Speakers

This lineup is subject to change. All times ET.

Priya Parker

Wednesday, December 2, 3:30–5:00 PM ET

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

Thursday, December 3, 3:15–4:30 PM

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. 

Unfortunately, Henry Louis Gates Jr. is no longer able to join us for Gather. Stay tuned for additional keynote speaker updates.

Featured Seminars

Becoming an Ally to All
Kenji Yoshino
Thursday, December 3, 11:15 AM – 12:30 PM

The desire to be an effective ally can sometimes be complicated by a familiar concern: What if I say the wrong thing? Attend this practical, nuanced Featured Seminar with Kenji Yoshino, faculty director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at New York University School of Law, to move beyond that fear and toward more confident, constructive engagement.

Drawing on his work as co-author of Say the Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice, Yoshino introduces the empathy triangle: a framework designed to help allies reflect on your role, support people affected by bias, and respond thoughtfully when noninclusive behavior occurs. Leave with a practical, shame-free approach for navigating challenging moments and strengthening your capacity to foster communities where more people can experience belonging.

Fighting Racial Exhaustion in a Post-DEI World
Ralina L. Joseph
Friday, December 4, 11:15 AM – 12:30 PM

Americans are tired of contending with race. After years, decades, and centuries of fighting racism, racial disparities remain intransigent, racial discourse devolves to hate speech, and racial divides persist. People of color are forced to address sideways racial comments, compelled to right racial injustice. They are tired of correcting, teaching, intervening—so tired that many of them, in fact, are giving up and losing hope that speaking up can change minds and right past and present wrongs. Simultaneously, white people are tired of talking about race. They feel uncomfortable or awkward having to listen to friends’ and colleagues’ stories of navigating racism. They feel like they must constantly defend their antiracist credentials, while fearing that any off remark might be scrutinized as potentially racist. For both groups, such exhaustion emerged for many during the rapid rise and fall of publicly proclaimed institutional investment in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Now in its aftermath we address: What happened and where do we go from here?

Join Ralina L. Joseph, UCLA African American Studies professor, vice provost of inclusive excellence, and author of the new book Racial Exhaustion: How to Move Through Racism in the Wake of DEI, in an interactive session that provides educators with an actionable blueprint forward.