Monday, April 20 | Keynote Session | Elizabeth McCormick, CSP
Session details coming soon! Take a look at this message video from Elizabeth in the meantime.
About the Speaker
Elizabeth McCormick, CSP
Elizabeth McCormick, former Black Hawk helicopter pilot for the US Army. As a decorated pilot, she flew numerous missions as a Chief Warrant Officer, including United Nations peacekeeping, air assault, command and control, VIP, multi-ship, and top-secret military intelligence missions.
In addition to the Army Aviator wings, she earned numerous awards for her service in the military including the Humanitarian Service Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal. In 2011, McCormick was honored with the US Congressional Veteran Commendation for her community service as a military veteran.
Elizabeth is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, recently named #13 on the list of top 30 motivational speakers in the world by Global Gurus and listed as #5 on a list of Leadership Experts to follow online. She is also a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), Certified Virtual Presenter (CVP), and Certified Virtual Host (CVH). Elizabeth has earned numerous content-based certifications from the Maxwell Leadership program: Certified Team Member, Executive Director, and Corporate Facilitator. In 2001 Elizabeth was added to the Faculty of the Maxwell Leadership program training on speaker marketing to their 50,000+ team members.
As a best-selling author, she has sold more than 40,000 copies of her personal development book, The P.I.L.O.T. Method: the 5 Elemental Truths to Leading Yourself in Life. Drawing from her experience as a corporate manager and award-winning sales consultant, she has authored over 18 books in her tip book series, Soar 2 Success, on a variety of leadership, business, and entrepreneurial topics. Her 20th book, Just FLY (First Lead Yourself): Personal Leadership in Turbulent Times is due out mid-year 2025.
Elizabeth has been seen on ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, CW, News Nation, MSNBC, NBC, TMZ, (and many more) and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, London Times, and other global publications in Australia, Japan, and Brazil as an authority on military and leadership issues with the media.
Tuesday, April 21 | Keynote Session | Emmanual A. Guillory
Session details coming soon!
About the Speaker
Emmanual A. Guillory, Ed.D., Senior Director, Division of Government Relations, American Council on Education
Emmanual A. Guillory is an advocate, policy expert, and motivational speaker who currently serves as the Senior Director of Government Relations at the American Council on Education (ACE). In this role, he manages an extensive portfolio of legislative and regulatory issues as a primary government relations resource for the broader higher education community to the United States Congress, the White House, the United States Department of Education, and other agencies as warranted. His portfolio includes a primary emphasis on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA)—especially Title IV programs—and the budget and appropriations process. Other issues within his portfolio include accreditation; college costs; student aid; institutional accountability; institutional aid in Titles III and V of the HEA; oversight; privacy; technology; accessibility; and disability, among others.
Previously, Guillory served as the Director of Student and Institutional Aid Policy at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), leading the private, nonprofit sector of higher education on policies such as student financial aid; institutional aid programs in Titles III and V of the HEA; and certain regulatory issues. He also served as the Director for Public Policy and Government Affairs at United Negro College Fund, Inc. (UNCF) for two years and served a decade in the House of Representatives, most recently as a Professional Staff Member on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. He is a 2020 and 2021 recipient of the Hill’s Top Lobbyist recognition in Washington, DC; a recipient of the Top Executive Award from Marquis Who’s Who of America; a prior federal negotiator for the Department of Education in 2019 and 2022; and a former president of the Committee for Education Funding—the largest educational coalition in our country—in 2022. He has his own nonprofit organization where he awards scholarships to students, and he serves as a lecturer through the Archers Fellowship Program in the University of Texas System. He has appeared in Inside Higher Ed, The Washington Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and U.S. News & World Report, among other media outlets.
Guillory earned his bachelor of science in psychology from Texas A&M University where he also serves on the leadership council through the Association of Former Students. He also obtained his master of arts in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University where he serves on the Alumni Board of Directors and on the leadership council in the College of Education and Human Development. Most recently, he earned his doctorate degree from the Executive Doctorate in Higher Education Management program at the Graduate School of Education of the University of Pennsylvania.
About the Speaker
