A timely and relevant keynote speaker, Harry Edwards is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley; distinguished scholar in the Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin; and a staff consultant with the San Francisco 49ers. He has written extensively on the connections between race, sport, and society. Edwards has appeared on nationally syndicated television shows and documentaries while traveling extensively to perform public engagements. He is the author of "The Struggle That Must Be: An Autobiography," "The Sociology of Sports," "The Revolt of the Black Athlete," and countless articles on race, sports, and the sociology of sport in books, academic, and popular press. Edwards is a graduate of San Jose State University and received a master’s degree in sociology from Cornell University where he was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. He also received a Ph.D. in sociology from Cornell, where he helped to found United Black Students for Action and the Olympic Project for Human Rights. In addition to teaching race relations, he has served as a special assistant to the commissioner of Major League Baseball to help increase representation of minorities and women in baseball, and he has worked with the Golden State Warriors, specializing in player personnel counseling and programs.

New York Times best-selling author Alison Levine is a leadership expert, polar explorer, and mountaineer who is no stranger to extreme environments. She was team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, climbed the highest peak on each continent, and skied to both the north and south poles. She worked in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, earned an MBA from Duke University, and worked for Goldman Sachs. Levine spent four years as an adjunct professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point and is a board and faculty member at the Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point. She was a contributing author to the book Leadership in Dangerous Situations: A Handbook for the Armed Forces, Emergency Services, and First Responders. She also serves as a senior fellow at the Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics at Duke University. Levine is one of the most in-demand and exciting keynote speakers on the topic of leadership in the country; she delivers resounding, powerful messages on leadership that transcend her climbing expeditions and remain relevant in today’s business environments.