ANNUAL
Conference

Eva Daniel is the Founder of The Speak Shop, a company that trains individuals and groups on how to develop and deliver compelling speeches. She’s spent nearly two decades helping some of the nation’s top authors, speakers, pastors, and CEOs develop and deliver content. She’s worked with money pro Dave Ramsey, communications expert Jefferson Fisher, and execs from numerous billion dollar companies including Chick-fil-A. 

She’s crafted speeches for some of the biggest stages in America; produced nationally syndicated radio broadcasts, podcasts, and YouTube shows, livestreams; and written video curriculums. She lives in the Nashville area with her husband Jacob and four kids.

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Rosy McGillan is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the American Red Cross, where she leads enterprise-wide brand awareness, amplification, and reputation strategies for all lines of service and oversees government relations. For nearly 30 years, she has developed communications, marketing, and advocacy programs to drive social impact for industry, government, and non-profit organizations to drive awareness and behavior change in public health, community readiness, and access to care.

Shawn Vela is a 23-Time Emmy® Award Film Director and Producer. He is the author of the book “The Story Effect: Turn Your Story Into A Credibility Machine”. His work has been streamed on some of the most popular platforms, including BBC, Disney+, ESPN, ESPN2, Amazon Prime Video, Entrepreneur Network, BT Sport, Fox, and more. He has worked on projects for brands like BBC, Kayak, Invisalign, Legoland California Resort, Amazon, Sony Music, and more. He is the President and CEO of Vela Visuals, a full-service video production agency that helps organizations create documentaries, commercials, and TV shows. Shawn is also the Founder of Story Starter AI, a storytelling program designed to help deep tech entrepreneurs and startups incorporate storytelling into their venture capital pitches. He has been in the industry since 2008 and created his first TV show for broadcast distribution at the age of 22.

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Megan W. Gerhardt, Ph.D., is a Professor of Management and Leadership at Miami University's Farmer School of Business. In addition to her academic work, she consults and speaks with leading organizations worldwide on leveraging generational differences in the workplace and is the author of Gentelligence: A Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce. Her Gentelligence framework was featured as Harvard Business Review's Big Idea in March 2022 and selected for Harvard Business Review's Top 10 Must Reads for 2024.

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Kara Logan Berlin is the CEO & Founder of Harvest and a nationally recognized fundraising leader with more than 25 years of experience helping mission-driven organizations amplify their impact. Her TEDx talk, “Three Ways to Be a More Effective Fundraiser,” has been viewed nearly 2.4 million times and reflects her practical, confidence-building approach to philanthropy.

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Julie has served as President and CEO of the Northern Illinois Food Bank since 2014, bringing more than 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience to advance equitable access to food across Northern Illinois. In FY25, under Julie's leadership, the Food Bank provided over 93M meals to neighbors facing hunger. Julie brings a proven track record of building impactful, dignified systems that strengthen communities and advance long-term solutions to hunger.

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Diana Mao is a dynamic leader at the forefront of the fight against human trafficking and workforce development. As President and Co-Founder of Nomi Network, she has raised and mobilized resources to create economic opportunities for survivors and women at risk, forging powerful partnerships across the corporate, government, and social impact sectors.

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Jessica Purser leads programs, activations, and partnerships for Chick-fil-A’s Global Impact Team focused on supporting Chick-fil-A Owner/Operators as they engage in their community to have a positive influence particularly in the areas of hunger and education. With over 16 years of experience at Chick-fil-A  Inc.,  Jessica has served in a variety of roles across Marketing, Training and External Affairs. Jessica is originally from Kansas City, Missouri with a background in Communication and Intercultural studies and is passionate about leadership development, fostering strong relationships and promoting well-being.  Jessica is an alumni of LEAD Atlanta and a co-founder of “Without Limits” a Chick-fil-A Staff-Led Community Group providing support for individuals with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities. Jessica is known by her peers and friends as an encourager, optimist and connector, always striving to be resilient, faithful, trustworthy and full of hope.

Named by Forbes Magazine as one of 20 speakers you shouldn’t miss, Jeff has become a trusted voice for businesses and non-profit organizations.

His best-selling book, Know What You’re FOR, launched a movement in non-profits around the world and has become a focal point for many businesses to grow both their purpose and profit. His latest book, What To Do Next, helps leaders figure out their best, next step when facing uncertainty in their life and career.

Jeff currently serves as Executive Director of Leadership Innovation and Strategy for Chick-fil-A. He has also worked for well-known organizations such as the Atlanta Braves, Callaway Gardens, and North Point Ministries, one of the largest churches in America. While there, Jeff was the lead pastor for three churches over 17 years and helped launch North Point Online, one of the largest online ministries in the world. He has also served Maxwell Leadership as one of their Thought Leaders, an organization founded by Dr. John C. Maxwell.

Jeff and his wife Wendy have been married 29 years and have a daughter, Jesse and a son, Cole.

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