Theme: Momentum

Momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. Explained in Newton’s 1st law of motion, an object in motion stays in motion. Interestingly, this same principle applies to life: once you have momentum, it is much easier to keep things going. However, it’s difficult to get that momentum started. Momentum is a powerful force that drives change and helps create success.

This event is open to the public, and tickets will go on sale February 15. Each ticket includes a catered lunch, swag, interactive activities, and opportunities to meet the speakers.

Variety Playhouse
1099 Euclid Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia, 30307
United States

Daisy Jing

Daisy Jing is the CEO and founder of Banish, a multimillion dollar skincare company that only sells on its website, banish.com. Daisy started Banish by accident; all her life she struggled with acne, spending tens of thousands of dollars on products that seemed to ‘break her out’ even more. She documented her struggle on her YouTube channel, which now garners over 70M views. From there, she realized many current skincare ingredients such as fragrances or fillers break her out and created her own products out of her kitchen. The rest is history. Daisy is a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient, as well as an Inc 500 entrepreneur.

John DeGarmo, Ed.D.

Dr. John DeGarmo is a leading international foster care expert and consultant. Dr. DeGarmo has a B.A. in History, a Masters in Media Technology, a Masters in Educational Leadership, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Walden University. He is the author of several foster care books, including the new book The Foster Care Survival Guide, the best selling book Faith and Foster Care, as well as the foster care children's book A Different Home: A New Foster Child's Story. He is the director of The Foster Care Institute, and acts as a consultant to foster care agencies and legal agencies across the USA. Dr. DeGarmo is married to Dr. Kelly DeGarmo, who hails from Australia, and the two of them have six children, both biological and adoptive. Dr. DeGarmo and his wife are also currently foster parents to three siblings, bringing their household to nine children. Dr. DeGarmo has been a foster parent for dozens of children for over a decade now. He has a passion for foster children, and is driven to bring education and insight into general society about all things foster care. Dr. DeGarmo and his wife are the recipients of the Good Morning America Ultimate Hero Award, and the Up With People Every Day Hero Award. The two also were honored with their city's Citizens of the Year Award.

Kevin DeBruin

Kevin J DeBruin is a former NASA Rocket Scientist with expertise in aerospace engineering and solar system exploration. He is a mix of Bill Nye the Science Guy and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. He educates about science in a fun & easy to understand way, while also showcasing an active & healthy lifestyle, grit & determination, and serves as a role model for others. He speaks frequently to audiences of all ages virtually and in-person as well as makes YouTube videos. Kevin has worked as a Systems Engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena, CA in Project Formulation from 2015-2018. Kevin has worked on the Europa Lander Mission Concept as a Flight Systems Engineer and also in the Advanced Design Engineering group working on advanced mission concepts studies as part of TeamX and A-Team. He is a Georgia Tech graduate, 2x American Ninja Warrior, Certified Personal Trainer, and an Eagle Scout.

Laura Briggs

Laura Briggs left a draining job as an inner city middle school teacher to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. She scaled her business to the six figure level in less than 18 months and never looked back, working with clients all over the country and world as a freelance writer, virtual assistant, and project manager. She is currently writing my first book about freelancing, set to be published in the summer of 2019. Now, she coaches other freelancers about how to live their lives with fewer working hours and more amazing clients. Laura wants to truly follow her desire to become the thought leader, the leading influencer and the go-to strategist on freelancing and its impact on the future of our economy. If she can build the awareness that she am trying to construct, then she has the opportunity to define, lead and grow an actual economic and social movement for people looking to create fulfilling lives.

Monica Khant

Monica Khant is the Executive Director of GAIN (Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network). As Executive Director, Ms. Khant oversees, supervises, trains and mentors pro bono attorneys who represent immigrant victims of violence and asylum seekers. Ms. Khant also oversees fundraising initiatives, outreach efforts and community relations in addition to her legal duties. She has also trained lawyers, law enforcement and judges on how to work with immigrant victims of violence. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of Raksha, a Georgia-based nonprofit organization for the South Asian community. She is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta Class of 2015 and has served as Pro Bono Liaison of the Atlanta chapter of the America Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Ms. Khant is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgia State University and teaches Human Trafficking & Modern Day Slavery and in 2017, was named Atlanta Magazine’s “Women Making a Mark”.

Osama Sakhi

Osama Sakhi is a Computer Science Masters student at Georgia Tech. He is passionate about helping others find their purpose. He served as the Instructor for Artificial Intelligence DukeTIP, and he's seen the power of young minds once they're inspired. His wants his audience to aspire to inspire. He wants them to walk out believing that no matter what their pursuits and passions are, they can serve as a catalyst for someone else's success. Osama's talk will be about the effects instilling drive in others and how small actions compound over time to have enormous impact on society. Our communities thrive because of the efforts of passionate leaders and mentors, so we should foster passion in others to improve society as a whole.

Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur

Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur works with African heads of state on women's and children's health in Sub Saharan Africa. She is the board chair of the Georgia Muslim Voter Project and gives her time, talents and resources to ensure that her communities (African Americans, Females, Muslims, the people of planet Earth) are fully expressed. Saleemah practices yoga and meditation daily. She edited the critically acclaimed anthology, Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak. She was one of the organizers of the Women Led Prayer in NYC which sparked a national conversation about how Muslim women participate in communities.

Samuel Broder, M.D.

Samuel Broder, M.D. has been involved in basic and clinical research over his entire career, and has extensive experience at National Institutes of Health and in industry. He has special expertise in cancer, HIV-1/AIDS, and immunologic disorders. He was also part of the team that helped sequence and assemble the human genome and develop molecular diagnostics in cancer, heart disease, and most signficantly HIV-1/AIDS.