Everything we can see and measure - hundreds of billions of galaxies, trillions of stars, countless planets, and any beings that might inhabit them - all of that only makes up 5% of the known universe.  The rest - the other 95%?  We have no idea.  I will talk about how the Webb telescope reveals new secrets of the universe and what's in store for the future that might give us insight into the unknown 95%.

Dr. Amber Straughn is an Astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD and is a member of the Webb Space Telescope Science Team.  She is also the Associate Director of the Astrophysics Science Division.

Amber grew up in rural Arkansas and was the first person in her family to go to college.  She obtained her BS in Physics at the University of Arkansas, and completed her MS and PhD in Physics at Arizona State University.  Amber is interested in answering questions about our universe that relate to how galaxies change over time: specifically, how important are galaxy interactions in the overall picture of how galaxies grow, and how do black holes and star formation affect galaxy evolution over cosmic time?

In addition to research, Amber is a passionate and accomplished science communicator.  She frequently speaks to large audiences at conventions, corporate events, museums, and research societies worldwide.  Amber has done numerous live interviews and media features for NASA, and has appeared on CBS 60 Minutes, PBS NOVA, the Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary “Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine”, The Science Channel, in the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon's "Hubble Gotchu" segment, and in the Emmy-winning documentary The Hunt for Planet B.

How can you make the mental shift to laugh stress off more easily? This talk uses heart & humor to share the techniques that can help anyone, even the chronically unfunny, have a lighter outlook.

Jessica Holmes is a comedian and motivational speaker. She has brought the house down, opening for giants such as Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld, and Oprah Winfrey. She performed at Just For Laughs, The Second City, and starred in the comedy series The Holmes Show and Royal Canadian Air Farce.

After recovering from depression, Jessica became a mental health advocate and mixes her humor with a message about hope and resilience in her successful keynote Mental Health: The Good The Bad and The Funny. Her hilarious and inspiring book “Depression The Comedy: A Tale of Perseverance” was named one of Good Housekeeping’s Best 36 Books on Depression.  

Jessica’s greatest joy is helping people take simple, sustainable steps toward fulfillment and well-being, one laugh at a time.

Generation (Gen Z) born between 1997 and 2012 are no longer exclusively students. The oldest Gen Zers are already several years into their careers. They survived the pandemic during their formative years and demonstrated incredible resilience and adaptability. Now, Gen Z is a top priority for employers looking to recruit and retain them, marketers who are attempting to engage them as customers, and media companies who want them to tune in to their content. However, Gen Z is unprecedented. They are the first generation who swiped before they wiped, launched their careers remotely, and do not turn to traditional media to consume content. They are the new generation of change agents and transformers.

A 30-year public relations and marketing executive, Mark Beal is a Rutgers University School of Communication and Information professor, author, and keynote speaker. He spent the first 30 years of his career creating integrated marketing campaigns for leading brands around high-profile sports and entertainment properties, including the Olympic Games, Super Bowl Halftime Show, and The Rolling Stones. Collaborating with members of Gen Z each day in the classroom, Mark has authored eight books, including four books focused on Generation Z. Mark's most recent book, published earlier this year, is titled, Win The Job & Thrive In A Multigenerational Workplace.

An award-winning journalist obsessed with obsession, Bianca Bosker’s existence was upended when she wandered into the art world—and couldn’t look away. Intrigued by artists who hyperventilate around their favorite colors and art fiends who max out credit cards to show hunks of metal they think can change the world, Bosker ultimately disowned her normal life to sell art at galleries, help artists in their studios, patrol museum wings as a security guard, and more—all as part of a journey to understand why art matters and how any of us can engage with it more deeply. Her talk will explore an experience that drastically reoriented her perspective on art’s place in our lives—and its necessity.

Russell Ferguson is a professional dancer and visual artist. He has been a part of the dance community from the age of five years old and started on his quest to become a well known dancer.

He attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia from high school for a year (2008-2009). It was at the University of the Arts that prepared Russell for his next conquest, which was a reality television show called "So You Think You Can Dance." Russell won the show in 2009 to become "America's Favorite Dancer."

Since this milestone in Russell's career was achieved, in January 2010, Russell appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Academy Awards as a dancer and did a PSA shoot called B1Example for non-violence.

In addition, in 2011, he made two movies, "Battlefield America (a character called 'Prime')" and "Things Never Said." To date his latest conquest is a staring role in the upcoming movie, "East Side Story (character called 'Captain')."

In trying to solve a difficult problem, we sometimes get in our way. We figure if the problem is complex, the solution must be equally complex. But that’s not always the case. There’s a rich problem-solving source that’s available to you right now, but you may be ignoring it.

Mark Levy is a business strategist and differentiation advisor. The ideas Mark and his clients have created are known by hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

Mark has consulted some of the world’s most prominent companies and individuals, including CEOs of major organizations and thought leaders, such as Simon Sinek of “Start with Why” fame.

He is also a writer. Mark has written for the New York Times and has written or co-created five books, including  “Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content,” published in multiple languages.

He has taught research writing at Rutgers University.

Besides his strategy work, Mark creates magic tricks and shows. One of the shows he co-created, “Chamber Magic,” has run in New York City for well over two decades and has a day of celebration by proclamation of the mayor.

“Critical thinking” increasingly stands as the most sought-after skill that has long been too fleeting to define. Employers rate it as a pinnacle skill, but one of which they see too little, and educators claim to teach it, but over half of Millennials recently failed a simple Mindedge critical thinking test. So, what is critical thinking? Analysis? Information literacy? Thinking outside the box? Informal logic? Problem-solving? Evaluating data? Decision science? What if all of our efforts to define critical thinking as above have been the core problem with teaching it?

What if, instead of using our brains to devise conceptions of critical thinking, we eliminated the noise and revolutionized a way to teach people how to think better by tracing critical thinking back to its core evolutionary survival mechanisms?

With over 35 years of experience in higher education, Steve founded the first academic office with a specialized focus on critical thinking.  Author of America’s Critical Thinking Crisis, he has been featured on NPR, Fox News Radio, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, CBS Atlanta, The Hill, and a plethora of podcasts.  Steve founded The Critical Thinking Institute and is a keynote speaker on critical thinking for businesses, universities, conferences, and the U.S. military.  With over 40 years of experience, Steve is also a sought-after martial arts instructor for his unique theoretical approach to training.  Most of all, he’s a devoted father, an endeavor which stretches his own critical thinking most of all.