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Kathy Ireland is an American actress, author, entrepreneur, fashion designer, philanthropist, and former fashion model. Ireland is the founder of kathy ireland Worldwide® (kiWW®)—one of the most powerful brands in the world according to License Global magazine, Forbes, ABC, CBS, NBC and other media reports. KiWW® is responsible for billions of dollars in retail sales and is the most valuable woman-owned licensing company in American history according to WWD. Ireland has graced the cover of Forbes Magazine more times than Sports Illustrated. Ireland is ranked #1 in Lifestyle in Forbes magazine’s most recent 50 Over 50 special issues, one of the 19 most influential women in licensing by License Global magazine, according to Fairchild Publications, one of the 50 most influential people in fashion and one of the most influential leaders in the furniture industry. Ireland and kiWW® support multiple philanthropic efforts including women and children’s health, HIV/AIDS, Education, human freedom, human rights, wars against religious persecution and violence of every kind. Ireland is the first female Board Member of the NFLPI, WNBPA Board of Advocates, an Ambassador and donor for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, and International Youth Chair for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

For 30+ years, John Spence has helped people and businesses, including large corporations, worldwide harness success. John is the author of five books and co-author of several more, a business consultant, workshop facilitator, keynote speaker and executive coach with a client list that includes numerous Fortune 500 firms (including Coca-Cola, Apple, and Microsoft) to small businesses, professional associations and other organizations. John’s areas of expertise include: leadership, high-performance teams, managing change, organizational culture, consultative selling, strategic planning, strategy execution and the future of business.

Dr. Michael is the co-founder of the Collective Resilience Institute which facilitates leader development training on team and organizational resilience. A graduate of United States Naval Academy, she has 30+ years of leadership experience as a career Naval Officer that includes Command ashore, overseas deployments, and Director of Personnel, Operations and Training. She financially managed the Navy’s multimillion-dollar Active Duty for Operational Support program. She has taught adult learners for several years, both in the Navy classroom and as an adjunct professor. Dr. Michael earned her Doctorate in Organization Development and Change from Bowling Green State University. She researches team resilience both in the sports context and the workplace. She is a certified Professional in Human Resources and Society for Human Resources Management Certified Professional, a Resilience Building Leader Program-Trainer, a certified practitioner in EQ-I 2.0/EQ 360, and a World Rugby Level 1 certified coach and referee.

Dr. O’Dare is an Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management with the Institute of Public Health at Florida A&M University and the Founder and Executive Director of the 2nd Alarm Project. She is the Principal Investigator on $5.5 million in federal and state funding for first responder resiliency initiatives. Dr. O’Dare has actively worked with dozens of Florida based agencies to conduct needs assessments, provide capacity building for peer support teams, and develop BHAP programs. She has conducted mental health training with hundreds of first responders, family members, and leadership teams and functioned as a behavioral health navigator and clinical advisor to peer support teams. She has also served on local and statewide critical incident activations and deployments, including to Surfside, FL in 2021 and Hurricane Ian in 2022. She frequently provides consultation and technical assistance to first responder organizations across the country on best practices in building mental wellness programs.

Eichholz is the Chief Resilience Manager and Emergency Operations Coordinator for the City of Cape Canaveral, Florida. He received a Bachelor of Science in Sustainability Studies (2016) and a Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Sciences (2019) from the Florida Institute of Technology before being hired in by the City of Cape Canaveral to help write the City’s first-ever Resiliency Action Plan. Five years later, with this action plan in place, Eichholz is in charge of Cape Canaveral’s Resilience Division – set within the Community and Economic Development Department – where he oversees the implementation of a variety of sustainability and resilience-based initiatives that include but are not limited to renewable energy deployment, flood mitigation and adaption projects, disaster preparation and relief, fleet electrification, and decarbonization efforts. Before this position, Eichholz worked as a project assistant through his time as a master’s student researching and writing the City of Satellite Beach 2017 Sustainability Action Plan; developing a series of actionable targets designed to reduce the City’s environmental footprint and mitigate future climate change impacts.

Jamerson has 18 years of experience in workforce training and development. She understands that both traditional and non-traditional students face academic challenges and the importance of increasing career knowledge in today’s competitive workforce. She strongly advocates making sure higher education and other educational and career opportunities are available and affordable to everyone. Jamerson is the Program Manager of Outreach at the Healthcare Career Advancement Program (H-CAP). Before joining H-CAP, she served as the Workforce Development Manager for Cengage/ed2go where she assisted the US Central Region Colleges and Universities in getting on their state’s Eligible Training Provider List.

Dr. Letourneau is the Executive Director of the Florida Center for Nursing, an Associate Professor at the University of South Florida College of Nursing, and the President of the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers. She has 20+ years of nursing experience with a background in emergency nursing. Dr. Letourneau earned her BS in Nursing (2002) and MS in Nursing Administration (2008) from the University of Rhode Island. In 2017, she earned her PhD in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Dr. Letourneau’s focuses on nursing workforce development, transition to practice, nurses’ well-being, and quality and safety education for nurses. She has 100+ publications and presentations and hosts the Frontline Nursing podcast. In 2022, Dr. Letourneau was named to the Florida Health Care Power 100 by City and State and received the President’s Award from the Florida Nurses Association.

Dr. Adams earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership from American Sentinel University in Aurora, CO. She earned her Master’s, Public Administration, from Troy State University and her Bachelor of Science, Nursing, Old Dominion University in Virginia. She began her nursing career with a diploma in nursing from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, VA. Dr. Adams is the Associate Dean and Director of the Murphy Deming School of Nursing at Mary Baldwin University, in Staunton, VA. As Associate Dean, Dr. Adams oversees the daily operations for the RN to BSN program, the MSN program, three Nurse Practitioner programs (FNP and AG-ACNP) and a Nurse Anesthesiology. Dr. Adams served in the U. S. Navy for 28 years. Her nursing career spans 45+ years. Dr. Adams began her career in nursing education while in the military. Dr. Adams is the Immediate Past President of the Florida Nurses Association.

Shortly after moving to Miami in the late 1980s, Egües helped pioneer nursing home alternative programs for elderly Medicare and Medicaid recipients and launched the first Medicaid managed care plans in Palm Beach, Hendry, Glades, and Lee counties. Egües then served as vice president of community and government relations for the nation’s largest nurse staffing company. In that role, he formed the health care committee of the American Staffing Association, becoming the committee’s first Chairman. Since 2004 as an executive director of the Nursing Consortium of Florida (NCOF), he’s facilitated this 501(c)3’s growth to include more than 70 member hospitals, schools of nursing, and other nurse employers. NCOF brings nursing academia and practice together to advance the nursing profession.

Anne Everly has served for 3+ years as the Florida Department of Education Apprenticeship Training Representative for Region 6 which supports Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, Port St. Lucie, Martin, and Okeechobee Counties. Everly has more than 17 years of experience working in Secondary Education as the Program Manager for the Take Stock in Children Scholarship and Mentoring Program for Middle and High School Students and the Preapprenticeship and Student Internship Coordinator for the Brevard Public Schools Career and Technical Education Program.

Byers has 6+ years of post-secondary technical school education from working at a Technical Institute. In her role, she successfully implemented the integration of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) certifications into student curriculum to ensure training met manufacturers’ standards. Today, Byers serves the workforce needs of Brevard County’s construction and hospitality employers as a CareerSource Brevard Flagler Volusia business liaison and is a state-appointed Apprenticeship Navigator within Region 6. Byers has formed regional partnerships resulting in a robust network focused on paving logical apprenticeship pathways. One such partnership includes working with Anne Everly, Apprenticeship Training Representative with the State of Florida. Together, their efforts are responsible for creating the first registered apprenticeship within the healthcare sector in Brevard and the first in the nation/state registered apprenticeship program for Surface Mount Technician (SMT) Operators. Byers is a 2024 graduate of Lead Brevard and a member of the National Society for Leadership and Success.