Monica Hopkins is the executive director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia (ACLU-DC). She took the helm of the D.C. affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union in 2014.

Prior to joining the ACLU-DC Monica served as the executive director of the ACLU of Idaho from 2008–2014 during which time she oversaw sweeping statewide victories, particularly in the areas of criminal justice reform, LGBTQIA equality, immigrants’ rights and upholding the First Amendment. Prior to joining the ACLU, Monica had a held several executive and development positions in the nonprofit sector.

Under Monica’s leadership, the ACLU-DC has grown its capacity and reach allowing the organization to become a resource for all District residents. As executive director, Monica oversees substantive programmatic and advocacy efforts to defend and advance the ACLU-DC’s work on civil rights and civil liberties for the over 700,000 residents of the District of Columbia.

As the organization’s principal spokesperson she helps increase public awareness of the ACLU-DC’s work. Monica has been quoted by national radio, television, and print media outlets, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, Al-Jazeera, Politico, and NPR.

Monica is a graduate of Boise State University. She is also a 2012–2013 Rockwood Institute LGBT Advocacy Fellow and currently serves on the board of the National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens.

Diana is a two-time Fitness World Champion, WBFF Pro Diva Fitness Model, and trauma-informed fitness coach known as the “Miss Congeniality” of the industry. Featured in Oxygen, Muscle & Fitness Hers, and more, she’s also a published author, speaker, and Kansas City Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business honoree. Diana specializes in empowering women over 40, offering personalized nutrition and workout plans that deliver sustainable results. Her compassionate, holistic approach ensures you’re supported every step of the way, no matter where you’re starting.

Chao Dou is an experience strategist, designer, and artist whose work bridges wellness, design, and human connection. With over a decade of experience in workplace design and strategy, she consults with global organizations at Steelcase to align culture, processes, tools, and space, creating environments where people and businesses thrive. Through her independent practice, chaos.cura, Chao integrates art, sensory design, and research to craft immersive experiences and biometric studies that foster healing, collective well-being, and transformative connection.

For the Biometric Study, Chao co-creates the experience strategy, qualitative survey design, marketing, and data synthesis to ensure a deeply engaging and insightful event.

Find, Follow, and Feel Into the Offerings of Chao Dou at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaodou

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaos.cura

Davy Nathan is a Pianist, Songwriter and Producer who’s toured the world as a pianist and musical director with Toni Braxton, Patti Labelle, Christina Aguilera and others. He has written and produced songs for artists such as Josh Groban, Chaka Khan, Usher and Mavis Staples. He also wrote and produced all the songs for the Netflix movie-musical ‘Jingle Jangle: a Christmas Journey’ which came out in 2020

Joan Ranquet is an accomplished animal communicator of over 33 years, an author, TEDx speaker, educator, and animal guardian.  

Joan’s hands-on animal communication and energy healing processes troubleshoot behavioral and medical issues, stimulate healing (in conjunction with conventional treatment), and deepen her clients’ abilities to care for and understand their animals. Joan believes the capacity to attune to animals and work with them energetically is not a gift for a select few, but an innate ability we can all access with guidance. She teaches down-to-earth skills that enable her students to communicate consistently and confidently with animals. Clients include hundreds of thousands of animal guardians, animal trainers, barn managers, veterinarians, sanctuaries, wildlife rehab, and therapeutic riding centers, as well as everyday pet owners.

In 2008, Joan founded Communication with All Life University, an experiential learning platform that offers beginning through advanced training and coaching in animal communication, energy healing, nature, and wildlife. This can be self-paced, online and/or in person.

Her TEDx talk, “The Rainbow Bridge, Animals in Transition,” has 377,000 plus views, and she has been featured in dozens of media outlets, including “The Hollywood Reporter”, “Pet Nation”, “Dateline NBC”, “The Today Show”, “Good Morning America”, “Animal Planet,” and more.

Joan’s newest book, Animal Chakra Healing: Bringing Balance, Health, and Joy to Our Animal Companions (Findhorn Press/Inner Traditions), 2025. She is also the author of Emotional Freedom Technique for Animals and their Humans, Creating a Harmonious Relationship through Tapping (Findhorn Press, 2023), Energy Healing for Animals: A Hands-On Guide for Enhancing the Health, Longevity, and Happiness of Your Pets (Sounds True, 2015) and Communication with All Life: Revelations of an Animal Communicator (Hay House, 2007). She contributed to: The Dharma of Dogs: Our Best Friends as Spiritual Teachers (Sounds True, 2017) and The Karma of Cats: Spiritual Wisdom from our Feline Friends (Sounds True, 2019).

Today, Joan lives on her ranchette in the gorgeous hills of southern California with her devoted animal family: four horses, three dogs, and three cats. She donates her time to animal rescue missions, sanctuaries, and therapeutic riding centers, and is an avid fundraiser for organizations focused on the rescue, recovery, and rehabilitation of compromised animals and endangered species. She has served as Star-Lioness, an advisory/sounding board for the Global White Lion Protection Trust, and on the Spiritual Council for The Gentle Barn.