Speakers who prove that greatness is universal
Dr. Magie Cook
Claim to Fame: I transformed a life that began in a Mexican orphanage into one of the most remarkable entrepreneurial stories in America. Starting with just $800, I built Maggie’s Salsa into a national brand sold in Walmart and Sam’s Club before selling the company in a nine-figure acquisition. Today, I help leaders turn adversity into their greatest competitive advantage, while my foundation rescues children from human trafficking. My journey is now being adapted into a feature film—proof that resilience, when paired with purpose, can create a legacy far greater than success.
Proudest Moment: People often assume my proudest moment was selling my company after building it from an $800 investment. While I am grateful for that achievement, my proudest moments happen after I leave the stage. They are the emails from someone who finally found the courage to start a business, leave an unhealthy relationship, pursue a dream they had buried for years, or believe in themselves again. Knowing that my story helped someone change the trajectory of their own life is a success no financial milestone could ever match. Coming from an orphanage in Mexico, I understand what it feels like to believe your circumstances define your future. Every opportunity I have to help someone rewrite that belief is a reminder that adversity isn’t the end of the story. It can become the beginning of a life beyond anything we imagined.
Enduring Message: When people leave one of my keynotes, I don’t want them to remember my story. I want them to remember their own. If there is one message I hope endures, it is this: your adversity is not your identity—it is preparing you for your future identity. Too often we allow our past experiences, failures or current challenges to define what we believe is possible. I want people to leave understanding that the very obstacle they wish had never happened may become the greatest gift they have ever received. Whether I am speaking to executives, entrepreneurs, educators, healthcare professionals or meeting professionals, my goal is always the same: to help people see themselves differently than when they walked into the room. Long after the applause has faded, I hope they remember that they are far more resourceful, resilient and capable than they ever imagined—and that their greatest chapter is still ahead of them.
John and Mark Cronin
Claim to Fame: My son John and I speak together. John Cronin is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, the first person with Down syndrome to receive the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award, and the co-founder of John’s Crazy Socks, a global business we built together that has shipped over 500,000 packages to 94 countries and donated more than $850,000 to charity. Together, we have testified before Congress, spoken at the United Nations and addressed hundreds of corporate and association audiences. Our talks are inspirational, people laugh, tear up and cheer. We leave them with concrete actions to take.
Proudest Moment: We have many proud moments. Standing before 5,000 people at a Microsoft event and watching the room rise to its feet. Addressing 1,000 direct support workers in Wisconsin who needed someone to believe in them. Having Colin Jost hand us the EY Entrepreneurs of the Year award. Sitting beside my son as we testified before Congress and thinking, how amazing is this? But what makes us most proud is simpler than any of that. It’s watching our colleagues with differing abilities, many of them holding their first real job, discover what they are capable of. That is why we do this. That is what we want every audience to walk away believing is possible for the people in their own organizations.
Enduring Message: People remember John closing the talk with his advice: “Follow your heart, follow your dreams, work hard, show what you can do.” Simple words. But when they come from a man who built a global business, testified before Congress and was told his whole life to lower his expectations, they feel different. They also leave with something concrete. The six-step framework for building an engaged workforce isn’t theory. It comes from a decade of running a real business with real people. Attendees walk out knowing exactly what to do differently, how to connect people to mission, give them what they need to succeed, recognize their work and trust them to deliver. The feeling fades. The framework stays. That combination, inspiration and concrete steps, is what meeting planners tell us they’re still hearing about months later.
Lesley George
speakerhub.com/speaker/lesley-george
Claim to Fame: My claim to fame is the way I see people, not by their title, position or platform, but by the purpose sitting inside them. When I am in the room with you, my goal is to make you feel seen, heard and reminded of what is possible. I have a gift for helping people believe they can do what their purpose has been calling them to do. I create spaces where people stop shrinking, start trusting their voice, and move forward with confidence.
Proudest Moment: My proudest moment was becoming president of a nonprofit organization COSA (Council of Social Agencies) that has served the community for over 35 years. After serving as vice president for nearly five years, I was honored and elated to step into the role of president. What made this moment even more meaningful was becoming the first Black person in the organization’s history to lead it. It was a powerful reminder that leadership, service and representation matter. The work we do today can open doors for those who come after us.
Enduring Message: My enduring message is BRAGG: Believe you are Responsible for Amplifying God’s Greatness in you. I teach women that bragging is not arrogance when it is rooted in purpose, service and responsibility. Too many powerful women have been trained to shrink their voice, soften their impact and wait for permission to name what they carry. My work reminds them that their gifts are not accidents, their stories are not small, and their leadership deserves room.
BRAGG is a call to stand fully in what God placed inside you and use it to serve, lead, build and open doors for others. My message is simple: stop hiding the evidence of your purpose and start walking like you understand the assignment.
Michael Kutcher
Claim to Fame: Many people first recognize me as Ashton Kutcher’s twin brother, but I have come to realize that our family’s visibility has given me a unique opportunity to make a difference. Rather than being known for my story, I chose to use it to help others. Today, as an international keynote speaker, I share my experiences with cerebral palsy, a heart transplant and overcoming adversity to help people shift their perspective, challenge assumptions and recognize that even life’s greatest obstacles can become opportunities to create meaningful impact.
Proudest Moment: One of my proudest moments was delivering the keynote address to the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses. As a heart transplant recipient, I know firsthand the compassion, dedication and expertise nurses bring to patients and their families. Standing before the very people who care for individuals facing the same journey I once did was deeply meaningful. It reminded me that the challenges we experience can come full circle in unexpected ways. Years ago, I was the patient relying on others for hope. Today, I have the privilege of encouraging those who provide that hope every day. Moments like that reinforce why I chose to share my story to give back to those who have spent their lives giving to others.
Enduring Message: I don’t want audiences to simply remember my story; I want them to remember what my story helped them discover about their own. Every keynote is designed to be interactive, relatable and emotionally engaging. I combine humor, vulnerability and practical takeaways so people don’t just hear the message, they feel it. Throughout the presentation, I continually bring the audience back to one central idea: a shift in perspective can change everything.
One thing I always do is pause and ask the audience to think of a challenge they are currently carrying and consider what it might look like through a different lens. That moment of personal reflection is where the real shift happens. When people leave thinking differently about a challenge, a relationship, or themselves, I know the message has done its job.
John Register
Claim to Fame: Organizations struggle because leaders hesitate when the old way no longer works. My work helps leaders navigate irreversible change through the proprietary StrikePath Reckoning, ReVision, Renewal and Resonance transformation pathway, giving them a practical framework for making courageous decisions with confidence. Whether leading through disruption, workforce shifts or personal transition, audiences leave with a new way to think about resilience, not as bouncing back, but as intentionally releasing what no longer serves their mission (amputate) so they can elevate performance, strengthen culture and create their next competitive advantage.
Proudest Moment: My proudest moment isn’t standing on a Paralympic podium. Maybe it should be. It’s hearing from leaders who tell me months after a keynote that they finally made the decision they’d been avoiding. They restructured a team that had stalled, repaired a fractured culture, embraced a new direction after unexpected disruption or chose courage over comfort when certainty wasn’t available. Those moments remind me that transformation happens when they leave with a framework they trust when the stakes are high. My own life taught me that irreversible change demands more than resilience; it requires clarity, commitment and the willingness to let go of what can no longer carry us forward. Knowing that leaders are creating healthier organizations, stronger teams and better futures because of that message is the accomplishment that means the most to me.
Enduring Message: Years from now, I want people to remember a decision they finally had the courage to make. Every audience faces its own version of irreversible change. The organizations that thrive are rarely the ones with the most resources; they’re the ones willing to honestly reckon with reality, reimagine what’s possible, renew their commitment and keep those choices in resonance over time. That’s why I teach leaders that transformation begins with strategic subtraction. Before we can build what’s next, we often have to release what no longer serves us. If people leave believing they have permission to stop preserving the past and start intentionally creating their New Normal, then the keynote has done far more than inspire, it has changed how they lead.
Shabnam Mogharabi
Claim to Fame: Entertainment Entrepreneur. Producer. Bestselling Author. Actor Rainn Wilson’s work wife. Executive Director of Soul Boom. Former EVP of Participant Media. Former CEO of SoulPancake.
Proudest Moment: Most recently, I was able to take my dad to the Iran v. New Zealand World Cup match in Los Angeles. The city of Tehrangeles turned out big-time for this game, and I’m pretty sure the Iranian team felt like it had home court advantage. The politics of modern Iran were there, too. Booing during the national anthem. Flags with the historic “Lion and Sun” symbol being confiscated. Sadly, when most people hear “Iran,” these politics are what they think of. The 1979 revolution. Oil. Oppression. War. But Iran is so much more! We are descendants of Ancient Persia. A culture of amazing food. Music. Art. Hafez and Rumi. The world’s first bill of human rights, etched on the Cyrus Cylinder. A history that existed long before the current regime.
That’s why I felt so proud to witness this game with my dad. As a child of Iranian refugees who has never stepped foot in Iran, I was moved to hear nearly 70,000 people laugh, yell, chant and cheer together in Farsi. The match reminded me that people—and countries—are so much more than their worst chapters. Iran’s worst chapter isn’t over yet. But if the crowd was any indication, the love Persian people have for their culture, country and spirit remains remarkably strong. It will endure long past this 46-year blip in its history. Also, I had a blast with my dad.
Enduring Message: I speak primarily about the transformative power of joy. Specifically, how the tools of positive psychology, in which I have a certification, can change our personal and professional lives. No, this is not woo woo stuff. This is real, practical, hands-on lessons and strategies. With a whole hell of a lot of science behind it. The truth is, we need joy more than ever today. Beauty. Service. Gratitude. Compassion. Belonging. Hope. Our world is suffering. In my talks, I share the 3 big threats I see affecting the fabric of our society: the rise in distrust and isolating technologies; the proliferation of doom; and the crisis of meaning.
Depressed yet? Well, joy is an antidote to all of these things. And I offer extremely practical ways to implement positive psychology tools in our day-to-day lives and relationships to transform how we think, live, act and work. My talks are energetic, multimedia, lively, interactive and inspiring. The “power of joy” is not just something I believe in. It’s how I’ve lived my life. It has shaped the culture of every company I’ve built. It has informed every video, show and film I’ve produced. I believe the psychological power of joy and its tools are essential for thriving as a human being in our modern world. And I love sharing this message with teams.
