speakers
See these and more inspirational speakers in the MAX keynotes and Sneaks.
Stay tuned as we continue to add more keynote speakers.
Lynsey Addario
Lynsey Addario
Photographer
Lynsey began photographing professionally for the Buenos Aires Herald in Argentina in 1996 with no previous photographic training or studies. She eventually began freelancing for the AP in New York, before moving abroad to New Delhi, India to cover South Asia. In 2000, Addario first traveled to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to document life and oppression under the Taliban, and has since covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Darfur, and Congo. She photographs features and breaking news focused on humanitarian and human rights issues across the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.
In 2015, American Photo Magazine named Lynsey as one of five most influential photographers of the past 25 years, saying she changed the way we saw the world's conflicts.
Lynsey’s recent bodies of work include an ongoing reportage on Syrian refugees for The New York Times, ISIS’ push into Iraq, the civil war in South Sudan, and African and Middle Eastern migrants arriving on Sicily's shores. Addario was the official photographer for the Nobel Peace Center's 10th peace prize exhibition, photographing 2014 winners Malala Yousefzai and Kailash Satyarthi for an exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway.
Lynsey has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the MacArthur Fellowship, or ‘Genius Grant’ 2009; Overseas Press Club's award for 'Best photographic reporting from abroad in magazines and books' for her series ‘Veiled Rebellion: Afghan Women’. She was part of the New York Times team to win the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, for her photographs in ‘Talibanistan’. In 2010 Lynsey was named one of 20 women on Oprah Winfrey's Power List, for her Power of Bearing Witness, and one of Glamour Magazine’s 20 women of the year in 2011. In 2014, Lynsey was included as one of eleven renowned women photographers in the National Geographic Women of Vision exhibition and photography book. Lynsey is married with one son.
Janet Echelman
Janet Echelman
Experiential Sculptor
Janet Echelman is an artist who defies categorization. Her work intersects across the boundaries of Sculpture, Architecture, Urban Design and Planning, Material Science, Structural and Aeronautical Engineering, and Computer Science. She creates experiential sculpture at the scale of buildings that transform with wind and light. The art shifts from being an object to look at, to a living environment you can get lost in. Using unlikely materials from fishnet to atomized water particles, Echelman combines ancient craft with computational design software to create artworks that have become focal points for urban life on four continents.
Recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, Harvard Loeb Fellowship, Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellowship, and Fulbright Lectureship, Echelman was named an Architectural Digest Innovator for "changing the very essence of urban spaces." Her TED talk "Taking Imagination Seriously" has been translated into 34 languages with more than one million views. Oprah ranked Echelman’s work #1 on her List of 50 Things That Make You Say Wow!, and she recently received the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award in Visual Arts, honoring “the greatest innovators in America today.”
Echelman’s educational path has been nonlinear. After graduating from Harvard College, she lived in a Balinese village for 5 years, then completed separate graduate programs in Painting and in Psychology. This year she received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Tufts University.
Recent permanent commissions works include: 1.8 Renwick at the Smithsonian American Art Museum; Impatient Optimist, a new ionic piece for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation campus in Seattle giving visual from to their mission; Water Sky Garden, a legacy project of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics; Her Secret is Patience for downtown Phoenix; and Every Beating Second for San Francisco International Airport. Many Bostonians saw last year’s 600-ft installation over the Rose Kennedy Greenway which reconnected downtown Boston with its waterfront.
Keegan-Michael Key
Keegan-Michael Key
Actor, Writer, Sneaks Host
As an award-winning actor, writer, and creator, Keegan-Michael Key has become one of the most creative and in-demand faces in Hollywood. With his extraordinarily diverse skill set and wide-ranging talent in both comedy and drama, Key redefines what it means to be a chameleon and multi-hyphenate in the worlds of film, television, and theater.
Key is the co-creator and co-star of Comedy Central’s “Key & Peele” with Jordan Peele. For his work on the show, Key was nominated for five 2015 Emmy Awards including “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy” and “Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.” The show won a 2014 Peabody Award and an American Comedy Award for “Best Alternative Comedy Series.” The show has become a TV and viral sensation, with four Emmy® nominations and over 700 million online hits. The series concluded its five season run in September 2015.
In film, Key recently completed production on Peter Atencio’s Keanu, in which he stars and also co-produced. Warner Bros. will release the film on April 22, 2016. Key also recently completed production on Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice opposite Gillian Jacobs. Key is currently in production on John Hamburg’s Why Him? opening in November 2016.
Key, along with Peele, is currently developing Substitute Teacher for Paramount. The duo is also working on New Line’s Police Academy, in which they will both star and produce. Key was most recently seen in Vacation, Pitch Perfect 2, Horrible Bosses 2 and Let’s Be Cops.
On television, Key has recurred on the Emmy-winning FX series “Fargo,” USA’s “Playing House,” Adult Swim’s “Children’s Hospital,” and NBC’s “Parks & Rec.”
Key was named among TIME magazine’s “Most Influential People of 2014” and ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’s “Entertainers of the Year of 2012.”
Key is a veteran of Detroit and Chicago’s The Second City Theater. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Theater from Pennsylvania State University. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
Zac Posen
Zac Posen
Fashion designer
Zac Posen launched his eponymous collection in 2001, with a vision for modern American glamour that married couture technique with striking innovation. Envisioned in his New York atelier, Zac introduced a collection that combined legendary Hollywood glamour with a downtown sensibility, enhancing women’s natural forms and enabling them to be their most alluring, empowered selves.
Raised in New York, Zac began his design training early. At 16, he attended Parson’s School of Design followed by London’s Central Saint Martins University. His collection launch quickly gained following by press, consumers and retailers alike as he carved his signature style. Two years following his first collection, he was awarded one of fashion’s most prestigious honors, Swarovski’s The Perry Ellis Award for Womenswear by the CFDA. Quickly, he was solidifying his position as a preeminent American designer.
Today, Zac is known globally for his technique in artisanal craftsmanship, anatomical construction and textile manipulation. His daywear, suiting and red carpet eveningwear are infused with his bold sophistication, sexy femininity and distinctive glamour. Worn by leading women, including Uma Thurman, First Lady Michelle Obama, Gwyneth Paltrow and Naomi Watts, he has become a staple on the red carpet.
His collections have grown to include Zac Posen, ZAC Zac Posen and Z Spoke Zac Posen with offerings in handbags, accessories, eyewear and fur. The collections are found in leading department and specialty stores worldwide including Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barney’s New York, Harvey Nichols, and Seibu. In October 2013, Zac entered the bridal space with the launch of Truly Zac Posen in partnership with David’s Bridal, arriving in store in February 2014.
Most recently, Zac has served as judge with Heidi Klum and Nina Garcia on Lifetime’s mainstay Project Runway, in its twelfth season. In keeping with Zac's commitment to mentorship in design, he has developed the Zac Posen Scholarship for Fashion Design at The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. In May 2013, Zac received from The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the Alumni Achievement Award.
