Keynote Speakers
2026
Leah Beasley
Leah Beasley joined Penn State Athletics in September 2025 as Deputy AD for Strategic Engagement and Brand Advancement, bringing nearly 20 years of experience, including her most recent role as Executive AD for External Engagement at the University of Oklahoma. At Penn State, she leads strategic storytelling, brand advancement, fan and stakeholder engagement, and key revenue‑generation initiatives that enhance the student‑athlete and fan experience. She also oversees strategic communications, digital strategy, broadcast production, creative services, branding, marketing, and the All‑Sports Museum, while serving as the architect of ROAR+ and the Penn State Brand Academy. Beasley is the secondary sport administrator for softball and provides secondary oversight for football.
Before arriving at Penn State, Beasley guided Oklahoma’s external units across communications, creative and digital strategy, licensing, marketing, fan engagement, NIL, partnerships, and ticket operations. She served as sport administrator for football, women’s basketball, women’s gymnastics, and baseball, and contributed to university and national leadership groups including NACMA, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Advancement Committee, Women Leaders in Sports, the Paciolan Advisory Committee, and the SEC Chief Revenue Officer group. She previously spent nearly a decade at Mississippi State, rising to deputy AD for external affairs, and began her career at Louisiana Tech, where she advanced to associate AD for sales, marketing, and event management. A four‑year softball letterwinner at LA Tech, she earned both her bachelor’s degree in marketing and her MBA from the university.
Jeanette J. Epps
Dr. Jeanette J. Epps is a former NASA astronaut, aerospace engineer, and CIA intelligence officer whose career reflects leadership, resilience, and a commitment to inspiring future generations. She spent over 233 days on the International Space Station as a SpaceX Crew‑8 mission specialist, supporting major research, maintaining complex systems, and working with international partners. Selected as an astronaut in 2009, she trained with both SpaceX and Roscosmos and developed expertise in robotics, spacewalk operations, emergency preparedness, and mission control communications, including serving as a CAPCOM for EVA operations.
Before NASA, Dr. Epps served as a CIA intelligence officer, rising to branch chief and supporting high‑level national security missions, including a deployment to Iraq. Earlier, she worked at Ford Motor Company, co‑authoring a patent and leading smart‑material innovations. As one of the few African American women to fly on the ISS, she is a strong advocate for representation in STEM and mentors young people, especially girls and underrepresented students. She is known for her engaging speaking style, blending technical insight with personal stories. Dr. Epps holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, a B.S. in Physics from LeMoyne College, and has earned numerous awards and honors throughout her career.
Melissa Gonzalez
Melissa has spent decades navigating the intersection of creative strategy, business leadership, and human experience, helping brands and teams move beyond performance metrics to create meaningful, resonant impact. Her career in retail and design leadership spans global innovation, organizational transformation, and the evolving relationship between physical and digital experience. As Principal at MG2 and Shareholder at Colliers Engineering & Design, she has advised leading retailers on building connection, relevance, and long-term value in an omnichannel world. Author of The Pop-Up Paradigm and The Purpose Pivot, Melissa blends strategic leadership, insight, and embodied wisdom to support sustainable wellbeing, guiding organizations and individuals to lead with intention, courage, and self-trust while shaping the future of commerce, leadership, and human-centered design.
Yael Azeke
Yael Azeke is a Strategic HR Business Partner and Talent leader with over 20 years of experience advising C-suite executives and senior leaders across global, matrixed organizations. Most recently at Salesforce, she led workforce strategy, organizational change, and a global internal mobility program, driving 40–50% of roles filled internally and supporting thousands of employee moves annually. With a foundation in brand management and marketing at Fortune 500 companies, Yael brings a business-first approach to talent strategy, organizational design, and people analytics, paired with a global perspective and a dedication to mentoring, community leadership, and human-centered workplace strategy.
Betsy Hamm
Betsy Hamm Lifted Studio
Betsy Hamm, MBA, is the former CEO of Duck Donuts, where she led the brand’s expansion from 20 locations in 2016 to nearly 200 by 2025. Under her leadership, the company grew across the United States and expanded internationally into nine countries, including locations in the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Asia. Before serving as CEO, Betsy held key roles at Duck Donuts, including Chief Operating Officer and Director of Marketing. She brought more than 15 years of marketing and leadership experience, including serving as Marketing Director for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, a premier hospitality company known for its iconic attractions, resorts, and venues in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
In her latest venture, Betsy Hamm Lifted Studio, she partners with founders and executives to accelerate growth, streamline operations, and build strong, scalable brands and leadership teams. Betsy also hosts Loud & Lifted, a women-in-leadership podcast blending real talk with practical tools on confidence, executive presence, and career growth. She serves on the board of Central Penn College and holds a B.A. in Communications and an MBA from Shippensburg University.