Josh Gates
Josh Gates is an archeologist, adventurer, television personality, and author. As host of the Travel Channel Series
Expedition Unknown, Gates takes viewers around the world on thrilling investigations of everything from Amelia Earhart’s disappearance to a search for the Ark of the Covenant or lost Incan cities to a hunt in Siberia for Mammoth tusks to be used for DNA cloning. He has also hosted
Destination Truth and
Ghost Hunters Live, shows where the paranormal, remote corners of the planet, and a search for the Yeti are among his daring and entertaining expeditions.
Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Frakes is an actor, author, and director, best known for his role as Commander William T. Riker in the television series
Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role he also played in several films. Recent directing credits include:
Star Trek: Discovery on CBS and the new Fox dramedy starring Seth McFarlane called
The Orville. Frakes can be heard as the narrator on the animated series Marvel’s
Guardians of the Galaxy.
Jill Heinerth
Jill Heinerth is a diver, adventurer, and sea hero. Heinerth has explored deep underwater caves, never-before-seen ecosystems, and the inside of Antarctic icebergs. The Hall of Fame diver encourages audiences to challenge the unknown and overcome fears. Heinerth, who has received awards shared by other underwater greats as Jacques Cousteau and Robert Ballard, was named a “Living Legend” by
Sport Diver Magazine.
Kenny Aronoff
Kenny Aronoff is one of the world’s most influential and in-demand drummers.
Rolling Stone Magazine named Aronoff one of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. He’s spent 17 years with John Mellencamp playing the unforgettable tumble that leads into the chorus of
Jack and Diane. He’s also kept the beat for The Rolling Stones, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and many more. His presentations include live performances, entertaining anecdotes from his rock star life, and tips for success.
Rob Manning
Rob Manning is the chief engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) Engineering and Science Directorate. He has been designing, testing, operating, and managing robotic spacecraft for over 35 years including Galileo to Jupiter, Cassini to Saturn, Magellan to Venus, and Pathfinder and Curiosity to Mars. Manning has received four NASA medals, is in the
Aviation Week Magazine Space Laureate Hall of Fame at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, has received two honorary PhDs, and has a minor planet named after him.
James Barrat
James Barrat is an author and filmmaker. His book
Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era started a national conversation about the dangers of artificial intelligence. His films provoke viewers to think about the machines whose intelligence could overtake our own and if we can rely on their “kindness” to survive.
Gabor George Burt
Gabor George Burt is an internationally recognized expert in innovation, creativity, and strategy development. The sought-after speaker is author of
Slingshot: Re-Imagine Your Business, Re-Imagine Your Life and many other books on successful growth strategies.
Dr. David Gallo
Dr. David Gallo is the world's leading expert on ocean exploration. He was one of the first scientists to use robots and submarines to explore the deep sea floor. He was co-leader of the successful international effort to find the wreck site of the Air France 447. He co-lead an exploration of
RMS Titanic and the German Battleship
Bismark. His TED presentation,
Underwater Astonishments, has more than 8 million views.
Nathalia Holt
Nathalia Holt is a science writer and the
New York Times bestselling author of
Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us from Missiles to the Moon to Mars. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including
The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Slate, Popular Science, and Time.
Dr. Jill Pruetz
Dr. Jill Pruetz is a professor and primatologist. Her studies of non-human primates such as chimpanzees, spider monkeys, and howling monkeys have led her to conduct fieldwork in Peru, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Kenya, and Senegal. Supported by the National Geographic Society and the National Science Foundation, Pruetz focuses her research on the influence of ecology on primates and the implications her findings might have on early human feeding and social behavior.
Rod Pyle
Rod Pyle is an author, journalist, both historian and futurist, and filmmaker. He has written 11 books on space history, exploration and development, including
Innovation the NASA Way and
Destination Mars. Pyle has also produced, directed and written several episodes for History Channel’s
Modern Marvels as well as a documentary for History Channel entitled,
Beyond the War of the Worlds.
Rob Wolfe
Rob Wolfe is a lifelong “picker” of antiques and original paint cars and trucks. He is the brother of Mike Wolfe, of History Channel’s hit reality show
American Pickers. Rob can often be seen on the show traveling the country and digging through old barns and garages looking for what he calls, “rusty gold.”