Recently promoted to Chief Executive Officer, Nathan has spent 22 years leading sales, marketing, and strategy at RSM (Retail Sports Marketing). RSM is a leading shopper marketing, retail solutions and experience agency based in Charlotte, NC.  Nathan oversees some of the largest clients for the agency including Walmart, Sam’s Club, Red Bull, Tyson, META, and Unilever. He also manages key strategic partnerships in sports and entertainment from NASCAR, NBA to country music properties like the CMA Awards and Grand Old Ory.

Ms. Yarbrough is Professor of Government and Gary M. Pendy, Sr. Professor of Social Sciences, with teaching responsibilities in political philosophy and American Political Thought. She was a Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellow and has twice received research fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her first award as a Bicentennial Fellow resulted in the publication of American Virtues: Thomas Jefferson on the Character of a Free People (Kansas, 1998). Following up on this research, she has edited The Essential Jefferson (Hackett, 2006). Her second N.E.H. grant was part of a "We the People" initiative that supported research on Theodore Roosevelt and the American Political Tradition (University Press of Kansas, 2012), which won the Richard E. Neustadt Award for 2013 (awarded annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) for the best book on the Presidency). Ms. Yarbrough is the author of numerous articles and essays in American political thought and public policy, as well as other topics in political philosophy. Her current research involves a study of the political thought of Alexis de Tocqueville in relation to major American political figures. She has served on the editorial boards of The Review of Politics and Polity and currently serves on the editorial board of American Political Thought. She was President of the New England Political Science Association in 2005, and recently completed a Senate-confirmed appointment to the National Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2021, Ms. Yarbrough was awarded the Henry Salvatori Prize for her scholarly work and public service in upholding the principles of the American Founding.

Taylor Smith is the President and founder of Project Finance & Development Investments (PFDI), a company that helps build and finance important community projects across Florida and the United States. Since 1998, he has helped develop more than $1 billion worth of schools, housing, roads, and other facilities that support students, families, and local communities.

A major part of Taylor’s work is focused on charter schools. He has helped create, build, or support dozens of schools, including Mater Academy, Pinecrest Academy, Somerset Academy, River City Science Academy, and many more. His work often requires him to bring together city leaders, school districts, state agencies, and private partners—all working toward the shared goal of giving students a better place to learn.

In addition to leading PFDI, Taylor serves on several important boards. He is a Governor-appointed Board Member and Treasurer of the Florida Development Finance Corporation, a Trustee of Doral College, and a Board Member of Somerset Schools, a nationwide charter school network. He also helps oversee Building Faith, a nonprofit that owns more than $250 million in charter school facilities in Florida.

Taylor grew up in Florida and graduated from Spruce Creek High School. He attended Princeton University as a Truman Scholar and later studied at the Australian National University as a Fulbright Scholar. Today, he continues to work in Florida and volunteers as a leader and teacher in his Jacksonville community. He also enjoys spending time with his wife, Kathi, who is a children’s author and illustrator.

Taylor Smith’s work has helped thousands of students access high-quality schools and opportunities, making a lasting difference in education across the country.

Tony Morales is the Co-Chairman of N2Growth Executive Search in Miami, FL. He advises boards and senior executives on talent strategy, leadership selection, organizational design, performance management, succession planning, and executive transitions.

Through his leadership of N2Growth’s executive search practice, Tony oversees engagements across all industries, functions, ownership structures, business models, and geographies. Whether a multinational, multibillion-dollar enterprise, a sovereign government, or a startup in hypergrowth, Tony helps our clients answer three fundamental questions:

• • Who do we need on our leadership team?
  • How do we all succeed while they’re here?
  • How do we all succeed when they’re gone?

Prior to N2Growth, Tony’s career involved leadership through consultative, interim, and industry roles. After exiting a technology-enabled service startup, Tony held a leadership role at the ACE Foundation, a private foundation supporting social and public sector innovation. Before this, he was an executive for Academica, the nation’s largest educational services firm, leading strategic and administrative functions for its virtual and emerging technologies business.

Tony is active in philanthropy and community service, especially in his native South Florida. He serves as Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Somerset Academy Foundation, Inc., Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Under A Tree, Inc., and a Trustee for Doral College, where he teaches anthropology each fall. He serves in a volunteering or advisory capacity for other private and public organizations, including the Center for Education Reform, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Department. Tony is a member of YPO.

Tony holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and philosophy, politics, and economics, a master’s degree in anthropology, and graduate credentials in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. He serves as programmatic faculty at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, teaching through its Undergraduate Division and Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the undergraduate and executive levels, respectively.

Rahul Ravji is a half-Spanish, half-Indian student, born in France and currently living in the United Kingdom. Having graduated as his school’s valedictorian in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, Rahul is now a first-year Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Bristol, as well as a pilot trainee.

Rahul’s fascination with engineering began early, from winning the Rising All-Star team award in the First Lego League at age 10, to completing multi-year programs in Space Robotics and Astronautics, and working alongside engineers at the National Institute for Aerospace Technology in Spain. 

In this session, Rahul will share his learnings from being an ambitious student: how to stay motivated, how to balance discipline with a healthy life, and how to maintain mental strength even after setbacks such as university rejection. He will speak openly about work routines, setting goals, and achieving the mindset that will drive you to excel.

As an immigrant from Bahrain, Sam decided to enlist in the U.S. Army after graduating high school and spent almost ten years on active duty. In 2010, the Army distributed a poster calling out for female volunteers to fulfill a role that the military deemed urgent. She was encouraged to act and so she did. Sam’s next challenge was in Special Operations. She was selected to be part of the first group of elite women trained as Cultural Support Team leaders. An elite force solely assigned to Special Operations teams such as Rangers, Special Forces, and SEALs.

During her combat tour in eastern Afghanistan, Sam had to find a way to quickly break the ice and create a connection with the women and kids she was now responsible for while on night operations. The positive reactions from not only the kids but also the mothers rekindled her desire to explore her artistic side. She turned the harsh reality into an expressive channel that released any stress of day-to-day operations.

Thanks to the Pat Tillman Foundation Sam graduated from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA with a BFA in Drawing and Design. She decided to pursue this degree after her combat tour in Afghanistan. The Pat Tillman Foundation enabled her to transfer her combat tour experience into a creative outlet. Same recently completed a yearlong residency program dedicated to Special Operations veterans in partnership with Omnicom/DAS.

Dr. Greer joined the University on June 1, 2020 with the goal of establishing an innovative mid-21st Century, Las Vegas-based medical school that will align students, educators, and community in designing and delivering an inclusive and collaborate environment for learning, healthcare and research. Previously, Dr. Greer served as Professor of Medicine, Founding Chair of Humanities, Health, and Society; and Associate Dean for Community Engagement at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami, Florida.

Working with various FIU colleges, Dr. Greer spearheaded the nationally recognized Green Family Foundation Neighborhood Health Education Learning Program (NeighborhoodHELP). This program prepares medical students and other health professions students to address the social determinants of health through a hands-on longitudinal experience caring for underserved households in Miami-Dade County. Better known as “Joe,” Dr. Greer has been an advocate for health equity by engaging communities to create effective health and social policies and accessible health care systems.

He established Camillus Health Concern, Inc. and Saint John Bosco, health centers for underserved populations in Miami-Dade County, Florida. He has received numerous recognitions, including: one of the 500 Most Influential Business Leaders in Life Sciences listed on the Florida Trend 2019; June 2019 AMA Foundation Pride in Profession Award; Bob Graham Center for Public Service 2017 Citizen of the Year; 2014 National Jefferson Award in the category of Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged; 2013 Great Floridian Award; the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom; and in 1993, was honored as a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” Fellow. He has published more than 30 articles and book chapters and wrote Waking Up in America, a book about his life experiences, including caring for homeless individuals and advising Presidents Bush Sr. and Clinton on health care policy. Dr. Greer is currently a Trustee at the RAND Corporation (America’s oldest and largest think tank) and is the Chair of the Pardee RAND Graduate School Board of Governors. He served as Chair for the Hispanic Heritage Awards Foundation from 2002 to 2012, and is an independent board member of American Funds 2016 to present.

He completed his medical studies at La Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic. ]He trained in Internal Medicine, served as Chief Resident, and completed two post-doctoral fellowships (Hepatology and Gastroenterology) at the VA/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. Before joining FIU, Dr. Greer ran a successful private practice and was Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mercy Hospital in Miami.

John’s journey began far from the courtroom—on the training fields of the United States Army, where he learned that leadership is measured not by titles, but by how fiercely you protect the people beside you. As a combat medic and later a sergeant leading a squad of medics, he discovered a purpose that would shape the rest of his life: to stand with people when they need someone most.

When John returned home to Las Vegas, he carried that purpose into everything he did. Being the first in his family to go to college, he earned his Criminal Justice degree from UNLV and then his law degree from the UNLV’s School of Law.

Today, as the Assistant Public Defender and legislative advocate, John fights for people who are often overlooked or left behind. He believes every person has worth, and that a fair society refuses to throw anyone away. His work helped drive the most significant criminal-justice reform Nevada has seen in decades, pushing the state toward a future rooted in dignity and second chances.

Beyond the courtroom, John continues to find ways to serve his community. He helped launch the Clean Slate program at Boyd Law, giving people a fresh start in life and teaching law students what justice looks like when it’s rooted in humanity  because lifting others up is the most powerful way to lead.

From Army boots to law school classrooms, from trial courts to the halls of the Legislature, John’s message is simple: You don’t have to wait to change the world. Start by standing up for someone. Start by believing second chances matter. Start by using your voice—for yourself and others to make the world kinder than you found it.

Jedidiah Collins, a former NFL player turned Certified Financial Planner, faced financial challenges in his sports career, leading him to pursue financial education. He founded Money Vehicle, an education technology company, with a mission to provide engaging financial literacy curriculum, empowering individuals, including professional athletes and young professionals.

Glenn Jacobs is currently serving his second term as Mayor of Knox County, TN. Prior to becoming Mayor in 2018, Jacobs enjoyed a successful career in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)—most notably under the stage name “Kane”—culminating in his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020. A staunch fiscal conservative and fierce advocate for limited government, during his first term, Jacobs delivered on his campaign promise of no tax hikes as well as pushed back against government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his second term, he is prioritizing workforce and economic development to make East Tennessee even more competitive in a rapidly evolving innovation-based global economy. Glenn and his wife, Crystal, have two daughters and two grandchildren.