Patricia McCormick, a two-time National Book Award finalist, is the author of several critically acclaimed novels – including Never Fall Down and SOLD, a moving account of sexual trafficking. She is also the co-author of I am Malala, the story of Malala Yousafzai, the girl who was shot by the Taliban in her fight for education.

Her books have been named to the New York Times Notable Books list, Publishers Weekly Best Books list, NPR’s Best Books list and iTunes Best Books lists. SOLD, featuring Gillian Anderson, was released as a feature film on April 1, 2016.

Aneesah Smith is a Queer, Christian, Cisgender, woman of color who is OUT and proud in all aspects of her life. She is a proud graduate of West Chester University (WCU), obtaining a B.S. in Health Education and M.S. in Counseling/Higher Education. She is a national speaker, activist, and social justice educator who inspires those she meets to live OUT loud. Her purpose in life is to use her story to save lives, her passion to raise awareness through education, and her privilege to uplift the voices of the oppressed.

Attorney and author Jennifer Weiss-Wolf is the executive director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at NYU School of Law. Prior she was vice president and the inaugural women and democracy fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. She also leads partnerships and strategy at Ms., the feminist movement-making magazine. A prolific writer on and advocate for issues of gender and politics, she was dubbed the “architect of the U.S. campaign to squash the tampon tax” by Newsweek. Her 2017 book Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity was lauded by Gloria Steinem as “the beginning of liberation for us all.”