Keynote Session:

Kevin Dawson, CSFS, SHRM-CP is a culture crafting expert, healthcare strategist, and lifelong aviator who helps organizations build purpose-driven leaders, high-performing teams, and thriving workplace cultures. With 20 years of experience as a pilot, Kevin brings a unique perspective on clarity, discipline, and leadership under pressure—insights that fuel his approach to building aligned and resilient organizations.

Kevin currently serves as a consultant and strategist for mid-market employers, helping them navigate the complex world of healthcare by optimizing benefits, reducing costs, and improving employee well-being. His work blends strategic insight with a deep understanding of culture and engagement, ensuring leaders not only deliver results, but do so in a way that brings people along for the journey.

He is the author of the book On Tap: Leading Teams and Building Cultures with Purpose (2025), a TEDx and national keynote speaker, award-winning podcast host, and media contributor. Kevin’s leadership insights have been featured in Bloomberg, Business Insider, Amazon Prime, and on stages across the country—from boardrooms to ballrooms.

A Texas native with a passion for aviation, film, and mission-driven work, Kevin has crafted culture transformation strategies for corporations, nonprofits, and even congressional campaigns. His work has been endorsed by New York Times bestselling leadership authors Mark Sanborn and Alain Hunkins, who describe him as an energetic and curious leader on a mission to make leaders, and workplaces, better.

General Sessions:

Dr. Cody Cox received his PhD from Rice University in 2010 and has taught undergraduate and graduate students in business schools and psychology programs.  Dr. Cox teaches in Greehey Business School at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, where he is the Chair of Management and Marketing.  He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on topics such as organizational psychology, human resource management, multivariate statistics and leadership.  Dr. Cox joined St. Mary’s University in 2016 after teaching at Texas A&M University San Antonio and the University of Texas at Brownsville.  Dr. Cox won The National Society of Leadership and Success Excellence in Teaching Award in 2015 and the Greehey School of Business Research Award in 2018.  He was awarded the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Professor Award in 2023.