2025 Keynote Speaker Bios

Gary Sinise

Gary Sinise’s stage, film and television career has spanned more than four decades. In 1974, at 18 years old, he co-founded Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company. 20 years later, for his performance as Lt Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump, he received nominations for Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards, and earned the Best Supporting Actor Award from the National Board of Review and the Commander’s Award from the Disabled American Veterans.

For over 40 years, Gary has stood as an advocate on behalf of America’s service members. It began in the early ‘80s, supporting local Vietnam veterans groups in the Chicago area, and into the ‘90s, when his portrayal of Lt. Dan formed an enduring connection with service members throughout the military community, and as he worked on behalf of the Disabled American Veterans organization, which he continues to actively support today. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Sinise’s dedication to our nation’s active duty defenders, veterans, first responders and their families has become a tireless crusade of support, service and gratitude for all those who protect our freedom and serve our country.

In 2011, to expand upon his individual efforts, he established the Gary Sinise Foundation with the mission to serve and honor America’s defenders, veterans, first responders, Gold Star families and those in need. The foundation remains committed to finding new and exciting ways to give back to those who sacrifice for our nation and encouraging others to do the same has become his personal quest and what he hopes will endure as a legacy of service to others.

John’s Crazy Socks

John and Mark X. Cronin are the father-son team out to change the world through socks. John Cronin is a young man with Down syndrome who teamed with his father, Mark X. Cronin, to bootstrap their way to a multi-million-dollar social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. They built John’s Crazy Socks into the World’s Largest Sock Store. More than half their colleagues have a differing ability and every day, John and Mark work to show what people with differing abilities can accomplish. 

John and Mark have been named EY Entrepreneurs of the Year and Father Thomas Hartman Humanitarians of the Year. They are two time TEDx Speakers and the host of The Spreading Happiness Podcast. 

John and Mark have testified twice before the U.S. Congress and spoken at the United Nations. They are members of the Speakers Bureaus for the U.S. State Department and the Society of Human Resource Management.  

John and Mark have wowed corporate conferences from Microsoft to IBM to Bank of America to LinkedIn and many more. They have addressed non-profit organizations including the Special Olympics, Best Buddies, the National Down Syndrome Society and more. They have spoken at colleges and universities ranging from Rutgers Vanderbilt to Holy Cross to BYU to the University of Houston and more.

Charlene Li

Charlene Li has been helping people see the future for the past three decades. She’s an expert on digital transformation, disruption leadership and strategy, customer experience, and the future of work. She’s the author of six books, including the New York Times bestseller, “Open Leadership,” and co-author of the critically acclaimed book, “Groundswell”. Her latest book is the bestseller “The Disruption Mindset”. She is working on her next book, “Winning with Generative AI.”

Charlene is also an entrepreneur, the Founder and CEO of Altimeter, a disruptive analyst firm acquired in 2015. She most recently served as the Chief Research Officer for PA Consulting And currently leads her firm, Quantum Networks Group.

Charlene has worked with hundreds of top companies ranging from Adobe to Southwest Airlines And advised 49 Fortune 100 companies. She has spoken at events like the World Economic Forum, TED, and South by Southwest.

Named one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company and a LinkedIn Top Voice On Culture, Charlene graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives in San Francisco and teaches her cat tricks in her spare time.

Lindsay Boccardo

For more than a decade, Lindsay has been coaching, researching, and developing programs for professional growth and emotional health in the workplace.

As a nationally-recognized generational expert, Lindsay has partnered with organizations such as Roche, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, Carpenter Realtors, and the Indiana Supreme Court. 

Lindsay earned a degree in psychology and public communication from Syracuse University, and a professional coaching certification through the International Coach Federation. 

By providing education through keynote speeches around the country, podcasts and her YouTube channel, Lindsay empowers organizations to maximize the talent of their diverse workforce and helps individuals find the joy in understanding why every generation matters.

David J. Pryzbylski

David concentrates a large portion of his practice on assisting employers with traditional labor matters. His deep experience includes collective bargaining, work stoppages, arbitrations, union avoidance training and strategies, union representation elections, unfair labor practice charges, contract administration, and various other labor relations issues. David assists clients in virtually every industry, including steel, healthcare, grocery, telecommunications, construction, automotive manufacturing, tech, retail, and more.

David has helped companies secure favorable outcomes with labor issues around the country. He has extensive experience with numerous labor unions, including the Steelworkers, Teamsters, Sheet Metal Workers, Longshoremen, Boilermakers, CWA, UFCW, UAW, IBEW, BTCGM, SEIU and trade unions such as the Carpenters, Pipefitters, and Laborers. Notably, David’s interest in labor relations began in high school, having grown up next to several of the largest steel mills in the world and coming from a family that has members in human resources management and union leadership positions. These experiences have given him a foundational understanding as to how unions operate and what drives their decision-making process.

To maintain a well-rounded practice and offer a full range of labor and employment services to his clients, David also routinely defends employers in employment litigation matters – both in class/collective actions and individual cases – alleging wrongful discharge; discrimination; retaliation; harassment; wage-related claims; breach of contract; and claims regarding the classification of workers as independent contractors under various state and federal laws. In addition, David has defended clients in class actions and high stakes qui tam actions, which are often initiated by current or former disgruntled employees and brought under the False Claims Act by government agencies and the Department of Justice.

David also assists employers with proactive counseling, both in the employment and labor context. This portion of his practice involves reviewing and drafting employment policies; conducting training on issues spanning the labor and employment spectrum; and otherwise advising clients when daily, complex employee-relations issues arise.

Beyond his practice, David is a prolific and nationally recognized thought leader on labor relations issues. In addition to crafting dozens of articles each year on hot labor law topics, David’s commentary and insights routinely are featured in publications like Bloomberg, the New York Times, Law360, Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), and others. He also has been interviewed and featured on podcasts as well as national media programming like the Fox Business Network. The National Law Review has recognized David twice with its national Go-To Thought Leader Award in recognition of his extensive work on this front, including in its inaugural edition in 2018.