Newton Cheng is a husband and father, a world champion powerlifter, and former Director of Health + Performance at Google. He teaches vulnerable leadership as a powerful skill that any leader can develop. His goal is to create a world where high performance doesn't require pretending to be superhuman.

He spent 17 years at Google developing and scaling global wellbeing programs, earning recognition as an international keynote and TEDX speaker. He's also a three-time world and nine-time US national powerlifting champion who has set multiple world, US, and California state records.

Despite his credentials and expertise, Newton burned out twice. This fundamentally changed how he thinks about sustainable performance. Rather than hide these struggles, he's made them central to his work, openly sharing his journey through burnout, mental health leave, and recovery to demonstrate what vulnerable leadership actually looks like in practice.

His talks and workshops help leaders recognize burnout in their teams before it's too late, practice authentic vulnerability as a skill rather than a performance, and take specific actions towards building cultures where people can be honest about struggle while pursuing ambitious goals.

He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA from UC Berkeley. Finally, Newton writes online where he explores what humans actually experience in high-stakes environments and what becomes possible when we're honest about our struggles.

Brigadier General Deydre S. Teyhen
DPT | PhD | FAPTA
Commanding General, Medical Readiness Command, Pacific
Director, Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific

BG Deydre Teyhen was born in Canton, Ohio and received her Bachelor of Arts in Sports Science at Ohio Wesleyan University in 1993. She earned her Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy from the U.S. Army-Baylor University in 1995, completed her Ph.D. in Biomechanics from the University of Texas in 2004, and her Doctoral Degree in Physical Therapy from the Baylor University in 2008. BG Teyhen graduated with honors as a distinguished graduate from the U.S. Army War College with a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies in 2014.

Prior to becoming the Commanding General, Medical Readiness Command, Pacific and Director, Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific, she was the Director of the Defense Health Network-National Capital Region. Key senior leader positions include: Commanding General of Brooke Army Medical Center, Deputy Director of the San Antonio Market, and Deputy Chief of Staff (Support, G-1/4/6) at the Office of the Surgeon General. During the pandemic, she served as the Department of Defense Lead of Therapeutics for Operation Warp Speed at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as the Commander for Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the Department of Defense’s largest biomedical research facility. She has also Commanded the U.S. Army Health Clinic-Schofield Barracks and Public Health Command Region South. Previous assignments included Assistant Chief of Staff - Public Health at the Army’s Office of the Surgeon General; Deputy Director, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center; Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Physical Therapy Research for the U.S. Army-Baylor University Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy; Officer-in-Charge of Task Force 10 Delta Med in Al Kut, Iraq; Chief of Musculoskeletal Care Center and Chief of Physical Therapy at Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center; Chief of Outpatient Physical Therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; Chief of Physical Therapy, 21st Combat Support Hospital in Tuzla, Bosnia; and Physical Therapist at Darnall Army Community Hospital.

BG Teyhen also served as the 20th Chief, U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps (2020-2024). BG Teyhen has spent her career focused on improving the delivery of healthcare, holistic health, and readiness (public health, musculoskeletal medicine, behavioral health, resiliency, imaging, and technology). Her research accomplishments include over 360 peer-reviewed publications, editorials, book chapters, and published abstracts; 120 presentations at conferences; and 200 invited lectures.

BG Teyhen’s key military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, six Legions of Merit, the Army Medical Department’s Order of Military Medical Merit, the Surgeon General’s “A” Proficiency Designator, and the U.S. Army War College Commandant’s Award for Distinction in Research. Key civilian awards include Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association, Dissertation Award from the University of Texas, the American Physical Therapy Association, and Margaret L. Moore Award for Outstanding New Academic Faculty Member. She has been inducted into the Kinesiology and Health Education Distinguished Alumna Hall of Honor, University of Texas and the Distinguished Achievement Citation from the Ohio Wesleyan University.
BG Teyhen is married to COL (Ret) John V. Teyhen III who served as the Deputy Command Surgeon of the U.S. Indo-PacificCommand before retiring in October 2018 after 34 years of service. He is currently the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Defense Health Agency. They have accomplished their goal to be the first military couple to run a marathon in all 50 states.

CW5 Bradley Palm began his Army career in October 2003, completing Basic Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before attending Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Upon his appointment as a Warrant Officer in 2004, he completed Initial Entry Rotary Wing training to earn his pilot rating in the UH-60A Blackhawk helicopter and subsequently qualified as an Aviation Life Support Equipment (ALSE) Officer prior to his first assignment.

From March 2005, CW5 Palm served with the 78th Aviation Battalion (Provisional), undertaking duties as ALSE Officer, Night Vision Goggle Custodian, and Water Survival Training Officer. Upon successful completion of the assessment and selection process in January 2008, he was assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), reporting to Bravo Company, 4th Battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington.

Following his selection, CW5 Palm completed the CH-47D transition course at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and Officer Green Platoon training at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. After earning his Basic Mission Qualification in the MH-47G in December 2008, he returned to 4th Battalion where he steadily advanced within the Regiment, achieving Fully Mission Qualified status in 2010 and earning his designation as a Regimental Flight Lead in 2014.

Throughout his tenure, CW5 Palm held a series of leadership and staff positions of increasing responsibility. His expertise in flight instruction progressed from Platoon Instructor Pilot to Company and ultimately Battalion Standardization Instructor Pilot.

Concurrently, he assumed key operational leadership roles as Company Operations Officer and Company Senior Warrant Officer, while also managing technical duties as the Mission Planning Systems Officer and Aircraft Survivability Equipment Officer.

In July 2020, CW5 Palm transitioned to the System Integration Management Office (SIMO) within the Army Special Operations Aviation Command at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to serve as a Developmental Test Pilot. He quickly assumed roles of significant responsibility, acting as the MH-47G Standardization Instructor Pilot, a Government Flight Representative, and leading several directorates as Branch Chief, including the Sensors and Navigation, Tactical Mission Networking, Research Experimentation and Cyber, and MH-47 Heavy Assault branches.

Building on this experience, he now serves as the Technical Director and Senior Warrant Officer for SIMO. In this senior leadership capacity, he guides the command’s critical research, development, and integration efforts to deliver advanced capabilities across Army Special Operations Aviation.