KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Referred to by his fans as “the Artist for the People”, Phil Hansen is an internationally recognized multimedia artist, speaker, author and innovator -- at the forefront of bringing art to a wider audience. Crashing irreverently through conventional boundaries, Phil works at the intersection of traditional art, electronic media, offbeat materials, and interactive experiences. He is most widely known for his metaart, videos that document the creation process (sometimes even through destruction), showing millions that art is action, not just result. Hansen's work also extends deeply into traditional media with features on the Discovery Channel, Good Morning America, the Rachael Ray Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, Glamour and many more. His work is sought-after by many influential clients including the Grammy Awards, Disney, Skype, Mazda and the Rockefeller Foundation.

America’s #1 Breakthrough Speaker, and best-selling author, Brian Biro helps companies, associations, and individuals to reach their maximum potential. Brian’s secret? Making every individual participant at his events feel like they are the stars of the presentation. Helping them to believe in themselves. Showing them how they can rise to their best level. And all in a package that is incredibly fun, dynamic, and entertaining, featuring real-life stories and practical examples to share the message.

Erin Stafford is a best-selling author, burnout survivor, high-performance strategist and Cambridge social psychologist.  From working with the world’s highest achievers throughout her 20+ year international career, being a life-long Type A poster child herself, as well as interviewing and surveying thousands of Olympians, Fortune 100 leaders, and celebrities, Erin has seen firsthand how hustle culture and constant over-achievement are coveted in the world of business, yet can lead to debilitating burnout.  As the former head of marketing for the nation’s largest healthcare staffing company, where she helped drive 27x growth in six years, Erin is passionate about helping leaders and teams be more resilient in the face of change, sustain peak performance and thrive again both personally and professionally. 

Kara D. Freeman, a strategic leader with extensive national higher education experience, became president and chief executive officer of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) on June 1, 2023.

Freeman brings more than three decades of experience to NACUBO and joined from the American Council on Education (ACE), where she had worked since 2006. She most recently served as senior vice president and chief operating officer (COO), with the responsibility for setting the strategic direction of the administrative and operational areas of the organization. She previously was ACE’s vice president of administration and chief information officer.

As an executive leader at ACE, Freeman’s portfolio included providing strategic thought leadership on organization-wide initiatives, representing ACE with constituency groups such as the ACE Women’s Network, and playing a leading role in ACE’s efforts to share advocacy information with presidents of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in information systems from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and an MBA from The George Washington University. She also holds a Certified Association Executive credential from the American Society of Association Executives.