DR. KATHY HUANG – Teach Speaker

Board Certified Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon, Washington Top Doctor, Bookworm

Dr. Kathy Huang is known for her honesty and compassion when meeting with patients to discuss their aesthetic or reconstructive goals. She believes that an individualized approach incorporating both surgical and non-surgical options can help her patients achieve the best results, and she approaches each and every case with the highest standards of excellence. As a female surgeon, she is especially sensitive to the changes a woman’s body goes through after having children, during perimenopause, or after chemotherapy.

Kathy is an experienced board-certified plastic & reconstructive surgeon specializing in aesthetic surgery of the breast and body as well as breast reconstruction after mastectomy. She has been at the Plastic Surgery Institute of Washington since 2006 and has been consistently recognized as a Washingtonian Top Doctor.

Kathy is an active member of the medical community, previously serving on the boards of Montgomery County Medical Society and National Capital Society of Plastic Surgeons. She was also Chief of Plastic Surgery at Suburban Hospital.

Raised in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, she attended college at Harvard University, spending much of her time performing molecular biology research at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She then moved to Philadelphia for medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, where she stayed to continue her training in the highly competitive integrated plastic surgery residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She spent an additional year studying state-of-the-art advanced microsurgical techniques for breast reconstruction at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.

ARIANNA ROSS – Give Speaker

Founder, CEO, Storyteller & Thought Leader

Arianna Ross is a literary artist, educator, and nonprofit executive whose work centers story as a foundational tool for learning, leadership, and community life. For more than 26 years, she has worked across education, nonprofit leadership, and community development, helping individuals and organizations communicate with clarity, purpose, and shared understanding through the arts.

Early in her career, Arianna worked at the National Endowment for the Arts reviewing historical funding for writers during a period when individual artist grants had been eliminated. That experience shaped her enduring commitment to literary arts and to building visible, sustained pathways for writers, lyricists, and poets. Story Tapestries was founded from this foundation. The organization is grounded in story as both art and practice—supporting writing, performance, and publication in traditional and nontraditional venues—and shaped by stories that are historical, stories being written today, and stories helping pave the way to the future.

Since founding Story Tapestries in 2010, Arianna has led the organization as Chief Executive Officer, guiding its growth as a mission-driven nonprofit that addresses complex challenges through creative practice. Under her leadership, Story Tapestries has reached more than four million individuals, strengthening communication, supporting mental health, and increasing access to expressive and literary arts across communities.

Arianna’s is a sought-after writer, keynote speaker, and consultant working across sectors. Leveraging a performance-based communication vocabulary grounded in story, she addresses complex challenges—including mental health, organizational culture, and community engagement—through creative strategies proven to strengthen connection and effectiveness.

Arianna believes in the power of the arts to meet any objective or goal when communication matters. Her leadership is grounded in a commitment to elevate voices and strengthen community through story. Her guiding principle remains central to her work: Find your voice. Tell your story.

GIANNA VALLEFUOCO – Inspire Speaker

Artist, Entrepreneur, Mindfulness Meditation Teacher

Gianna is a certified mindfulness meditation teacher, entrepreneur, and lifelong artist. Her own personal window into Mindfulness began in 2006 out of a family tragedy that left her seeking greater understanding and intention in order to quiet her mind and spirit.

As Co-Founder of Vallefuoco Contractors, Gianna has help thousands of clients create beautiful and intentional living spaces for over 27 years. In 2015, She began teaching and speaking on another type of space; our headspace. She works with high-stress individuals and environments facing burnout. After years of working on de-escalation and crisis intervention with first responders, the police force, the construction workforce, and other tough love cultures, she created Wisdom On Tap® mental fitness training focusing on teaching how to regulate the nervous system and optimize the mind for thriving.

In her work, she incorporates the principles of mindfulness, art, psychology, and neurobiology principles to minimize the suffering in our heads while maximize true human connection, and to harness creativity.

Gianna is the mother of three grown children and has the distinction of being one of the Top Women in Tile, Hardware and Building Design, as well as an internationally recognized MMTPC certified mindfulness Meditation Coach and student.

Gianna’s mission is simple. She believes that “Intention steers us from the heart and saves us from the ego”.