Kris Ruby is the CEO and Founder of RubyMediaGroup®, an award-winning public relations and media relations agency in Westchester County, New York. Kris Ruby has more than 15 years of experience in public relations industry. She is a media relations strategist, artificial intelligence leadership consultant, and public relations advisor. Kris Ruby is a nationally acclaimed television commentator and political pundit and has appeared on national TV programs hundreds of times covering big tech bias, artificial intelligence, and social media.  She has been featured in Harvard Business Review, ADWEEK, and countless other industry publications. Ms. Ruby graduated from Boston University’s College of Communication with a major in public relations and she is a founding member of The Young Entrepreneurs Council. Her insights on social media and technology are sought after by policymakers and technology industry leaders. 

ABOUT RUBY MEDIA GROUP

Ruby Media Group was established by female entrepreneur Kristen Ruby, a nationally recognized PR strategist, media analyst, and on-air contributor. With a background in broadcast journalism and early adoption of social media platforms for business use, Ruby identified a market opportunity to help companies navigate the emerging digital landscape. The agency quickly gained national recognition for its innovative use of social media as a core business tool and has since evolved into a full-service PR firm with a focus on earned media and executive branding.

Dr. Laura McNeal is a multi-platform law and policy analyst and prominent legal scholar who has made a national reputation by providing innovative solutions to today’s social issues through her commentary, numerous scholarly publications, and community outreach.

Dr. McNeal has served as a Law & Policy Analyst for the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute at Harvard Law School and currently serves as the Harold E. Harter Chair and Professor of Law at the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law and Summer Lecturer at Columbia University and Brown University.

Her engaging, powerfully candid commentary has made her a highly sought-after television legal analyst with appearances on various networks such as CBS, C-Span, CNN, MSNBC, NewsNation and the Dr. Phil Show. Dr. McNeal masterfully breaks down complex legal issues and explains them in a way that not only elevates the discussion but also allows viewers to understand what role each of us can play in promoting laws and policies that uphold notions of fairness, equity, and justice for all. Her current research explores the intersection of the First Amendment, AI and issues of access and equity.

Dr. McNeal has received numerous fellowships, honors, and awards and has published a multitude of scholarly articles in the areas of law, policy, education, and criminal justice. Dr. McNeal holds both a law degree and Ph.D. Her diverse experiences have given her a unique perspective on current issues and strengthened her personal commitment to informing the public of various aspects of the law that impact their everyday lives. She describes herself as a champion for justice and a voice for the voiceless.

Elizabeth “Liz” Baier  is a journalist, editor, digital content coach, storyteller, and audio producer with two decades of experience in multiplatform journalism and communications strategy. Her mission is to empower writers, students, and parents to tell stories driven by curiosity and wonder about the world around them.

Her work has appeared in the Miami Herald, Sun Sentinel, North Carolina Public Radio – WUNC, Minnesota Public Radio, NPR, KPCC, USA Today, and WBUR. She also teaches audio journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and speaks to audiences about audio storytelling, digital content creation, audience development, and the role of empathy and curiosity in creative work.

Liz began her career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida, covering crime, local government, and demographics. As digital media emerged, she taught herself audio and video production and became one of the first reporters at her paper to create digital content. That curiosity led her to public radio, where she completed a fellowship in Minnesota and went on to report stories about farmers, immigrants, researchers, and scientists for nearly a decade.

She later joined North Carolina Public Radio as a digital editor, pioneering the station’s digital strategy, expanding its social media presence, and leading a team that created innovative online content. In 2024, she transitioned to her current role overseeing a team of beat reporters covering K–12 education, the environment, and issues of race, class, and community. She develops coverage priorities, coordinates editorial strategy, and ensures the production of high-quality radio and digital content that educates, engages, and inspires.

As both an editor and adjunct instructor, Liz mentors emerging journalists and empowers non-journalists to tell their own stories. She believes every great story—whether told through sound, text, or visuals—centers on people showing resilience, courage, and humanity. For her, helping others tell those stories is an enduring honor.

Nikki Barua is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and globally recognized expert on transformation. She is the CEO & Co-Founder of FlipWork, the only people operating system that helps companies reinvent work for the AI age.

For over 25 years, Nikki has helped global brands transform their culture, capabilities, and competitive edge. Nikki has built and scaled high-growth businesses as a tech entrepreneur, earning accolades for her visionary leadership and impact. Her personal journey of rising from humble beginnings has made her a sought-after voice on resilience and reinvention. Her story has been featured in CNBC, Bloomberg, Fortune, and Forbes.

A potent entrepreneurial spirit has steered Nikki toward success from an early age. She left her home town in India in 1997 and came to America to pursue her big dreams. Despite being on the outside of every inner circle, Nikki achieved her ambitions by charting her own path and owning her power.
Nikki started her career in strategy at Ernst & Young. There, she helped devise frameworks that became widely used in the digital marketing and commerce world.

From there, Nikki mastered the art of large scale deal making at Compuware. As a 20-something immigrant, standing barely five feet tall, Nikki was an outlier on the masculine turf of the Detroit automotive industry, yet went on to consistently beat out industry giants for multi-million dollar deals.

At SapientNitro, Nikki found a people-driven culture that resonated with her values. She led the company’s expansion, serving on the leadership team that grew the firm from $300 million in revenue to $2 billion.

In 2011, Nikki left her corporate career and followed her entrepreneurial dreams. She launched BeyondCurious, an award-winning digital innovation firm helping the world’s biggest companies innovate at speed. She made elephants run!

During the pandemic, Nikki recognized new challenges in navigating careers as work cultures and expectations changed. In 2020, she launched and scaled Beyond Barriers to help thousands of professionals gain the skills and confidence for career success.

Nikki believes that our voice and visibility are the greatest drivers of change. That’s why our stories matter. She leverages her platform to help people thrive in today’s fast moving world.

Nikki has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by ACE, honored as an EY North America Entrepreneurial Winning Woman, included in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Women, recognized as one of the 21 Leaders for the 21st Century, and celebrated as a Woman of Influence by The Business Journals, and Top Entrepreneur by Comerica Bank & LA Lakers.

A lifelong learner, Nikki holds three master’s degrees, is fluent in five languages, and brings relentless curiosity to every endeavor. She believes we are all limitless and is committed to helping people live up to their fullest potential.

Christina Boomer Vazquez is an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning field journalist with more than two decades of experience in the broadcast journalism industry.

Christina is Cuban American and a Miami native. After earning a political science degree at Boston College, Christina began to pursue her passion for journalism. Her career has taken her to London, Boston, Rhode Island, California, Texas and Arizona.

She has covered some of the biggest stories of our time to include The Station Nightclub Fire, Hurricane Katrina, and the George Zimmerman trial. Christina was also the creator of the Emmy Award-winning Local 10 investigative consumer protection segment “Call Christina.”

She earned a regional Edward R. Murrow award for her coverage from Honduras exploring the political, economic and security reasons underpinning a surge in unaccompanied migrant children at the US-Mexico border. While working at the ABC affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona, Christina was awarded a USC Annenberg Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism.

She was also the recipient of several Associated Press awards for her work “Behind the Border,” a series covering immigration policy and border issues from Juarez, Mexico, El Paso, Texas, and Columbus, New Mexico. In 2011, Christina decided to return to Miami, Florida to raise her daughter with family.

While covering the pandemic from the frontlines for WPLG, Christina also earned a Master of Science in Communications with a journalism innovation specialization from Syracuse University. Christina’s digital journalism has also been recognized, winning Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Florida Chapter digital award categories to include “New Media Engagement.”

In 2021, Christina was honored for her public service reporting as an Esserman-Knight Journalism Award finalist. Christina is an advisory board member of World Affairs Council of Miami and a member of Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), and Global Ties Miami.

Christina is also a proud Girl Scouts mom and serves on the board of the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida.