Rashmi Airan
Tuesday, Sept. 23 @ 9:30 AM
Rashmi Airan is a keynote speaker, consultant, and former Wall Street lawyer whose story is a powerful mirror for women navigating pressure, change, and reinvention. Her journey from high-achieving professional to federal prison—and back—offers an unforgettable roadmap for rising through life’s hardest moments.
A first-generation Indian American, Rashmi grew up chasing excellence. She graduated with honors from Columbia Law School, built a thriving legal and business career, and was a respected voice in real estate and finance. Then everything changed. A single decision—made under intense pressure to succeed and provide—led to a six-month federal prison sentence. It upended her life, her identity, and her path forward.
What emerged was something stronger. In the stillness of uncertainty, Rashmi began to rebuild—without the titles, the validation, or the mask. Her Rise Through It™ message and RISE Process™—Reframe, Identify, Surrender, Evolve—has since inspired thousands of leaders across industries to find clarity, direction, and courage through disruption.
Rashmi doesn’t offer surface-level motivation. She brings depth, honesty, and a challenge to reimagine success. Her keynotes help women shift from “holding it all together” to leading from grounded strength. She speaks directly to the weight so many carry—and shows how uncertainty can be the entry point to our next evolution.
With over 30 years in law, business, and entrepreneurship, Rashmi understands high-stakes environments. But it’s her personal transformation that makes her message unforgettable.
Outside of work, she’s a proud mom, hiker, and advocate for mental health and community impact. She serves on the board of the Overtown Youth Center and supports second-chance programs across the country.
Her core message to women: Struggle is inevitable. But in every unraveling, there’s an opening. No matter what you face—you can rise.
Mary Bicknell
MSW and CEO of her company See The Signs
Tuesday, Sept. 23 @ 12:30 PM
She is a bold voice for women in leadership, challenging them to break barriers, own their power, and lead with confidence. With a background in psychology and a no-BS approach, she helps women step into their authority, silence self-doubt, and command the room—whether in the boardroom, at home, or in life.
Mary doesn’t just talk about leadership—she lives it. She is unapologetic in her pursuit of a life well-led, balancing ambition with joy, success with freedom, and power with presence. She believes leadership isn’t just about strategy; it’s about courage, decisiveness, and the willingness to be seen and heard.
When she’s not inspiring women to claim their space at the table, she’s living life on her terms—fiercely committed to big dreams, bold moves, and leading a life that makes her inner little girl and her future old sage deliriously happy.
María González Cárdenas
Wednesday, Sept. 24 @ 9:30 AM
María González Cárdenas is a lifelong advocate for education, equity, and the empowerment of Idaho’s Latinx community. Born and raised in Texas, she migrated with her family to Idaho in 1970 as a farmworker. She graduated from Minidoka County High School in Rupert, Idaho, and later earned both her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with a Bilingual/Multicultural emphasis and her Master of Business Administration from Boise State University.
María’s commitment to community activism began in high school and has spanned decades, including work in state and federal government as well as numerous nonprofit organizations. She has been deeply involved in initiatives that uplift Latino voices, including the Idaho Latino Voter Education Project, the Tribal/Latino Caucus, and Mujeres Unidas de Idaho.
Until her retirement in 2021, María served as an instructor and career counselor for the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at Boise State University—a federal program supporting the educational success of students from farmworker backgrounds.
Now based in Caldwell, Idaho, María is the owner of Power of Translation and co-author (with Dr. Emily Wakild) of Nosotras: Latinas in Idaho, a bilingual book profiling 50 Latinas of Mexican descent and their contributions to the state. Released on April 12, 2025, all net proceeds from the book are being donated to the Idaho Latino Scholarship Foundation to support Latinas pursuing higher education in Idaho.
Christine Dawe
Wednesday, Sept. 24 @ 12:30 PM
Christine Dawe is the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). She started in this role in January 2022 after serving as Acting Chief of Staff for a year in the same office. Christine has served over four years as the USDA lead and primary liaison with the National Security Council’s Directorate for Preparedness and Response with a specific focus on wildland fire response and recovery. Prior to that Christine spent over 16 years with the United States Forest Service serving in a variety of positions in New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, and national headquarters in Washington, DC. She served on Type 2 fire crews and as an Agency Administrator on forests in Arizona, Idaho, and Montana. As a Senior Executive during her earlier tenure with the Forest Service, Christine served as Acting Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System and the National Director responsible for policy and oversight for the National Forest Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), land management planning, litigation, and other programs. She served as the agency liaison to the Western Governors Association for the Forest and Rangeland Management Initiative and on western working lands issues. Christine came to the agency in 2005 after spending 10 years working in the international pharmaceutical industry. She attended Rutgers and West Chester Universities for her undergraduate work in exercise physiology and sports medicine. She received her master’s degree in environmental policy and planning for natural resource management at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Christine is an avid sports fan and enjoys golfing, snowboarding, hiking, surfing, and riding her motorcycle.
Mary Peltola
Wednesday, Sept. 24 @ 3:00 PM
Mary Peltola made history in 2022 as the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, the first woman to represent our great state in the House, and the first Alaskan-born individual to serve in this esteemed chamber.
Mary is Yup’ik and grew up in the close-knit communities of Kwethluk, Tuntutuliak, Platinum, and Bethel. She has experienced firsthand the life that many Alaskans lead. As a mother of seven remarkable children, her love and dedication to her family shines through in everything she does.
A lifelong Alaskan, she began fishing with her father at age six and went on to work as a herring and salmon technician for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game during college. At 24, Mary was elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives. She served in the legislature for ten years, rebuilding and chairing the Bush Caucus, which helped to pass legislation and influence budgets that improved the lives of rural Alaska. In the vast expanse of Alaska, with its 228 Alaska Native Tribes, Mary has gone above and beyond to represent every single Alaskan. Her mantra, “Fish, Family, and Freedom,” embodies the core values that bind this great state together.
Mary Peltola successfully delivered for Alaskans during her two years in office. After 30 years of delays, she worked with the Delegation to secure the Willow Oil Project and good-paying jobs across the state. After five years of delays, she secured a ban on foreign trawled fish. She brought home more than $7.8 billion for state infrastructure and rural broadband and hundreds of millions of dollars to renovate the Railbelt Energy Grid and lower energy prices. Mary is dedicated to development, protecting fish, lowering energy prices, and building an Alaska where people can stay in Alaska, raise their kids in Alaska, and watch their grandkids grow up in Alaska.