Ashton Sanders Speaking Fee: $10,000 to $20,000

Lauren Ridloff

Actor, Marvel’s First Deaf Superhero

Lauren Ridloff began her meteoric rise as an actor just five years ago. Prior to that, she won the title of Miss Deaf America and was a kindergarten teacher in Manhattan for a decade. After leaving that job, she was hired in 2016 to tutor director Kenny Leon in American Sign Language as he readied the Broadway revival of Children of A Lesser God. Kenny and the producers concluded that Lauren was ideal for the lead. She pulled it off with resounding success, including multiple rave reviews from the NYT and a Tony nomination. She soon became a series regular on AMC's The Walking Dead before becoming the first deaf superhero in Marvel's Eternals

Ben O'Keefe

Storyteller, Strategist & Cultural Force for Change

Ben O’Keefe is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, award-winning writer, activist, and sought-after public speaker whose influence spans entertainment, politics, and culture. From crafting campaigns for folks like Alicia Keys and Amazon Studios to advising leaders like Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ben’s work drives national conversations and cultural change. As a producer, he was shortlisted for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. He brings fearless honesty, cultural fluency, and a passion for moving conversations—and culture—forward.

Kimberlé Crenshaw

Civil Rights Advocate & Professor of Law

Kimberlé Crenshaw, Professor of Law at UCLA and Columbia Law School, is a leading authority in the area of Civil Rights, Black feminist legal theory, and race, racism and the law. Her work has been foundational in two fields of study that have come to be known by terms that she coined: Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality. Crenshaw’s articles have appeared in the Harvard Law Review, National Black Law Journal, Stanford Law Review and Southern California Law Review.

Angela Davis

Legendary Human Rights Activist & Author

Through her activism and scholarship over many decades, Angela Davis has been deeply involved in movements for social justice around the world. Her work as an educator has always emphasized the importance of building communities of struggle for economic, racial, and gender justice. Professor Davis is especially concerned with the tendency to devote more resources and attention to the prison system than to educational institutions. Having helped popularize the notion of a “prison industrial complex,” she now urges audiences to think seriously about the future and to help forge a 21st century abolitionist movement.

Mikki Kendall

Best Selling Author | Diversity Consultant | Feminist

Mikki Kendall a writer, diversity consultant, and occasional feminist. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling HOOD FEMINISM, and the women's-history graphic novel AMAZONS, ABOLITIONISTS, AND ACTIVISTS. Her essays can be found at TIME, the New York Times, The Guardian, the Washington Post, Ebony, Essence, Salon, The Boston Globe, NBC, Bustle, Islamic Monthly, and a host of other sites. Her media appearances include BBC, NPR, the Daily Show, PBS, Good Morning America, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, WVON, WBEZ, and Showtime. She has discussed race, feminism, education, employment, food politics, police violence, sexual assault, tech, community.

Dr. Akilah Cadet

Founder, Speaker, and Executive Coach of Change Cadet

Dr. Akilah Cadet is the Founder and CEO of Change Cadet, an organizational development consulting firm that offers services that support embedding belonging into overall company culture, identity and strategy. As a Forbes Next 1000 Entrepreneur her work is behind some of the biggest brands you use everyday. Dismantling white supremacy through storytelling is at the core of her work as a leader, speaker, creative director, producer, writer, editor and author of forthcoming book White Supremacy is All Around: Notes From a Black Disabled Woman in a White World.

Mike Africa Jr.

Hip Hop Artist | Writer | Member of MOVE

Mike Africa, Jr. is the son of two political prisoners who were each sentenced to 100 years in prison. Mike and his family became the subject of the HBO Film "40 Years A Prisoner" about his life and struggle to get his parents released from prison. He's now a member of The MOVE Organization, and the Black Philly Radical Collective. Mike is a motivational resilience speaker who pushes his powerful “Never Give Up” message with his dynamic stage performances mixing music in his orations.

Gaby Natale

Tree-Time Daytime Emmy Winner | Speaker | Author | Entrepreneur

Gaby Natale is a triple Emmy® Award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and motivational speaker known for her high-energy, barrier-breaking message. The first Latina to win three Daytime Emmys® back-to-back, she inspires global audiences with her frameworks on resilience, innovation, and leadership. Her clients include Google, Microsoft, JPMorgan, and the United Nations. Author of The Virtuous Circle and founder of AGANARmedia, Gaby has been named one of People’s “25 Most Powerful Latinas” and now also serves as a Susan G. Komen ambassador.

Michael Eric Dyson

Academic & Radio Host

Michael Eric Dyson is an academic, author, preacher, and radio host. He is a Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. Described by Michael A. Fletcher as "a Princeton Ph.D. and a child of the streets who takes pains never to separate the two", Dyson has authored or edited more than twenty books dealing with subjects such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Marvin Gaye, Barack Obama, Nas's debut album Illmatic, Bill Cosby, Tupac Shakur, and Hurricane Katrina.

Shaniqua McClendon

Political Strategist & Senior Political Director, Crooked Media

Shaniqua McClendon has worked in politics for more than a decade and currently serves as Vice President of Political Strategy for Crooked Media, home to the popular podcast, Pod Save America. In this role, Shaniqua led the creation of their voter and volunteer engagement program, Vote Save America, that has raised more than $55 million for progressive candidates and causes, while mobilizing more than 500,000 voters, volunteers, and grassroots donors across the country to support Democratic victories in 2018, 2020, and 2022.

Bree Newsome

Community Organizer and Activist Who Removed the Confederate Battle Flag from the South Carolina State House