Keynote Speaker
Deesha Dyer
Deesha Dyer is an award-winning strategist, on-the-ground community organizer, and executive operations expert who transforms ideas into causes that create tangible change. For nearly two decades, Dyer has produced successful campaigns across entertainment, politics, philanthropy, and business. In 2019, she founded Hook & Fasten, a social impact agency that specializes in transformational relationships between corporations and communities, diversity & inclusion, and executive operations. Her clients include Sony Music, Toyota, ByHeart, and Microsoft.
At 31 years old, Dyer entered the Obama Administration as a community college student intern and quickly advanced ultimately serving as White House Social Secretary. In that role, she resolved to not only open but build lasting doors of opportunity for others. Dyer coordinated the historic visit by Pope Francis and booked legendary acts including Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, and Aretha Franklin.
Her passion for activism predates her time in Washington. In 2003, she created Cover Your Lover, a hip-hop HIV/AIDS prevention program. In 2007, while at the forefront of corporate social responsibility for a Philadelphia company, she established an employee giving program, and moved by Hurricane Katrina, she initiated a campaign to provide feminine hygiene products to women after natural disasters. To date, the campaign has donated a total of $15,000 in products.
Dyer completed a two-year tenure at the Ford Foundation, and in December 2019, finished a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics where she designed and taught a study course entitled, “From Imposter to Impact.”
Dyer is the co-founder of beGirl.world, an organization that empowers teen girls through global education and travel. She also oversees Black Girl 44, a scholarship fund for young black women seeking internships in Washington, D.C., the Deesha Dyer Second Chance Scholarship at the Community College of Philadelphia, and Impact of a Vote, which aims to expose African American students to non-traditional careers in public service and politics.
Named to Marie Claire’s ‘new guard of women changing the world’, Dyer’s personal journey has been guided by an unwavering passion for servant leadership, civic engagement, and social justice. In 2015, Essence called her “one of the most powerful women calling the shots in the Obama Administration.”
Dyer is a sought-after keynote speaker known for delivering engaging, fun, and relevant talks on a range of topics spanning women in leadership, confidence, diversity, and social change. Read Less
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Simidele Adeagbo
Simidele Adeagbo is a trailblazing Olympian and vital voice in leading a movement to bring about greater inclusion and gender equality in sport. In 2018, Simidele became the first Nigerian Winter Olympian and the first African and Black woman to compete in skeleton (a sport in which athletes hurl themselves headfirst on a sled down an icy hill at 80 miles an hour) at the Olympics. She has since become the first African gold medal winner at an international bobsled race and is the most decorated Nigerian and African bobsled and skeleton athlete of all time.
Hailed as “a role model for Africa and beyond” by the New York Times, Simidele is also an author, successful global business leader, Obama Foundation Leader, Yale University World Fellow, inspirational speaker and passionate advocate for women and girls. She is the founder of the SimiSleighs Foundation which is working for a world where every girl can learn, lead and benefit from the power of sport. She’s fondly known as “Africa’s original Sleigh Queen” for her historic contribution to sport and relentless drive to bring change, hope and inspiration for generations to come.
