Lead With Hope.
Share Your Culture.

Dr. Chan Hellman is a professor at the University of Oklahoma and the founding director of the Hope Research Center. His work focuses on hope as a measurable psychological strength that helps children and adults navigate trauma, adversity, and uncertainty. He has published extensively on hope, well-being, burnout, resilience, and the role of goals, pathways, and agency in human flourishing. Dr. Hellman is the co-author of Hope Rising: How the Science of Hope Can Change Your Life and has shared his work with audiences around the world. At the Hope & Culture Summit, he will explore emerging research on collective hope—how teams, organizations, and communities develop shared agency and shared pathways toward meaningful goals.

Dr. Amy King is a licensed psychologist, national speaker, trainer, and consultant whose work centers on trauma, resilience, and relational health. She equips parents, educators, healthcare professionals, and organizations with practical approaches for helping children, families, and communities heal stress and build resilience through connected relationships. Her work emphasizes that relationships are not simply supportive—they are a primary pathway through which people experience safety, belonging, healing, and growth. At the Summit, Dr. King will connect the science of hope with resilience and relational health, showing how leaders can create environments where people feel connected, capable, and able to move toward meaningful goals.

Steve Nevey is Assistant Secretary / Executive Director of Washington State Ferries. A seasoned mariner, Steve began his career at Warsash Maritime Academy in Southampton, England, where a Chevron scholarship supported his training as a deck officer. He went on to sail on Chevron vessels and work across diverse maritime settings, including ferries in Scotland, private yachts in the Caribbean, and large cruise ships. His seagoing career has taken him to all seven continents.

In 2008, Steve transitioned to shoreside marine management after joining Holland America’s Seattle office for a major ship retrofit. His leadership experience grew to include ship retrofits, fuel-saving initiatives, crew scheduling, global operations, and a pivotal role in the company’s pandemic response, including the repatriation of thousands of crew members worldwide.

Steve joined Washington State Ferries in 2021 as Director of Operations, helping restore service after the pandemic and strengthen long-term system resilience. He established the Office of Operational Excellence and championed workforce-development initiatives, including the AB-to-Mate program and scholarship partnerships with maritime institutions. In March 2024, he was appointed Assistant Secretary / Executive Director. At the Summit, Steve will bring that experience into a candid conversation about culture change, operational excellence, workforce pathways, and leading complex systems through disruption.

James Dunkelberger has worked in the technology industry since 1993. His career has ranged from telecommunications consulting, to helping build the first internet business-to-business order-entry system to reach $1 billion, to protecting companies and customers from software piracy, and ultimately to leading the team responsible for the core cryptography used across Microsoft products and services around the globe.

Throughout each of these experiences, James viewed his primary role as building teams grounded in mutual trust and support. Whether working at the intersection of technology, security, and global operations or guiding people through complex challenges, he focused on creating the conditions for teams to succeed together and build cultures that last.

Although he retired from corporate life in 2025, James continues to work with college students entering the workforce, helping them align their passions with real-world needs. He also leads small groups on transformational voyages on the ocean. At the Summit, James will share lessons from more than three decades in technology and leadership, exploring how trust, shared purpose, and collective hope can help people navigate change and move toward what matters.

Jon Tunheim is the elected Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney and a long-time public leader committed to strengthening safety, justice, and community well-being. He brings the science of hope into his leadership of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, intentionally cultivating a culture where people can connect their work to meaningful goals, identify pathways through challenges, and exercise agency in service to the community. Jon also applies hope theory to the broader responsibilities of elected leadership, using it as a practical framework for engagement, organizational culture, and public problem-solving. At the Summit, he will help establish a shared foundation in Hope 101 and Culture 101 and explore how hope-centered leadership can strengthen both teams and public institutions.

Kelly Smith Johnston is the founder and owner of Clarity Consulting and a trusted advisor to senior leaders across government, technology, transportation, finance, and healthcare. She specializes in helping people and organizations navigate complexity, create clarity, strengthen culture, and build the foundation for sustained high performance. Kelly brings systems thinking, facilitation, coaching, and practical change tools to work that moves from insight to lasting impact. As the former mayor of Centralia, Washington, she also has firsthand experience building collective hope in a community navigating poverty, demographic change, economic transition, and emerging opportunity. At the Summit, Kelly will explore how civic and organizational leaders can cultivate shared agency, create pathways, and lead meaningful change from the inside out.