The Workforce Summit

Don Tapscott

Don Tapscott is an international authority on the strategic impact of information technology on innovation, marketing and talent. Don consistently identifies and explains the next business imperatives and defines the business models and strategies required for success. These imperatives include:

• a bold and creative response for growth in the global economic crisis: how new media, the new economy and a new generation of digital natives are driving change and opening opportunity, even in the face of the current recession;
• the social and business impact of the Net Generation: how the first generation to grow up with the Internet is transforming the workplace, the marketplace, schools, family and government, and how business can turn the NetGeners' talents and worldview into competitive advantage;
• the strategic value of information technology: how wikinomics, mass collaboration and business 2.0 are the future for innovation and growth.

Don has authored or co-authored 12 widely read books on technology, business and the Net Generation. His most recent book, Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing the World, explores how the Net Generation learns and works and what power and influence they hold. Based on in-depth research, Grown Up Digital builds on his earlier book Growing Up Digital. Don's previous book, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, is an international bestseller, has appeared on the New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller lists, and has been translated into 20 languages. Don is chairman of the think tank nGenera Insight and an adjunct professor of Management at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He currently is heading up $4 million research programs.

John Miall

John Miall retired from the City of Asheville in 2005 after a 30 year career that spanned Human Resources, Benefits Management, and as Director of Risk Management. In 2000 he was name an Honorary Member of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA.) the American Pharmacists Association. In 2003 he received a Benny Award from Employee Benefit News for Outstanding Benefit Design. In 2004 he was named Public Risk Manager Of The Year by The Public Risk and Insurance Management Association (PRIMA.)

In 1997 John was one of a group of visionaries behind what became know as The Asheville Project®.

Since retirement he has owned Miall Consulting and has worked with clients around the United States and Canada as a public speaker and benefit consultant. Among his clients are APhA and HealthMapRx.

John works with agents, brokers, employers, coalitions and the pharmaceutical industry to improve patient care and reduce costs of care through realignment of incentives for care plans.

As Director of Risk Management for The City of Asheville, Miall held major operational and budget responsibility for city-wide self-funded liability programs including $16million program for general, auto, public officials, law enforcement, and dams liability; $10 million annual group benefits program; $2million worker's compensation program; and four separate retirement programs, two of them self-funded and self-administered.

John is a graduate of Montreat-Anderson College and the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Margaret Benson

Margaret Benson is the owner of the Wyoming Communication Group. For the past twenty years, she has provided her clients consulting services in the areas of customer relations, presentation and public speaking skills, conflict management, meeting design and facilitation, strategic planning, mission statement development, individual communication skills and life coaching and leadership development. Margaret is also an Associate Consultant for Ki ThoughtBridge of Denver, Colorado and Indianapolis, Indiana.

Margaret holds a Bachelor of Science degree from New Mexico State University and a Master's degree in Communication from Colorado State University. She is a graduate of the Leadership Wyoming Class of 2004.

Margaret is certified to teach The Integrated Work of Leadership™, Providing Quality Customer Service™, Brain Mapping™, Innovating™, and Achieving Extraordinary Customer Service™. She taught Communication on the college level since 1979 and developed a course for Casper College entitled, "Communicating for Professional Success," which stresses the practical application of communication skills in the workplace.

Margaret's professional experiences include Producer and Host for New Mexico Public Television; Executive Director and lobbyist for the Wyoming In Stream Flows Committee; Television and Media Specialist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department; Wyoming Press Secretary for U. S. Senator Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyoming); Public Relations Director for First Interstate Bank of Casper and Producer and Host for Wyoming Public Television. Currently she is an ongoing consultant on the staff of the Leadership Wyoming program.

A strong advocate for volunteering in the community, Margaret has served in leadership roles for the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, the Business Advisory Board (Casper), the Visioning Committee and Board of Stewards of First United Methodist Church of Casper and the State Advisory Committee for Wyoming Public Television. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Nicolaysen Art Museumand Discovery Center and recently completed two terms serving as the Chair. Margaret is dedicated to donating her professional expertise to such organizations as C.A.S.A. (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Jason's Friends Foundation (for children with brain tumors and other cancers), The United Way, Central Wyoming Hospice and many other nonprofit organizations. Margaret resides in Casper, Wyoming.

Tom Kilijanek

Thomas S. Kilijanek, Ph.D., has been involved in the training and education field for over 30 years, focused on linking research results to pragmatic decision-making for both individuals and organizations. He is a WorkKeys Regional Manager with ACT, Inc., currently responsible for WorkKeys in a number of Western States. Prior to his position at ACT, Tom held positions in the research, design, development, and delivery of training programs in management skills, emergency responses, and interpersonal communication.

Raised in Detroit, Michigan, Tom now lives with his wife, daughter, cats, dogs, chickens and turkeys in Elizabeth, Colorado. Tom received his B.A. from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI, and his Master's and PhD from the University of Denver. His field of study was and continues to be sociology, with an emphasis in complex organizations and deviancy.

Denny Smith

Before joining Calhoun Community College in 1998, Dr. Smith was in Human Resources for a personnel services firm in Athens, Alabama. He has worked on various projects for some of the following companies: 3-M, International Diesel, Goodyear of North American, Steelcase, BP Amoco, Boeing and Teledyne Brown Engineering, International Paper and Siemens Automotive. Dr. Smith is a current president of Training for Existing Business Industry Network (TEBIN) for Alabama College System. He is active on various local and state committees and works actively with local economic development associations.

Phil Van Horn

Capitalizing on almost thirty years of in management and leadership, position, Van Horn led the formation of Western States Learning Corporation in 2004, a non-profit corporation dedicated to helping others achieve success. Western States currently has more than sixty employees engaged in organizational development and training (ALIGN™), providing philanthropic college access and awareness programs for middle school students (NEW FUTURES™) as well as providing management services.

In addition to his professional activities, for three decades Van Horn has taught courses in leadership, board development and responsibilities and team building as well as facilitating strategic planning efforts with a variety of organizations. He has more than fifty aggregate years of experience serving on local, statewide, regional and national boards of directors. He has published two journal articles in the Pfeiffer Annual of Consulting.

Van Horn served on the Wyoming Governor's Workforce Development Council form 1999 through 2007, and was appointed Chairman by the Governor from 1999 -2002. He has also been actively involved in numerous professional associations serving in various capacities including boards of directors, committee chair, training and instruction and elective office. He currently serves on the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP) Board of Directors and was Chairman of the Board for 2006-2007.

Jim Owen

Jim Owen is founder and CIO (Chief Inspiration Officer) of the Center for Cowboy Ethics and Leadership and the author of the books Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West and Cowboy Values: Recapturing What America Once Stood For.

Jim's Wall Street career spanned 40 years, including 15 years as a partner with NWQ Investment Management Company in Los Angeles. He is co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA). Profiled in the Wall Street Journal as the leading Wall Street "rainmaker," Jim has also been a prolific speaker and author on investment topics. His book credits include The Prudent Investor: The Definitive Guide to Professional Investment Management (McGraw-Hill, 1990) and The Prudent Investor's Guide to Hedge Funds: Profiting from Uncertainty and Volatility (John Wiley & Sons, 2000).

In 2004, dismayed by the rash of corporate scandals and growing societal discord, Jim launched a second career as a social entrepreneur focused on ways to strengthen the foundation of shared values in American society. Inspired by his lifelong interest in Western history and lore, Jim coined the phrase "cowboy ethics" and wrote his book distilling the Code of the West into "Ten Principles to Live By." To date, over 90,000 copies of the book have been sold.

A summa cum laude graduate of Regis University, Jim is also a past president of the Board of Trustees of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Brad Cave

Brad Cave is a partner in the Cheyenne, Wyoming office of Holland & Hart LLP, and he currently serves as the Administrative Partner of that office. Brad's practice focuses on employment law and litigation. He represents employers in matters involving discrimination, harassment, wage and hour disputes, defamation, wrongful discharge, breach of contract and employment-related torts. He also advises employers on issues related to employee handbooks and personnel policies, compliance with federal and state statutes and regulations and employee investigations, discipline and termination. He conducts training sessions for employers, managers and supervisors in areas such as investigations, discipline and termination, harassment, discrimination, disability accommodation and supervisory responsibilities.

Brad is the editor of the monthly Wyoming Employment Law Letter and a frequent speaker on employment law topics. He has also been included in Chambers USA for Labor and Employment and Best Lawyers in America's list of top employment lawyers since 2003, and has been recognized as one of Wyoming's Super Lawyers since 2008. He is a member of the Employment Law Alliance, the Employers Counsel Network, and the Society of Human Resources Management, as well as the American, Colorado and Wyoming Bar Associations. He is a 1988 graduate of the George Washington University Law School, and a 1985 graduate of the University of Wyoming.

Rob Black

Rob Black is the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services' Community Projects and Grants Manager, based in Cheyenne, and formerly served as Governor Dave Freudenthal's education and workforce development policy analyst. In addition to seeking grants for the agency, he heads the state's Career Readiness Certificate Initiative, a program that helps jobseekers match their skill levels to employers' needs, and Next Cycle Works, which seeks to promote retention and engagement of citizens age 50 and over. He is also a member of the Wyoming P-16 Education Council, whose mission is to help students be successful at each level of their schooling, from pre-school through post-high school. A graduate of the University of Wyoming, Mr. Black enjoyed an award-winning journalism career before joining the Freudenthal administration.

Julie White

Julie White, Ph.D. provides skills and techniques that audiences can put to work immediately - in their professional and personal lives. Her warm, enthusiastic style, use of humor and stories, engage and excite her audiences. Julie is a particularly entertaining speaker - it's not that she simply tells jokes or takes her information lightly - it's because people see themselves in her message.

Julie is author of five best-selling audio and video programs, including the national best-seller, Image and Self Projection, The Psychology of Self Esteem, and her recently released book, People Leave Managers... Not Organizations. Dr. White is an internationally recognized expert in management and leadership development, communications, change management, and service quality improvement.

Brad Westby

Brad Westby is the Industry Partnership Manager for the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. In his current position he will be working with the Wyoming Workforce Develop Council and private industry, focusing on addressing the workforce shortages in the health care industry and the energy sector. His previous work includes eight years in the private sector, creating and implementing newly developed education training programs. His focus has been in recruiting and developing new ideas for education training to address the workforce needs of Wyoming. Previously, Brad served the State of Wyoming through his employment with Senator Alan Simpson and Senator Michael Enzi, working five years in Washington, D.C. as a Legislative Assistant.

Guy Jackson

Guy Jackson has been involved in post-secondary career-technical education and college administration for the past 15 years and is a program consultant for the Wyoming Department of Education in the Technology Careers and Data Unit in the CTE Section. Guy attended the University of Memphis and earned a BS ed. in administration.

Dr. Lyn Velle

Dr. Verlyn (Lyn) Velle is the Career Technical Education Director in Campbell County School District. She has held this position for eighteen years. Campbell County School District has recently been awarded a "Demonstration Site Grant" from the Wyoming Department of Education to begin a Hospitality and Tourism Career Academy. This academy is the second Career Academy to begin at CCSD, the first being an "Energy Academy". These academies are based on community, state and regional need. Dr. Velle is the interim director of the academies. She has been a classroom teacher, an administrator, has taught at the University of Wyoming and worked for both the Wyoming Department of Education and the Wyoming Workforce Department as the "School to Career" grant manager. An active member of several organizations, she is the immediate past president of the National Association of Tech Prep Leadership (NATPL), a board member of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and is the current program chair for the National Association for Career and Technical Education Information (NACTEI).

Jacob Sones

Jacob Sones currently serves as the Pathways Partnership Program Manager at Laramie County Community College, where he is responsible for the management of the CTE Demonstration Grant and the Peer Mentoring Grant. These grants were established to create viable career pathways uniting education from post-secondary, through collegiate venues, and into industry. Jacob Graduated from the University of Wyoming with his MBA in 2001. Since that time, he was worked with the Wyoming Department of Transportation, the Wyoming Department of Health, and the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security. After a brief stint as a private consultant, Jacob returned to the educational arena as a teacher with the Institute of Business and Medical Careers in Cheyenne, before eventually returning to LCCC, where he began his post-secondary career. Jacob is proud to bring his experiences of "everything from teaching classes, to managing grants, to customer services, to jumping out of helicopters and onto mountains" to the table.

Lori Isenberg

Lori Isenberg is the President of Northwest Dynamics, Inc. and serves as the executive director of the North Idaho Housing Coalition. Lori is a certified professional facilitator with over 20 years experience helping communities come to agreement and develop plans to address important community issues, such as housing and workforce issues. Of common interest to most people is that she helped facilitate a meeting of 5,000 people in New York City in 2002 related to the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. In addition to serving as executive director of the North Idaho Housing Coalition, she is currently facilitating the Workforce Innovation Now project for the Idaho Department of Labor.

Chris Venne

Chris Venne has been involved in the housing industry for nearly 20 years. For the last 10 years he has worked to develop affordable homeownership and rental housing at Community Frameworks, a regional non-profit housing development organization based in Spokane, Washington. At Community Frameworks he has managed the HomeStarts self-help homeownership program that has built and sold nearly 200 new homes to low and moderate income buyers and he has developed over 300 units of affordable rental housing. As part of the Community Frameworks Technical Assistance team, Chris has presented a series of workshops on workforce housing and affordable housing in high cost areas and he continues to consult with a number of community based organizations in the Northwest on workforce housing and employer assisted housing. In his current position Chris also provides budget and financial consultation, planning and oversight in all of Community Frameworks lines of business.

Chris has had a varied professional career in both the housing industry and the communications industry. In the housing field, Chris was President in the startup and development of a manufactured housing business serving the local Inland Northwest market as well as Pacific Rim export markets. In nearly twenty years in the communications industry, he was involved in the startup of two businesses, one of which became the largest film and video production company in the Pacific Northwest. In each of these startup businesses, he was involved in business planning and feasibility analysis for the startup and in market development and financial management after the startup phase.

David Hester

David Hester is the Executive Director of the Wyoming Lodging & Restaurant Association Education Foundation. As the state coordinator for two national High School hospitality programs, David aids ProStart culinary and Lodging Management Professional educators in presenting and teaching hospitality industry knowledge, skills and abilities to participating educators, counselors, and students.

Les Engelter

Les Engelter retired from the Sheridan School District where he spent his career teaching and as a principal. He's active on many boards, including Forward Sheridan's Fully Utilizing Sheridan's Experience and the Green House Living for Sheridan project, and he serves as AARP Wyoming's State President. In his spare time, Les plays accordion at the local nursing home.

Joanne Bowlby

Joanne Bowlby is Communications Director for AARP Wyoming. She has been working on workforce issues since 2002 in partnership with Gov. Freudenthal's office and several state agencies, including the Dept. of Workforce Services. Previously, she was a reporter with the Casper Star-Tribune and Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, an editor for Stateline.org, and worked for the journalism schools of Boston, New York and Richmond universities.

Laura Driscoll

Laura Driscoll is the Dean of Continuing Education and Community Partnerships at Casper College. Previously, she was the Director of New Markets and Partnerships at the University of North Dakota. In her work she collaborates with internal and external groups to identify, develop, and nurture new partnerships and programs. She also provides administrative supervision for the areas of Adult Basic Education/GED, Center for Training and Development, Camps, Conferences, Community Education, International Language Institutes, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Casper College. Laura earned a master of business administration and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of North Dakota.

Robert Barnes

Robert Barnes has served as the President and CEO of the Casper Area Economic Development Alliance (CAEDA) since, August 2006. He started his economic development career in 1990 after working as a city manager intern for the City of Maryville, Tennessee. He has experience as the Executive Director of a chamber of commerce, as well as directing community based economic development organizations. Robert is the President-Elect of the Wyoming Economic Development Association, and serves on two national committees with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Immediately before accepting his position in Casper, he spent 8 years as the Executive Director for the Pulaski-Giles County Economic Development Commission in Pulaski, Tennessee.

Robert holds the professional designation of Certified Economic Developer, CEcD, from the IEDC, and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute. In 2005, Robert was honored by being named the Economic Development Professional of the Year for the State of Tennessee. Robert earned his B.S. and Masters of City Management (MCM) degrees from East Tennessee State University. Before working in economic development, he served as a captain in the U. S. Army, and was a licensed securities broker.

On a personal level, Robert is a native Tennessean, an active Rotarian, as well as a Past President of Rotary. He has two daughters and enjoys exploring Wyoming on his motorcycle.

Heidi Peterson

As Director of the e2e Network at the (WTBC) Wyoming Technology Business Center, Heidi is tasked with growing an entrepreneurial networking organization in Wyoming. Heidi's backgrounds working with high-growth businesses and experiences as an entrepreneur are extremely valuable to the WTBC.

In addition to her role with the e2e Network, Heidi continues as a co-owner of the Laramie Colts baseball team and Wyoming Ink Publications. As a co-owner of the Laramie Colts, Heidi has participated in the expansion of the (MCBL) Mountain Colligate Baseball League. She continues to oversee marketing and community involvement activities for the League. Heidi also oversees the operations of Wyoming Ink, a company established in 2007 that provides relocation guides for small communities in our region. The company is experiencing a period of exciting growth and plans to serve fifteen communities by the end of 2009. As a business owner, Heidi encourages her employees and clients to participate in networking opportunities.

Prior to joining the WTBC team, Heidi worked as a consultant. She helped her clients develop marketing strategies, workshops, presentations, and seminars to promote the mission and goals of their businesses.

Jon Benson

Jon is currently the CEO of the Wyoming Technology Business Center - a statewide business development program of the University of Wyoming that is developing a technology business incubator and an outreach program focused on early stage high growth companies. Prior to joining UW in July 2005, he was the CEO of an early stage medical device company which was founded in 1998 to develop and market an optical mammography device using light from lasers to image breasts. Jon led the company through three rounds of financing and the development and testing of an experimental and Alpha prototype. In addition, he helped the company obtain SBIR Phase I and Phase II funding from the National Science Foundation and Phase I funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Prior to this, Jon was the founder & CEO of The Ben Craig Center, Inc. a technology-related business incubator started in 1986 associated with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He led the Center through its start-up phase, the development of a new 50,000 sq. ft. facility in 1990, and the establishment of a European subsidiary in 1993. Prior to the Ben Craig Center, Jon was a Program Manager with the National Science Foundation from 1979 to 1982. Jon received his BA from Miami University and his MA and PhD degrees from Ohio State University.

Tobi Wickham

Tobi Wickham was selected as the Administrator for the Business Training and Outreach Division of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services in August, 2008. Tobi oversees the management and direction of some of the Department's most popular programs including the Workforce Development Training Fund, the Employment Training for Self Sufficiency Program, the Dads Making a Difference Program, the Senior Community Service Employment Program, WY Quality Counts!™ and the LIFT Mentoring Program.

Prior to joining the Department, Tobi served the Carbon County Higher Education Center in Rawlins where she served as the Marketing Communication Manager for three years. Prior to that experience, Wickham served as the Executive Director of The Child's Place Child Care Center in Glenrock.

Tobi holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communications. Along with her education, Tobi has over 20 years of non-profit development experience.

Joanie Chavez

Joanie Chavez is the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services Assistant Program Manager for the Wyoming Development Training Fund. She is focused on delivering comprehensive and effective services that build a workforce to meet the changing demands of Wyoming's diverse businesses, citizens and economy - hence, the Agency's mission - linking human and economic development for Wyoming's future. Joanie's current position includes review business training grants, pre-hire economic grants and pre-obligation of Workforce Development Training Funds.

Before coming to the Department, Joanie served as the marketing coordinator for WyHy Federal Credit Union. She also has experience as a statewide membership director for Wyoming's lodging, restaurant and retail associations.

Cathy Connolly

Dr. Cathy Connolly is a UW Professor of Women's Studies and a newly-elected member of the Wyoming House of Representatives from Laramie. Connolly has a Ph.D. in sociology, a law degree, and was one of the UW researchers on the study of the wage gap commissioned by the state legislature in 2003. In 2008, she authored a report for the Wyoming Women’s Foundation on the current status of Wyoming's working women.

Teresa de Groh

Teresa de Groh currently chairs the Wyoming Council for Women's Issues, a Governor-appointed Council established by the state.  Ms. de Groh has served on the Council since 2000 and is finishing her second term as Chair.  As part of her work on the Council, Ms. de Groh authored Wage Disparity and Other Women's Issues in Wyoming, a research paper that she presented at the Women of the Mountains International Conference in Orem, Utah, 2007.  Ms. de Groh has also written and edited two Wyoming Women Status Reports (2008 & 2009).

Ms. de Groh holds a Master of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Grinnell College, Iowa.  Ms. de Groh has worked in community planning, focusing on small town and rural communities, since 1985 and served most recently as Principal Planner for Teton County, Wyoming from 1989 to 2003.  Ms. de Groh has authored various planning articles and has been a conference presenter on planning issues.

Ms. de Groh is an active volunteer in her community.  She is a volunteer Firefighter/EMT with the Jackson Hole Fire/EMS Department, is active in the Jackson Volunteer Fire Rescue Association, and serves on the Emergency Services Council for the Town of Jackson and Teton County, Wyoming.