Keynotes

Derek Gaunt is a lecturer, trainer, and author of Ego, Authority, Failure©. He has 29 years of law enforcement experience, 20 of which he served as a team member, leader, and then commander of hostage negotiations teams in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. He is a hostage negotiation and incident command subject-matter expert who frequently speaks at hostage negotiation and SWAT conferences across the country. Derek’s passion for interpersonal communications began when he was selected as a detective in the Criminal Investigations Section of a municipal police agency. He spent the majority of his law enforcement career in this section as a detective, supervisor, and eventually commander of major crimes. In 1997, he took his passion for interpersonal communications to the next level, becoming a hostage negotiator. Once he became a supervisor, his passion transitioned to teaching negotiation concepts to others. As a member of the Black Swan Group, he is a negotiation trainer and personal coach. Derek has trained throughout the US and around the world, instructing organizations on how to apply hostage negotiation practices and principles to their business. Derek presents seminars and in-house training programs in a variety of environments. His presentations are engaging and filled with useful techniques for understanding human behavior and navigating difficult conversations. His training has helped leaders and their organizations improve their performance by changing the way they think about communicating with others.

Ethan Dubin is an actor, writer, and educator. He hails from Southern California and has lived in New York City for over a decade. He received a B.A. in Theater and Performance Studies from the University of Chicago, with a minor in East Asian Languages and Civilizations.  Ethan began acting professionally in the Chicago theater scene, as well as teaching theater to all age groups including adults at the prestigious School at Steppenwolf. He then lived in Louisville, KY for a year where he continued his acting training as an apprentice at the Actors Theater of Louisville. Following professional connections, he moved to New York City where he has performed onstage on and off Broadway, in numerous TV shows and movies, as well as in major commercials, voiceovers, and fictional podcasts. Some favorite acting credits include the Tony Award-winning play They Ferryman on Broadway directed by Sam Mendes, the Coen Brother’s “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” for Netflix, and TV shows such as Fallout, Elsbeth, and the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Ethan especially enjoys the process of developing new plays, diving into the rigorous story work that launches new stories to the stage. He has also continued his acting training in various disciplines as a member of The Actors Center, a resident company that provides advanced training and development opportunities for working actors in the city. He has also studied improv and clowning at the Second City in Chicago and UCB in NYC. Ethan is a passionate advocate for witnesses, helping ease their legal journeys while deepening their ability to communicate their stories to the jury. Besides work, he is an avid cook, houseplant greenthumb, and frequent community organizer with a particular interest in urban environmental advocacy.  

Alexandra Wright is a classically trained actor and communication coach with a BA from USC and an MFA in Acting from Harvard University. She has trained internationally at the British American Drama Academy in London and the Moscow Art Theatre, and her performance career spans work in the U.S. and abroad, including collaborations with artists such as Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Neil Patrick Harris, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In film and television, Alexandra has appeared on major networks including NBC, CBS, ABC, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max. She has also been a national commercial spokesperson and a recurring voice-over artist for major brands. Alongside her performance career, she is a professor of acting, voice, and Shakespeare at UCLA and the host of the podcast Shake Shake Shake. She also runs The Delta Acting Community, an online space for actors and private clients. Alexandra has extensive experience coaching professionals—including attorneys, medical experts, public speakers, and executives—on communication, presence, and persuasive storytelling. She draws on her background at ACT, where she contributed to hundreds of cases involving sensitive and high-stakes matters such as sexual assault, birth trauma, and wrongful death, many resulting in record-breaking verdicts. Her specialty is helping clients understand how factors like upbringing, identity, and trauma shape communication, body language, and voice—skills essential to courtroom effectiveness.

David Lefkowitz specializes in attorney liability, legal ethics, and risk management for lawyers. He has more than 25 years of experience practicing law in these areas. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia School of Law. David also frequently lectures and writes on topics such as how to avoid claims for legal malpractice, developing and maintaining successful attorney-client relationships, ethics issues for attorneys, and complying with the Rules of Professional Conduct. He serves on multiple committees at the State Bar of Georgia.