PGD Speakers – March 2023

John C. Maxwell

John C. Maxwell, the #1 New York Times bestselling author, coach, and speaker who has sold more than 30 million books, has been identified as the #1 leader in business by the American Management Association® and the world’s most influential leadership expert by Business Insider and Inc. magazine.

Dr. Maxwell has also received the Horatio Alger Award, as well as the Mother Teresa Prize for Global Peace and Leadership from the Luminary Leadership Network. His organizations—The John Maxwell Company, The John Maxwell Team, EQUIP, and the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation—have trained millions of leaders from every nation in the world.

Sean McDermott

Sean McDermott was named head coach of the Bills on January 11, 2017. With four playoff appearances under his belt in his first five seasons, he methodically transformed the culture of a franchise that had not experienced a postseason berth since 1999. From 2020-21, the Bills captured back-to-back AFC East division titles for the first time since 1988-91. Buffalo, Kansas City and Green Bay are the only 3 teams in the NFL to win 10+ games and earn a playoff berth each year from 2019-21.

– BuffaloBills.com

Traci Morrow

Traci’s passion has always been to connect and help people of all ages and stages of life live in their passion and gift zone. She’s built church ministries, community programs, and businesses on seeing and valuing people. Traci was chosen by John Maxwell to be the Expert Guide for Relationships for the CLEAR Growth Program, she serves on The John Maxwell Network Marketing Advisory Council and the Maxwell Leadership Foundation Board of Canada. Often co-hosting with Mark Cole on the John Maxwell Leadership Podcast, she has also been the host of Maximum Impact Mentoring Calls since 2015, and emcees the Live2Lead Global Leadership Simulcast and the International Maxwell Certification program. Traci loves people and desires to illuminate the path for those she leads. Traci just released her first book in early 2022, an Amazon best seller called Real-Life Marriage; Navigating your Beautiful, Messy, One-Of-A-Kind Love Story. Traci and her husband KC live in Colorado Springs, Colorado with their teenage sons. Their adult children and grandson currently live in Los Angeles, California. Come workout with me!

Chris Hodges

Chris Hodges is founding and senior pastor of Church of the Highlands with campuses all across the state of Alabama. Since it began in 2001, Church of the Highlands has grown to average more than 38,000 people attending each weekend and is known for its life-giving culture and focus on leading people to an intimate relationship with God.

Chris has a deep passion for developing leaders and planting life-giving churches. He co-founded ARC (Association of Related Churches) in 2001, which has launched hundreds of churches all across the USA. He also founded a coaching network called GROW, which trains and resources pastors to help them break barriers and reach their growth potential. Chris is also the founder and President of the Highlands College, a ministry training school that trains and launches students into full-time ministry careers.

Chris and his wife Tammy have five children and live in Birmingham, Alabama, where Church of the Highlands began. He speaks at conferences worldwide and is the author of Fresh Air and Four Cups.

Valorie Burton

Valorie Burton, life strategist and international speaker, is CEO of the Coaching and Positive Psychology (CaPP) Institute. Her life-changing message has an intriguing, research-based emphasis in the pioneering field of applied positive psychology – the study of what happens when things go right with us.

Her company provides coaching, coach training, and resilience training and has served clients in all 50 states and 20 countries on six continents. Since 1999, she has written 13 books translated into multiple languages, including Let Go of the Guilt, It’s About Time, and Successful Women Think Differently.

She has appeared regularly on the TODAY Show, CNN, Dr. Oz, and Essence, and has spoken for hundreds of organizations around the globe. She was named one of the top 60 motivational speakers in America and one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in the field of personal development.

For over 15 years, Valorie’s books, speaking engagements, and coaching programs have helped people:

• Make major life changes that are exciting and scary at the same time.
• Be happier and have more fun, even when life seems routine.
• Become strong leaders, navigate office politics, and achieve professional dreams.
• Navigate setbacks and disappointments in a way that makes life better, not bitter.
• Speak up with confidence rather than settling for less.
• Go to sleep at night feeling at peace about decisions.
• Conquer emotions that cause procrastination, emotional spending, and self-sabotage.

She and her husband Jeff live on a ranch south of Atlanta with their children.

Patrick Lencioni

Pat is one of the founders of The Table Group and is the pioneer of the organizational health movement. He is the author of 12 books, which have sold over 7 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages.

As President of the Table Group, Pat spends his time speaking and writing about leadership, teamwork, and organizational halth and consulting with executives and their teams.

Liz Forkin Bohannon

With a Master’s degree in Journalism from the #1 journalism school in the country and over a decade of experience starting, scaling, and leading a global social enterprise, Liz is uniquely suited to powerfully communicate a message, ask the right questions and facilitate meaningful conversations.

Liz is the founder and CEO of Sseko Designs. Sseko Designs is a global, sustainable fashion brand that works to create educational and economic opportunities for women and girls and to revolutionize the fashion industry by infusing radical transparency and equity into the global supply chain. By providing employment and educational opportunities, Sseko enables women in East Africa to continue their education and become leaders in their country and our world.

Liz graduated from the University of Missouri with a Master’s degree in Journalism. She moved to Uganda with the hope of becoming a human rights journalist but started a social enterprise instead. Since then, Sseko has grown from three women making sandals together under a mango tree, to an international fashion brand that has created employment, educational opportunities, and entrepreneurial training for hundreds of women in Uganda and across the globe.

The Sseko story has been featured in dozens of publications including Vogue Magazine, Redbook Magazine, O Magazine, Inc, Fortune, and others. Sseko has appeared on national broadcasts including ABC’s Shark Tank and Good Morning America.

Among other notable honors, Liz was named a top three Transformation Leader by John Maxwell, Forbes listed her as a top 20 public speaker in the U.S. and Bloomberg Businessweek named Sseko as a top social enterprise to watch.