Alison Levine is an adventurer, explorer and mountaineer. She has climbed the highest peak on every continent, served as the team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, and skied across the Arctic Circle to the geographic North Pole.

In January 2008 she made history as the first American to complete a 600-mile traverse from west Antarctica to the South Pole following the route of legendary explorer Reinhold Messner. Levine completed this arduous journey on skis while hauling 150 pounds of her gear and supplies in a sled harnessed to her waist. In May 2010 she completed the Adventure Grand Slam – climbing the 7 Summits (highest peak on each continent) and skiing to both Poles, an accomplishment fewer than 30 people in the world can claim. Her success in extreme environments is noteworthy given she has had 3 heart surgeries and suffers from a neurological disease that causes the arteries that feed her fingers and toes to collapse in cold weather, leaving her at extreme risk for frostbite.

Levine’s expeditions have been documented by more than 450 media outlets. She is the subject of the PBS documentary Living Courageously (2007) and has made numerous appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, CNBC, FOX, CBS’ Evening News, and other national programs. She is featured prominently in the book More Than 85 Broads (J Hanson, McGraw Hill), the book that captures the efforts of women on Wall Street to find success and take risks on their own terms.

Her accomplishments are also featured in other books including Smart Moves (Curran & Greenwald, Ten Speed Press) and In Extremis Leadership (T Kolditz, Wiley & Sons). Her story has been the subject of articles in Oprah Magazine, National Geographic, Entrepreneur, Sports Illustrated, Outside, and other publications.  In addition to having tackled some of the most extreme environments in the outdoors, Levine has also spent more than two decades in the business world. Her professional career has encompassed healthcare, technology and finance. After earning her MBA from Duke University she moved to New York to work for investment banking firm Goldman Sachs. In 2003, she left Wall Street to serve as deputy finance director for Arnold Schwarzenegger in his successful bid to become Governor of California.

Levine spent three years as an adjunct professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point in the Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership. Having spent months at a time in some of the world’s most dangerous and extreme environments, Levine focuses on the topics of creating cohesive teams, taking responsible risks and developing no-nonsense leaders that can succeed in times of uncertainty. She serves on the advisory board of the CoachK/Duke University Center on Leadership & Ethics and is a strategic advisor for the Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point.

In 2005, she founded the Climb High Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of jobless women in Africa by training them to be trekking guides and porters in their local mountains so they will have the skills to earn a sustainable living wage through climbing-related tourism

Check out her website: Alison Levine

Check out her latest book: On the Edge

Eugene “Gene” Kranz is a trailblazer, an engineer, a best-selling author and an inspiration.

The Toledo native and 1951 graduate of Central Catholic High School is perhaps best known for his determination in the face of potential tragedy during the Apollo 13 space mission. The immortal words that characterized the crucial mission on the ground – “Failure is not an option” – are attributed to Kranz.

Kranz’ love of country and exploration was forged after his mother opened her home to boarders, many of whom were young men in the United States Armed Forces. His fascination with flight led him to Parks College of Saint Louis University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1954.

Commissioned in the U.S. Air Force later that year, he became a pilot of high performance aircraft and served as a flight test engineer at Holloman Air Force Base. His response to an advertisement for engineers in Aviation Weekly was the impetus for his journey into history.

Kranz’ involvement in Project Mercury and Project Gemini gave him a central position in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s pioneering space exploration program. In 1962, he became branch chief for Flight Control Operations and assumed flight director duties for all Project Gemini missions. His job: “Train, plan and provide the remote site teams and systems engineers and procedures personnel for Mission Control.”

Kranz’ steady, stoic demeanor became his trademark. Those in Mission Control when Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon during Apollo 11 recall that Kranz allowed 15 seconds of celebration, then ordered all personnel back to their stations, lest an emergency befall the spacecraft. His remarkable leadership during the successful retrieval of the Apollo 13 crew has been documented in several mediums, including the feature film “Apollo 13,” Kranz’ book, Failure is Not an Option, a New York Times bestseller published in 2002, and a cable miniseries, “From the Earth to the Moon,” among others.

Before retiring from NASA with 37 years of federal service, Kranz was responsible for more than 6,000 employees and an annual budget of approximately $750 million.

Now a motivational speaker who still uses his pilot’s wings, Kranz is the recipient of several prestigious awards: co-honoree, Presidential Medal of Freedom; distinguished member, Senior Executive Service; AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award; AAS Spaceflight Award; Gilruth Award, and FNASA Foundation’s Rotary National Award for Space Achievement’s National Space Trophy, to name a few.

Bruce Van Horn is, in order of priority, a Dad, a writer, a coach, an entrepreneur, a speaker, a runner, and a lot of other things as life demands!

His personal motto is: “Life is a marathon, so let’s train for it!”

Most of his inspiration for that motto comes from the 12th chapter of the book of Hebrews, in the Bible. He considers himself in the race of life for the long run, and training for the ups and downs that will come whether or not he's ready for them–so he's always trying to be ready!

Bruce has had many painful experiences and setbacks in his life, but he's also received many unexpected and undeserved blessings.

Bruce has learned, along the way, that he cannot control many things about his life, but we can control how we respond to everything. Bruce had spent a good portion of his adult life simply reacting from day to day, situation to situation. He knows now how it feels when just getting through the day is a good day. He's also learned that living that way was a choice he was making, not something that was being forced upon him.

Learn more about Bruce at his website brucevanhorn.com

Vice Admiral Charles W. Ray assumed the duties of Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area in April 2014, where he serves as the operational commander for all U.S. Coast Guard missions within half of the world that ranges from the Rocky Mountains to the waters off the East Coast of Africa. He concurrently serves as Commander, Defense Force West and provides Coast Guard mission support to the Department of Defense and Combatant Commanders.

Vice Admiral Ray’s previous Flag Assignments include Commander, Fourteenth Coast Guard District, service with U.S. Forces Iraq as Director of the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission for the Ministry of Interior, and as the Military Advisor to the Secretary of the Department Homeland Security.

Vice Admiral Ray is from Newport, Arkansas and is a 1981 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy. After an assignment as a deck watch officer aboard Coast Guard Cutter ACUSHNET (WMEC-167), he was selected for Naval Flight Training and earned his wings in 1983.

Vice Admiral Ray has served at six Coast Guard Air Stations from Alaska to the Caribbean. He was designated an Aeronautical Engineer in 1988 and has served as Engineering Officer at three stations and at the Aviation Logistics Center as the Program Manager for the development of the Coast Guard's Aviation Logistics Management System. He commanded Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico from 2002 through 2005. During the course of his career he accumulated over 5,000 hours of helicopter flight time.

Vice Admiral Ray’s staff assignments include a tour as Chief of the Office of Performance Management at Coast Guard Headquarters followed by a tour as the Chief of Staff of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District. Vice Admiral Ray earned a Master’s of Science Degree in Industrial Administration from Purdue University and a Master’s of Science Degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C.

Vice Admiral Ray’s personal awards include five Legion of Merit Medals, one Bronze Star Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, one Coast Guard Air Medal, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal.

Larry Broughton is an award-winning entrepreneur & CEO, best-selling author, keynote speaker, mentor, hero to his kids, and Good ‘n Plenty candy lover. After growing up in a small mill town in rural western New York, he spent eight years traveling the world with the US Army’s elite Special Forces, commonly known as the Green Berets, where he attained the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Larry has successfully parlayed his unique experience of serving on Special Forces A-Teams to the business arena. He is Founder/CEO of broughtonHOTELS, a leader in the boutique hotel industry; and Co-Founder/CEO of BROUGHTONadvisory, a strategic vision, elite team building, and transformational leadership organization with clients ranging from entrepreneurial start-ups to Turner Broadcasting and The Pentagon.  He’s received numerous awards for business performance, innovation and leadership; including Ernst & Young’s prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year®, NaVOBA’S (National Veteran-Owned Business Association) Vetrepreneur® of the Year, Passkey Foundation’s Business Leader of Integrity, Coastline Foundation’s Visionary of the Year, while Entrepreneur Magazine included broughtonHOTELS in their Hot 500 List.

Larry’s upbeat, creative approach to business has been featured in news articles from the Los AngelesTimes to Entrepreneur Magazine, on national radio shows, and on every major television and cable network.

Larry Broughton is the best-selling co-author of The Next Big Thing, as well as VICTORY: 7 Entrepreneurial Success Strategies for Veterans.  He is also author of FLASHPOINTS for Achievers, as well as the upcoming Warriors In The Boardroom.  Additionally, he’s a featured contributor to U.S. Veterans Magazine and OC Metro.

Larry lives & works in Orange County, CA; and is blessed with a beautiful daughter, Emily; and dashing son, Ben. Dedicated to life-long learning, he has interviewed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs and CEOs on the topics of business, leadership, entrepreneurship and significance.  Larry has attended the Executive Program at prestigious Stanford University; studied Russian at the world-renowned Defense Language Institute; and studied Political Science at University of California, Santa Barbara and College of San Mateo.

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