Meet the Speakers Bringing Big Ideas to a Small Town

Laurie Lynn is a speaker, emcee, coach, and leadership professional with a background in business, sales, and personal development. She combines practical strategy and emotional intelligence to help people recognize their potential, build meaningful connections, and turn possibility into action.

TOPIC: YOU Have the POWER!

Hadia Miriam is a high school researcher and community founder whose work explores the relationship between social connection, aging, and brain health. She founded Generations Connect, an initiative that connects high school students and older adults through intergenerational events and pen-pal programs designed to foster meaningful relationships and reduce isolation.

TOPIC: Bridging the Age Divide: Why the Future Depends on Intergenerational Connection

Pranav Kumar has spent more than 20 years deciding when a system should trust a request, and when it shouldn't. A Partner Solutions Architect at Zscaler, he works with some of the world's largest organizations on Zero Trust security. He holds CISSP and CCIE Security certifications and an MBA from the University of Illinois. Outside work, he loves endurance sports and improv.ile transformation, AI-enabled decision-making, and operational excellence, leading multi-million-dollar portfolios and global teams.

TOPIC: Teaching the People We Love to Trust No One

Muxiang Pajerski is a marketing, communications, and digital transformation leader with more than 20 years of experience connecting people, ideas, and teams. She currently leads national marketing technology initiatives at a global risk management and insurance brokerage organization and previously managed a 10-person creative team at a marketing agency. Muxiang is also a Toastmasters district leader and host of Be A Light with Muxiang, a podcast focused on kindness, courage, and meaningful human connection.

TOPIC: Trust Beyond Blood: Redefining Family

Rush Darwish is a media executive, civic leader, non-profit strategist, and former news anchor with more than 25 years of experience in media, communications, civic leadership, and nonprofit strategy. Throughout his career, he has led organizations, told stories in high-pressure environments, and worked at the inter-section of communication, leadership, and community.

TOPIC: What Happens When We Spend Our Lives Waiting for Someone Else to Choose Us?

Eileen Kerlin Walsh is an attorney, entrepreneur, bestselling author, and internationally recognized speaker who has spent more than 25 years helping individuals and families navigate important life decisions. She built Kerlin Walsh Law into a successful estate planning practice and is the creator of The Soul of Your Business and the Share My Legacy program, which explore the stories, relationships, and values we leave behind.

TOPIC: Two Things This Lawyer Learned at Deathbeds She Should Not Have Been At

Solomon Asine is a self-esteem coach, speaker, author, and educator who has spent more than a decade studying and teaching social and emotional intelligence. His work helps people understand how their thoughts, emotions, and beliefs influence their decisions, relationships, confidence, and personal growth.

TOPIC: What if You are Wrong about Yourself

Peter Deuschle is an author, educator, creative director, and founder of Hands-On Meditation, where he makes mindfulness more practical, accessible, and adaptable. With more than 20 years of experience helping people understand complex ideas, Peter applies that same approach to meditation through active techniques and simple, practical instruction.

TOPIC: Learning Stillness Through Motion

Saundra Washington is a retired learning and development professional, speaker, speaker coach, and educational leader who is passionate about healthy aging and the value of older adults. In her 70s, she remains an active weight trainer, healthy recipe creator, and lifelong learner while continuing to coach and develop others.

TOPIC: Transforming Seniors into Elders

Kimberly “MyVoice” Johnson is an award-winning speaker, master storyteller, educator, author, transformational minister, and life-development strategist with 28 years of experience in education and leadership. She serves as District Coordinator of Continuing Education and Customized Training for the City Colleges of Chicago and is the founder of Girl Don’t Settle University and host of the God-Winning Mornings podcast.

TOPIC: Don’t Be Afraid to Start Over...You Might Like Your New Story Better

Hayward Suggs is an executive coach and leadership professional with more than 25 years of experience working with people across a wide range of industries and organizations. His career has included roles as a CTA bus driver, behavioral health case manager, non-profit CEO, and executive coach, giving him a broad perspective on the relationships and communication dynamics that shape our lives and workplaces.

TOPIC: Sometimes the Problem and Solution Are Closer than We Think

Antoinette Summer is an author, speaker, and founder of The Real Front Desk, where she helps individuals and organizations examine how they operate and where they are committed to going. She is also the founder of Equal Elevation, a nonprofit serving individuals, families, and communities navigating the space between being freed and sustainably living in freedom.

TOPIC: Community of One

Ekta Anand is a transformational speaker, entrepreneur, and Founder & CEO of Shambhala’s Land. She works with leaders, executives, and high achievers to examine the beliefs and patterns that influence how they lead, make decisions, define success, and pursue fulfillment.

TOPIC: The Myth of More: Why Doing More Is Keeping You Scarce

Ericka Glorious Moore is a speaker, best-selling author, mental health coach, entrepreneur, and award-winning artist with over a decade of experience delivering keynote presentations and interactive workshops. Using research, laughter, and real-life experience, her relatable, high-energy approach helps audiences heal from their past, surpass their goals, and plan for the future. Her philosophy is “Know Your Value. Discover Your Dreams.”

TOPIC: The Power of No