The Workforce Summit

Desi Williamson

After 20 years as a corporate sales and marketing executive, Desi Williamson has gone on to become a successful entrepreneur, real estate investor, motivational sports coach, restaurateur, author, and speaker. Through his many business and life experiences, he has learned what it takes to achieve your dreams, especially during turbulent times.

In 2009, when many businesses were shutting down, he was starting them, providing jobs and opportunities for people in his community. In 2010, the first of three Dickey’s Bar-B-Que restaurants (a franchise based in Dallas) opened in Minneapolis. His Impact!! Restaurant Group, LLC is looking to expand to as many as ten locations in the next five years; and his real estate investment company, Impact!! Investment Group, LLC, provides housing, commercial space for small businesses, and employment for contractors, vendors, and related operations.

Since 2007, Desi has worked as a consultant alongside head coach Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings, as the NFL team’s motivational coach. In this role, he provided inspirational speeches and peak performance strategies to help the team improve from a 6-10 record, to two consecutive Central Division Championships, and the NFC title game, just one step from Super Bowl XLIV.

After surviving the mean streets of St. Louis as a child, a successful career with Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, Rain Bird, Dr. Pepper/Snapple, Johnson Wax Company, and a Hall-of- Fame professional speaking career, Williamson had a serious fall in 2005 and broke his neck in two places. Along the path from paralysis to recovery, he discovered new perspectives and was inspired to write Where There’s a Will, There's a Way: Succeeding in the Face of Turbulent Times, published in 2009. The title of his other book is Get Off Your Assets: How to Deal with the Challenges of Life - and Win! He is dedicated to showing people how to do more than just survive turbulent times - he shows them how to thrive despite their adversities!

Desi has mastered the art of transferring energy to empower people. The results of his insightful and motivational keynotes, half, or full day workshops, ignite teams to raise their level of performance, develop a culture that cultivates strong leaders, and shifts people's mindsets from being victims of circumstance, to masters of change. He has spoken for many Fortune 500 companies, industry associations, professional sports teams, and is consistently offered encore performances, because his programs are uniquely customized to fit the organization, industry, and current market trends. This ensures an immediate impact to the audience and a high return on investment for his clients.

Matthew Crawford

Matthew B. Crawford is a philosopher and a mechanic. Crawford's New York Times best-selling book, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work, brings alive an experience that was once quite common, but now seems to be receding from society - the experience of making and fixing things with your hands. Those of us who sit in an office often feel a lack of connection to the material world, a sense of loss, and find it difficult to say exactly what we do all day. For anyone who felt hustled off to college, then to the cubicle, against their own inclinations and natural bents, Shop Class as Soulcraft seeks to restore the honor of the manual trades as a life worth choosing. For anyone who feels thwarted by their own material stuff, Crawford makes a case for reclaiming some measure of self-reliance.

As a speaker, Crawford draws from the history of philosophy to consider how our economic choices form us (and deform us). In doing so, he turns an inquiring gaze on the absurdities of the modern workplace, the psychology of consumerism, and some of the weirder consequences of our technological enthusiasm. Often darkly funny, he mixes stories of contemporary life with careful arguments to illuminate our ongoing struggle to live a fully human life, and to figure out what such a life might consist of.

Crawford majored in physics as an undergraduate, then turned to political philosophy, earning a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Currently a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, he is also a contributing editor of The New Atlantis, and has written for the New York Times. Crawford also runs a motorcycle repair business in Richmond, Virginia.

Martha Kanter

Martha J. Kanter was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 29, 2009, to be the under secretary of education and was confirmed by the Senate on June 19, 2009. In this position, she reports to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and oversees policies, programs, and activities related to postsecondary education, vocational and adult education, and federal student aid.

From 2003 to 2009, Kanter served as chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, one of the largest community college districts in the nation, serving more than 45,000 students with a total budget of approximately $400 million. She is the first community college leader to serve in the under secretary position. In 1977, after serving as an alternative high school teacher at Lexington High School in Massachusetts, the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns (N.Y.) and later at the Searing School in New York City, she established the first program for students with learning disabilities at San Jose City College (Calif.). She then served as a director, dean and subsequently as vice chancellor for policy and research for the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office in Sacramento, returning to San Jose City College as vice president of instruction and student services in 1990. In 1993, she was named president of De Anza College and served in this position until becoming chancellor.

Kanter has served as a board member or officer in a wide variety of national, state, and local organizations, including the League for Innovation in the Community College, the Community College League of California, Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, Inc., Peninsula Open Space Trust, the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, the Mexican Heritage Corporation, the Rotary Club of Palo Alto, and the California Association of Postsecondary Educators of the Disabled.

Kanter has been recognized for her work numerous times in California, including being named Woman of the Year by the 24th Assembly District, Woman of Achievement by San Jose Mercury News and the Women's Fund, and Woman of the Year for Santa Clara County by the American Association of University Women. In 2003, she received the Excellence in Education award from the National Organization for Women's California Chapter. In 2006, she was honored for diversity and community leadership by the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women, and in 2007, the American Leadership Forum-Silicon Valley honored her with the John W. Gardner Leadership Award. Last year, Kanter received the Citizen of the Year award from the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce.

Kanter holds a doctorate in organization and leadership from the University of San Francisco. Her dissertation addressed demographic, institutional, and assessment factors affecting access to higher education for underrepresented students in California's community colleges. In 1994, she opened the first Advanced Technology Center in California's community college system and promoted local and state policies to advance Foothill-De Anza's legacy of excellence and opportunity for California's expanding and increasingly diverse student population. She received her master's degree in education with a concentration in clinical psychology and public practice from Harvard University, and a bachelor's degree in sociology from Brandeis University.

Windi Bassler

Windi Bassler lives and works for Wyoming Department of Workforce Service in Casper. She is currently working on her Master's in Public Administration, and tries to do one good deed to make the world a better place for everybody each day. She has two kids, three cats, a part-time dog, and a husband who deals with all of these things with great grace and humor.

Michael Ann Broad

Michael Ann (Mike) Broad, a Wyoming native, is the State Director for Office of Apprenticeship working hard to get the word out about Registered Apprenticeship and to partner with businesses to meet the employment and workforce needs of Wyoming. Mike joined the Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship March 15, 2009 after a long career as an educator in the Wyoming public school system. Mike graduated from the University of Wyoming with a B.A. in Education and with a M.Ed. in Education Administration. Mike is married to Mike Broad. Mike and Mike are the parents of three sons. all living and working in Wyoming.

Mary Burman

Dean and Professor, Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY. She has been at the University of Wyoming for 17 years and prior to dean, Dr. Burman was the coordinator of the family nurse practitioner program in the School of Nursing. Dr. Burman is a certified family nurse practitioner and has practiced at The Downtown Clinic, an integrated primary care clinic providing services to low-income uninsured persons. She has published and presented on a rural health care, nurse practitioner education and practice, and chronic illness. She is on the board of directors for the National Organization for Nurse Practitioner Faculties. She has been vice-president and president of the Board of Directors for the Downtown Clinic. Awards include the Dan Klein Spirit of Volunteerism Award (2008), Interprofessional Award, College of Health Sciences (2006), Women of Distinction Award, Soroptomist Club (2004), and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners State Award for Excellence (2002). She is a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow and was a scholar in the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2000-2001. She has a BSN from the University of Minnesota and MS and PhD from the University of Michigan.

Jill Douglas

Jill Douglas works for the Wyoming Department of Workforce Service in Casper. She has a wonderful husband and four beautiful children. Jill received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Wyoming in 2005. She worked for the State of Wyoming in the Department of Family Services for the Child Protective Unit as a case manager for almost four years. In November 2009, she received an amazing opportunity to continue her work as a case manager with the Department of Workforce Services. It is her goal in her life to help others make important decisions and advancements in their lives and careers and to be a person of support for those who may be in the middle of a rough spot in their lives, as we all go through these at some point.

Bill Edwards

Bill Edwards has been a professional consultant for 35 years, providing business services for clients throughout the western United States. Working with public, private, profit, and non-profit groups of all sizes, Bill helps organizations focus on success through strategic and tactical planning, organizational development, project management, customized training, and meeting facilitation services. With career experiences in education and business, Bill manages his own consulting business in Casper, working with clients throughout Wyoming and surrounding states. Bill’s unique business approach characterized by passion and excitement brings energy to the relationships with his clients that results in consistently successful outcomes.

Les Engelter

Les Engelter is immediate past president of AARP Wyoming and serves on its Executive Council. He is a retired school principal and a member of the Fully Utilizing Sheridan's Experience workforce committee.

Cathy Gonzales

Cathy Gonzales has been selected to serve in AARP Wyoming's highest volunteer leadership role, President of the AARP Wyoming Executive Council. She served as a volunteer advocate, representing AARP members at the State Capitol for six years, successfully lobbying for improved consumer protections, grandparent rights and health programs in Wyoming. She spent the past two years serving on the AARP Wyoming Executive Council, which works with AARP's four staff members in Wyoming to develop policies and programs to serve approximately 100,000 AARP members living in the state. Cathy is a retired high school teacher who works part time for the Wyoming Associations of Government Affairs Network and serves on the Governor's Food Safety Council.

Mike Griffin

Mike is the Youth Coordinator for the State of Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Employment Services Division. Mike's goals are to reach out to youth who may need assistance in achieving academic and employment success. Mike oversees statewide comprehensive youth activities including options for improving educational and skill competencies, providing effective connections to employers, arranging for youth leadership activities and making youth connections with positive adult mentors. Mike also strives to continue to build strong community-based youth workforce development systems by expanding and further solidifying the established working relationships with the business community, local youth partnership councils, educators, and public and private non-profit agencies involved in youth services within each Wyoming community.

Mike believes youth are the key to the future and is committed to providing career opportunities to its youth, which will allow them to remain in Wyoming in a career they enjoy, while providing a wage which allows their families to grow and prosper. He believes working with youth now will provide them the opportunity to better transition into adulthood.

Mike has worked for the department since February 2006 as an Employment Services Specialist, Workforce Center Manager, and Youth Coordinator since February 2008. Previous occupations have given Mike exposure to Customer Relations, Financial Management, and Information Technology. Mike attended San Diego State University to obtain his degree in Business Management.

Rob Grunewald

Rob Grunewald conducts regional economic research and co-authors the Minneapolis Fed's "Beige Book" report on current economic conditions. He also writes articles on the regional economy and other economics and banking issues for the fedgazette and The Region, two periodicals published by the Minneapolis Fed. Grunewald regularly speaks to business, community and school groups about the Federal Reserve and the regional economy. He co-authored "Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return" (January 2003), an economic policy paper, which has been featured in the media, legislative hearings, and seminars throughout the United States. Grunewald serves on the board of directors for the Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency, Resources for Child Caring, the advisory board for First Children's Finance Growth Fund and as secretary for the Minnesota Economic Association. Grunewald joined the bank in 1993, holds a bachelor's degree in economics and religion from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., and is a graduate student in applied economics at the University of Minnesota.

Leonard Holler

Leonard Holler is the Regional Director of the Wyoming Entrepreneur - Small Business Development Center in Casper. He is a licensed certified public accountant and has degrees in both accounting and business administration from the University of Wyoming. His background includes public accounting experience with regional and national CPA firms. He has held accounting and financial management positions in various private companies and non-profit organizations. Leonard has been practicing accounting in Wyoming for over 30 years. He is a Certified Small Business Counselor and has been a seminar presenter for the Wyoming Entrepreneur - Small Business Development Centers in the areas of marketing, management, finance, accounting, business valuation, buying and selling businesses and taxes. Leonard is active in economic development as a member of Wyoming Economic Development Association.

Thomas 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 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.

Anne Ladd

Anne Ladd is the CEO of the Wyoming Business Coalition on Health - a new state-wide organization whose main objective is to raise the visibility, viability and sophistication of conversations between employers - who are the ultimate payers of most healthcare expenses through their own insurance premiums and through taxes paid to the various levels of government - and those who deliver and influence the delivery of care. The ultimate goal is to improve the quality of care received while containing costs.

She is also the president and founder of Propel Product Management Inc., a product strategy and development firm specializing in high-tech, healthcare and public policy. She has assisted organizations develop new products in response to the Medicare Modernization Act and designed web-based tools to help physicians, pharmacist and patients get the needed nugget of knowledge at the moment it mattered most.

In 2004 - 2005 she served as the Executive Director of the Wyoming Healthcare Commission which delivered 18 recommendations to the Governor and Legislature regarding cost containment and quality improvement. During her tenure the Commission also developed a plan to expand coverage to the uninsured population while containing costs and helped launch a state-wide electronic medical records initiative.

From 1999 to 2003 Ms. Ladd was Product Manager for Thomson-Micromedex where she had profit/loss responsibility for several clinical information databases sold to hospitals and health plans for use by physicians, nurses and pharmacists. From 1998 to 1999 she was Director of Strategic Planning for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado/Nevada where her responsibilities included identifying trends in the health care marketplace, researching and developing new products, product enhancements and modifications. She has also served as the Director of Public Affairs for Kaiser Permanente in Sonoma County California.

Before entering the healthcare arena Ms. Ladd spent six years as a reporter and writer for both broadcast and print media. Her last journalism assignment was covering San Francisco city hall for The Chronicle. She has also worked in Wyoming, Utah, Washington state and Washington DC, covering politics, natural resource and business issues.

Born and raised in Wyoming, Ms. Ladd has an undergraduate degree in economics from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., a Master's degree in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and a Master's in Healthcare Administration from St. Mary's College in Moraga, California.

As a Peace Corp Volunteer in the early 1980's Ms. Ladd taught vegetable gardening and small animal husbandry to peasants in a remote region of Guatemala. Fluent in Spanish, she has traveled throughout Central and South America. Also a bit of an adventurer, Ms. Ladd helped organize and execute an expedition to Mt. Everest through China and Tibet in 1988. The "Cowboys on Everest" team was turned back at 25,000 feet, so they did not summit, but every climber came home healthy and able to climb again.

Doug Leonard

Since 2001, Doug Leonard has served as Senior Economist for the Research & Planning Section with the Wyoming Department of Employment. He has served as investigator for multivariate analyses of workforce planning, a 2006 employer-provided benefits survey, private sector employee access to health insurance (Wyo-Care), worker commuting patterns, post-injury wage loss using administrative records, retention of nurses in Wyoming, prediction of state workers' intent to leave employment, use of logistic regression models to enhance survey selection, an development of economic indicators. Doug received his MBA from the University of Wyoming.

Patrick Manning

Patrick Manning is Principal Economist for Research & Planning with the Wyoming Department of Employment. Previously, he served as a Financial Analyst for Vanguard Car Rental USA, Health Data Analyst for CommunityCare of Oklahoma and Research Specialist for the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas. He has served as investigator for job attainment and wages of Wyoming vocational rehabilitation participants, an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act survey, natural disaster damage assessment, alternative fuels, agriculture, natural resource allocation, health care, and car rental fleet planning and analysis. Patrick has published 11 peer-reviewed professional journal articles, accomplished while working at the University of Arkansas. He has an M.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Colorado State University.

Dave McNulty

Dave McNulty is Wyoming Director of Veterans' Employment and Training Service with the U.S. Department of Labor. Previously, he was a Field Supervisor and Office Manager with the Wyoming Department of Employment, and a Local Veterans' Employment Representative with the agency. Dave served in the U.S. Navy from 1965-69, including two years of deployment in Vietnam.

Buck McVeigh

McVeigh is a 30-year employee of the State of Wyoming. He has worked as an economist for four different state agencies, and has worked for four governors over this time.

McVeigh is the administrator of the Department of Administration & Information's Economic Analysis Division, a position he has held since May 1998. He also serves as the executive branch co-chair of the State's Consensus Revenue Estimating Group.

Born and raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming, McVeigh is a graduate of the University of Wyoming. He earned a B.S. in agricultural business/agricultural economics in 1979. Along with being a small business owner, McVeigh serves on several volunteer boards in the Cheyenne area.

Dave Metzger

Dave Metzger is Coordinator for Veterans Programs and other programs in the Employment Services Division of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. He was previously a Workforce Center Manager and Workforce Specialist for the Department. Dave retired from the U.S. Air Force with 25 years of experience in missile/space operations, budgeting, basing, and command and control.

Karen St. Clair

Karen St Clair is the Director of Workforce Training and Development for the Northern Wyoming Community College District (Sheridan College, Gillette College, and Johnson County Campus of Sheridan College). She works regularly with businesses and individuals from a variety of fields both private and public sector to help develop and deliver multiple workforce training programs to meet the workforce development needs of businesses and communities throughout Northeastern Wyoming. Prior to her current position with Sheridan College, Ms. St Clair was employed with the World's foremost management consulting firm - Accenture and served in executive management positions in both the not for profit and for profit sectors with emphasis in sales and marketing communications, fund development, program development and workforce training. In addition, Ms. St Clair owns and operates her own small business in jewelry creation and design.

Ms. St Clair received a MBA from the University of Denver and a BS in Public Administration from Upper Iowa University. Raised in Wisconsin, Ms. St Clair now lives with her husband and her standard poodle-Chesney here in Sheridan where she loves fishing, boating, and hunting.

Laura Stack

Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time®. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations. Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today's workplaces. She is one of a handful of professional speakers whose business focuses solely on time management and productivity topics. Laura is a high-energy, high-content speaker, who educates, entertains, and motivates professionals to improve workplace productivity.

Laura is the bestselling author of four published books. Her newest book, SUPERCOMPETENT, will hit bookstores in spring 2010 (John Wiley & Sons). Her other works include The Exhaustion Cure (Broadway Books, 2008), Find More Time (Broadway Books, 2006), and the bestselling Leave the Office Earlier (Broadway Books, 2004), which was hailed as "the best of the bunch" by the New York Times and listed on the June 2004 Book Sense Business & Economics Bestseller list. Leave the Office Earlier has been published in seven countries and in five foreign languages, including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Italian. She is also a contributor to two of the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Laura's popular monthly electronic newsletter has subscribers in 38 countries. She is a Certified Specialist in Microsoft® Office Outlook.

Widely regarded as one of the leading experts in the field of employee productivity and workplace issues, she has been featured nationally on the CBS Early Show, CNN, NPR, Bloomberg, NBC TV, WB News, the New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, the WashingtonPost.com, the Chicago Tribune, O Magazine, SELF, Me, Working Mother magazine, Entrepreneur magazine, Readers Digest, Woman's Day, and Parents magazine. Laura has been a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers, and she is the creator of The Productivity Pro® line of Day-Timer® planning system. Her client list includes top Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft, IBM, GM, Coors, the Denver Broncos, Lockheed Martin, Lucent Technologies, Wells Fargo, Mobil, Time Warner, and VISA, plus a multitude of associations and governmental agencies.

Laura holds an MBA in Organizational Management (University of Colorado, 1991), integrating the importance of productivity in business with employee retention and satisfaction. She is the Vice President of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and is the recipient of the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, NSA's highest earned designation.

Laura lives with her husband and three children in Denver, Colorado.

Matthew Sholty

Office Associate, Wyoming Center for Nursing and Health Care Partnerships (WCNHCP) in Laramie, WY. He has been at the WCNHCP for over a year and prior to being an office associate; Mr. Sholty was an administrative assistant for the Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (WCADVSA). The WCADVSA advocates for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault along with helping coordinate grants for local programs. Mr. Sholty has a BS from the University of Wyoming.

Veronica Taylor

Description coming soon.

Wendy Tyson

Wendy Tyson is Administrator of the Wyoming Department of Employment's Unemployment Tax Division. She is responsible for Wyoming's Unemployment Insurance tax functions and for the state Labor Market Information functions. Ms. Tyson has been with the state and Unemployment Insurance program since 1992, starting in the Unemployment Benefits Special Program section and serving as Chief of Tax prior to her promotion to Administrator in 2000. Ms. Tyson has a bachelor's degree from the University of Wyoming and worked as a public accountant prior to joining state employment.

Tim Walther

Tim Walther, an expert in human psychology and experiential learning, understands the intricacies of leadership and team dynamics and how to tap into unknown realms of human performance. Mr. Walther is the co-author of Seeking True North: The Pathway to Freedom, Beauty and Success, an engaging book which provides over 120 models, methods and tools for personal and business success. In 2010 his business strategies are being featured on The Winning Edge business documentary in 137 countries world-wide. His combination of business savvy, mountaineering experience and leadership lessons make for a cutting-edge presentation that will inspire you and your colleagues long after the 2010 Summit.

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 came to the Department from 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 from Thomas Edison State College. Along with her education, Tobi has over 20 years of non-profit development experience.