DaSilva leads the Space Force’s organization for doctrine, tactics, and concepts development as well as the service’s Lessons Learned Program and STARCOM wargaming series. Prior to this role, she was the deputy director of operations for Space Systems Command, where she led the Assured Access to Space enterprise team and was responsible for launch manifesting, integration, spaceflight worthiness, and current operations. DaSilva also previously served as the director for joint matters of the headquarters Space Force staff and deputy director of space strategy and plans for the assistant secretary of defense for space policy. DaSilva will speak during the panel discussion “Forged in Service: Leading in the Military with Strength and Purpose.”

De Reus inspires and guides women to own their power through her signature “Wild Woman” workshops and transformational one-on-one coaching. With experience as a professor, nonprofit executive, and entrepreneur, she blends her expertise in family systems, gender justice, gender-based violence, and leadership to help women unlock their potential, live their truth, and take bold action to create meaningful change in their lives, communities, and the world. Along with 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Denis Mukwege, De Reus founded the Panzi Foundation, a nonprofit that assists survivors of gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. De Reus’s presentation is called “Waking the Wild Woman Within.”

Dussliere began at Purdue for Life in the fall of 2024, overseeing all aspects of alumni-facing organizations—including the Purdue Alumni Association, President’s Council, and the John Purdue Club—as well as development, alumni engagement, and more. Prior to this, she was an executive with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). She started working with the USOPC in 2003, rising to senior vice president, chief of Paralympic sport in 2018 and then senior vice president, chief of Paralympics and internally managed sports in 2022. In 2018, Dussliere was appointed president of the Americas Paralympic Committee, becoming the first woman and first U.S. representative to lead the organization. She coached swimming for more than a decade before moving into her successful career in sport administration. Dussliere will conduct the fireside chat with Kathleen Sarpy on Thursday.

Gibson has a military career spanning 33 years with various roles in intelligence and cyberspace operations, including deputy director of national intelligence for National Security Partnerships, director of intelligence for United States Central Command, director of intelligence for Combined Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve, and deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Cyber Command. She is a recipient of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal and the Defense Superior Service Medal with a combat device. She retired from the U.S. Army in 2020. Gibson will conduct the panel discussion “Forged in Service: Leading in the Military with Strength and Purpose.”

Henry is responsible for Purdue for Life’s alumni engagement efforts, including clubs and affinity networks, volunteerism, mentorship, lifelong learning, and travel programs. She previously was vice president of organizational development and strategic leadership for the Purdue Alumni Association and corporate secretary for the association’s board of directors. She still serves as governance council for the board as a nonvoting member. She has received extensive training in facilitation, grant writing, fundraising, creative problem-solving, accelerated learning, and appreciative inquiry. Henry will share the welcome and closing remarks.

Lerner-Mantel backs exceptional founders and high-growth startups with technologies their customers will enjoy. She previously built and sold a technology startup and led operational innovation in data strategy and platform technologies at Wayfair. Lerner-Mantel will conduct the fireside chat with Julie Wainwright on Friday.

López empowers professionals and organizations to thrive by embracing their authentic superpowers to achieve personal and professional success. She leverages her Latina roots, passions, and experiences as a mother to drive impact. López is the Amazon bestselling author of Intentional Unicorn. She spent 23 years in leadership roles, including site head, global brand leader, chief operating officer, and vice president of global talent acquisition at Eli Lilly. She also has previous experience as a board member, fitness professional, former NFL cheerleader, and backup dancer. López’s presentation is called “Be an Intentional Unicorn: Thrive in Life and Career.”

Mahan ensures seamless understanding of combat capabilities by representing the Joint Forces Air Component commander to the Joint Forces commander in the Korean Theater of Operations. She was previously the individual mobile augmentee to the deputy commander of the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center at Barksdale Air Force Base. She is a senior navigator with more than 1,100 flight hours. In 2008, Mahan flew for more than 400 combat hours in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2022, she served on operations in Europe, and in 2023, she served as battle director for major operations in the Middle East. Mahan will speak during the panel discussion “Forged in Service: Leading in the Military with Strength and Purpose.”

Sarpy has spent more than 30 years in public relations and communications. In January 2001, she left her role as a senior executive at a leading global public relations firm and started her own firm, Agency H5, where she now manages a talented team of professionals who support dozens of global, national, and Chicago-based clients in the consumer packaged goods, hospitality, finance, real estate, and nonprofit spaces. Sarpy actively supports civic organizations and philanthropies, including Girl Scouts, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and CC’s Wish List. In 2017, she helped found the International Council of Purdue Women, which later became the Purdue Women’s Network. In 2024, she was invited to participate in Purdue’s Old Masters program. Sarpy will speak with Julie Dussliere during the fireside chat on Thursday.

Solina began her career as the communications officer, electronic key management system manager, and combat information center officer aboard the USS Spruance (DD-963) during Operation Enduring Freedom. She was later deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Under the U.S.-Poland Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, she oversaw 113 infrastructure projects valued at more than $3 billion. Solina is dual qualified as a Seabee Combat Warfare specialist and a surface warfare officer, is registered as a professional engineer in the state of Virginia, and is a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps. In 2017, she received the Purdue Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award. Solina will speak during the panel discussion “Forged in Service: Leading in the Military with Strength and Purpose.”

Trabosh has been sharing her expertise on effective leadership strategies and personal development for more than 20 years. She delivers engaging presentations on leadership, persistence, integrity, and philanthropy. Trabosh cofounded the Itafari Foundation, which supported women and children in Rwanda, serving as its president from 2005 to 2016. At age 65, she received a master’s degree from Harvard University. Trabosh’s presentation is called “Facing the Storms of Life—Three Secrets.”

Wainwright has been building and growing technology and consumer businesses for more than 20 years. She is best known for founding the RealReal, which raised more than $1 billion in 10 years. She changed consumer perceptions, making resale a fashionable and sustainable way to shop. In 2019, Wainwright took the RealReal public, becoming one of just 23 women to lead a company through an IPO. She is a frequent speaker at top industry events and universities and has received several prestigious industry awards and accolades, including recognition in Forbes’s inaugural list of 50 successful women over 50. Her book on the RealReal, Time to Get Real: How I Built a Billion-Dollar Business that Rocked the Fashion Industry, is out now. Wainwright will speak with Sarah Lerner-Mantel during the fireside chat on Friday.

Wyness was stationed on USCGC Monomoy in Manama, Bahrain, for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. She previously was the sector Miami command master chief and team leader for the Sector Miami Ready for Operations Team. Wyness graduated from the Coast Guard Training Center Cape May in 1999, took Coast Guard classes to advance her leadership skills, and obtained a 100-ton Merchant Mariners license. She earned a certificate in nutrition and health management from Purdue University Northwest and a master’s degree in management, strategy, and leadership from Michigan State University. Wyness will speak during the panel discussion “Forged in Service: Leading in the Military with Strength and Purpose.”