Annual Conference Keynote Speakers

Judy Smith is the founder and CEO of Smith & Company, a leading strategic advisory firm focused on crisis management. For more than 25 years, Judy has counseled presidents, world leaders, and other politicians, advised Fortune 50 CEOs through complex challenges, and helped manage the reputations of some of the world’s highest-profile individuals.

Mitch Albom is an internationally renowned, bestselling author, journalist, and philanthropist. His books, which include the #1 bestselling memoir of all time, Tuesdays with Morrie, have collectively sold more than 40 million copies in 48 languages worldwide. With over 20 years on ESPN, and through his work at the Detroit Free Press and as a panelist on The Sports Reporters podcast, Albom has been named the #1 Sports Columnist in the Nation by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) 13 times.

Dan Heath is the co-author (or author) of multiple #1 New York Times bestselling books: Switch, Made to Stick, Decisive, The Power of Moments, and Upstream. His more recent, Reset: How to Change What's Not Working, published in January 2025, is a guide to looking at systems, processes, organizations, and our daily lives by identifying leverage points and concentrating resources to achieve goals.