Cincinnati Keynote Speaker

Sage Steele

Sage Steele is one of the country’s most popular and respected broadcasters of her generation. She currently hosts The Sage Steele Show, a weekly podcast, where she sits down with entertainers, athletes, business people, and politicians to have deep dive personal one-on-one discussions that enlighten, entertain, and engage.

Prior to launching her show, she was a leading fixture at ESPN from 2007-2023, hosting the network’s flagship show, SportsCenter. Throughout the years, Steele has hosted a variety of shows and countless live events, including SportsCenter's coverage of the Super Bowl, The Masters, The NBA Finals, the World Series, and several other national and international sporting events. As one of ESPN's longest-tenured anchors, Steele was also the lead host of the network's NBA coverage, hosting NBA Countdown on ESPN & ABC from 2013-2017 before returning to her SportsCenter roots.

Outside of the sports world, Sage has hosted a variety of events, including The Scripps National Spelling Bee from 2010-2012, The Miss America Pageant in 2016 & 2017 on ABC, The Tournament of Roses Parade on ABC since 2018, and Dick Clark's 2016 New Year's Rockin' Eve on ABC. In March 2019, Steele co-hosted the ABC special "Volcano Live with Nik Wallenda" as the famous daredevil walked a tightrope across a live volcano in Nicaragua.

Through the years, Sage has been a featured guest host on ABC's The View, was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and has been profiled by numerous publications, including Rolling Stone, Variety, The Wall Street Journal, Vibe, and Huffington Post, to name just a few.

Before her ESPN success, Sage's journalism career began in 1995 upon graduation from Indiana University. She held producing, reporting, and anchoring roles in local markets -- South Bend, IN (WSBT-TV), Indianapolis, IN (WISH-TV), and Tampa, FL (WFTS-TV) -- before landing similar roles at regional television networks in Tampa (Fox Sports Florida) and Washington, DC/Baltimore (Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic).

Beyond the spotlight, Steele has a philanthropic and charitable heart for many passionate causes. Sage is proud to be a new member of the board of directors for The Boys & Girls Club of America. She is also in her third year as a board member for The V Foundation for Cancer Research, an advisory board member for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and volunteers with The Alzheimer’s Association.

Most importantly, Steele is the proud mother of three children, and she resides in Florida.

Sage LOVES being able to share her story and remains hopeful that her willingness to be vulnerable and speak her truth will encourage and allow others to do the same.