Plenary Speakers
These nationally known thought leaders offer fresh perspectives on topics such as achieving peak performance, understanding the political determinants of health and facilitating healthy communication. Attend their sessions and leave enlightened, inspired and ready for new challenges!
Wednesday, April 22
Lori Gottlieb, MFT
Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone", which has sold more than 3 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages.
She writes The New York Times “Ask the Therapist” column and co-hosts the popular podcasts Dear Therapists and Since You Asked. A sought-after expert, Lori has appeared on "Oprah", "The Today Show", "The Daily Show", "Good Morning America", "CBS Mornings", CNN and NPR’s "Fresh Air". Her TED Talk was viewed over 7 million times and was among the year’s Top 10 Most Watched.
She is also the creator of "The Maybe You Should Talk to Someone Workbook" and "The Maybe You Should Talk to Someone Journal".
Learn more at LoriGottlieb.com and on her socials.
Wednesday, April 22
David Eagleman, PhD
David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University, bestselling author and host of the acclaimed science podcast Inner Cosmos. He is also the writer and presenter of PBS’s Emmy-nominated "The Brain with David Eagleman" and Netflix’s "The Creative Brain."
He is the author of several internationally bestselling books, including "Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain", "Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain", "The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World" and "SUM", which has been published in 33 languages. His work explores how the brain continually rewires itself, drives creativity and shapes human experience.
David is co-founder of the venture-backed companies Neosensory and BrainCheck, Director of the Center for Science and Law and serves as a research fellow at Stanford University’s Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.
A TED speaker and Guggenheim Fellow, he has been recognized as Science Educator of the Year by the Society for Neuroscience and has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time and The New Yorker.
Learn more at Eagleman.com
Thursday, April 23
Russell J. Ledet, MD, PhD, MBA
From Lake Charles, Louisiana, to national stages that rarely spotlight the full human story behind medicine, Russell J. Ledet, MD, PhD, MBA, is proof that purpose can be engineered—and lived.
Before the white coat, he served as an enlisted cryptologic intelligence specialist in the United States Navy, traveling the globe in service of mission, team and country. That same discipline carried him through an extraordinary academic climb—Chemistry and Biology at Southern University, a PhD in Molecular Oncology at NYU with research advancing the fight against prostate cancer and onward to earning his MD and MBA.
Today, Dr. Ledet is a Triple Board resident physician at the Indiana University School of Medicine (Pediatrics, Adult Psychiatry and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry), known for translating clinical excellence into real-world impact. His work extends into juvenile facilities, adult incarceration settings and reentry spaces, where he focuses on culturally responsive mental health education and resilience—grounded in a deep respect for the nuanced realities of rural and urban communities.
He is the Co-Founder and Chairman of The 15 White Coats, transforming his personal journey into a pipeline of mentorship, representation and opportunity for future physicians. His story has been featured by Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, BBC, People and The Washington Post.
At the center of it all is family—his marriage to Mallory Alise and fatherhood to their daughters—his why, his anchor and the clearest evidence that legacy is built at home, then carried into the world.