Opening the Gateway for Visionary Voices
The Gateway Gathering & Pitch Fest brings together a powerful mix of emerging and established leaders who are ready to expand their influence and take bold steps toward bigger stages.
Our lineup of powerhouse speakers have built platforms, curated pipelines to publishing, speaking, or media opportunities.
Monique Ruff-Bell
Former Chief Program & Strategy Officer, TED
As an experienced executive leader with a demonstrated history of working in the media, events and publishing industry, Monique Ruff-Bell has over 20 years’ experience within brand leadership, marketing, and strategic growth.
As Chief Program & Strategy Officer for TED, she oversees TED’s flagship global events and conferences, TEDx programs and initiatives, global partnership sales and key marketing verticals for the organization. She plays a vital role in shaping and executing TED’s strategic plan, contributing to the advancement of its mission, operational excellence, and overall organizational growth.
Josh Campbell
Executive Creative Director, BI Worldwide
Josh is a theater-trained Creative Director and Entertainment Producer for large-scale events all over the world.
From his 20+ years acting and directing in professional theater, Josh has been using his skill and knowledge of storytelling in live events for over 15 years. Josh works with organizing committees and leaders of Fortune 500 companies to ensure information and inspiration are being delivered in unique and exciting ways. Focusing on attendee experience, event flow, design, speaker coaching, and all performative aspects, Josh creates highly memorable and impactful events.
As an Equity union theater actor and director, Josh worked across the country. As a Creative Director Josh has worked with all sorts of businesses, event committees, and Super Bowls.
His work has been recognized with numerous awards (Muse, C&IT, etc) and continued contracts.
Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson
CEO & Founder, The Gateway Project
Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson is the founder of the Gateway Project and the CEO of the Heartwood Leadership Institute. She's a communications executive, content strategist, and executive coach.
Whether guiding C-suite leaders through messaging challenges, designing conferences for 2,000 executives, or coaching visionaries to build thought-leadership platforms, Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson brings a unique blend of strategic rigor, emotional intelligence, and heart-forward storytelling.
Called a "speaker whisperer," Jacquelyn has provided strategic counsel and executive messaging support to board members and senior leaders at Fortune 100 companies and global brands including Accenture, Amazon, Albertsons, Bissell, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, General Mills, Marsh McLennan, Microsoft, Target, Visa, Walmart, and more. In addition, she’s led strategy and execution for high-profile national events, internal communications rollouts, brand positioning campaigns, and executive speechwriting engagements.
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Amy Gallo
Author, Global Speaker, Contributing Editor, Harvard Business Review
Amy Gallo is a workplace expert who writes and speaks about gender, interpersonal dynamics, difficult conversations, feedback, and effective communication. She is the best-selling author of Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict, as well as hundreds of articles for Harvard Business Review.
From 2019 to 2025, Amy co-hosted HBR’s popular Women at Work podcast, which examines the struggles and successes of women in the workplace. She is frequently sought out by media outlets for her perspective on workplace dynamics, conflict, and difficult conversations. Her advice has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Marketplace, Bloomberg Business, and NPR, as well as on WNYC, the BBC, and ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
Joy Tutela
Literary Agent, David Black Literary Agency
A member of AAR, Joy Tutela has been with the David Black Literary Agency since 1998. Joy represents various genres of books, including projects in the following categories: narrative nonfiction, science, health, memoir, history, politics, self-help, investment, business, women’s and LGBTQ+ issues, parenting, humor, craft, cooking, lifestyle and entertainment, commercial and literary fiction, and middle grade and young adult.
She represents the New York Times bestselling authors Maggie Smith, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, Jenny Sanford, cartoonist Bob Eckstein, and Jackson Galaxy and Kate Benjamin’s Catification. She also represents the New York Times bestselling Atkins series, as well as David Kidder and Noah Oppenheim’s bestselling Intellectual Devotional series. Joy’s other bestselling authors include Stephen Puleo, Lisa J. Edwards, Kim Sun Sunée, and Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne.
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Tori Marra
COO, Speaker Agent, Outspoken Speaker's Agency
Tori Marra is the co-founder and COO of the speaking agency Outspoken Agency, where she has spent more than a decade working behind the scenes to connect organizations with voices that challenge convention, spark critical thinking, and move audiences to action. Her work spans global brands like Salesforce, Gap Inc., and Benevity, and she has represented a wide range of impactful speakers including Ruha Benjamin, Blake Mycoskie, Clint Smith, Luvvie Ajayi, Bert and John Jacobs, and Minda Harts over the last 15 years in the industry.
She also contributes to the advancement of the speaking industry through volunteer work with the Global Speakers Industry Association (formerly the International Association of Speakers Bureaus).
She will serve as President of the Junior League of Pittsburgh for the 2026–2027 term, continuing its century-long legacy of women committed to mentoring the next generation of civic leaders and driving lasting impact in the Pittsburgh community.
Deborah Kohan
Senior Partner & Managing Director, FINN Partners
Deborah Kohan is a seasoned PR strategist with over three decades of experience navigating clients through the ever-evolving media landscape. As a Senior Partner and Managing Director of FINN Partner’s MEDIA CONNECT division, she oversees all the division’s operations, continuing to drive success for their clients.
Throughout her career, Deborah has executed high impact campaigns for a diverse range of clients spanning publishing, corporate entities, and non-profits. Her clients have included bestselling authors Lee Child and Kate DiCamillo, New Yorker Editor Robert Mankoff, The Cleveland Clinic, Tauck River Cruises and notable figures including President Jimmy Carter.
In addition she ensures her clients maximize the opportunities she secures for them. Her media training expertise has empowered C-suite executives from organizations such as The Body Shop, DirecTV, and New York University to become polished, media-savvy representatives of their brands.
Sabra Meretab
Author, Speaker, Tech Executive
Sabra Meretab has spent the past decade building fintech products in Silicon Valley. Most recently, she led complex special projects at Stripe, and previously served as Chief of Staff and Technical Advisor to the Head of Payments Engineering, where she drove major architectural overhauls and helped shape strategy across a 1,000-person organization.
When she’s not debugging technical infrastructure, she’s often debugging her own understanding of the world through writing. Her essays on Substack explore ambition, burnout, achievement culture, and the complicated question of what makes a life meaningful. Sabra is currently preparing to publish her first book, a memoir about her years in Silicon Valley, told with humor, vulnerability, and a deep curiosity about how we build lives that feel as meaningful as they look successful.
Dr. Melody Riley Johnson
Strategist, Healthcare Leader, Speaker
Dr. Melody Riley Johnson is a leadership voice, mentor, and advocate for creating work cultures where vulnerability, candor, and psychological safety make it possible for people to contribute fully. Drawing from years of mentoring senior executives, serving on community boards, and her explorative research examining the health impact of balancing multiple societal roles while navigating workplace environments, she challenges leaders to move beyond performative inclusion and build environments where people no longer need masks for survival.
Her work is shaped by both professional insight and profound personal loss, including the murder of her 19-year-old daughter—an experience that transformed how she lives, leads, and teaches others about the power of vulnerability. Through her writing and leadership, Melody calls on organizations to shatter the masks that silence people and to create safe spaces where teams can be seen, heard, and empowered to do their best work.
Maharukh Dalal
Speaker, Executive Coach, Consultant
Maharukh is a dynamic keynote speaker, executive coach and Leadership Development Expert to Fortune 500s. Armed with a Harvard MBA and experience in finance, hospitality, consulting and coaching, she speaks to organizations about leadership identity, influence and resilience – helping leaders update their identity to thrive through disruption.
She’s a former Fortune 500 executive, with over two decades of experience, including senior roles at Starwood Hotels and Marriott International. Her clients include leaders at global giants such as JPMorgan Chase, EY, and IHG. She is frequently recommended for keynote talks, leadership summits and professional development events.
Obsessed with optimizing human potential, she translates her own experience, education, training and cutting-edge research into actionable strategies that drive results and is regularly invited to share her insights with many of the world’s largest and most respected companies.
Alice Draper
CEO & Founder, Hustling Writers
Alice is the CEO and founder of the podcast guesting company, Hustling Writers. She is on a mission to make publicity accessible. Alice has secured her clients on countless podcasts, including many of the top 0.5% shows.
Her words can be found in HuffPost, Business Insider, VICE, Refinery29. Some of Alice's favorite things include strong coffee, affordable travel hacks, and deep connections. She detests small talk, waking up early, and unnecessary jargon.
Max Partain
Filmmaker, Speaker Reel Expert
Max Partain is an Emmy Award-winnning filmmaker who catches people's lightning in a bottle.
TEDx Speaker, Author, Director of Regulatory Services, City of Minneapolis
For more than 27 years, Enrique has led in high-pressure environments where trust, accountability, and human dignity matter. His leadership journey includes 17 years in global technology and 10 years in municipal government, during which he progressed from working manager to department head. He now serves as Director of Regulatory Services for the City of Minneapolis. Across both private- and public-sector settings, his work has centered on building high-trust teams, leading through complexity, and proving that people-first leadership can strengthen both culture and results.
That experience extends beyond formal executive roles. He's served in elected school board leadership, nonprofit leadership, higher education advisory work, and public speaking, including at TEDxDuluth. His TEDx talk hit 1.5 million views in just three months.
Rachel Estes Leyk
Author, Speaker, Tech Executive
Rachel Estes Leyk is a storyteller and solution shaper who believes the way we see people changes what becomes possible for them.
Through unforgettable stories, practical tools, and her signature frameworks, the Response Quotient™ (RQ) and Response - ABILITY, Rachel helps audiences build the capabilities that matter most: responding with intention, leading with compassion, and recognizing the potential that often goes unseen.
Allison Hare
Host of the Culture Changers podcast, Speaker, and Podcast Strategist
Allison Hare is an award-winning podcaster and creator of Culture Changers, a top 1.5% globally ranked show that is a smart, irreverent look at how culture shapes us - and how we shape it right back. With over seven years of experience coaching personal brands and entrepreneurs, she has helped launch high-performing podcasts that have generated over 80 million downloads, landed major sponsorships, and propelled careers.
A former corporate sales exec with a BA in communication, Allison is a sought-after podcast and brand strategist as well as a keynote speaker, known for her ability to turn bold ideas into irresistible, high-impact shows and successful ventures. Based in Atlanta with her husband and two kids, Allison thrives on endurance challenges and finding ways to keep life both meaningful and those dopamine levels high.
Toni Will
General Manager & Governor of the Kalamazoo Wings Hockey Team
Toni Will has spent nearly 12 years leading a men’s professional hockey organization in an industry where women are still very much the minority. As General Manager and Governor of the Kalamazoo Wings, she’s learned a thing or two about questioning the way things have always been done.
She’s also an international keynote speaker, coach, entrepreneur, TEDx speaker with more than 500,000 views, host of the top 2.5% globally ranked Women In... podcast, and author of the newly released Rebellious Success.
Going alcohol-free nearly six years ago became an unexpected catalyst for Toni to start questioning more than what was in her glass. She began questioning the rules she had inherited about leadership, ambition, achievement and what a successful life was supposed to look like.
Today, Toni’s work is built around a deceptively simple question: What do you actually want? She believes you don’t have to blow up a successful life to evolve beyond it. Sometimes you just need the courage to question the rules, get curious, and give yourself permission to keep becoming.
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Tšhegofatšo Ndabane
Account Lead, Hustling Writers
Tšhegofatšo Ndabane is an Account Lead at Hustling Writers and a PhD candidate in Psychology, bringing a rare blend of strategic storytelling and human insight to her work.
Her writing has been featured in HuffPost, BBC, Refinery29, and Life & Thyme, among many others.
When she's not sitting with clients' stories or deep in her research, she can be found brewing a cup of something warm, or taking long walks in nature.
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Founder & CEO, Voyage Coaching & Consulting
Founder & CEO, Voyage Coaching & Consulting
Katelyn Andree is the founder and CEO of Voyage Coaching & Consulting, a Minneapolis-based executive coaching and leadership development practice, and creator of The Voyage Leadership Compass™.
She's an executive coach, CliftonStrengths facilitator, and keynote speaker, shaped by 18+ years leading multi-billion-dollar strategies and teams of 40+ as a Fortune 50 corporate and marketing agency leader.
Katelyn brings strategic rigor, emotional intelligence, and bold storytelling to everything she does. Her work spans one-on-one executive coaching, CliftonStrengths facilitation for teams and retreats, leadership workshops, and keynote speaking — including her signature talk, Pirate Leadership.
Across every format, she's driven by one mission: to help leaders reignite their light and lead and live wholeheartedly from their strengths.
Katelyn blends lived experience with formal training and accreditation from ICF, Gallup, and Mayo Clinic, bringing both strategic frameworks and science-backed well-being practices into her work. She co-hosts the annual Wild Flowers Retreat and writes The Joyful Strategist newsletter.
Alyza Bohbot James
Owner & CEO, Alakef Coffee Roasters & City Girl Coffee
As owner and CEO of Alakef Coffee Roasters, James leads the specialty coffee roasting company that her family founded in 1990 in Duluth, Minnesota. Alakef Coffee Roasters today provides responsibly sourced and produced coffee to grocery stores, co-ops, coffee shops, Universities, and restaurants throughout the Midwest, and online to retailers and consumers.
Shortly after taking over company reins in 2015, James launched an entirely new brand, City Girl Coffee, in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, featuring USDA Organic Certified blends. James is keeping Alakef’s longstanding support of the coffee industry alive – with a special focus on women. City Girl Coffee empowers women by sourcing as many beans as possible from women coffee farmers throughout the world. A portion of every sale goes to organizations that work to provide these women access to funding, education, resources, and more.
Leslie "LAM" Miller
CEO & Co-Founder, Girl Friday Productions
One of a rare breed of entrepreneurs to have earned her MAMBA (an MA in English plus an MBA), CEO Leslie “LAM” Miller directs strategy, operations, and culture at book publisher Girl Friday Productions (GFP), headquartered in Seattle.
Before cofounding the company in 2006, she served as the executive editor of Seal Press where she acquired, developed, and edited fiction and nonfiction projects written by and for women. The challenge of work and motherhood eventually led her to quit and, with colleague Ingrid Emerick, to start her own firm committed to making work actually work for mothers as well as every team member. GFP has a staff spread across five states with a vetted international contractor roster that runs in the hundreds. GFP has ranked in the top 1000 on the Inc. 5000 and has been awarded the #1 Best Publishing Company to work for by InHerSight.
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Literary Agent & Owner, Red Sofa Literary
Dawn Frederick is the owner of Red Sofa Literary, established in 2008. After earning her B.S. in Human Ecology and M.S. in Library and Information Sciences, she moved to the Twin Cities to start her publishing career. She brings many years of experience working with books on the frontlines and behind the scenes. From managing bookstores, to working at a publishing house, agenting, and being a librarian, books have played a significant role in her personal and professional life.
Dawn co-founded the MN Publishing Tweet Up, served on the BOD for Loft Literary Center, has been an Arts evaluator for the MN State Arts Board, and is a former President of the Twin Cities Community Advisory Council (TC-CAC) for MPR. Dawn has taught extensively around the country on the ABCs of getting published at many writing conferences. She lives in St Paul, with her three cats, rescue dog, and a very surly bird. When she isn’t chasing down a cat or gardening, there’s a good chance she’s attending a show at First Avenue.
Katie Mednick
Founder, CEO, & TEDx Speaker
Katie Mednick is an entrepreneur, founder, CEO, and TEDx speaker whose work explores a more conscious way of building businesses, one that considers not only what we create, but how we create it and who we become in the process.
Katie built and bootstrapped Spark TS and its Rail Tasker technology platform in the 200-year-old railroad industry, growing Rail Tasker to capture approximately half of the North American market before leading the company through a successful acquisition by an international strategic buyer.
Today, Katie is the founder and CEO of Alumah and is developing Conscious Foundership, an emerging philosophy that challenges conventional ideas about how businesses are built. Her work explores business as an act of creation, one shaped by principles such as balance, reciprocity, coherence, interdependence, and the responsible use of power, and what those principles require of the founder.
Ruth Gila Berger
Literary Agent, Red Sofa Literary
Ruth Gila Berger (she/her) spent twenty-four years at Consortium Book Sales & Distribution where she worked with a wide variety of independent presses, sales reps, and independent booksellers. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University and was in the first cohort who built Water~Stone Review. Her writing resume includes memoir pieces published in a wide variety of literary journals, a MN State Arts Board Grant, a Carol Houck Smith Returning Contributor Award in Nonfiction from the Bread Loaf Writers Conference and two Pushcart nominations. In prehistory, Ruth left suburban New York for the University of Iowa, where she got a BA in Theater Arts and Psychology. She never got over the culture shock. She currently resides in Minneapolis where she lives with her wife and animals.
Psychic Medium, Speaker, Podcast Host
Elise Kelly is a former architect turned psychic medium, speaker, and intuition educator who helps people trust themselves enough to make bold, life-changing decisions.
As a pastor’s daughter and longtime skeptic, Elise spent more than 14 years building a successful career in architecture before an unexpected exploration of her own intuition changed the trajectory of her life.
Today, she teaches others how to access their intuition intentionally, move beyond fear and societal expectations, and take meaningful action toward a life that feels more aligned, joyful, and fully their own.
She is also the co-host of Psychic Sister Tea, a podcast exploring intuition, psychic abilities, and the extraordinary experiences hiding within everyday life.