DEI Speakers: Experts on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Creator of The 1619 Project | Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-Winning 1619 Project Hulu Docuseries | MacArthur Genius

Black history is American history.

Heather McGhee

Author of New York Times Bestseller The Sum of Us

Racism has a cost for everyone—so when we fight it together, we all win.

Ellen Ochoa

The first Latina in space | Former NASA Director

When we all come together as a team to learn and innovate—we can aim for the stars.

George M. Johnson

New York Times Bestselling Author Of All Boys Aren’t Blue and We Are Not Broken | Emmy Nominee | LGBTQIA+ Activist

Stories of queer identity and Black joy have the power to educate us on diversity, inspire social justice activism, and build community.

Sarah Elizabeth Lewis

Founder of Vision & Justice | Harvard Associate Professor | Author of The Rise and The Unseen Truth

Images help us see each other more clearly in our search for equity and justice.

Minnijean Brown-Trickey

Civil Rights Legend who Helped Desegregate Public Schools | Member of the Little Rock Nine

When we challenge what we know to be morally wrong, we grow as a society.

Greg Hoffman

Nike's Former Chief Marketing Officer | Author of Emotion by Design

Great brands don’t simply reach customers: they create real emotional bonds with them.

Khalil Gibran Muhammad

Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School | Author of The Condemnation of Blackness | Co-Host of Some of My Best Friends Are

Bringing people of color into our companies isn't enough. We must transform our cultures so they can bring their full selves and achieve their full potential.

James Kirchick

Author of instant New York Times bestseller Secret City | Tablet Magazine columnist | Award-winning journalist

The unsung gay heroes who quietly revolutionized society prove that ordinary people can make extraordinary change.

Clint Smith

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of How the Word Is Passed and Above Ground | Atlantic Staff Writer

The legacy of slavery still shapes our cities, roads, and stories today. Understanding our history will help us make sense of our world—and fight for a better one.

Wajahat Ali

Author of Go Back to Where You Came From | Daily Beast Columnist | TED Speaker

When we share our stories, we create an inclusive world—and build a multicultural coalition of the willing.

Adam Harris

Author of The State Must Provide: The Definitive History of Racial Inequality in American Higher Education | Staff Writer at The Atlantic

Higher education could be a powerful force for equity and democracy—but it must face up to its history of racial injustice first.

Civil Rights Attorney | Award-winning author of Black Was the Ink | Member of the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission | Former Civil Rights Attorney at the US Department of Justice

To achieve racial justice today, look to the unsung heroes of American history.

Jessica Nordell

Author of The End of Bias | Award-winning science and culture journalist

Bias has a real cost for your organization. Fighting it is your greatest superpower.

Jelani Cobb

New Yorker Staff Writer | Columbia Journalism School Dean | Speaker on race, history, politics and culture in America

In the fight for racial justice, we must face the past to forge a better future.

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman

Editor of The Black Agenda | Harvard Researcher on Inequality, Education, and Work

When we both identify and disrupt patterns of discrimination, we create a better world for our most marginalized communities—and for everyone else.

Stephanie Mehta

CEO of Mansueto Ventures | Former Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company

Any company can become a Fast Company by pushing their creative boundaries.

Annette Gordon-Reed

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of On Juneteenth | Harvard Law professor | MacArthur Genius

The legacy of Juneteenth, the holiday which marks the end of slavery, continues to influence us and our fight for racial justice today.

Denise Hamilton

Author of Indivisible: How to Forge Our Differences into a Stronger Future | Founder and CEO of WatchHerWork

To lead in today’s changing world, your teams can’t just be inclusive—they need to be indivisible.

Alexandra Samuel

Digital Workplace Expert | Author of Remote, Inc. | Author of JSTOR Daily's "Unfolding AI" Column

We are the founding generation of the new workplace. Leading this workplace means embracing a pragmatic, creative approach to AI and online work.

Ellen Bennett

Founder and CEO of Hedley & Bennett | Author of Dream First, Details Later

Overthinking kills innovation. You need to dream first, and worry about the details later.

Radhika Dirks

Global AI Advisor | CEO & Co-Founder of XLabs and Ribo | One of Forbes’ 30 Women in AI to Watch | Artificial Intelligence Pioneer

Generative AI is changing the tech infrastructure of the world. Your biggest dreams—your most ambitious moonshots—are closer than ever before.

Ashton Applewhite

Anti-Ageism Activist | Author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism

Ageism is prejudice against our future selves. What if we were free of it?

Manjit Minhas

Founder of the 10th largest brewery in the world | Co-star of CBC’s Dragons’ Den

It’s time to demolish outdated stereotypes in business—one boardroom, or brewery, at a time.

Shivani Siroya

Founder and CEO of Tala

Radical trust is the currency driving the future of our financial institutions.

Sarah Kaplan

Founding Director, Institute for Gender and the Economy at Rotman School of Management | Author of The 360° Corporation

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are our greatest innovation challenges—risky, transformative, and ultimately worthwhile.

Danielle Wood

Director of MIT’s Space Enabled Research Lab | Assistant Prof. of Media Arts and Sciences

Space technology is imperative for sustainable development on Earth—and for the benefit of all.

Camille Stewart Gloster

First Deputy National Cyber Director for Technology and Ecosystem Security | Former White House AI Council Member | Former Google Global Head of Product Security Strategy

People are at the heart of all our technology. Recognizing this can help us meet customer needs, find new opportunities, and thrive in the age of AI.

Soraya Chemaly

Author of Rage Becomes Her and The Resilience Myth | Award-Winning Journalist | Co-Founder and Director of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project

Resilience is a group effort. Leaning into our emotions and community can help us build strength at work and at home.

Anthony Jack

Author of The Privileged Poor | Boston University Associate Professor and Newbury Center Faculty Director

Poverty and equality shape not just how students get to college, but how they make it through.

Tessa West

Author of Jerks at Work and Job Therapy | NYU Professor of Psychology

We all face uncomfortable situations at work. By learning how to navigate them, leaders can boost their teams' productivity, creativity, and innovation.

Katy Hessel

Instant New York Times Bestselling Author of The Story of Art Without Men | 2021 Forbes 30 under 30 Europe | Guardian Columnist | Art Historian and Curator

The story of art has always excluded women. But we can write a new, more equitable story for the future of art, and beyond.

Margot Lee Shetterly

Author of Hidden Figures: The #1 New York Times Bestseller and #1 Hit Film

A greater diversity of voices in science, in the STEM fields, is key to the future of American innovation.

Waneek Horn-Miller

Olympian, Activist, and Speaker on Indigenous Health and Reconciliation

Your struggle is your motivation in disguise.

Rachel L. Swarns

Author of The 272: The Families who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church | Associate Professor at New York University | Former New York Times Johannesburg Bureau Chief

Slavery fueled the growth of our churches, schools, and institutions. We must face that history if we want to understand—and someday transcend—our racial divide.

Gabby Rivera

Author of Juliet Takes a Breath and the Marvel comic series America

Living a revolutionary life starts with joy.

Bill Strickland

An Extraordinary Business and Community Leader

Give people the tools they need, treat them with respect, and they will perform miraculous deeds.

Jeff Chang

Social Historian, Cultural Critic & Community Organizer | Author of We Gon’ Be Alright and Can't Stop Won't Stop

Real solidarity and racial justice begins when we bring community into everything we do.

Hua Hsu

Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of Stay True | New Yorker staff writer | CBS Sunday Morning contributor

Telling our own stories enlarges the circumference of our imaginations.

Chia-Jung Tsay

Expert in the Psychology of Negotiations | Associate Professor, UCL School of Management | Associate Fellow at Oxford's Saïd Business School

Knowing the difference between what we say we value, and what we actually value, goes a long way.

Minette Norman

Author of The Boldly Inclusive Leader | Co-Author of The Psychological Safety Playbook | Former VP of Engineering Practice, Autodesk

If you want to create a culture where diverse teams flourish, you need boldly inclusive leaders.

David Fleischer

Director of the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Leadership LAB | Deep canvassing pioneer | Community and political activist

There is a method to reducing prejudice. 15,000 conversations showed us how.

Abdul El-Sayed

County Public Health Director | Author of Healing Politics and Medicare for All | Host of America Dissected

A great leader needs to find their unifying story—one that explains who they are to three key stakeholders: themselves, their team, and their future allies.

DEI: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Companies flourish and transform when enlivened through diverse personnel and inclusive environments. In keynotes, these diversity and inclusion speakers show you the practical steps to employing diversity, and how you can implement them in any environment.