Virginia Speakers

•Leland is the first person drafted into the National Football League to have also flown in space. •He was featured on National Geographic's One Strange Rock, hosted by Will Smith, where he explained how his brain repaired itself after an injury that left him deaf and almost stopped him from ever going to space. •Even after being medically disqualified to fly in space by NASA flight surgeons, •Leland completed two Space Shuttle missions to help build the International Space Station. •Leland served as the co-chair of the White House's Federal Coordination in STEM Education Task Force, developing the nation's 5-year plan for STEM education, and as NASA Associate Administrator for Education. •His memoir, Chasing Space, shares his personal journey from the gridiron to the stars. •Leland served as a consultant on National Geographic's second season of Mars..

Fee Range: $25,000–$44,000
Travels From: VA

Fee Range: $20,000–$35,000
Travels From: VA

• Carly Fiorina is the former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, and the first woman to lead a Fortune 50 company. • Carly’s experience spans from secretary to CEO, from public to private, and from for-profit to non-profit. Under Carly’s leadership, HP's revenue grew, innovation tripled, growth quadrupled, and HP became the 11th largest company in the U.S. • As one of the most high-profile business leaders in the world, Carly passionately believes in the power of people to transform organizations and change the world. From the stage, Carly shares her proven leadership playbook that anyone can apply to transform their own business. Her keynotes outline tools and strategies that facilitate growth, teamwork and effective problem solving. • She is the founder and Chairman of Unlocking Potential, a non-profit organization that invests in human potential by supporting local leaders who are solving problems in their communities and places of work; equipping them with the behaviors, characteristics, disciplines and tools to increase their leadership and problem-solving capacity. • Carly is also a bestselling author, with three books including Tough Choices, Rising to the Challenge, and Find Your Way.

Fee Range: $38,000–$75,000
Travels From: VA

Melody Barnes is co-director for policy and public affairs for the Democracy Initiative, an interdisciplinary teaching, research, and engagement effort led by the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia. She is the Dorothy Danforth Compton Professor and a professor of practice at the Miller Center and is also a distinguished fellow at the UVA School of Law. A co-founder of the domestic strategy firm MB2 Solutions LLC, Barnes has spent more than 25 years crafting public policy on a wide range of domestic issues.

Fee Range: $15,000–$20,000
Travels From: VA

Fee Range: $7,000–$15,000
Travels From: VA

•Best-selling author who has delivered more than 1,400 presentations around the world in the past twenty-three years •Rated the #1 speaker at four consecutive INC. Magazine International Business Conferences •Helped quadruple the revenue of a major transportation corporation in the Pacific Northwest •Enthusiastic and passionate speaker on topics such as leadership, success, and succeeding in times of adversity and change

Fee Range: $10,000–$20,000
Travels From: VA

Fee Range: $10,000–$20,000
Travels From: VA

Fee Range: $10,000–$20,000
Travels From: VA

Emily is wildly passionate about space exploration. Through her show, she wants to prove that the space industry is more exciting today than ever before in history. As the host, Emily works to explain science-related topics in an easily digestible, and entertaining, way. Increasing the level of scientific literacy among the general public is also something Emily cares deeply about. She believes that everyone, despite their educational background, can understand scientific topics. Emily hopes to convince more people of this and foster a higher level of scientific literacy in society through various projects and speaking engagements. Lastly, Emily wants to inspire more females to pursue STEM careers. Over the years, many factors have deterred women from pursuing certain careers in STEM. Through her work, Emily hopes to address those factors and help make STEM a more welcoming environment for everyone.

Fee Range: $18,000–$32,000
Travels From: VA

Appointed as the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States, Aneesh Chopra clearly outlines ways technology can spur innovation, strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world and solve the vexing problems facing the domains of health care, education and energy. Selected as the nation’s first chief technology officer by President Obama, Aneesh Chopra was tasked with promoting innovation, transparency and collaboration within the federal government. An energetic groundbreaker who previously served as Virginia’s fourth secretary of technology. His wide array of accomplishments include designing the National Wireless Initiative and implementing the President’s open government strategy which focused on unlocking the federal government’s potential in solving problems and seeding industries of the future. Upon his departure as chief technology officer of the United States, President Obama noted, “As the federal government’s first chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra did groundbreaking work to bring our government into the 21st century.

Fee Range: $20,000–$30,000
Travels From: VA

Danny is an 8-year military veteran who served in the U.S. Army, including a combat tour in Iraq. He is also the Founder and President of Platoon22. Formerly a firefighter and EMT, he graduated top of his class and was awarded the Chief’s award for leadership. While Danny is a certified personal trainer with over a decade of experience, he enjoys being a sought-after public speaker for motivational speaking engagements too. Not only was he selected by Frederick Magazine as one of Frederick’s Top 50 CEOs, he was also named Maryland’s “Top 40 under 40 Daily Record VIP” in 2013 and was one of the top 5 finalists for Men’s Health “ULTIMATE GUY”.

Fee Range: $5,000–$5,000
Travels From: VA

Jeff Goldsmith is President of Health Futures, Inc and former National Advisor, Navigant Healthcare. He is also Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. For eleven years ending in 1990, Jeff Goldsmith was a lecturer in the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago, on health services management and policy. He has also lectured on these topics at the Wharton School of Finance, Johns Hopkins, Washington University and the University of California at Berkeley. Jeff Goldsmith's interests include: biotechnology, health policy, international health systems, and the future of health services. Jeff was the recipient of the Corning Award for excellence in health planning from the American Hospital Association's Society for Healthcare Planning, and has received the Dean Conley Award for best healthcare article three times from the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is also Director of Essent Healthcare, a hospital management firm.

Fee Range: $7,000–$19,000
Travels From: VA

Recognized as one of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world (Thinkers50), Whitney Johnson is an expert on disruptive innovation and personal disruption; specifically, a framework which she codifies in the critically acclaimed book Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work and in her latest book Build an “A” Team: Play To Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve. (Harvard Business Press, 2018). She is also the author of Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream. She developed her proprietary framework and diagnostics after having co-founded the Disruptive Innovation Fund with Harvard Business School’s Clayton Christensen. This framework is complemented by a deep understanding of how executives create and destroy value, having spent nearly a decade as an Institutional Investor ranked equity analyst on Wall Street.

Fee Range: $27,000–$38,000
Travels From: VA

Fee Range: $12,000–$23,000
Travels From: VA

Len M. Nichols has been the Director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics (CHPRE) and a Professor of Health Policy at George Mason University since March 2010. He has been intimately involved in health reform debates, policy development, and communication with the media and policy makers for 25+ years, after he was Senior Advisor for Health Policy at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Clinton Administration.

Fee Range: $10,000–$15,000
Travels From: VA

Adam Rocke (Col. USA. ret) retired as an Army Colonel and career Infantryman who served as Special Assistant to the Army Chief of Staff and as the Director of the Soldier for Life Program. He led the U.S. Army’s effort to create a network of enablers connecting Soldiers, Veterans, and families with employment, education, and healthcare required to successfully reintegrate into civilian society.

Fee: $13,000
Travels From: VA

With an integral role on the team that set the standard for women’s soccer, Briana Scurry is widely recognized as one of the world’s most talented and influential goalkeepers. Her 173 international appearances as one of the first African-American professional female soccer players helped significantly diversify the sport.5/1/2023

Fee Range: $15,000–$25,000
Travels From: VA

Fee: $14,000
Travels From: VA

The most successful quarterback in the history of the Washington Redskins, Joe Theismann is also a world-class entrepreneur whose positive, high-energy presentations provide audiences with strategies for handling trying circumstances and dealing with unforeseen change. A successful businessman who currently serves on the board of directors of Johnny Rocket’s Group, he always challenges audiences to recognize the potential that lies within—as individuals and as members of a team.

Fee Range: $18,750–$27,500
Travels From: VA

Dr. Tererai Trent is one of the world’s most acclaimed voices for women’s empowerment and quality education. She is the founder of Tererai Trent International, an educator, motivational speaker, and Oprah’s “favorite guest of all time.” Tererai received her doctorate in interdisciplinary evaluation from Western Michigan University and teaches courses in Global Health at Drexel University. She has published two highly acclaimed children’s books and is the author of the award winning, The Awakened Woman – Remembering & Reigniting Our Sacred Dreams. Tererai was recently named Global Ambassador of Education and Peace by the UN General Secretary and High Commissioner. She also serves as the president of The Awakened Woman LLC, a company dedicated to empowering women with tools to thrive as they achieve their dreams.

Fee Range: $22,000–$40,000
Travels From: VA