Keynote Speaker, Plenary Speakers, Guest Artists and Presenters

Keynote Speaker

Jenna Bush Hager


Contributing Correspondent, Today Show
NBC

Celeste Headlee


Journalist, Professional Speaker and Author

Mark Horvath


Founder
Invisible People

Massimo Pigliucci


K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy
City College of New York

Presenters

Randall Becker
Park Ranger, George Washington Carver National Monument
National Park Service
Cheryl Clay
President
Springfield NAACP
Diane Conners
Senior Policy Specialist
Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities
Carl "Beau" Davis
Owner
Advanced Lawn Care & Fertilizer, Inc.
Joan Della Valle
Co-founder
Core 21 Educational Experiences
Bridget Dierks
Vice President of Programs
Community Foundation of the Ozarks
Lauren Dow
Administrative and Development Associate
National Center for Transgender Equality
AJ Exner
DNA Expert
Dynamic DNA Laboratories
Terry Flowers
Headmaster
St. Philip's School and Community Center
Jim Harriger
Director of Sustainable Development
White River Community Development Corporation
Mary Hilsabeck-Huber
President of the Board of Directors
Unity of Springfield
Terri Johnson
Partner
Creative3, LLC
Wolde Kristos
Owner
RAJ Tours
Gearl Loden
Superintendent
Nixa Public Schools
Christian Mechlin
Director of Resources and Communication
Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc.
Tesfaye Mersha
Associate Professor, Pediatrics
University of Cincinnati
Hugo Montejo
Lead Technician, Emergency Department
Mercy Hospital, Springfield, Missouri
Don Parrett
Entrepreneur and prison reform advocate
Jessica Pearson
Senior project manager
Green Circle Projects, LLC
Larry Peterson
Executive Director
Habitat for Humanity, Springfield, Missouri
Marcia Schulmeister
Professor, Geology
Emporia State University
Alicia Smith
Founder
NuGyrl Foundation and Noir Lire Publishing
Mark Smith
Chair, Department of History and Government
Cedarville University
Rob Spirko
Senior Lecturer, Department of English
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Mike Stout
Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Science
Oklahoma State University
Michael Streissguth
Professor, Communication and Film Studies
Le Moyne College
Virgina Tallent
Assistant City Solicitor
City of Cincinnati
Jean Trounstine
Activist and author
Robin Troxell
Genetic Counselor
Mercy Hospital, Springfield, Missouri
Kimberly Wagner
Chief of Staff to Chancellor
Purdue University
Eugene Walls
Associate Professor, Social Work
University of Denver
Mark Williams
Floodplain Administrator
Town of Jamestown, Colorado
Master YongHua
Buddhist Monk
Bodhi Light International, Inc.

Guest Artists

Randy Bacon
Photographer and filmmaker
Andrew Cline
Professor, Media, Journalism and Film