Courtney Scharf
Trend Hunter

Trend Hunter is the world's #1 LARGEST, most popular, most powerful trend platform and an innovation accelerator.  With AI, crowdsourcing, crowd filtering and human researchers, Trend Hunter helps 1,100 brands, billionaires, CEOs & NASA find better ideas, faster.

Als Chief Client Officer Courtney Scharf entwickelt, pflegt und optimiert den Beratungsservice von Trend Hunter und betreut das Kundenbetreuungsteam. Sie hat auf Veranstaltungen wie Foresight und Trends and Future Festival zum Thema Innovation gesprochen und mehr als200 maßgeschneiderte Trendberichte für ihre Kunden. Sie ist spezialisiert auf die Themen Reisen, Tourismus, Einzelhandel, Unterhaltung und Generation Z.

Courtney ist eine begeisterte Parfümsammlerin und eine große Anhängerin des Second-Hand-Shoppings. Ihr Ziel ist es, irgendwann eine Garderobe zu haben, die aus75 %+ Second-Hand-Artikel. Sie ist bei51 % bisher! Courtney lebte auch knapp ein Jahr in Korea in2012 und kann Hangul lesen (obwohl sie zugibt, dass sie im Laufe der Jahre etwas eingerostet ist!) 

Neil Sullivan
Die Tischgruppe

The Table Group dedicated to making companies more successful and work more fulfilling. Founded by Leadership Coach, Patrick Lencioni on the belief that organizational health is the single greatest competitive advantage in any business, The Table Group has been helping organizations become healthier for over 20 years.

As Principal Consultant for The Table Group, Neil leverages his 25+ years of corporate and non-profit experience to help CEO’s and Executive Teams perform at their highest levels. Neil held various executive management roles within technology companies, including EDS, Genpact, and Ellie Mae. Neil is also the Founder and CEO of The Leadership Connection, an international leadership organization dedicated to developing non-profit and church leadership capabilities within the U.S., as well as Haiti, Mexico, Kenya, Cambodia, and other developing countries.

Neil studierte an der University of California, Berkeley, und lebt derzeit mit seiner Frau und zwei Töchtern in der San Francisco Bay Area. Er unterhält außerdem ein Büro in Honolulu, Hawaii, und ist ein internationaler Wettkampfschwimmer im offenen Wasser.

Mark Ellis
Polynesische Reisegesellschaft

Founded in 1973, the Polynesian Voyaging Societyʻs (PVS) mission is to perpetuate the art and science of traditional Polynesian voyaging and the spirit of exploration through experiential educational programs that inspire students and their communities to respect and care for themselves, each other, and their natural and cultural environments.

Through voyaging, PVS hopes to inspire humanity to care for the earth by highlighting the vital importance of oceans, indigenous knowledge, communities, education and sustainability.

A crewmember of PVS since 2007, Mark first sailed on a waʻa kaulua nearly 20 years ago. He has given of his time to PVS in a variety of capacities on and off Hōkūle’a over the years - helping in dry dock, organizing Hōkūle’a’s day sails, as a crew member, apprentice navigator and now captain. He also spearheads many PVS education initiatives and programs because of his background as Senior Curriculum Designer at Kamehameha Schools.

Says Mark, "To me, Hōkūleʻa means potential. When you sail on Hōkūleʻa, you have the opportunity to learn and grow the capacity to become or develop something in the future that makes a difference in your own life and that of your family, community, and our island earth. And I would love to see my grandchildren voyaging on Hōkūleʻa."

Pōhaku-Stein
Hawaiianisches Boarding-Unternehmen

Tom "Pōhaku" Stone, a legendary native Hawaiian surfer and waterman, has been on a lifelong journey in search of his cultural heritage. Using his love of he'e nalu (surfing) and his culture as a focal point, Pōhaku received his master’s degree in Pacific Island Studies, specializing in ancient Hawaiian sports from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is credited with single-handedly revitalizing the sport of he'e hōlua (Hawaiian sledding), a centuries-old extreme sport, and for the past several years he has been sharing his knowledge and his aloha as a teacher and craftsman, instructing students in the arts of sled building and ancient surfboard carving.

Durch diese Balance aus Reiten, Unterrichten und Handwerk hat Pōhaku inneren Frieden und einen unerschütterlichen Stolz auf seine Kultur gefunden. Dieser Frieden und Stolz stecken in jedem Papa Hōlua und Papa He'e Nalu, die er herstellt, und machen diese Kunstwerke zu wahren „He mea Kanaka Maoli – Native Made“.

Pōhaku has worked closely with the OUTRIGGER Kona Resort & Spa to bring the history and culture of the Keauhou area to life through his craftsmanship.

Blake Leeper

Patrick „Blake“ Leeper ist achtfacher internationaler Medaillengewinner in der Leichtathletik, Weltrekordhalter und dreifacher amerikanischer Rekordhalter. 

Leeper did not start racing until 2010. It was at his first ever race that he caught the attention of the Director of High Performance for U.S. Paralympics Track and Field, who convinced his parents to let their son move into the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, where he started his habit of winning. That’s when Leeper left the University of Tennessee to embark on an amazing journey.  He began to run, and run fast, all over the world. Leeper’s medal collection now includes one gold, six silver and one bronze. Over his career, he hopes to win more medals than any Paralympic athlete in track and field history, and perhaps more importantly, to become the first American track and field athlete to qualify for the able-bodied Olympic Games. Now a seasoned veteran of the speaking stage, Blake Leeper regularly shares his inspiring story to audiences across the country and a vibrant example that indeed, Anything Is Possible.