Susan Cain says our culture holds a decided bias toward the "extrovert ideal" and dramatically undervalues the talents of introverts. No longer. In her bestselling book, Quiet, and in her record-smashing TED talk, Cain shows us how to change the way we work, lead, and teach in order to tap the abundant strengths...

Sal Khan is the founder of the Khan Academy, a nonprofit with the mission of providing free, high-quality education to "anyone, anywhere" in the world. A former hedge fund analyst with degrees from MIT and Harvard, Khan is also the author of The One World School House, which explores the potential impact of the...

Sir Salman Rushdie is one of the most celebrated authors of our time—of any time. A brilliant provocateur, he's penned a handful of classic novels, influenced a generation of writers, and received a Queen's Knighthood for "services to literature." He stands as both a pop culture icon and one of the most thought-provoking...

Ben Rattray is the founder and CEO of Change.org, the world's fastest-growing website for social action—a place where ordinary folks can mobilize extraordinary support for their causes. "We have the platform to facilitate people power in a way nobody's seen before," Rattray says. In 2012, he was named one of Time's...

Angela Davis is internationally known for her ongoing work to combat all forms of oppression in the U.S. and abroad. Her work as an educator—both at the university level and in the larger public sphere—has always emphasized the importance of building communities of struggle for economic, racial, and gender...

Rick Mercer chronicles, satirizes, and ultimately celebrates all that is great and irreverent about this country. Known as "Canada's Unofficial Opposition," Mercer is our most popular comic, a political satirist who knows exactly what matters to regular Canadians and what makes them laugh.

Margaret Atwood is a giant of modern literature who refuses to rest on her laurels. She has anticipated, satirized, and even changed the popular pre-conceptions of our time, and is the rare writer whose work is adored by the public, acclaimed by the critics, and read on university campuses. On stage, Atwood is both serious...

Arlene Dickinson is one of Canada's most renowned independent marketing communications entrepreneurs. After joining Venture as a partner in 1988, she took over sole ownership in 1998 and has grown the company into a strategic and creative powerhouse for a blue-chip client list. Dickinson believes strongly that marketing’s...

Steven Pinker asks audacious questions about the human mind—then boldly sets out to answer them. Named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World, he's a brilliant speaker, is enormously popular in the media and highly respected in scientific circles. And for good reason.