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How social wealth can transform your career
Nisaini Rexach reveals why sending 150 resumes gets you nowhere—and what actually works. As Microsoft's Community Engagement Lead, she shares her radical approach to career advancement through "social wealth": intentional relationship-building that compounds over time. From Chicago's government housing to rooms with Fortune 500 CEOs, Rexach never submitted a resume for any role. She introduces powerful frameworks including the "shareholder" concept, demonstrates how every encounter is an interview, and explains why your network underwrites your next opportunity. Through compelling personal stories and her mentee Paige's transformation, Rexach provides actionable strategies for building connections that create career opportunities traditional networking never could.
Building trust across America's divides
In this powerful talk, Meg Whitty shares lessons from childhood campaign trails in rural Iowa that shaped her career building coalitions for sustainable aviation fuel. Drawing from experience across agriculture, energy, and aviation sectors, she reveals how authentic trust unlocks solutions to seemingly impossible challenges. Whitty demonstrates how the same communities devastated by hospital closures and economic decline can lead the clean energy transition, creating jobs while solving aviation's 3% contribution to global emissions. The presentation examines specific techniques for bringing together competing interests around shared goals, challenging false choices between economy and environment. Her message resonates particularly with leaders seeking to bridge political and geographic divides.
How quantum technologies may impact your life
Physicist David Awschalom takes us on a fast-paced journey from Star Trek to quantum teleportation, showing how what once seemed like science fiction is quickly becoming reality. Equal parts inspiring and mind-bending, he reveals how uncertainty—the quirky heart of quantum physics—is actually a powerful engine of discovery, fueling breakthroughs in computing, medicine, and secure communication. This talk makes clear that our quantum future is not just coming—it’s already here.
Tomorrow's entrepreneurs aren't who you think
The heroic innovators, often depicted as the leading tech giants, have dominated the image of entrepreneurship for over three decades, and yet it isn't a completely accurate picture of who entrepreneurs have been or who they are becoming. When we look at the data, it is a broader and richer story that is shifting quickly towards a new iteration—and there is a high chance it includes you. In this talk, Christine O'Brien draws a compelling, data- and story-driven, expansive image of entrepreneurship, including family-run businesses, coaches, consultants, and content creators. It highlights themes and stories from interviews conducted with entrepreneurs about why they started their businesses. Layering in data from recent reports, it presents the rise of entrepreneurship and the career lattice as a more accurate representation of people's non-linear career paths. Understanding this new reality is critical for anyone who is, may become, or knows someone where entrepreneurship and freelancing may not only be a choice, but one of the few paths to true career security. Tune in to explore the future of entrepreneurship, what it means for you and your family, and how each of us can support entrepreneurs who often face uncertainty and anxiety.
How to set the right goals and stay motivated
You can't just "find" motivation, says scientist Ayelet Fishbach — you have to learn how to motivate yourself. She shares a handful of tips backed by 20 years of motivation research, offering surprisingly simple wisdom on how to optimize your goals, set yourself up for success and avoid the tempting calls of procrastination.
How The Power of Poker is Changing the Game for Women
The mother-daughter duo of Jenny Just & Juliette Hulsizer is changing the game for women through one simple game. In this empowering and personal talk, they share how the power of poker has guided them in cracking the code on closing the gender-based confidence and equity gaps. Learn more about how the skills of poker can help you in the boardroom and beyond.