Mickey Bergman is a two time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, a fringe diplomat, CEO of Global Reach, a best selling Author, regular contributor to the NY Times, the Washington Post, Huff Post, The Boston Globe and numerous other well known publications.

He is a gentleman, an outlier and an influencing force in some of the most well known hostage negotiations which you will hear about today.

Mickey Bergman is the CEO of Global Reach, a non-governmental, non-profit organization that negotiates the release of political prisoners and hostages around the world.

With over 18 years in various aspects of strategic diplomacy, Mickey coined the term Fringe Diplomacy to describe the new field he is forging, an innovative discipline exploring the space in international relations just beyond the boundaries of States and Governments’ capacity and authority.

He manages relationships and private diplomacy efforts in North Korea, Cuba, Myanmar, Russia, Iran, Gaza, Venezuela and Africa. Nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize (2019 & 2023) alongside former Governor Bill Richardson; Mickey has led his teams at Global Reach and the Richardson Center to facilitate the release of more political prisoners than any other organization.

Prior to his work with Global Reach, Mickey was Vice President and Executive Director of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement; Executive Director of the Global Alliances Program at the Aspen Institute; is a professor at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, where he teaches about emotional intelligence in international relations, and was consultant to the Clinton Global Initiative.

Mickey’s book, IN THE SHADOWS; True Stories of High-Stakes Negotiations to Free Americans Captured Abroad, came out in June 2024. He has also published numerous articles and opinion pieces in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, Foreign Policy Online, and HuffPost.He was recently honored with the 2023 James W. Foley Legacy Foundation American Hostage Freedom Award and serves on the Center for Strategic and International Studies Commission on Hostage Taking and Wrongful Detention.

Mickey is a native of Tel Aviv and former combat officer in the Israel Defense Forces. He holds a master’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.

To know more about Mickey visit his socials:

Instagram: @Mickey.Bergman

X: @mickeybergman

Kathy Love is a certified self-care coach, 2x TEDx speaker, and bestselling author of My Self-Care Sh*t: The Workbook*. With over a decade of experience in wellness, leadership, and coaching, she helps —stop the people-pleasing and start reclaiming energy, time, and peace.

Known for her bold yet compassionate approach, Kathy combines practical tools with deep mindset work to help clients break patterns of burnout, codependency, and chronic overgiving. She brings clarity, humor, and hard-won wisdom to every session, guiding people back to themselves with radical honesty and unwavering support.

Her signature programs and workshops offer simple, sustainable self-care strategies that don’t require expensive spa days—just a willingness to pause, breathe, and get your self-care sh*t together.

To know more about Kathy visit her website:

www.kathyleckey.com

www.myselfcareshit.com

Shola Richards is the CEO and Founder of Go Together Global®, the best-selling author of the award-winning book Civil Unity, and he is leading a worldwide movement to change the world based on how we treat each other at work. His tireless international efforts to make the world a kinder place from San Juan to Singapore have earned him the well-deserved nickname, “Brother Teresa”.

As a speaker, Shola has shared his transformative leadership message with major media outlets such as the TODAY Show and CBS This Morning, with Fortune 500 companies such as Google and Microsoft, and in his greatest honor to date, in September 2021, he was invited to testify in front of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill to share his expert recommendations on how to bring more civility to Congress (he’ll be the first to tell you that they could use a refresher course.)

To know more about Shola visit his website:

www.sholarichards.com