We’re thrilled to introduce the latest additions to our esteemed Speakers Bureau, a dynamic lineup of thought leaders, Historians and experts who are ready to inspire and engage your audience at their next event. These talented speakers bring a wealth of knowledge and a fresh perspective on a wide range of topics, making them the perfect choice for any occasion. Get ready to elevate your events with our new speakers who are ready to leave a lasting impact on your audience.
1. Paul Ortiz
Paul Ortiz is a professor of history and director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida. He is a National Archives Distinguished Fellow in Latinx History. In the fall semester of 2024, he will begin an appointment as Professor of Labor History at Cornell University.
Paul is a PEN-award winning writer. He is a consultant and featured narrator for John Leguizamo’s American Historia docuseries on Latino history that will air on PBS in 2024 with the permission of the Screen Actor’s Guild and the Writers Guild. Paul was a consultant and narrator for Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s The Black Church: This is Our Story.
This Is Our Song, which premiered on PBS in 2021. Dr. Ortiz is Brooklyn College’s 2023-2024 Robert L. Hess Humanities Scholar-in-Residence. He is the author of several books including, Emancipation Betrayed: The Hidden History of Black Organizing and White Violence in Florida from Reconstruction to the Bloody Election of 1920. Ortiz’s An African American and Latinx History of the United States, was identified by Bustle as one of “Ten Books About Race to Read Instead of
Asking a Person of Color to Explain Things to You.” Fortune Magazine listed it as one of the “10 books on American history that actually reflect the United States.”
The Society of American Archivists bestowed its Diversity Award on the Proctor Program for its “relentless pursuit of community knowledge, local voices, and academic transformation has created a monumental program that has impacted the lives of countless people in Florida and across the nation.” The Doris Duke Charitable Trust noted that the program’s “social justice research methodologies are the focus of scholars and oral history programs across the globe.”
2. Shasta Nelson
Shasta Nelson is a leading expert on bonding and healthy relationships, keynote speaker, connection facilitator, two-time featured TedX speaker, author of three books—including The Business of Friendship, and popular media resource quoted frequently in places like The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and Time Magazine. After 20 years of studying friendship and bonding in teams, Shasta speaks and consults in nearly all industries ranging from healthcare and technology to finance and agriculture, and with clients such as Google, LinkedIn, and Farmers Insurance. Whether working to improve workplace culture or inspire better friendships, she teaches us the science of how to bond with others so we can can accelerate the time it takes to build high-trust, resilient, and rewarding relationships.
3. Maria Ross
Maria Ross is a speaker, leadership trainer, author, and empathy advocate who believes cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive. She’s spent decades helping forward-thinking leaders and teams connect and engage through empathy to accelerate growth and impact. Maria has authored multiple books, including her most recent, The Empathy Edge and hosts The Empathy Edge podcast. Maria understands the power of empathy on a personal levels: In 2008, shortly after launching her business, she suffered a hear-fatal ruptured brain aneurysm and inspired her memoir, Rebooting My Brain. Her next book The Empathy Dilemma: How Successful Leaders Balance Performance, People, and Personal Boundaries, arrives Fall 2024. Maria has appeared in many prominent media outlets, including MSNBC, NPR, Forbes.com, ABC News, Entrepreneur and Thrive Global. She has spoken at companies and conferences ranging from TEDx to The 3% Conference. Her writing has appeared in Entrepreneur.com, Newsweek, and Huffington Post. Maria lives in Pacifica, California with her husband and young son and speaks worldwide.
4. Gregg Lederman
From his earliest days in business, Gregg Lederman has been obsessed with what it takes to live a “values-driven life” at home and work. He has devoted his life and career to helping others achieve their personal definition of success and create lives with less stress, more optimism, happiness, and success. Gregg is a professional speaker, performance coach, and New York Times best-selling author of multiple award-winning books. Over the past 23 years, he has worked with thousands of students, business leaders, and high-performing individuals to enhance how they think, feel, speak, and act. Gregg’s Great Life NOW and Great Leader NOW books and programs take participants on an inward, life-changing journey to transform how they live and lead. As the founder and CEO of Brand Integrity, Inc, Gregg led a team of culture enthusiasts to implement programs that helped clients achieve unprecedented culture-enhancing employee engagement scores that were three times the national average. In addition, nearly 70% of Brand Integrity’s clients were noted on “best place to work” lists, either in their region, industry, or Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For annual ranking. Gregg served for 19 years as an adjunct professor at the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester, where he taught executive MBAs how to become more effective and trusted leaders in his course: Leading Organizational Change. Gregg lives in Rochester, New York, with his wife, Karyn, three wonderful daughters, and dogs, Milo and Rocky.
5. Kendal Netmaker
From Sweetgrass First Nation, Kendal and his siblings were raised by their single mother. Life wasn’t easy for them, growing up on the reserve surrounded by poverty and few chances for opportunities, but one moment would change their life forever.
Kendal has a natural gift; he’s a master storyteller who weaves his real-life experiences into motivating lessons that everyone can use in their own lives. His heartfelt stories are impactful, and he speaks professionally to thousands of people each year on resilience, leadership, and the power of telling your story.
He is a leading entrepreneur whose passion to succeed is contagious. To date, Kendal has founded and invested in 5 businesses. One of them is Neechie Gear® – a lifestyle apparel brand that gives back a percentage of their profits to go toward funding underprivileged youth to empower them to take part in sports. He is the author of Driven To Succeed and won over 25 business awards, including being named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40® and runner-up at the YBI Global Entrepreneur of the Year.
Eager to secure one of our outstanding speakers or keen to explore our roster of experts? Feel free to get in touch with us at contact@notainclusion.com for further details and pricing inquiries. We’re here to assist you in making your event unforgettable!