Guest Speaker

Erik Weihenmayer

Presidential Guest Speaker, Erik Weihenmayer
Co-Founder, No Barriers and Touch the Top

Thursday, October 13 (11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.)

Hear Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest, speak about overcoming life’s challenges.

Erik refuses to let blindness interfere with his passion for an exhilarating and fulfilling life and actively seeks opportunities to help others adopt a similar mindset. In 2004, he and his Everest teammates led a group of blind Tibetan teenagers to 21,000 feet on the north face of Everest as an educational outreach project.

To advance his initiatives, Erik co-founded the organization and the movement called No Barriers. The mission is to help people with challenges, face barriers head on, embrace a pioneering and innovative spirit, and team up with great people to live life with rich meaning and purpose. The motto is “What’s Within You is Stronger Than What’s in Your Way.” Erik’s No Barriers message is instrumental in the formation of the No Barriers Life elements, the foundation of the transformative work with youth, veterans and people with all types of challenges.

Erik is the author of Touch the Top of the World, The Adversity Advantage and most recently, No Barriers. He is the recipient of numerous awards, among them the prestigious National Courage Award and the ESPN ESPY award and was named as one of Men’s Journal’s “Top 25 Most Adventurous Men.”