Gratitude Through Hard Times

The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success. Stephen Hightower is the perfect representation of the American Dream. Stephen is an experienced Chief Operating Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the oil & energy industry. He grew up with humble beginnings but through per...

Everyone wants to be the change they want to see in the world. To do that, you have to be a catalyst for your own growth, as well as for the people around you. Don't know where to start? Ozzie Nelson has the answers you need. Ozzie is an accomplished Chief Executive Officer and chairman of Nelson who has applied entrepreneurial skills to the design, architecture, and planning industry. Even though...

Everyone wants to have someone they look up to, someone who inspires them to become the best versions of themselves despite difficult circumstances. Jeff Bush is one of those people you can look up to. Jeff is a highly motivated, goal-oriented Operations Executive with an established history of exceeding goals in many areas. Despite growing up with his odds stacked against him, he was able to lear...

Claude Silver is VaynerMedia's Chief Heart Officer, the capstone of a career focused on guiding client relationships, global brand strategies, operations, and management. An abiding passion for creating spaces in which people can thrive defined her previous leadership positions at JWT London, Publicis London, SAYMedia, and Organic, among others. Connect with and find out more about Claude at: http...

Ryan is a three-time entrepreneur who’s previous technology companies were successfully acquired by USA TODAY and Groupon. Now as the founder and CEO of Electric, Ryan is leveraging data and automation to deliver enterprise-grade IT services to small and midsize companies all over the US. Since founding in 2016, Electric has raised $39M and employs a team of 150 full-time employees across four off...

As CEO of Toffler Associates, Maria taps into deep experience with strategy development and execution, customer experience, business performance management, acquisition integration, and organizational transformation. Before joining Toffler Associates, Maria was a managing director at North Highland, overseeing media, entertainment, and communications industry. As the division president, she led th...

Lena Trudeau is CEO of U.Group, an advanced technology and creative design company committed to creating customer-centric innovation in the public and private sectors. An early advocate for government modernization, Lena spearheaded the creation of 18F, an in-house digital services team at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), and brought a similar model to the Canadian Digital Service (...

In 2010, Bryan and Shannon Miles felt a stirring from God. After experiencing the virtual assistant (VA) model for themselves, the couple was inspired to start their own business providing virtual support to busy leaders. After much prayer and due diligence, Bryan and Shannon followed God’s call and founded Miles Advisory Group. Within two months, they had signed four contracts with leaders in Ten...

As a Bahnsen Group Managing Director/Partner, Kimberlee specializes in personal wealth advising and oversees financial and retirement planning solutions for high net worth individuals and multi-generational families. She creates, and guides implementation of, cohesive strategies that incorporate all aspects of clients’ financial lives. Kimberlee’s proficiency also includes helping individuals tran...

Michael Farber is a social entrepreneur and founder of Breakout. Through his work with Breakout, Michael organizes transformative and powerful events in cities across the country to celebrate and give a voice to local change makers who lift up their communities. Find out more about Michael at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-farber-851a927/

Mark Rothschild is the founder and CEO of Right at School.  Prior to that, he was  COO of the JCC of Chicago and CEO of the Cincinnati JCC. Mark has held senior-level posts at Fastweb.com, Knowledge Advisors, and the Human Capital Research Corporation, has been a consultant in workforce development, training, and communications with McKinsey and Company and Arthur Andersen, and has taught at sever...

Stuart, is the Chair and CEO of Audubon, a membership group of St. Louis area civic-minded investors. Its 3 pillars are increasing wealth management knowledge, encouraging collaboration to make St. Louis area philanthropic efforts more effective and growing the vibrant St. Louis area start-up scene. Find out more about Stuart at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuzimmer/

James earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Miami University in 2000. Before joining Wealthquest, James spent five years with the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network as a Financial Representative. He spent most of that time training other Financial Representatives in financial planning techniques. James earned the right to use the CFP® mark in 2004. James is married with three ch...

Over his 25 years as a technology entrepreneur, Tom has built and led several highly profitable, industry-defining companies. Always a passionate champion of disruptive technologies, Tom began his career as an associate at BCG, where he was immersed in the shift to “big box” retail. He later served as president of Ticketmaster.com (LYV), where he helped lead the transition to online ticketing. The...

Anson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Battery, honored as a 3-time Ad Age Small Agency of the Year and ranked as a top 10 Fastest growing private company by the Los Angeles Business Journal 3 years in a row. In June 2019, Havas acquired a majority stake in Battery. Prior to Battery, he co-founded one of the first pure play social media agencies called Rocket XL, growing the company to 5 offices acros...

Joel Holland is the CEO of Harvest Hosts (harvesthosts.com), a membership network that connects RVers with unique overnight experiences at 1000+ wineries, farms, breweries, museums, golf courses and other interesting destinations in the US and Canada. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Storyblocks (storyblocks.com), a one-stop-shop for high quality stock media and the first subscription-based...

As a leading social innovator and TEDx speaker, Mark Shapiro is inspiring businesses, communities, and individuals to a kinder standard of influence. From his 12 years at Showtime Networks in a sales, training, and leadership role, his extensive research on authenticity (through the ‘Are You Being Real’ Podcast), and having sent 8,000 personalized shoutout videos to those he cares about, Mark is p...

An accomplished leader with a proven track record of aggressive, yet honorable leadership, Brian has led CMI to double digit growth, every year since 2008. Coming from humble beginnings, Brian was first hired to sweep the floors at CMI at 14 years old. He's come to love the industry AND the Company that has provided so much opportunity for himself, his family and their 100+ loyal and dedicated emp...

Mike began his investment career in the early 1980s in Columbus, OH as a research analyst at the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio. He founded Willingdon Wealth Management in 2003, and continues to utilize his extensive experience in research and fundamental analysis to play a leadership role in the firm’s overall investment process. Mike also has primary responsibility for the management...

Since founding LHA, formerly known as Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates in 1984, Keith Lippert has built a leading industry‐wide reputation as a highly respected strategist to public, private and foreign emerging‐growth companies. Along with his partner, John Heilshorn, Keith has provided counsel to thousands of companies from large-cap to micro-cap establishing LHA as a pioneer and a premier pro...

Courtney Nichols Gould is the Co-Founder/Co-CEO of SmartyPants Vitamins, the leading maker of premium comprehensive supplements with a commitment to bring more health to more people every day. Since launching online in 2011, SmartyPants has led the industry in making ingredient choices focused on quality and transparency and wrapping them in a delicious package. The company's products are top-rank...

Jillian is committed to creating connection and community by organizing places where people feel seen, heard, and valued. As a professional community builder, public speaker, and writer, Jillian is most known for being the founder of The Joy List, a weekly newsletter with the mission of reducing loneliness in New York City and eventually the world. She's been sending it out every Monday morning fo...

Dan Nester, President, and Chief Executive Officer co-founded Polaris Logistics Group in 2013 after 13 years at a large Third Party Logistics company. Dan brings a vast range of experience to Polaris, including the development and expansion of a broad customer and carrier base. He is responsible for operations, training, sales and accounting for the organization. He also serves as a mentoring reso...

One of today’s most influential voices in workplace trends, Chester Elton has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. In his provocative, inspiring and always entertaining talks, #1 bestselling leadership author Chester Elton provides real solutions to leaders looking to manage change, drive innovation, and lead a multi-generational work...

Justin Forsett is a former NFL running back and now a successful entrepreneur. He played 9 years in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, and Denver Broncos. His best season came in 2014 as a member of the Baltimore Ravens when he was selected to the Pro Bowl. Now Justin is an entrepreneur. He is the founder /...