Featured Keynote Speakers
Alex Banayan - “When you change what people believe is possible, you change what becomes possible.” That’s the lesson Alex Banayan learned as he interviewed the world's most successful people over the course of seven years for his bestselling book, The Third Door. He found that all of these leaders, from Bill Gates to Maya Angelou to Warren Buffett to Lady Gaga, found a Third Door to get in to the arena where they eventually excelled. It was almost always an entry they created themselves, that didn’t exist for anyone else. At the conference, Alex will share fascinating Third Door tales. But it’s his own creativity, his focus on origin stories and his insight into the self-made mindset that offer real inspiration for gift planners, who help successful people believe that they can change the world. Banayan has presented the Third Door framework to business conferences and corporate leadership teams around the world, including Apple, Google, Nike, IBM, Salesforce, Disney, and Harvard.
Elizabeth J. Dale - Elizabeth J. Dale is an assistant professor in the Master of Nonprofit Leadership Program at Seattle University. Her research focuses on the philanthropic practices of LGBT individuals and couples, women’s giving and funding for women’s and girls' causes, and the intersection of gender and philanthropy. Elizabeth received her Ph.D. in Philanthropic Studies in 2016 from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. CGP attendees will get an early look at important new research from the Giving USA Foundation's new survey of planned gift donors in New Orleans. During the closing plenary, survey director Elizabeth Dale will preview key findings from the study, which will be published in November.
