Monday, March 1
8:45 AM EST - 10:00 AM EST
Chris Bashinelli
National Geographic Explorer & TV Host
LEADING THROUGH CHANGE: How Great Leaders Inspire Trust, Culture & Performance
Change is no longer the exception in our organizations – it’s the environment we live in. Markets shift, structures evolve, people come and go. The question isn’t whether change will happen – it’s how we lead through it. When faced with uncertainty, the most impactful leaders are those who stay grounded, connected, and authentic – creating stability not by controlling external events, but by strengthening the foundation within themselves and their teams.
When Chris Bashinelli returned from East Africa at 20 years old, his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. That moment – one breath to the next – forever changed the course of his life. It sparked a lifelong journey to understand how we navigate hardship, remain steady in the face of the unknown and how to lead and inspire others when we are hurting ourselves.
From working as a busboy in Brooklyn, to creating an international TV series from his parent’s basement, to becoming one of the youngest emcees in United Nations history, Chris discovered one profound truth: we cannot always control what happens around us, but we can always choose how we show up. And how we show up — our presence, our authenticity, our humanity — is what inspires others to move forward with us.
In this keynote, Chris leads audiences on a journey across cultures and continents, sharing real stories of resilience, wisdom and human connection. Together, we explore how embracing challenge can reveal our greatest potential, and how leading through change begins by reconnecting to what is real, grounded, and unshakeable within ourselves.
Chris Bashinelli, also known as, “Bash”, was 20 years old when he traveled to Tanzania to film his first documentary. The focus: How can we change the world? The day he returned from Tanzania, his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was in that moment he realized there was nothing he could do to change the world, meaning, there was nothing he could do to control circumstances outside of himself. Ultimately, the only person we ever have control over is ourselves. This realization became the impetus for Chris’s life mission, that when we ‘Change our mind’, we ‘Change our world’
As the Executive Producer and Host of Bridge the Gap on PBS and the National Geographic Channel, Chris has taken millions of viewers on meaningful adventures around the world. He has harvested buffalo with Native Americans in Pine Ridge, lived as a nomad in Mongolia and Sumo Wrestled the heaviest Japanese human being in recorded history. Chris’s adventures are a means to inspire viewers to step with courage into the direction of their fears. He is a Moderator for the United Nations, an Eagle Scout, a National Geographic Explorer, and has interviewed some of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People on the Planet.
As an internationally-recognized speaker, Chris has shared the stage with everyone from Stevie Wonder, to United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to his mentor, Dr. Jane Goodall. He lectures to thousands of people on a yearly basis, everywhere from Fortune 500 companies, to prisons, offering the simple message that when we change internally, our world actually changes around us.