Jose Arrieta, Former Chief Information Officer and Chief Data Officer of the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump Administration

Jose is the former Chief Information Officer and Chief Data Officer of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He has deep experience in all phases of Federal operations focused on delivering national programs within the Federal Government, private industry, and academia, where he is actively engaged at the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University as an Adjunct Professor focused on Artificial intelligence, Blockchain, Business Management, and supply chain. He is also an advisor to the Dean of the Kogod Business School at American University and provides guidance on the creation of a data science lab that is exploring the use of blockchain and artificial intelligence. Jose led the rapid creation of the largest public health surveillance capability that serves all 50 states and 6 territories in the COVID 19 response effort. Jose also established a shared public-private key infrastructure at HHS leveraging distributed ledger technology to establish identities for commercial, federal, state, individual and machine end points to aid the COVID 19 vaccination and clinical trial efforts in the United States. 

Nisha Biswal, President of the U.S.-India Business Council and Senior Vice President for South Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Nisha Biswal is President of the U.S.-India Business Council and Senior Vice President for South Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Biswal served as Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs in the U.S. Department of State from 2013 to 2017, where she oversaw the U.S.-India strategic partnership during a period of unprecedented cooperation. She previously served as Assistant Administrator for Asia at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Biswal also spent over ten years on Capitol Hill, serving as staff director on the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee and the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives. ‎Most recently, she was a senior advisor with the Albright Stonebridge Group, where she helped expand the firm’s India and South Asia practice. Biswal has served on the board of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and is a current member of the U.S. Institute of Peace International Advisory Council and the Institute for Sustainable Communities Board of Directors.

Brett Bruen, President of the Global Situation Room

As Director of Global Engagement at the White House, Brett built President Obama’s legacy international initiatives. His counter-crisis management strategies were used successfully against Russian propaganda. As an American diplomat, he worked on the frontlines of crises in the Ivory Coast, Venezuela, Iraq, and Madagascar.  Bruen now helps clients survive and thrive amidst the regularity of today’s risks.  He teaches Crisis Communications at Georgetown University and serves on boards at Harvard and University College Dublin.  As a columnist at Business Insider and a daily commentator on major media outlets, he is an influential voice on global issues.  He speaks fluent Spanish and French.

Henry De Sio, Author and former Chief Operating Officer of Obama for America 

Honorable Henry F. De Sio, Jr. was the 2008 Chief Operating Officer in Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and later was appointed Deputy Assistant to the President at the beginning of the Obama administration. Known as the global ambassador for changemakers, he's logged more than 400,000 miles over the last decade to share the new framework for thriving and contributing in the emerging era in which change is the only constant. He is the author of Campaign Inc., and his second book, due out in March, is called, Changemaker Playbook: The New Physics of Leadership in a World of Explosive Change. Henry currently promotes the principles of individual and organizational leadership through keynotes, consulting, and coaching engagements. For more information visit henrydesio.com. 

Bryan Lanza, Partner at Mercury and former Communications Director for President Donald J. Trump’s Transition Team 

Bryan is a Partner in Mercury’s Washington DC office, specializing in public affairs and media strategy. A leading Republican strategist with extensive experience in political campaigns, policy and media relations, Bryan provides key leadership for clients across Mercury’s U.S. and international offices. Prior to joining Mercury, Bryan served as Communications Director for President Donald J. Trump’s Transition Team. His role with the Trump administration was immediately preceded by his tenure as Deputy Communications Director for the Trump-Pence Presidential campaign, where he helped to craft strategy and messaging for the campaign, in addition to managing media relations oversight and surrogate management.

Michael Lawrence Chief Executive of Asia House and former Global Editor at Reuters

Michael Lawrence was appointed Chief Executive of Asia House in September 2012 following a career in journalism that took him to the highest levels of international media. Michael was Global Editor of Reuters from 2006 to 2012, leading a team of 3,000 journalists covering news in text, video and pictures from almost 200 bureaux around the world. Michael was part of the editorial team that delivered Reuters’ much-praised coverage of the Iraq war, and he ran the region through the turbulent years that followed. He has an in-depth knowledge of the Asian geopolitical landscape and economic affairs in the region.

Johanna Maska, CEO of Global Situation Room, Host of Pod is a Woman, former Head of Press Advance for President Barack Obama 

Johanna worked with President Barack Obama for more than eight years, serving as Director of Press Advance in the White House and playing a critical role on two successful presidential campaigns. At the White House, Maska served as guarantor of President Obama’s brand on a global stage, ensuring a consistency of message across every continent, whether that was a first-ever live address to the nation from Afghanistan or a multi-country town hall from South Africa. Maska has arranged presidential events in more than 40 countries and almost every state and is an expert in visual marketing, strategic communications and event production.  Maska works with major media companies, technology firms, and non-profit causes.

Amanda North, Founder and CEO of Plan C Advisors

Amanda is Founder and CEO of Plan C Advisors. She also advises founders of innovative climate-related start ups. Amanda has extensive executive, board, and advisory experience with organizations promoting clean energy and a sustainable world. Deep background in branding and positioning, go to market strategy, business development, and opportunity identification. Skilled at guiding organizations through key inflection points. She founded and led Artisan Connect, an online marketplace working with 30 artisan groups in 16 countries, to provide economic empowerment for women. Previously, she led marketing teams for fast growth B2B and B2C technology industry leaders including Splunk and Apple and served as President/Managing Partner for two preeminent digital branding agencies.

Hussein Saddique, Senior News Producer at NBC News 

Hussein is a senior news producer at NBC News, who oversees business, technology, and media news coverage.  He has two decades of experience as a broadcast journalist covering the intersection of politics, business, tech, finance, and policy for global news outlets.  He joined NBC News in 2017, after previously working at CBS News, CNN, and Al Jazeera America.  He lives in New York.

Mary Streett, Senior Vice President Americas, Communications & Advocacy at bp

Mary serves as bp’s Senior Vice President Americas, Communication & Advocacy. She leads a team of advocates from across the Americas, including Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States. Mary joined bp in April 2014 to serve as vice president and head of U.S. government affairs. In this role, she oversaw federal, state and local government relations and played a central role in bp’s strategic planning. Prior to joining bp, Mary served as vice president of federal government affairs at Exelon, one of the nation’s leading consumer electricity and gas providers. From 2002 to 2010, Mary practiced with the law firm Mayer Brown LLP, where she was a partner in the government and global trade group and focused on government and regulatory matters. Streett also served in the Clinton Administration on the White House staff and as deputy general counsel for the Commerce Department.


Trisa Thompson, Former Chief Responsibility Officer at Dell Technologies

Trisa is a former Senior Vice President and Chief Responsibility Officer at Dell Technologies Inc.. In this role, she held responsibility for Dell’s Legacy of Good program including strategic giving, sustainability, entrepreneurism and DWEN, the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network. Prior to this role, Trisa was a Senior Vice President in Dell’s Legal Department for 12 years. Since her tenure at Dell, Trisa has served as  a member of the Advisory Board for Pledgeling, Inc., a software company in Los Angeles, CA that offers social impact technology solutions. She also is an advisor to Plan C Advisors, a global consultancy helping boards of directors and CXOs navigate climate-related business issues. Trisa also serves on the board of The Miracle Foundation, and most recently joined the national board of the Green Electronics Council, an organization advocating for sustainable IT. She also served on the national corporate advisory board for the American Red Cross. In 2014, the National Diversity Council awarded her the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Texas Award and they also named her as one of the Top 50 Women in Technology in the United States.