Catch these speakers live at the USMA Annual Education Conference in Port Charlotte, Florida
Mike Massimino
Former NASA Astronaut
The Team’s Success is Your Success
Mike Massimino, a four-time spacewalker on two missions to the Hubble Space Telescope, has a unique appreciation for the value of teamwork. When Mike broke a critical piece of equipment while making repairs, his team was there to help. Rather than blaming him, ground control and the astronauts in space worked together to find an innovative solution that saved the day and the mission. With humor, humility, and captivating storytelling, Mike will share the NASA model for pooling talent and teamwork to solve the most complex challenges. “Doing one big thing,” he says, “really means getting a thousand little things right along the way.”
Duncan Wardle
Former Disney Head of Innovation
Working in Harmony with AI
Creativity guru Duncan Wardle wants you to embrace, not fear, Artificial Intelligence. Not as a tool to eliminate jobs, but as one to take over the tedious, repetitive parts of our work, freeing us up to leverage the skills that make us uniquely human: creativity, intuition, empathy, and imagination. At Disney, Duncan’s job was to unleash the full creative potential of their people by embracing new technology as an opportunity, not a threat. With his trademark energy and passion, Duncan will show you how to leverage AI to boost your personal and team performance—and give your company a massive competitive edge.
Christopher Thornberg
Founder, Beacon Economics
The Outlook for the U.S. Economy
Economist Christopher Thornberg has been called many things throughout his career—“Dr. Doom,” a contrarian, even an optimist—but his favorite thing to be called is correct. Renowned for his accurate forecasts and insightful analysis, Dr. Thornberg consults globally for private industry, cities, counties, and public agencies. Equal parts entertaining and enlightening, he combines candor and wit with deep research and analysis to help audiences make sense of economic, labor, manufacturing, regulatory and other forces shaping the markets—including what it means when economic narratives diverge from data.
Sahar Yousef, Neuroscientist & Performance Expert
The Science of Productivity & Performance
There are scientific realities about how the human brain works, but our current work culture is not in line with this reality, resulting in stress, burnout and underperformance. Sahar Yousef is a cognitive neuroscientist who helps leaders and their teams get their most important work done in less time—optimizing the way they work so they’re more productive, creative and energized. In this powerful presentation, she’ll share the three biggest mistakes of productivity and performance (and why we make them), simple tools to increase your team’s output by 25% without increasing hours worked, and daily practices to boost focus, memory, energy, health and creativity.
John Sitilides, Geopolitical Strategist
The New Geopolitics of Trade, Energy, Diplomacy, and War
John Sitilides is a geopolitical expert who helps corporations, governments, investors and NGOs assess global risk, instability and conflict—and what it all means for international commerce and supply chain management. John is a Senior Fellow for National Security at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and has served as a State Department Diplomacy Consultant under four U.S. Presidents. One of USMA’s most popular past speakers, this year he returns to lead an extended Town Hall session, providing a deeper exploration of the complex geopolitical forces impacting energy, utilities, manufacturing, and supply chains.
Margaret Morford, Author & HR Consultant
Margaret N. Morford is the CEO and Owner of The HR Edge, Inc., a global management consulting and training firm specializing in leadership development and human resources strategies. With extensive experience as a former Vice President of Human Resources and Senior Vice President of Human Resources Consulting, she has worked with high-profile clients such as Lockheed Martin, Chevron, Time Warner, and the U.S. Secret Service. She has also earned a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the Vanderbilt University School of Law and has worked as an attorney specializing in employment law.
Margaret is the author of two impactful books: Management Courage – Having the Heart of a Lion, which provides leaders with the tools to make tough decisions with confidence, and The Hidden Language of Business – Workplace Politics, Power & Influence, which uncovers the often-overlooked dynamics of workplace politics and how to navigate them for success.
Her expertise is frequently sought after, and she has been quoted in major publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today. Margaret also appears regularly on local television, sharing her insights on leadership and organizational dynamics.
Plus over 40 additional speakers!
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