Bio:

Emily Kang Cantrell is a nonprofit executive, civic leader, and events strategist with over 20 years of experience across broadcast journalism, tourism and hospitality, and mission driven organizations. She currently serves as President and CEO of the Seafair Charitable Foundation, where she leads one of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic civic institutions, producing large scale public events including the Fourth of July fireworks, the Alaska Airlines Seafair Torchlight Parade, and the Seafair Weekend Festival on Lake Washington.

Previously, Emily served as Interim CEO of PROVAIL, one of Washington State’s largest multi service organizations supporting individuals with disabilities, where she led the organization through a period of transition while advancing its mission of inclusion and equity.

In addition to her executive leadership, Emily is a sought-after speaker and moderator on topics including leadership, DEI, civic engagement, and public trust. She led the “Can We Talk” dialogue series at World Trade Center Seattle, which challenged business leaders to engage in honest conversations and get comfortable being uncomfortable. She was the keynote speaker at the Napa Women’s March in January 2020 and has moderated and participated in numerous panels focused on inclusive leadership, community impact, and organizational responsibility.

Emily is also a survivor of the Route 91 mass shooting in Las Vegas. That experience reshaped her understanding of safety, trust, and the responsibility leaders carry when bringing people together in shared public spaces. Today, that perspective informs her work at the intersection of community, public safety, and large-scale civic events.

Emily holds an Executive MBA from the IE Brown program. She serves on the boards of Cascade PBS and World Trade Center Seattle and is a Commissioner for the Seattle Sports Commission. She remains deeply passionate about storytelling, civic engagement, and creating experiences that bring people together with intention, care, and purpose.

Speaking Topic:

From Celebration to Survival

Emily Cantrell’s life changed forever on October 1, 2017, when she found herself in what would become the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. All it took was eleven minutes at a music festival in Las Vegas for her sense of safety to be forever shattered.

As a former journalist and events professional who had completed multiple crisis communications trainings, Emily understood the risk in theory. What she could not have anticipated was how deeply the experience would reshape her relationship with safety, crowds, noise, and even celebration itself.

Once someone who loved the Fourth of July, Emily found herself overwhelmed by fireworks, unable to separate joy from fear. Recovery was not linear, and it was not quiet. It demanded honesty, support, and a reckoning with how little space our culture makes for trauma that lingers.

Rather than retreat, Emily chose to act. She became deeply involved in gun violence prevention advocacy in Washington State, working alongside survivors, lawmakers, and community leaders to help pass multiple pieces of legislation, including the state’s assault weapons ban. That work transformed grief into purpose and reinforced her belief that lived experience can and should inform public policy.

In this powerful and deeply human talk, Emily shares what it means to live, lead, and rebuild after trauma. She explores how personal experience can fuel advocacy, why survivors are so often pressured to move forward without adequate support, and how leaders, organizations, and communities can create environments that prioritize both physical and emotional safety.

This talk resonates with audiences navigating leadership, resilience, public trust, and mental health, and with anyone grappling with the responsibility we share to ensure that no one, especially those carrying visible or invisible wounds, is left behind.