KEYNOTES

Keynote Speakers

Tuesday, June 27 | 1:30-3:00 p.m.

Shola Richards

The Courage To Go Together: 3 Questions to Change How You Work, Live and Lead

Represented by Gotham Artists

In his highly inspiring flagship keynote, Shola will introduce the transformative concept of Ubuntu (pronounced, "oo-BOON-too"), which translates to "I am, because we are." The Ubuntu philosophy, along with three powerful questions, will provide the audience with actionable strategies to transform their work culture, amplify team civility and inspire themselves and others to consistently bring their best to their work.

This keynote is ideal for individual contributors, leaders and teams who are:

Searching for proven strategies to strengthen team cohesion and togetherness — despite these deeply divisive and polarized times — in order to maintain a healthy workplace culture and optimal business results
Struggling to keep themselves engaged, energized and positive when managing the nonstop challenges and complexities of life — both inside and outside of the workplace
Feeling as if they do not have the influence, professional title or education to make meaningful positive change in their organization

The audience will leave with:

The three key questions that they need to ask themselves to increase the likelihood of civil, engaged and productive work culture
The answers to the most common objections to beginning the important (and challenging) work of positively transforming their work culture
The self-awareness to become mindful of how their words, actions and behaviors affect others

Read Shola's Bio

Thursday, June 29 | 9:00-10:15 a.m.

Sara Ross

Stand-Out Leadership: Thrive With Vitality in the Future of Work

Represented by Eagles Talent Speakers Bureau Inc.

Taking on anything challenging — even when meaningful and exciting — will involve stress, discomfort and struggle.

In a world defined by uncertainty, the most powerful way to raise the bar and get to the next level is to boost the collective potential of how people work together. That starts by helping leaders and their people build awareness of their behavior, learn to embrace the emotions that come with challenges and strengthen the skills of empathy to thrive collectively together, whether in person or virtually.

Sara Ross, chief vitality officer of the leadership research firm, BrainAmped, studies the influence of emotional intelligence, vitality-generating energy and organizational culture on leadership, performance and teamwork. Combining these areas and looking at them through the lens of brain science, Sara uses humor and storytelling to ensure people have actionable strategies they feel empowered to start using the moment they leave their seats.

Specifically, Sara will share the following in her keynote:

It’s less about what you know and more about how you lead: Learn the key behaviors that differentiate the best from the rest for creating stand-out leadership, performance and teamwork
Knowing what to do and doing what you know are not the same: Establish an in-the-moment emotional management strategy to strengthen personal accountability, make better decisions and respond more skillfully — even in the most challenging circumstances
Trust is both a science and a skill: Uncover the brain science of trust and how to use it to create more collaborative, innovative and diverse cultures
To demonstrate empathy, you need to first develop it: Learn an approach to extend empathy, especially in difficult conversations that get to the heart of the matter while strengthening relationships and driving results
Caring for people is not the same as carrying people: Embody a mindset to shift leadership fatigue into leadership vitality

Read Sara's Bio

Sara is on a mission to help organizations and their leaders reignite a sense of aliveness in both their work and at home. She and her company do this by using brain science-based strategies to teach people how to amplify their emotional intelligence, resilience and well-being.

As a leadership expert, Sara's ideas and research have earned her a reputation as a fresh and thought-provoking voice in discussions focused on the future of work. As such, Sara is called on to work with clients such as Microsoft, PepsiCo., Cisco, Wells Fargo, T Mobile, Rogers, Allstate, United Health, Fidelity, BMO, Stanford University, and as diverse as the U.S. Navy SEALs and the leadership team of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, among others. In addition, Sara has worked with numerous government agencies, foundations and associations as well as guest lecturing in the executive leadership program at Smith College. This broad perspective and diverse experience help explain why Sara is called on to work with some of the most senior, technically sophisticated and skeptical audiences.

You can count on Sara to bring her trademark energy with the integration of relevant, cutting-edge science and relatable stories of success and failures. Her approach is guaranteed to challenge the status quo, provide new insights and inspiration, and most importantly, leave audiences with a blueprint of actionable strategies.

Before founding BrainAmped, Sara spent a decade immersed in the neuroscience of Emotional Intelligence and Performance at a leadership development company where she served as their Vice President and Global Head of Leadership Innovation, Research and Education. As head of faculty, Sara and her team led the development and delivery of award-winning leadership programs, assessments, coaching and accreditation programs that helped leaders from across the globe to be their best, even in the most complex and stress-filled moments.

Sara has a Master of Science (MSc.) from the University of Waterloo. Outside of work, she is a coffee-loving, meditation rookie who can’t help but slip in the occasional Canadian “eh” at the end of a sentence. Her husband describes her career as professional eavesdropping people watching. She argues that she is merely a dedicated street scientist doing her professional duty to better understand why people do what they do and why they don’t do what they know they should!