Speakers

Check back for additional speakers—we'll be announcing more soon! This lineup is subject to change.

Priya Parker

In a world where connection often feels fleeting and gatherings can lack meaning and focus, Priya Parker emerges as a bold catalyst for change, helping us take a deeper look at how anyone can create collective meaning and belonging in modern life, one gathering at a time. She is the acclaimed author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters, former executive producer and host of The New York Times podcast Together Apart, and a trusted facilitator, advisor, and strategist to leaders and organizations. Her latest book, The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict, debuts in September 2026.

Arguing that most gatherings lack intentionality and structure, Parker offers strategies for designing engaging, intentional, and transformative gatherings. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the purpose and desired outcome of a gathering, along with the significance of setting the right context, creating a sense of belonging, and fostering meaningful interactions among participants.

Parker has spoken on the TED Main Stage and her sessions have been viewed over 3 million times. Drawing on her diverse training in conflict resolution, business management, public policy, and community-building, she dives into the anatomy of gathering with purpose. Whether talking about gathering as a leadership skill, fostering belonging among remote teams, the art of hosting meetings everyone wants to attend, or connecting people across identities, backgrounds, and hierarchies, Parker offers practical tools for designing more purposeful, meaningful gatherings.

Parker studied organizational design at MIT, public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and political and social thought at the University of Virginia.

Photo by Fernando Palafox

Kenji Yoshino

Kenji Yoshino is the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at New York University School of Law and director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. A graduate of Harvard University, University of Oxford, and Yale Law School, he specializes in constitutional law and antidiscrimination law. He received tenure at Yale Law School, where he served as deputy dean before moving to NYU. 

Yoshino has published articles in major academic journals, including the Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, and Yale Law Journal. He has also written for The New York Times and The Washington Post. The author of five books, Yoshino coauthored his most recent books with David Glasgow, Say the Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice (2023) and How Equality Wins: A New Vision for an Inclusive America (2026). 

Yoshino has served as president of the Harvard Board of Overseers. He currently serves on the boards of the Brennan Center for Justice and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, along with Meta’s Oversight Board. Yoshino also serves on advisory boards for diversity and inclusion for Morgan Stanley and Charter Communications. He has won numerous awards for his teaching and scholarship, including the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, Peck Medal in Jurisprudence, and NYU’s Distinguished Teaching Award. 

He lives in Manhattan with his husband, two children, and their Great Dane.