Speaker: Todd Palmer

This speech is all about the struggles you face as an entrepreneur. At some point, all entrepreneurs deal with self-doubt, fear, a desire to do (or be) more. Perhaps you’ve lost sight of why you started your company in the first place. Maybe you’re doing well, but want to take it to the next level? Or perhaps you’re like I was, in 100% crisis mode! This speech delivers the strategies that have helped myself, and now my clients, make it to the other side and into the direction of where we intend our entrepreneurial journey will go……..and they will help you!

In this speech, a heavy emphasis will be placed upon:

• A 4-step process to implement a fail forward decision making strategy
• Identifying and overcoming imposter syndrome
• Placing your focus on intention, rather than expectation

If you value transparency, vulnerability, and authenticity you will walk away from this speech feeling entertained, with valuable strategies to help you get unstuck, when the need arises!

Speaker:  Juan Alvarado

Organizations thrive when individuals use their strengths daily. Backed by Gallup data, Juan Alvarado helps teams uncover and leverage their unique talents to improve communication, collaboration, and performance. This session equips leaders with practical tools to understand team dynamics, align roles with natural abilities, and boost productivity and morale. You'll discover how identifying blind spots and building around strengths transforms retention and workplace satisfaction.

Takeaways:

• Increase productivity through individual and team strengths
• Improve clarity in communication and collaboration
• Reduce turnover by fostering an energizing work culture

Speaker: Paul Krismer

Today’s most effective leaders don’t just manage, they inspire. In this dynamic session, Paul Krismer reveals how emotional intelligence and integrity can transform workplace culture from the inside out. Blending positive psychology with engaging storytelling and real-world leadership practices, Paul shows how to earn trust, build commitment, and boost morale. This session empowers leaders to become role models who foster loyalty, performance, and joy at work.

Speaker: Juan Alvarado

Great leadership doesn’t happen by accident, it’s built with a plan. In this high-energy session, Juan introduces the Blueprint to Leadership model that’s trained business leaders to lead with focus, empathy, and confidence. Learn how to elevate your influence, align your goals with your team’s mission, and cultivate trust across every layer of your organization.

Takeaways:

• Build leadership habits that drive engagement
• Learn the five core steps in the Blueprint to Leadership
• Reduce turnover by growing respected, confident leaders

Speaker: Todd Palmer

Dive deep into the mindset of today’s candidates who — unlike a few years ago — now have numerous employment options. Learn the key decision-making factors for job seekers (many will surprise you) from someone with 20+ years of experience as the founder and CEO of a 6x INC 5000 recruiting company. You will learn how to locate great talent and how to make your company a no-brainer, so that the best talent says, “Yes, I want to work with you.”

This talk is highly engaging and full of energy as Todd shares his real-world experience in a no-holds-barred fashion, including his own mistakes and how he resolved them. You will love this level of transparency.

Here’s what you can expect to learn:

• How to be the employer of choice in a competitive market
• How to locate hard-to-find talent
• How to successfully engage talent during the recruiting and vetting process
• How employers can stop being their own worst enemy
• Why employees are the #1 differentiator in your business

Speaker: Laura Berman Fortgang

Time is a constant. There are only 24 hours in a day. There is no one system that works for every individual so this session will focus on tailoring a time management approach to your unique needs.

 Discover:

1. How to determine what is a true priority
2. How to renegotiate your to-do lists and responsibilities at home & work
3. What elements require boundaries around time
4. How to say ‘ no’, mean it and do it gracefully
5. Understanding where the time drains are and how to stop them
6. Creating a plan for getting it all done that is sustainable and yet flexible

Finally, manage time before it manages you!

Speaker: Paul Krismer

In this high-impact session, Paul Krismer tackles employee disengagement and turnover with a science-backed, optimistic approach. Grounded in positive psychology, Paul introduces the concept of psychological capital, showing how to create cultures where employees feel valued, motivated, and loyal. Attendees will gain practical tools to boost engagement, reduce attrition, and meet core psychological needs in the workplace. With proven strategies and real-world insights, this session empowers HR professionals and leaders to drive retention and foster a resilient, people-first culture, especially in today’s competitive talent landscape.

Speaker: Roni Weiss

Speaker: Laura Berman Fortgang

 Transform your organization through the art of positive leadership. In this dynamic session, you'll discover how coaching-based feedback can revolutionize team performance and professional growth. Learn practical communication techniques that don't just solve problems—they prevent them from occurring.

Drawing from years of successful delivery to diverse audiences, this session unveils the secrets to cultivating leadership capacity in others while mastering advanced communication skills that deliver measurable results. You'll gain actionable strategies to turn everyday interactions into opportunities for development, engagement, and innovation.

Join us to explore how positive leadership creates a ripple effect, enhancing organizational culture, employee satisfaction, and bottom-line performance. Walk away with a toolkit for authentic leadership that inspires teams to achieve their highest potential.

 You’ll learn

• New communication skills that can be used immediately
• Discernment of what coaching really is and how to use it
• Master questions that cause growth and solutions
• Approach giving negative feedback so it can be heard
• A comprehensive and inclusive leadership style that will yield positive results

Speaker: Sarah Benoit  

This session explores the neuroscience behind storytelling and why it remains one of the most powerful tools in the tourism industry today. Attendees will discover how stories activate key areas of the brain, increase memorability, and inspire action, making them essential for building deeper connections with audiences. 

Participants will learn how to apply proven storytelling frameworks to their digital content and communications, making their messages more compelling, emotional, and shareable. This interactive session combines science, creativity, and strategy to help tourism marketers craft content that truly resonates.

Key Takeaways:

• Why storytelling impacts memory, emotion, and decision-making in the brain.
• How to apply narrative frameworks to marketing content across platforms.
• Techniques to create emotionally engaging, action-driven messaging.
• Real-world tourism examples that connect storytelling to measurable results.
• A chance to brainstorm and share storytelling ideas with peers for immediate inspiration.

Speaker: Shakira Brown

According to a recent LinkedIn Learning report, 75% of professionals in customer-facing industries like transportation cite public speaking as crucial for career advancement. With the majority of jobs requiring public speaking skills, professionals in transportation and customer-facing roles must prioritize effective communication. Clear communication ensures all parties, customers, partners, and regulatory bodies are aligned, making public speaking crucial for organizational success.

Whether presenting to leadership, training teams, or addressing stakeholders, your ability to captivate and motivate audiences directly impacts your career trajectory. Award-Winning Leadership Communication Strategist Shakira M. Brown and National Professional Speaker will reveal her proven strategies to transform nervousness into confidence and deliver compelling messages that inspire action and make people listen. Don't miss this transformative session that will elevate your professional presence.

Join expert Callie Hoyt (American Bus Association) for an in-depth look at how current and upcoming U.S. and Canadian policy changes will influence cross-border trade and the travel and tourism industries. This session provides a practical breakdown of the policy environment, real-world impacts for transportation operators, and guidance for adapting to a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.

Speaker: Shakira Brown

The 2025 World Economic Forum revealed a transformative truth: we're entering an Intelligent Age, where success belongs to those mastering human-AI collaboration. With AI contributing $15.7 trillion globally by 2030, motor coach leaders must recognize that while AI excels at route optimization and fleet management, it cannot replace human strengths in passenger safety, team leadership, and crisis management.

Join Leadership Communication Strategist and National Professional Speaker, Shakira M. Brown, to discover how to leverage AI's capabilities while preserving irreplaceable human elements that create competitive advantage through responsible collaboration.

Speaker: Sarah Benoit  

In a fast-changing travel and tourism landscape, adaptability isn’t just about strategy, it’s about people. This session explores how emotional intelligence (EQ) helps tourism professionals stay grounded, responsive, and effective during times of uncertainty and change. Attendees will learn how self-awareness, empathy, and emotion regulation can improve communication, build trust, and reduce stress within teams and with clients.

Using real-world examples, we’ll explore how emotional intelligence can increase leadership capacity, support customer service, and create more resilient workplaces. Whether you’re managing tours, leading a team, or working with partners, EQ is a skill you can develop, and this session shows you how.

Key Takeaways:

• What emotional intelligence is and how it supports better decisions and stronger relationships.
• Tools to stay calm, curious, and focused under pressure.
• Techniques to improve active listening, team communication, and customer empathy.
• Strategies to use EQ for better conflict resolution and leadership.
• Opportunities to reflect, share, and leave with a personalized action step to apply right away.

Speaker: Glen Guyton

As automation and AI sweep through every corner of our lives, transportation and group travel operators are at a crossroads. Will your organization drift toward sterile, mechanistic “systems first” models or become an innovation hub where technology deepens human insight, not displace it? 

This session explores how Human-Centric Technology Integration ensures that technology serves people, not the other way around. Drawing on strategic foresight principles and real-world case studies, Glen will demonstrate how forward-thinking organizations successfully integrate AI to enhance, rather than replace, human potential. Through engaging scenarios, attendees will learn how trust-based AI strategies, ethical automation, and digital upskilling create workplaces that foster innovation, employee well-being, and business resilience.  

Speaker: Scott Simson

Everyone wants viral video success, but few know how to reverse-engineer it ethically and consistently. In this keynote, Scott breaks down the art and science behind videos that explode online—and how brands can go viral while staying authentic. He’ll share the psychology of virality, including hook formulas, video length rules, storytelling arcs, and emotion triggers that spark shares and comments. Learn how to create videos that generate buzz, build trust, and drive action without becoming just another trend-chasing account.

Speaker:  Kristen Knowles

An unprecedented 50 million people quit their job in 2022. The great resignation has hit every industry and the workplace will never be the same again.

But everyone is ignoring the underlying drive and reason for it. I’ll tell you a secret: People are not leaving for more money, a promotion, or any other excuse they’re giving you. But we’ll talk about what it really is, and do a raw excavation in to what has to change going forward.

• The cause of the great resignation and how to shift so you can retain and engage your people
• Remote? Hybrid? In-person? Where your people work isn’t the problem (unless it is, and other misconceptions)
• Doing business differently and with dignity
• Leading in the new era of work

Speaker: Glen Guyton

Navigate today’s complex cultural climate with a high-energy, practical program designed for bus and motorcoach leaders. Learn to build resilient teams by applying intercultural communication methods that drive engagement and a genuine sense of belonging, even when DEI feels contested. Discover five actionable tools to foster inclusive mindsets, reduce friction, and improve service performance. Walk away with a clear roadmap to strengthen team trust, boost morale, and maintain a competitive edge, turning cultural challenges into opportunities for sustainable growth.

Speaker: Scott Simson

In the age of digital noise, brands must think and act like creators to stand out. In this powerful session, Scott Simson shows businesses how to establish a recognizable, trustworthy, and consistent video-first brand. Learn how to align your messaging with visual identity, tone, and platform-specific behavior to build authority and familiarity. Scott will walk you through branding essentials like content theming, value-aligned storytelling, and omnichannel cohesion, so you’re not just present online, but unforgettable.

Speaker: Kristen Knowles

We place so much emphasis on company culture; we create culture teams, hire consultants, pour tons of money into office design, branding, and cool perks and call it culture.

It’s all a lie.

Your brand is not your culture. Your slogans and mission statements do nothing to keep or draw people in.

We have to better understand culture: what creates it and what erodes it.

Culture is nuanced, deeply engrained, and permeates everything. We have to stop believing the culture lies and focus on what truly makes up our culture, so we can build the foundation and framework that creates a space where people want to stay and thrive.

• Understand the true measurement of your culture
• Learn the proven drivers that actually retain and engage employees
• The framework for building Brave Cultures

Speaker: Carole Copeland Thomas

Workplace culture isn’t a backdrop—it’s a driving force that shapes how people feel, perform, and stay. As our workforce becomes more global, multigenerational, and culturally diverse, HR leaders must lead the charge in creating environments where everyone feels they matter. This session goes beyond the buzzwords and dives into what real inclusion looks like—every day, in every interaction. You’ll learn how to shift from performative policies to meaningful practices that allow all employees—regardless of race, gender identity, age, ability, or background—to show up fully and thrive.

We’ll explore the critical connection between psychological safety and employee retention, the role of empathetic leadership, and the importance of cultural competence in fostering trust across differences. Whether you're leading a large organization or a small team, you’ll leave with actionable strategies to create a workplace where belonging isn’t just aspirational—it’s operational. Because when your employees feel safe, seen, and supported, they don’t just work—they flourish. And that’s how culture becomes your competitive advantage.

Speaker: Sarah Ohanesian

Let’s be real: most teams are busy…but not making meaningful progress. Our calendars are packed, our inboxes nonstop, and the work keeps piling up. We live in a culture that rewards activity over impact – and it’s leaving us burned out, disconnected, and overwhelmed.

It’s time for a new approach – one that replaces chaos with clarity and builds momentum that lasts.

In this energizing and eye-opening session, you’ll be introduced to the concept of Compounding Productivity – a bold reimagining of how we work, lead, and live. Drawing from Sarah’s work with high-performing teams across healthcare, finance, education, and the nonprofit sector, you’ll learn how small, intentional choices can create real traction, unlock meaningful progress, and help you reclaim your time, energy, and impact.

You will walk away with…

• A Proven Framework to Break Free from Busy: Identify low-value tasks so you can focus on what drives true impact – individually and organizationally.
• The Momentum Equation: Create lasting traction through small, focused wins that compound over time and fuel team energy.
• Strategies for Sustainable Productivity: Walk away with practical tools to prioritize effectively and design a more intentional work culture – one where clarity, focus, and progress are built into your team’s daily rhythm.

Whether you’re leading a team, managing projects, or just trying to stay afloat in a sea of to-dos, this session will show you how to shift from chaos to clarity, do the work that truly matters, and build a culture where progress feels possible again.

Speaker: Carole Copeland Thomas

In today’s polarized climate, it’s tempting to treat Diversity, Equity & Inclusion as a risky buzzword. But smart, future-ready leaders know better. DEI isn’t about political correctness—it’s about business resilience, talent retention, and brand trust. This bold and unapologetic session dives headfirst into the pushback: the legislation, the misinformation, and the fear-based narratives threatening progress. We’ll separate fact from fiction and explore how DEI, when done right, becomes a powerful growth strategy—especially in the travel, tourism, and transportation sectors where your audience is global and your workforce is multigenerational.

You’ll learn how to stand firm in your values, reframe your DEI goals in language that inspires—not divides—and lead with clarity and courage. We’ll cover practical ways to engage skeptics, mobilize allies, and create a workplace that doesn’t just tolerate difference—but thrives on it. Silence isn’t neutral, and backing down isn’t leadership. This is your roadmap to showing up boldly, speaking up strategically, and building an organization that’s as inclusive as it is impactful.

Speaker: Sarah Ohanesian

“How am I ever going to have time to get all this done?” I used to ask that same question until I realized the one thing I needed. Spoiler alert: it’s not more multi-tasking.

Imagine getting out from under the never-ending lists, having clarity around what to work on next, and reducing your stress. In this jam-packed session, audiences will learn how to manage their to-dos, combat distractions, and fight burnout.

In this session, I reveal the antidote to the busyness epidemic and equip audiences with tangible tools to prioritize impactful work, enhance productivity, and regain balance in all areas of life – starting right now. With the job they have, the responsibilities they juggle, and the family they love. They can dominate their day.

Audiences will:

• Discover the myths about multitasking.
• Understand how to shift from busy to productive.
• Learn each step of my productivity system, COAT.
• Unlock simple ways to accomplish more, make better and faster decisions, and increase productivity without burnout.