Diana Herrera, a school counselor at Sumner High School, grew up in Southwest Texas as the daughter of Mexican immigrants and is a first-generation college graduate. With degrees in Sociology and School and Community Counseling, she’s passionate about creating supportive spaces for students to grow. She believes every student’s background is a strength, not a barrier.

Cynthia Cuellar, a first-generation college graduate and school counselor at Sumner High School, is passionate about supporting students’ academic and personal growth. Her own journey fuels her commitment to equity, believing every student deserves to dream big and ask, “Why not me?”

At 18, Michael vowed never to speak on a stage again after a humiliating college speech class experience, yet today he is a bestselling author and motivational speaker who inspires millions. After years of feeling stuck in a draining career and struggling with depression, everything shifted when he discovered a $1 personal development book that sparked a complete life change. Since then, he has spoken to large audiences, written bestselling books, and built a career centered on helping others break through fear, unlock their potential, and live with purpose. Born in Soviet Russia and shaped by a family history of survival and resilience, his story reflects transformation, perseverance, and the belief that it’s never too late to become who you’re meant to be.

Brett McDaniel is a leadership educator, coach, and school administrator with over 25 years of experience helping students and athletes develop strong leadership skills on and off the court. He has worked as a teacher, dean of students, assistant principal, and a 20+ year head basketball coach focused on building culture and team success. He has also served as a mental performance coach at the University of Puget Sound, supporting college athletes in strengthening their mindset and performance. Currently, he is the Director of School Supports for Character Strong, where he travels nationwide helping schools and educators build stronger leadership, character, and community. His core belief is that leadership isn’t about a title, but about how you show up every day and the impact you choose to make.

Antonio is a highly accomplished MBA graduate in Executive Leadership, who drives growth-oriented, national programs and initiatives to provide an inclusion lens to community engagement, sustainable strategies, team building, and networking. He's a hands-on, self-starter who is a dedicated trailblazer, international public speaker, and advocate for creating positive change in the community. Antonio McLemore dedicated his life message to sharing his lived experiences to help change the masses'. Antonio believes mentorship is the vehicle we use to introduce young people to an idea greater than their realities or circumstances.

Dean is a high-performance coach and forgiveness expert, best known for his powerful journey of reconciling with the man who killed his mother, documented in the award-winning film Live To Forgive. With a diverse background in professional sports, entrepreneurship, and high-end sales, he brings a unique perspective to personal growth and leadership. Through his work as a certified high-performance coach, speaker, and mentor, Dean has helped thousands of individuals across the country achieve breakthroughs in both their personal and professional lives. He provides his clients with the structure, accountability, and tools needed to overcome challenges, unlock their potential, and live with greater passion and purpose.

John is the Co-Founder of SERVUS and Character Strong - an organization that provides training and curriculum for schools internationally. He was a high school teacher for 10 years, program administrator for The Whole Child for 5 years, and director of Mt. Adams Leadership Camp, sponsored by the Association of Washington School Principals, where he has served on staff for 23 years. John holds a Master’s Degree from Gonzaga in Organizational Leadership with a Servant-Leadership Approach and consults with schools, districts, organizations, leaders, and teams on improving organizational culture across the United States. Over the last 20 years, he has spoken to over 40,000 people and 1,000 individuals at schools or events.

Michael Lane Smith is an ardent backpacker and hobbyist nature photographer living in Southern California. Michael spent his childhood in Virginia, Michigan, California, and Hawaii before settling in Washington for High School where he first learned about Servant Leadership. Michael is a Senior Counselor at the Association of Washington Student Leaders' Mt. Adams Leadership Camp, which focuses its curriculum for students around the Servant Leadership model, and for work, Michael recruits lawyers for a leading data management company called Elastic.

Antonio Grate is an Emotional Strategist, professional speaker, author, minister, husband, and father of four. His willingness and strong desire to pour into the lives of those who are in the foster care system, title 1 school students, juvenile detention youth, and church youth groups, stems from his passion to serve this generation and the next. It is his mission to tell his story of how he has overcome insurmountable odds to now live a life of joy, peace, happiness, and love.

Doug Baldwin Jr — Managing Director of Vault89 Ventures and Founder of the Family First Community Center Foundation. Doug is a philanthropic activist with a passion for creating empathic solutions to complex problems. As the recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr Medal of Distinguished Service Award and the Paul G. Allen Humanitarian Award, the former Seattle Seahawk and Super Bowl Champion is, most importantly, a devoted husband and father.

Eugene Hamilton, is a renowned speaker, educational consultant and authority on social-emotional learning and leadership development. Mr. Hamilton has received numerous awards to include: Excellence in Community Service Award from California’s 35th Congressional District and Civilian of the Year Award from the City of North Charleston. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Eugene Hamilton Group, a PreK-12 professional development and education consulting firm. He shares his life with his lovely wife, Traci and energetic 2 year old son, Justin. He will be joining us only on March 16th for Middle Schools.

Drew Dudley is a keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and has had the privilege to influence millions of people through his motto¨Leading with Lollipops¨. This motto talks about the idea behind letting someone know how they have influenced you to become the person you are today.

Raven Turner is an entrepreneur, 2x author, and motivational speaker. She has traveled around the country giving people advice and motivation based on her experiences. Her goal is to help her generation achieve greater possibilities. She believes that life will stretch you to your limits, but you can always grow to become better.

Long Phan is a strategy officer at the Gates Foundation. He supports programs to help create more equitable educational outcomes. Long worked in Seattle and at the White House. Long's passion for making a difference in people's lives comes from his background in growing up in a family of refugees, and being the first in his family to graduate from college.

Tenielle Shenae’s goal is to get people to know that everyone is loved, and worthy. She hosts workshops about self-worth at schools, conferences, and camps. She took her passion for public speaking and made it a job where she gets to teach young adults to love themselves.

Melvin Adams is a former Harlem Globetrotter and a NCAA all American basketball player, who played in San Jose Christian College. He retired in 2001 to focus on his other dream besides basketball, he likes to motivate and speak to people about hard work, dedication, and success.

Brian Dawkins is on the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 2000s, Hall of Fame Safety, he’s on the Eagles 75th Anniversary Team and the Exclusive NFL Defensive Club. Also the founder of Impact Foundation which aims to help impaired people and promote spiritual, and physical wellness.

Johanna works as a camp counselor, rafting guide, and teaches leadership at Shorecrest High School. Her passion for equity in leadership is what brings her to our stage this year.

Professional speaker, author, curriculum designer, and kindness advocate, Houston Kraft has spoken to over a half million people. He is a co-founder of CharacterStrong, an app made to provide training, and curriculums to create more compassionate cultures in communities.

Former professional soccer player, three time Survivor competitor, and two time cancer survivor, Ethan Zohn founded Grassroot Soccer to help pay for HIV/AIDS research. Currently he is a keynote speaker, and teaches on communication and doing things for social good.

Chief Inspiration Officer of Face Consulting, specialized in culture and performance management Jeremy Rubin has a mission to inspire and equip people to use their unique gifts. He uses humor and personal stories partnered with practical result driven applications in speaking.

Through many diverse experiences and being a professional keynote speaker William Winfield believes that leadership is never about you, but rather creating more leaders! Our pain is the key to unlocking somebody else’s freedom.

With a lifetime of service and sacrifice in the field of education complete with incredible achievements earned, Erin believes that it is our primary role as educators to be a mirror to reflect the beauty and talents that reside within each student.

Candace is a mom of 4 beautiful children and a wife to her amazing husband Bryan. She has modeled for 23 years now walking the runway in NYC, LA, and Miami for top designers like Escada, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.

A former professional athlete and a current wellness influencer in the Pacific Northwest. He’s been named Washington state's fastest man and represented the USA in the 2000 Olympics.

From growing up in the inner city, being arrested, filing for bankruptcy, and becoming a single father all before he was 30. Rodell has let the school of hard knocks inspire him to inspire others.

Jeremiah is best known for his ability to inspire large crowds but also touch the lives of each individual. He works diligently at bringing a unique flair to his coaching.

John Norlin is Co-Founder of CharacterStrong with Houston Kraft. CharacterStrong is an organization that provides social-emotional learning and character development curricula and trainings for schools internationally.

Chris Singleton is a former minor league professional baseball player drafted by the Chicago Cubs. Over the last four years Chris has travelled the country giving keynote speeches and has presented to 54 organizations in the 2019 calendar year alone.

Laura Handy-Nimick co-founded Life's Handy Work, a non-profit supporting orphaned children in Nepal, and is a full-time middle school teacher of 15 years.

Jon is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Masters in Teaching from Emory University. He and his training/consulting company are passionate about developing positive leaders, organizations and teams.

Jared Smith is currently a freshman at Central Washington University in Ellensburg but was raised in Sumner, WA. His life is based off of 3 concepts: GROW MINDS. HAVE FUN. LOVE PEOPLE.

Sally Rusk comes from the upper left corner of the U.S.A.-Seattle, Washington.  Sally teaches middle school and is in her 19th year and can’t think of anything she’d rather do than help teenagers think about how to be their best self.

Parvati Shallow is a Life & Business Coach, speaker and yoga teacher. As a three-time competitor and one-time champion of CBS’s hit series SURVIVOR, she learned that kindness can coexist with competition.

As an entrepreneur, Jeremiah Captain has gone above and beyond to prove his abilities to lead with grace and integrity. His trailblazing career in the direct consumer marketing field has paved the way for Jeremiah to be the gift he has always dreamt of being.

September 9, 2006. It started as a normal college football game in Neyland Stadium. If anything, the event was an afterthought, dropped into the schedule at the last minute. For Inky Johnson, though, the game changed everything.