7 p.m.
The speaker this year is Steven Williams III. Steven is a published children’s book author, community builder, and advocate for education and economic opportunity. His career spans government service with the City of Chicago and the U.S. House of Representatives to his current role at Microsoft, where he drives executive strategy for the Microsoft’s Office Product Group: the team behind Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Guided by a deep sense of purpose, Steven’s work centers on expanding access, elevating communities, and creating pathways for those historically overlooked. His life reflects a simple belief: transformation is possible when discipline, service, and resilience meet action. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Ball State University and dual master’s degrees in Education Policy and an MBA from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. A proud Chicago native, he now resides in Dallas, TX, where he continues to build, serve, and inspire.