Fredo Arias–King is the President of T&R Chemicals, Inc., of Texas and has served as senior advisor on international affairs to Mexico’s ruling National Action Party (PAN) and the Vicente Fox presidential campaign. He currently serves as a democratic advisor to the democratic movements in Moldova and Belarus. Fredo has published numerous articles about democratic transition and is the author of two books, most recently, Transiciones a la democracia: Las lecciones de Europa del Este. He is founder of the academic quarterly Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, based in Washington, DC. Fredo holds both an MBA and MA in Russian Studies from Harvard University.
Rita Baily is the Founder and CEO of QVF Partners, Ltd., in Dallas, Texas which partners with organizations and individuals who are committed to creating people-focused cultures. Prior to founding QVF Partners, Rita held numerous leadership roles for 25 years at Southwest Airlines in customer service, sales and marketing, public relations, human resources and as Director of Southwest Airlines University. Rita’s focus was to build the people who built Southwest into one of the most successful and profitable democratic airlines in the world. Her mantra: “If you put people first, profits will follow.”
Sam Chaltain is the first National Director of the Forum for Education and Democracy, a DC-based education advocacy organization devoted to restoring the public purpose of public education. He is also the founding director of the Five Freedoms Project, a national program that helps K-12 principals create more democratic learning communities. Previously, Sam spent five years at the First Amendment Center as the co-director of the First Amendment Schools program. Sam came to the Center from the public school system of New York City, where he taught high school English and History. Sam’s writings about his work have appeared in both magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post, Education Week and USA Today. A periodic contributor to CNN, Sam is also the author or co-author of four books: The First Amendment in Schools (ASCD, 2003), First Freedoms: A Documentary History of First Amendment Rights (Oxford University Press, 2006), American Schools: The Art of Creating a Democratic Learning Community (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009), and We Must Not Be Afraid to be Free: Selected Stories About Free Expression in America (Oxford, 2010). Sam has a Master’s degree in American Studies from the College of William & Mary, and an M.B.A. from George Washington University. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he graduated with a double major in Afro-American Studies and History.
Keith Chiavetta is the President and CEO of Chiavetta Management Advisors, LLC, which helps organizations achieve business and information technology alignment. Most recently, Keith worked for a Global-6 accounting, tax and advisory services firm, where he held a variety of roles including corporate strategist, business process re-alignment leader and advisory services director. Some of the clients Keith has worked with include Bear Stearns, Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wal-Mart, as well as many family-owned and not-for-profit businesses. He is a member of the Association for Strategic Planning and the Turnaround Management Association. Keith is a graduate of The University of Iowa where he focused his studies in the areas of political science, finance and entrepreneurship. For the past decade, Keith has volunteered his time at the University of Iowa Bedell Entrepreneurship Center, where he advises college students who are starting their own businesses. Keith began his career as an entrepreneur. While at the University of Iowa, he owned and operated a CD-ROM development and multimedia production firm. Keith subsequently served in technology management roles at Apple Computer, Rockwell Collins and Hewlett Packard, and has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal. Keith has been an advisor to Traci for nearly 15 years. He is originally from Iowa and currently resides in Chicago with his family.
Mark Dowds is the CEO of Brainpark, and is an original thinker, entrepreneur, coach, and leader. To date, he has helped over 50 new businesses move from concept to reality. Mark is also known for his deep insight into people, relational dynamics, and his systems perspective on organizational development. He has held several executive positions throughout his life and chose to move into consultancy and entrepreneurship to fulfill a vision of workplace democracy and engaged contribution. Currently, he works towards this goal as co-founder and CEO of a software company called Brainpark, which focuses on helping workers benefit from networked collective intelligence and as the co-founder of Creationstep, Inc. Previously, Mark helped design many eLearning and classroom training experiences and has published several books on the topic. Mark is a certified NLP trainer from the NLP University in Santa Cruz, California and is currently completing his masters in Organizational Psychology focusing on systems psychodynamics. He has a certificate in Business Development and Marketing, a diploma in Care and Counseling, and a degree in Divinity. Some of the clients Mark has worked with include Amex, Royal Bank of Canada, Rogers Communication, Youth Specialties, CIBC, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and many start-ups. Mark also sits on the Board of Directors for the Ireland Fund of Canada and Give Meaning Foundation. He is originally from Ireland and currently resides in San Francisco, California.
Dr. Laurance Doyle is a quantum physicist, a Principal Investigator at the SETI Institute, and a consultant on stellar spectral classification to the NASA Kepler mission. He is also the President of PlanetQuest, a non-profit corporation that brings planet detection capability to the public via an educational screen-saver and browser. Dr. Doyle has also worked as an engineer with the Voyager spacecrafts in the Space Image Processing Group at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He s a visiting Lecturer at the University of California, Santa Cruz teaching classes on Life in the Universe, and Light & Optics, has about one hundred refereed papers in the scientific literature and and lectures widely.
Randy Eiseman is a founding partner of Satori Capital, which is the preferred capital partner for companies that are building significant long-term value through a sustainable approach. Formerly, he was CEO of Handango, the leading provider of smartphone content globally. Randy was also named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of The Year for 2004. Prior to founding Handango, Randy led the venture capital division of Q Investments, a multi-billion dollar private investment firm and worked as a financial analyst for Goldman, Sachs & Co. Randy also has a strong passion for entrepreneurialism and sustainable business practices and is a member of the Board of Directors of Stagen, a member of Investor’s Circle, and a member of the Founders’ Circle of FLOW, a non-profit organization created by Whole Food’s CEO John Mackey, dedicated to “liberating the entrepreneurial spirit for good.” In addition, Randy is an active angel investor focused on sustainable business in a variety of industries ranging from financial services to health care. Randy has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas, is actively involved in Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and is currently serving on the TCU Entrepreneurial Program Advisory Board. Randy lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife, Jennifer, and their son, Aidan.
George Gendron served as the Editor-in-Chief of Inc. Magazine for two decades, guiding the publication from a start-up through its sale to Bertelsmann, the $20 billion media company. Under his direction, Inc. became the world’s premiere business magazine for leaders of small- to mid-sized growing businesses. Currently, George is the founder and Director of Clark University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, one of only four university-wide entrepreneurship centers in the country. In 1997 George formed a joint venture with Michael Porter, of the Harvard Business School, to publish the Inner City 100, a ranking of the fastest-growing companies in America’s inner cities. His appearances include 20/20, 48 Hours, CNBC, CNN, and National Public Radio. He has also been quoted extensively in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and other major publications. He has appeared on the TJFR list of “The 100 Most Influential Business Journalists in America” every year since the list was created, and was named one of the ten most influential magazine journalists in the technology arena in 2001 and 2002. George is currently at work on a book titled “The Art of the New,” designed to demystify entrepreneurship and innovation. He is also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s largest foundation devoted to fostering entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education in the U.S.
Susanne Goldstein, Founder of The Accelerator, Inc., is an engineer-designer-filmmaker-business strategist who uses people-centric creative-collaboration to help organizations accelerate their ability to change the world. Her diverse Hollywood, software, dot-com and social sector experience provide her with a unique framework for addressing social issues. She specializes in cutting edge technologies, business model innovation, and social networks. Susanne has taught graduate course work in interactive product design at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco and is a founding partner in Social Venture Partners - Bay Area, where she led the effort to start an after school program for low-income families in San Francisco. Susanne has deep roots as Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government where she is a Center for Public Leadership Fellow, teaches a social enterprise leadership study group and founded Social Enterprise in Action, a social enterprise advocacy group. She also serves on the Kennedy School’s Alumni Board of Directors. Susanne volunteers on a Harvard Business School CAP (Community Action Partners) consulting team working on projects for non-profit organizations in Boston and is part of the United Nations of Greater Boston Film Festival host committee. In a former life, she was a movie producer and screenwriter in Hollywood. Susanne holds a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School as well as a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an A.B. in Theatre and Film Studies, both from Cornell University.
Brett Jackson is an early stage investor, leader, and entrepreneur. Brett started his career at Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), as an original angel investor and one of the first ten employees, where he led major global marketing initiatives for five years. In 2007, Brett then founded Generation Think Tank, a marketing consulting firm that consults for companies that serve the born-digital generation of consumers. Brett served as the CEO for two years, before becoming the Chairman and active member of the company. Brett now serves as the Vice President of Marketing for an aerospace company. Brett has invested in over a dozen companies in the food and beverage, software, aviation, retail, fashion, and technology industries. Currently, he serves on several advisory boards, including Social Leverage, TravelFli, and TechStars. In addition to his investing and entrepreneurial efforts, Brett remains passionate about non-profits serving youth in Africa and the U.S. He currently serves as the program development director for The Q Fund, a children’s center that builds school-centered, self-sustaining communities in Ndola, Zambia. Brett is working with Emmy award-winning director Ric Waite on a feature film screenplay based on a best selling novel written by his grandfather. He lives in Boulder, CO.
Alexander Kjerulf is the Chief Happiness Officer and Founder of Happy At Work based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is a self-described ex-geek, radical Renaissance man, and hardest-working slacker. Alex is also the author of the book, Happy Hour is 9 to 5 - How to Love Your Job, Love Your Life and Kick Butt at Work. Alex’s extensive background as a consultant, leader, entrepreneur, and business owner has taught him the importance and the practice of being happy at work. Leaders and employees from companies like IBM, Lego, DaimlerChrysler, Pfizer, PriceWaterhousCoopers and many others - big and small, private and public - are happier at work after using the methods taught Alex. Alex is a skilled and energetic speaker on the subject of happiness at work and why happiness is the major success factor for organizations today.
Michael TS Lindenmayer serves as the managing partner of Lindenmayer, Piquet + Co. Prior to founding LPCO, he built a series of real estate + retail ventures in Europe, US + Brazil. Before starting his entrepreneurial endeavors, Michael worked at Morgan Stanley in their institutional equities both in New York + London. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Michael worked in the strategy group at Charles Schwab. During his entrepreneurial life, Michael has collaborated closely with Ricardo Semler of Semco the leading democratically run Brazilian company. He worked with him on both commercial and social venture pursuits. Michael holds his BA from Kalamazoo College and completed follow-on research for Professor James P Womack of the MIT Sloan School. He is a founding member of the Rio Leadership Institute and South Leadership Institute. Michael was an early adopter of both the Grameen Bank + Room to Read. Michael speaks five languages and divides his time between Rio de Janeiro, Chicago + London.
Kareem Mayan is a product developer and entrepreneur. He currently builds software to help people live more fulfilling lives. Prior to that, he co-founded eduFire.com, an educational marketplace where teachers use video to teach students from across the globe. Kareem served as Director of Product Development at the FOX Interactive Media (FIM) Labs group and played significant roles in building successful community sites at ESPN.com and FOXSports.com. Kareem also worked for ALS Therapy Development Foundation, helping the small non-profit pioneer a new model of drug testing while searching for a cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease. Kareem is also the co-founder of Blue Sky Collaborative, which helps non-profits use the web to raise money and awareness. A passionate believer in good employee and customer experiences, Kareem is a graduate of Creative Good’s Fellows Program, and in 2006 he moderated a council of Fortune 2000 directors and managers who helped each other solve business problems. In early 2006, Kareem brought together a community of 85 technologists in LA as a co-organizer of LA’s first “unconference”. A Toronto native, Kareem graduated from McGill University in Montreal with a degree in psychology and computer science.
Shrikumar S. Rao Ph.D. is the author of Are You Ready to Succeed: Unconventional Strategies for Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life which is an international best-seller and has been translated into many languages and distributed globally. He has conducted workshops for and spoken before executives of Microsoft, Google, Lehman Brothers, McDonald’s, Chubb, IBM, United Airlines, Allstate, Johnson & Johnson and dozens of others. He conceived the pioneering course, Creativity and Personal Mastery, which is the only business school course that has its own alumni association and it has been extensively covered in the media including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the London Times, the Independent, Time, the Financial Times, Fortune, the Guardian, Business Week and dozens of other publications. The Creativity and Personal Mastery course is one of the most popular and highest rated courses at London Business School, Columbia Business School and the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley where he teaches. Dr. Rao has been a contributing editor for Forbes as well as Inc., Business 2.0, Hemispheres, Beyond Computing and Training and was a contributing editor for both Financial World and Success. He was a special assistant to the President of Warner Communications, a senior consultant in mergers and acquisitions for the Continental Group and was Associate Director of Marketing Research Services for Data Resources and for McGraw-Hill.
Rusty Rueff was the CEO of SNOCAP from 2005 through the successful sale of the company to imeem, Inc. in April 2008. SNOCAP was the world’s first end-to-end solution for digital licensing and copyright management services empowering record labels and individual artists to monetize their digital creations on popular sites such as MySpace and other social networks. Prior he was an Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Electronic Arts (EA), at the time the world’s largest and leading, interactive entertainment software company. Joining EA in 1998, Rusty was responsible for global Human Resources, Talent Management, Corporate Services and Facilities, Corporate Communications, and Government Affairs, reporting to EA’s Chairman and CEO. In 2003, Fortune Magazine named EA one of the “Top 100 Places to Work For” in the United States. Prior to joining EA, Rusty held positions with the PepsiCo companies for over 10 years, concluding his career with PepsiCo as Vice President, International Human Resources. Prior to his tenure with PepsiCo, he spent two years with the Pratt & Whitney Division of United Technologies. In addition, he spent six years in commercial radio as an on-air personality. Rusty holds an M.S. degree in Counseling, and a B.A. degree, in Radio and Television from Purdue University. He was given the honor in 2003 of being named a Distinguished Purdue Alumni. He is a Director of the Purdue Foundation and he and his wife are the named benefactors of Purdue’s; Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts. He currently serves on the Corporate Boards of Glassdoor.com and HireVue. He is an Executive Trustee and Vice-Chairman of the Board of the San Francisco based American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) and Secretary/Treasurer of The Grammy Foundation in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) and also the co-author of Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business. Rusty regularly contributes to a number of blogs including Glassdoor.com’s Clearview Collection and his own: Bolts of Thinking and Purposed worKING. Rusty and his wife, Patti, and reside in Hillsborough, CA. and Charlestown, RI.
Elisabet Sahtouris, Ph.D. is an internationally known American/Greek evolution biologist, futurist, author, and business consultant who travels the world speaking on the future course of human social and economic evolution. Elisabet teaches in the Bainbridge Graduate Institute’s MBA program on sustainable business in Seattle, and is a fellow of the World Business Academy. She has taught at MIT and the University of Massachusetts; written for the TV science program, Nova/Horizon; organized Earth Celebrations 2000 in Athens, Greece; and has been a UN consultant on indigenous peoples. Dr. Sahtouris has spent much of her life living in Greece and the Peruvian Andes, finding solutions to the world’s major social and economic problems in the Earth’s ecosystems and indigenous sciences. She has been involved with the World Bank, EPA, Boeing, Siemens, Tokyo Dome Stadium, Australian National Government, Sao Paulo’s leading business schools, State of the World Forums (in New York and San Francisco), as well as the World Parliament of Religion in South Africa. Her books include EarthDance: Living Systems in Evolution; A Walk Through Time: From Stardust to Us; and Biology Revisioned (with Willis Harman).
Bill Taylor is the Founding Editor of Fast Company magazine and for nearly two decades, as a writer, a speaker, and an entrepreneur, has been setting the idea agenda for business and showcasing the power of business at its best—with a special emphasis on how democratic ideals of distributed leadership and peer-to-peer collaboration can reshape both the marketplace and the workplace. Bill is the co-author of three books on strategy, leadership, and the changing logic of global competition. As cofounder and founding editor of Fast Company, he launched a magazine that changed the conversation about the best ways to do business and has won a passionate following around the world. In 2004, in recognition of Fast Company’s impact on business, Taylor was named “Champion of Workplace Learning and Performance” by the American Society of Training and Development. Past winners of this annual award include Jack Welch of General Electric, John Chambers of Cisco Systems, and Fred Smith of FedEx. Prior to launching Fast Company, Bill was associate editor of the Harvard Business Review, where he steered HBR’s coverage of technology, innovation, and the new business models emerging in Silicon Valley, and conducted interviews with some of the world’s leading CEOs. Bill is now at work on two projects. He’s an adjunct professor at Babson College, where he teaches an MBA course and hosts visiting CEOs in a forum called The Maverick Seminar at Babson College. He’s also author of the forthcoming book, Mavericks at Work: Restoring the Promise of Business, Transforming Your Company and Career.
Carol Thompson is an entrepreneur, mentor and advisor known for her ability to envision and execute highly successful business development and leadership strategies for a wide range of organizations. She is president of the Project 19 Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, issue-neutral organization that empowers women to advance into leadership roles through public awareness initiatives and education opportunities. In 1993, she helped to found the Young Women’s Alliance of Austin to facilitate networking and support for the next generation of women leaders. Carol has had a long involvement in Leadership Texas, the longest running women’s leadership program in the U.S. She is the 2010 fundraising co-chair for RISE Austin, a conference series providing a free forum for entrepreneurs to connect. Among her other current board activities are St. Edward’s University School of Management and Business, The University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas Gender Council, Naturally Curly.com and Austin’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. Carol has been recognized as “one of Austin’s 5 most powerful women” by the Austin Business Journal and as one of Austin’s “top 25 tech players to know” by the Austin American-Statesman. She has been a past delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business and the recipient of numerous awards including the Office Depot Women in Technology International award. In Austin, she has been the recipient of the Liz Carpenter Lifetime Achievement award from the Association for Women in Communications. Raised in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Carol is the granddaughter of a sea captain and daughter of a machine shop owner who always told her ”girls can do anything.” Carol has a grown son and daughter and two granddaughters, ages four and five; her hope is that Lily and Sophia become strong leaders and peacekeepers.
Ingrid Vanderveldt is the CEO of Vanderveldt & Co., the creator and host of of CNBC’s first Original Primetime Series, “American Made,” which has featured CEOs from companies including Clear Channel, Starbucks, Whole Foods, Harley Davidson, and the Sacramento Kings and the CEO of the Club E Network, the world’s premier network for entrepreneurs. Ingrid is a recognized global expert and consultant in entrepreneurship and emerging companies. Her passion lies in the belief that through entrepreneurship, we all have the power to create positive global change. Her mission in life is to reach out and connect with as many people as possible to help inspire, empower and enable them to be successful entrepreneurs. Ingrid has also become a trusted corporate partner through her ability to deliver critical solutions to challenging and seemingly impossible problems, working with clients such as Microsoft, SAIC, Humana, CBS SportsLine, and many others. Ingrid is also the creator of the first major awards show for entrepreneurs, The E Awards. She is the annual emcee of the Moot Corp Competition- MOOT CORP and a founding member of The Billionaire Girls Club.
Sanford Wilder is president, CEO, and CFO of Communico Ltd, a leader in service training and development that has been serving clients for over 24 years. Sandy co-developed the MAGIC Service Culture System™, a proprietary, integrated system of training and consulting that ensures consistently exceptional service. With over 25 years of experience as a consultant, trainer, and coach, Sandy has helped leaders at all levels in Fortune 1000 companies to effectively lead and manage. He has consulted with and trained thousands of people in leadership, coaching, listening, team building, customer relations, presentation skills, selling, writing, and reading. Recently he created and recorded, “The Quiet Work of Leadership”, an audio tape/CD/booklet focused on a leader’s role in sustaining a culture of world-class leadership and performance. Sandy has a BA in economics from Union College and has conducted graduate work in the fields of organizational development and psychology.
