Alison Levine

Alison Levine is a trailblazing polar explorer and mountaineer who has achieved incredible feats in some of the world’s harshest environments. She led the first American Women’s Everest Expedition and completed the Adventure Grand Slam, which involves climbing the highest peak on each continent and skiing to both the North and South Poles—an accomplishment achieved by only twenty people worldwide. In 2008, she became the first American to traverse 600 miles across Antarctica to the South Pole, following the legendary route of Reinhold Messner. Despite having undergone three heart surgeries and suffering from Raynaud’s disease, which puts her at risk for frostbite, Levine continues to set records, including two first ascents in Antarctica and Nepal in 2016.

Beyond her outdoor adventures, Levine has also built an impressive career in the corporate world. She worked in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, earned an MBA from Duke University, and spent three years at Goldman Sachs. In 2003, she shifted gears to politics, serving as deputy finance director for Arnold Schwarzenegger's successful gubernatorial campaign in California. Her diverse experiences have helped her develop a unique perspective on leadership and teamwork.

Levine has shared her leadership expertise in both academic and professional settings. She spent four years as an adjunct professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, remains a faculty member at the Thayer Leader Development Group, and is a Senior Fellow at Duke University's Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics. She is the author of the bestseller "On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest" and a contributor on "Leadership in Dangerous Situations." Her insights have made her a sought-after consultant and keynote speaker for Fortune 500 companies, sports teams, and global forums, including the World Economic Forum at Davos.

In addition to her work in leadership development, Levine founded the Climb High Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering jobless women in Uganda by training them to become trekking guides and porters. Her foundation enabled the first group of women to climb Uganda’s highest peak, Mt. Stanley, and her efforts are the focus of the PBS documentary "Living Courageously." Levine is also the executive producer of the upcoming film "The Glass Ceiling," which tells the story of Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, the first Nepali woman to summit Mount Everest.