrants; among other efforts. Tijerino co-produced the first, Latinx-themed game with Minecraft and is featured as a Minecraft character; produced an anti-hate tool kit with Nickelodeon; co-founded the Code as a Second Language (CSL) initiative, which has introduced 100,000 youth to coding; co-founded the LOFT (Latinos On Fast Track) Institute; helped found the Hispanic Leaders Alliance (HLA) with the NFL; a “Maker Academy” with the KID Museum for educators to attract minority students into STEM; among other efforts. As host of the Fritanga Podcast, Tijerino presents Latino culture, unitiy, perspective, information, and inspiration with guests ranging from celebrities to policymakers to opinion leaders. He is designated as an “Influencer” on LinkedIn and was selected as “Top Voices on Diversity, Equity & Includsion” on the platform. His blogs and media presensence have made him a national voice on various issues including DEIA, identity, immigration, creativity, and calls to action and tagged the term “Impatient Activism.” Tijerino earned a BS degree from the University of Maryland’s school of journalism, and honored with a Doctorate of Humane Letters from The Chicago School. He is a Salinas Fellow at the Aspen Institute and lives in Washington, DC, with his family.

Susanna Pollack is the President of Games for Change, the leading global advocate for the power of games and immersive media as drivers of social impact. As a social entrepreneur and cross-sector leader, Susanna has over 25 years of experience advancing ambitious social impact goals through traditional and interactive media. At Games for Change, Susanna leads a global nonprofit and community dedicated to using games to tackle real-world challenges, from humanitarian conflicts to climate change and education. She has initiated dozens of G4C's world-class events, public arcades, design challenges, and youth programs in partnership with clients like Nobel Peace Center, Minecraft, Bezos Family Foundation, Google, Hasbro. Under her leadership, G4C has been widely recognized for innovative programs and cross-sector impact, receiving a Classy Award, an Anthem Award, a Shorty Impact Award, and an Engage for Good Halo Award. Susanna has been named on the Nonprofit Times Power & Influence Top 50 List and the Worthy 100 List. Prior to Games for Change, Susanna worked across the commercial and public sectors, including a 14-year stint in various SVP positions at BBC Worldwide.

Kara Bobroff (Diné/Lakota) is a lifelong educator, social entrepreneur, and advocate for Indigenous communities with over 25 years of experience. A citizen of the Navajo Nation, Kara is the Executive Director of One Generation, where she supports community-led solutions in Indigenous education, language revitalization, food sovereignty, holistic wellness, youth development, and innovation. She founded the Native American Community Academy (NACA) and the NACA Inspired Schools Network, the first national network dedicated to culturally relevant, holistic community-led Indigenous education with 13 schools in 5 states and growing. Kara is now an Emeritus Board member at NISN. Kara began her career as a teacher and school leader, shaping her deep commitment to creating environments where Native youth can thrive academically, culturally, academically and personally. Appointed by Secretary Deb Haaland as Chair of the National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education, she is also an Echoing Green Fellow and Ashoka Fellow. Guided by her perseverence and drive Kara holds a vision for Indigenous language revitalization, holistic wellness, and equitable education systems rooted in Indigenous values and works to build solutions with communities that work and sustain. Her leadership extends to state and national roles, including serving as Deputy Secretary of Identity, Equity, and Transformation for New Mexico’s Public Education Department and as a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Through her unwavering dedication, Kara remains committed to innovation and learning from Native youth to transform and grow Indigenous Education to reflect the strengths, values, knowledge, vision and aspirations of their communities.

Manu Kapur is currently the Director of the Singapore-ETH Centre and Professor for Learning Sciences and Higher Education at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Before that Manu held professorial and leadership positions at universities in Hong Kong and Singapore. A soccer player turned-mechanical engineer turned-math teacher-turned-academic, Manu holds a doctorate in the learning sciences from Teachers College, Columbia University. He also holds double Masters: Master of Science in Applied Statistics from Teachers College, Columbia University, and Master of Education from the National Institute of Education in Singapore. Manu conceptualized his ground-breaking theory of Productive Failure, not only profoundly impacting the science of how people learn but also transforming teaching and learning in schools, universities, and workplaces around the world. In addition to substantial funding and media attention worldwide, Manu is a sought-after keynote speaker, has delivered two TEDx talks, and held prestigious visiting professorships and advisory roles globally. His contributions extend across high-profile journals and conferences, influencing educational policies and practices internationally.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Annabelle Chang has been a passionate reader and book lover for as long as she can remember. As a 16-year-old high school student, Annabelle conceived of and opened Annabelle’s Book Club LA, an independent bookstore focused on young adult literature, a genre that has traditionally been underappreciated. In addition to growing the bookstore, Annabelle has been a committed advocate for community engagement. She has promoted literacy and a love of reading with local schools and provided a platform for historically underrepresented voices. In addition to young adult literature, Annabelle’s passions include tennis, surfing, travel, working with other entrepreneurs, and spending time with her friends, family, and three rescue dogs. Annabelle’s future career plans include publishing, media and entertainment, and their intersection with technology and artificial intelligence. Annabelle is currently enjoying her freshman year at Stanford University.

Alexandra Brown Chang is the author of By Invitation Only, her debut novel set to be published in Fall 2025. She graduated from Stanford University, where she majored in Art History. Alexandra is also the founder of The Zeitgeist, a lifestyle website. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her three rescue dogs.

As a rising talent, Raegan Revord is steadily building an impressive body of work and quickly making a name for herself in Hollywood. Raegan stars in CBS's hit comedy series Young Sheldon as fan-favorite 'Missy Cooper'. Set as a prequel to the Emmy-nominated The Big Bang Theory, the series consistently been one of prime time's most watched comedies. Off screen, Raegan is a dedicated writer and is authoring a debut YA novel titled Rules for Fake Girlfriends, set to publish in the Fall of 2025 by Wednesday Books. Raegan is also an avid reader and used Instagram to launch her own book club, Read With Raegan. The online book club is a space where young adults, like Raegan, can come together and celebrate everything there is to love about books, including favorite reads, author interviews, and more. Since its launch in 2022, the book club had grown into a community of thought-provoking recommendations and conversations. Raegan's passions also extend into her local community. Her desire to help the less fortunate sparked an idea to create Homeless Helpers, a local initiative aimed at providing small care packages and other necessary items for those who are without homes. Additionally, she is a passionate and outspoken advocate for rescuing animals and is a Junior Ambassador for Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Rania Zuri is the founder and CEO of The LiTEArary Society, the world’s largest youth-led nonprofit organization working to end book deserts for disadvantaged preschool children. To date, The LiTEArary Society has donated more than $648,000 worth of brand new books to over 54,000 disadvantaged preschool children in all 50 states. The organization has grown to over 3,000 members internationally in 12 countries across 4 continents. The LiTEArary Society has partnerships and has received funding from Scholastic, Inc., Barnes & Noble, Hershey’s, Pilot Pens, Starbucks, and more. For her work in early childhood literacy, Rania has been featured on Good Morning America, Forbes, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, The Today Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show (twice), national CBS Evening News, NPR, Fox News, Teen Vogue (twice), NowThis, and more. She is the youngest CEO on the 2024 Forbes 30 under 30 list and was honored at the White House as a “Girl Leading Change” by First Lady Jill Biden in celebration of International Day of the Girl in 2023. She is a student at Stanford University.

Nadim Matta is co-founder of nafda Lebanon and RE!NSTITUTE (formerly Rapid Results Institute), and he serves on the Board of Directors of nafda, RE!NSTITUTE and The Housing Collective of Connecticut. His current focus is on supporting nafda schools in Lebanon to bring about societal change, and on helping communities across South Africa organize to tackle the issue of gender-based violence and femicide. Nadim served as a Yale School of Management Donaldson Fellow in 2012 and 2013, and he was named by Foreign Policy Magazine as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers. He authored several articles on bottom-up change in the Harvard Business Review and in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Rafael Parente is a passionate advocate for the transformative power of education. Holding a PhD in Education from New York University (NYU), he has dedicated his career to building a future where education serves as a catalyst for social and economic progress. As the Executive Director of Instituto Salto, Rafael leverages his deep expertise in research and technology to drive large-scale innovative solutions. His leadership journey includes serving as Secretary of Education for the Federal District in Brazil and forging impactful partnerships with global institutions. A co-author of How to Educate Families for Challenging Futures, he is also a member of the PNLD Technical Commission, a researcher at NEES/UFAL, and a leading voice in the field of emerging technologies in education.

Rebecca Winthrop is a leading global authority on education. She is the director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She is a highly sought after advisor and speaker including by parent networks, school leaders, the White House, the United Nations and Fortune 500 companies.

Dr. Urvashi Sahni is a social entrepreneur, women’s rights activist, and educationist who has been a pioneering activist in the field for more than three decades. She has a Masters and PhD in Education from University of California, Berkeley, USA. In 2017, she won the Social Entrepreneur of the Year India award conferred by the Schwab-Jubilant Bhartiya Foundation. She is a fellow at Harvard University in their Advanced Leadership Initiative of 2024. In 2020 she co-created Catalyst 2030, a global network of over 800 social entrepreneurs. Dr Sahni is an Ashoka Fellow and a non-resident fellow at the Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution, USA. She is also a former member of the Rajasthan’s Chief Minister’s advisory council, heading the education sub-group. The Uttar Pradesh Government has nominated her to serve on the Steering Committee for the implementation of the National Education Policy of India 2020 and by the National Institute of Open Schooling, to serve on their committee for the revision of their Gender Policy. Combining her activism with research, Dr. Sahni has several publications to her credit. She is a leading expert in curriculum design and reform, teacher training and education governance with a special focus on girls’ education and gender equality. She founded Suraksha (a women’s rights organisation), DiDi's (a social enterprise for sustainable livelihoods for women), and the Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF). Currently, she is the president and CEO of SHEF. Over the last 38 years, Dr Sahni’s work, through SHEF has impacted over 100,000 teachers and 50,00,000 children, most of whom are girls from disadvantaged communities. About Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) SHEF is a non-profit social enterprise that runs four pre-K to 12 schools, a college and 132 community based learning centers. It also partners with over 800 schools to train the teachers in the use of our curriculum on gender equality. Since 1986, SHEF has impacted 5 million students, most of them girls from extremely marginalized communities, 100,000 teachers and 20 million members of the community. Our vision is to educate everyone for gender equality, social justice, personal flourishing and active democratic citizenship.

Mychal loves stories! He enjoys learning something new every day, and that includes learning why people love their local library. He utilizes social media to share the stories of library kids and library grown-ups that he encounters in library land. He got his first library card at the age of 5 and was hooked on libraries from there. He got his first library job as a library shelver at the library he grew up in and worked his way up to become Supervising Librarian of that very same library. He got his Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Phoenix and his Master’s in Library and Information Science degree from San Jose State University. He is proud to be a 2023 recipient of the American Library Association’s “I Love My Librarian” Award! He is very open about his mental health. He talks about it in hopes that it’ll help others in their mental health journey. He is adamant about encouraging people to believe him when he says he’s happy they are here.

As Senior Vice President and General Manager, PBS KIDS, Sara DeWitt is responsible for the strategic direction of the dynamic PBS KIDS media service that supports children ages 2-8, their parents, teachers and caregivers, and local communities. Ms. DeWitt leads a cross-disciplinary team charged with making PBS KIDS – the #1 children’s education media brand – engaging and accessible to widely diverse audiences across streaming video, broadcast, games, and other platforms through content development, multi-platform asset distribution, educational product creation, creative production, and marketing and brand engagement. DeWitt previously served as Vice President of PBS KIDS Digital, leading innovative strategies that built educational experiences for kids across media platforms. Having spent over 20 years in public media, she has played an integral role in the digital transformation of PBS KIDS. DeWitt has overseen the pbskids.org website, PBS KIDS streaming video services, and the PBS KIDS portfolio of games and educational apps for children and caregivers. Under her leadership, PBS KIDS has produced award-winning games and apps, AR experiences, podcasts and second screen technologies; developed a learning analytics platform to better understand children's learning gains through gameplay; and established itself as a gold standard in children’s digital privacy and security. DeWitt is a regular speaker on the subjects of digital privacy, games and learning, and has authored academic papers and editorials on children’s media and its educational impact. She gave a widely shared TED Talk debunking myths about screen time, and has presented at high-profile conferences such as SXSW, Games for Change, CES, the Grace Hopper Celebration and the Atlantic Education Summit. Through speaking engagements and panels, she has lent her voice to important conversations about career and family, and inspiring young girls to aim for careers in the sciences. In 2014, she was named one of the top 42 Women Leading in Education by the USC Rossier School of Education, and she also was recognized with Cynopsis Media’s Top Women in Digital Award in 2016 and 2017. Most recently, DeWitt was honored with the 2020 Hedy Lamarr Award for Innovation in Entertainment Technology. Prior to joining PBS, DeWitt worked as a preschool teacher and as a field researcher studying media habits of children in rural areas. DeWitt holds an MA and a BA in English from Stanford University, as well as a certificate from the university’s Children Society and Public Policy Curriculum.