The US health care system is plagued by high costs, low quality, and poor access for decades. The lack of solutions to these problems is not from a lack of capital or a lack innovation. The lack of solutions to these health care challenges may be due to the motivations driving innovation. Imagine the change health care could see if we had an army of health care innovators working toward a common goal of improving the health care system for the sake of improving patient care and saving lives rather than profiting. Sarah Cox, a pharmacist and Clinical Associate Professor with the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy has seen the problems within healthcare firsthand both through practice and as a family member to a patient. Dr. Cox's academic research focuses on how human-centered design can solve messy, complex problems and drive innovation in healthcare. She has grants focused on technology commercialization and teaching pharmacy students innovative problem-solving skills.

Freehand sketching is an essential part of the design process and is the most efficient way to communicate. It is an interactive conversation between your brain, eye and hand. Sketching taps your intuition. Intuition is not magical but rather a faculty in which hunches are rapidly generated by the unconscious mind. What software can do that? That connection cannot be synthetic. Anthony E. Birchler PE is vice president of sales engineering at A. Zahner Company in Kansas City, MO. Birchler’s 39 years of professional experience in all aspects of facades is well respected. He consults and collaborates with owners, architects, engineers, and construction managers to develop bespoke complex metal façade solutions utilizing Zahner assist methods. These methods involve all available tools to communicate, refine, and ultimately fabricate the facades. Free-hand sketching is the foundation upon which these solutions rest. Birchler earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T).

Learn how ones self-induced fears hold them back from pursuing their passions and how to overcome your own internal struggles. Brian Watson is a self-taught sculptor with no formal art training. He is the owner and partner of a sculpting company that creates larger-than-life, metal artworks. His background includes time as a US Navy nuclear power submariner, previous owner of an ornamental copper company, and 10 years of argon-based plasma research and development. He currently resides with his family in Augusta, Missouri.

Ebony Reed uses her experiences to share a model and framework around how people can best support and interact with those who are grieving. Ebony shares how to navigate loss, interact with people who are working through grief, and making mental health a priority. Ebony is a national media executive and journalist who lost her fiancé and partner, NFL journalist Terez A. Paylor, when he died in 2021 at age 37. Ebony will share statistics and information about the loss of a partner/spouse from the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and discuss her own experience to help reduce stereotypes, grow acceptance for counseling and spur more compassion and understanding for people who have experienced the loss of their life partner. She is based in Kansas City, Missouri., serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of The Marshall Project, co-teaches an MBA class at the Yale School of Management and is co-writing a book for HarperCollins on the wealth gap. Ebony's talk is for everyone, not just those who have experienced grief, the price of love.

Our tiny blue planet is quickly being encased in layers of satellites in an effort to provide Internet access to earth's three billion unconnected inhabitants. While Planetary ISPs can drive much-needed economic growth in the world's poorest countries the costs are largely unknown and will be paid by all of earth's inhabitants. J Scott Christianson is an associate teaching professor at the University of Missouri Columbia Trulaske College of Business, where his interests are focused on the impact of emerging technology's on society and geopolitics.

During her conversation, Mary DeMichele sheds light on the mental and emotional advantages derived from participating in improv, offering a deeper understanding of how this creative practice can positively impact one's well-being. Mary is a certified educator, consultant, and author whose work in education, clinical and professional settings has helped thousands of people take those first critical steps in the world of improv. Mary is featured in Psychology Today, Forbes and the documentary, “Act Social-Using YES AND to Save the World from Within,” starring Collin Mochrie of the television show “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” . A certified academic and special needs teacher, DeMichele is the author of books, published research, articles, and her blog and courses at OneRuleImprov.com. DeMichele has her master’s degree from Syracuse University.

Dr. Jameca Woody-Cooper has been on both sides of the law, once as a juvenile and now as a criminal psychologist. Jameca’s emergent solution to school violence bridges psychology, sociology, and criminal justice and empowers the audience to begin making necessary changes in their families and communities. Dr. Jameca Woody Cooper is a counseling and criminal psychologist with over 20 years of clinical experience. She is a full-time clinician and criminal/forensic psychology consultant as the owner and founder of Emergence Psychological Services in St. Louis Missouri.

Organizations cannot be any stronger than their weakest link. Just like with a regular metal chain, it's only as strong as its weakest individual link. Once the weakest link breaks, the whole structure fails. Learn how to identify and strengthen the weakest links. Dr. Nicole Roberson is the vice chancellor of diversity, equity, & inclusion and chief diversity officer at Missouri S&T. Roberson has over 20 years of experience in equal opportunity, diversity, Title IX, and inclusion where she has held various leadership positions in higher education including director of equal opportunity & diversity and dean of business & information technology. She is the Midwest Region Director for the American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity and is a Distinguished Toastmaster through Toastmasters International. Roberson holds a Ph.D. in organizational leadership from Regent University, MBA with an emphasis in international management from the American Graduate School of International Management, master’s degrees in human resources management and project management, both from the Keller Graduate School, and bachelor’s degree in strategic management from the University of North Texas.

Every child deserves the best opportunity for lifelong wellness, and yet, maternal health in the U.S. is declining. Raising awareness of the importance of diet in first 1,000 days can set children on a path to reach their full potential. The solution is multi-factorial but well-within reach with the power of nutrition. As an experienced nutrition practitioner, academic, entrepreneur, and dairy industry executive with international expertise in nutrition and agriculture, Dr. Katie Brown is driven by the power that diet has on health and helping unleash that power for good.