Speakers
This lineup is subject to change. Check back soon for additional speakers!
General Session Speakers
Mónica Guzmán
Opening General Session Keynote, 9:15 AM ET, Thursday, March 4
Bridging Divides Through Curiosity
How can curiosity help us connect across differences? Best-selling author, journalist, and bridge builder Mónica Guzmán champions the power of curious questions and meaningful conversations to navigate division. Through her work with Reclaim Curiosity and Braver Angels, she encourages greater understanding, even when we disagree.
Mónica Guzmán is a bridge builder, journalist, and author who lives for great conversations sparked by curious questions. Her best-selling book, I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, has been featured in The New York Times, The Glenn Beck Podcast, and Reader's Digest; selected frequently for common read programs at schools across the country; and named one of the 10 best books to read before college by U.S. News & World Report.
As founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity, Guzmán works to build a world that sees itself. She hosts A Braver Way, a podcast that equips people to navigate challenging divides in their everyday lives. Guzmán is both an advisor and a debate chair at Braver Angels, the nation’s largest cross-partisan grassroots organization working to depolarize America, and she also advises Disagree Better, The Viewpoints Project, and Courageous Conversations About Our Schools.
Guzmán received an honorary doctorate from Wheaton College and completed study and research fellowships on braver ways to navigate division at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, and the University of Florida.
A Mexican immigrant and dual U.S/Mexico citizen, she lives in Seattle with her husband and two kids, plays a barbarian named Shadrack in her besties’ Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and is the proud liberal daughter of conservative parents.
Arthur C. Brooks
General Session Keynote, 9:00 AM ET, Friday, March 5
Finding Meaning in a Changing World
If you struggle to discern life’s meaning, you’re not alone. Millions today describe a growing sense of emptiness—a lack of purpose and significance. And there’s a reason: Rapid cultural, economic, and technological changes have rewired our brains, reducing their ability to perceive depth and purpose. In this talk, Arthur C. Brooks shows you how to push back against these changes and find the meaning you need to live a happy, fulfilling life.
Arthur C. Brooks is a social scientist, professor, and New York Times No. 1 best-selling author whose work sits at the intersection of behavioral science, philosophy, and human flourishing. He currently serves as a professor at Vanderbilt University and a senior fellow at Harvard Business School, where he has taught popular courses on the science of happiness and leadership. A prolific author of 15 books—including From Strength to Strength and Build the Life You Want, co-authored with Oprah Winfrey—Brooks is a leading voice on how individuals and organizations can cultivate deeper well-being and purpose.
Brooks took an unconventional path to academia. At 19, he dropped out of college to pursue a career as a professional French horn player, spending years performing with the City Orchestra of Barcelona. During that time he completed his undergraduate degree through distance learning, eventually earning a doctorate and building a career that bridges the arts, social science, and public policy. That nonlinear trajectory informs his core message: Meaningful lives rarely follow a straight line.
Before turning his full attention to happiness research and teaching, Brooks served as president of the American Enterprise Institute, one of Washington's most influential policy organizations, where he focused on economic opportunity, free enterprise, and human dignity—themes that continue to shape his intellectual framework. He writes a regular column on the pursuit of happiness for The Free Press, and his latest book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness, extends his research into the crisis of meaning he sees across modern life. Brooks translates rigorous social science into practical tools for living a happier, more purposeful life.
Photo by Jenny Sherman Photography