Event Speakers
Edward Perotti
Founder,
Edward Perotti Events & Experiences
Edward Perotti is a globally recognized bespoke designer who pairs impeccable detail with refined sophistication to create unimagined, one-of-a-kind events. Throughout his 27-plus years of event production, Edward’s central ethos has always been to create an immersive experience.
Skip Martin
Grammy & Emmy Award Winner
Singer / Trumpeter /Author/Philanthropist
Skip Martin is a Grammy and Emmy Award Winning Singer and Performer and has been honored with a 2023 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. Skip spent more than 20 years as lead singer for Kool & the Gang and the Daz Band, where he is best known for the song “Let it Whip.” He has also partnered with other groups and for causes, such as helping improve child literacy. Skip is President & CEO of Skip Martin Music, where he performs for corporate groups and is a keynote speaker to help sales teams “Sell like Rock Stars” and Skip Into Learning, where he has developed programs to improve child literacy.
Will Curran
Head of Klik, Bizzabo Founder,
Endless Events & #EventProfs Community
Now leading the charge as the Head of Klik at Bizzabo, Will Curran is at the vanguard of wearable event technology innovation. He’s the visionary founder of Endless Events, the creative force behind the #EventProfs Community, and the charismatic host of industry-renowned podcasts: #EventIcons, Event Brew, and Event Tech Podcast. Celebrated as one of the most influential figures in the meetings & events sector, Will’s accolades include being recognized as one of the 40 under 40 event industry leaders, 35 entrepreneurs under 35, and achieving the highest customer satisfaction of any event company in the industry.
Will’s journey into the world of events began in high school, where he produced in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Since then, he’s collaborated with industry titans like Amazon, Google, Anheuser-Busch, Warner Brothers, Louis Vuitton, and Uber, consistently delivering innovative event solutions. His team’s mission? To create the first event experience OS. With a rich formula of experiences spanning event management, business development, and cutting-edge technologies, Will Curran is the go-to expert for elevating events and businesses to unparalleled heights.
Leah Smiley
Founder and President, The Society for Diversity
Leah Smiley, CDE®, is the founder and president of The Society for Diversity Inc., a global education technology (EdTech) firm that specializes in next generation management practices and professional diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) certification. As a LinkedIn “All-Star,” Mrs. Smiley has facilitated hundreds of presentations for more than 10,000 professionals and executives around the world, as well as consulted with over 100 organizations. The Society for Diversity was recognized twice on the 2022 and 2023 Inc. 5000 listing as one of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest.
With more than 15 years of experience in the DEIA field as well as 25+ years as a master of training and organizational development, Smiley is a DEI industry thought-leader. Through The Society for Diversity’s subsidiary, the Institute for Diversity Certification (IDC)®, she has helped thousands of diversity and inclusion leaders in all 50 US states and over 30 countries achieve their dreams by conferring the industry-recognized Cetified Diversity Professional (CDP) and Certified Diversity Executive (CDE) credentials.
Her work has been featured on international and national radio and television programs, as well as in Forbes, Fortune, and Entrepreneur magazines. Additionally, her work has been reported in a variety of publications, ranging from USA Today and the Huffington Post to the Indianapolis Star and Philadelphia Business Journal. She was also quoted in “The Inclusion Revolution Is Now: An Innovative Framework for Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace” by Maura G. Robinson and published by iUniverse.
She holds a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE)® designation from the Institute for Diversity Certification (IDC)®.
