The Strategerist

Hector Rodriguez, known online as H3CZ, is the founder and CEO of OpTic Gaming, an organization that maintains some of the most competitive esports teams in the world. Through video games, Hector became part of an online community and built something unique — and is now living the American Dream.

Daron Babcock is the CEO of Bonton Farms, an organization that started as a small garden serving the food deserts in South Dallas that has grown into a movement working alongside residents to transform the community. 

Dan Bartlett is the executive vice president of corporate affairs at Walmart and longtime key advisor to President George W. Bush.

Meghan Ogilvie is the CEO of Dog Tag Inc., a non-profit with the goal of empowering veterans with service-connected disabilities, military spouses, and caregivers to find renewed purpose and community through an unexpected combination: a bakery and a classroom.

Manu Meel is the CEO of BridgeUSA, a nonprofit organization that creates spaces on high school and college campuses where students can have open discussions about political issues.

Dave Copps is the CEO and co-founder of Dallas-based technology company Worlds, where they’ve created an artificial intelligence platform for building the industrial metaverse. He joined the George W. Bush Institute in April at the Forum on Leadership, where he participated in a conversation on the co-evolution of humans and machines.

Ambassador Shin-wha Lee serves as South Korea’s ambassador for international cooperation on North Korean human rights. In her role, she coordinates international efforts to improve human rights conditions in North Korea and raise global awareness about the inhumane conditions faced by North Koreans.

Emily Hanford is a senior correspondent and producer for American Public Media and the 2023 George W. Bush Institute Citation recipient for her coverage of our Nation’s reading crisis.

Scott Carpenter is the managing director of Jigsaw, a unit within Google that explores threats to open societies, and builds technology that inspires scalable solutions to these threats.

Secretary Elaine Chao immigrated to the U.S. when she was just eight years old without knowing any English -- and with hard work and determination, went on to lead a distinguished career in public service.