MoxieTalk with Kirt Jacobs

Author, innovator, futurist, teacher, commentator and founder of Thrivals at IdeaFestival, Nat Irvin, II, is the Woodrow M. Strickler Executive in Residence, Professor of Management Practice, College of Business, the University of Louisville where he has taught change management, leadership, future studies, and team dynamics since 2007. From 1996-2007, Irvin led Future Focus 2020, a think tank ded...

Wendy Whelan spent 30 years with New York City Ballet, 23 of those years as a principal dancer. She has danced virtually every major Balanchine role, and worked closely with Jerome Robbins on many of his ballets. She originated leading roles in works by such notable choreographers as William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Alexei Ratmansky, and Christopher Wheeldon. Wendy has been a guest artist with The R...

Fueled by new ideas, Kris Kimel began IdeaFestival and KSTC. Kimel is the founder of the international IdeaFestival, which originated in Lexington, Ky. in 2000 and moved to Louisville in 2006. The festival is designed to stimulate ideas and innovations across a multitude of categories – from filmmaking to healthcare, sustainable farming and more. The core of the festival is the belief that individ...

Acting is a calling for Ryan Burch. At 26, Burch is one of only two Americans, and one of just 27 from over 5,000 applicants, recently accepted into the prestigious London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art. One of the most elite acting schools in the world, the acting program has produced a roster of legendary actors including John Lithgow, Benedict Cumberbatch, Donald Sutherland, and Jim Broadbent....

Fred Noe carries on the 200-year family legacy of Jim Beam® master distillers. Noe is a 7th generation master distiller at the Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, Ky. In his additional role as bourbon ambassador for the Jim Beam Distillery, he shares the whiskey making craft and his family's rich legacy in the world of Kentucky bourbon. Noe is the son of the late Frederick "Booker" Noe Jr., master di...

Cole Gallagher is a NSCAA Scholar All American soccer player. Gallagher is a recent graduate of Kentucky Country Day School and is currently preparing for his freshman year as an Emory University student-athlete. As a student at KCD, Gallagher was named a Malone scholar, National Merit scholar, and Dabney Family scholar, and was a recipient of a University of Michigan Book Award. He also received...

Chef David Danielson applies classic French training with fresh and local flavor. As executive chef of the historic Churchill Downs Racetrack (home to the Kentucky Derby), Danielson celebrates authentic southern flavors with the richness of fresh and local ingredients. He brings over 20 years of hands-on experience in the hospitality industry with classic training to multiple restaurant formats of...

For Mary Haynes, meeting the needs of long-term memory impaired people is a calling. Haynes leads the Nazareth Home long-term care facility for the elder community in Louisville, Ky. Nazareth Home is an award-winning non-profit ministry guided by a Catholic tradition. Haynes' career choice came from her experience of a family member with Alzheimer's disease, and the effect it had on the family. Ha...

Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee is an American politician, Christian minister, author, musician, and commentator. He served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007 and was a candidate in the United States Republican presidential primaries in 2008 and 2016. Huckabee hosted a Fox News Channel show named HUCKABEE for seven years, ending the show when he left to run for president in 2008. He a...

Wes Henderson co-created Angel's Envy craft bourbon. Henderson co-founded Louisville Distilling Company with his father Lincoln. He, his father, and his son Kyle, developed Angel's Envy, the craft bourbon that spends its final six months of aging in used port wine barrels. In 2012, their bourbon earned the highest ever rating for bourbon from Wine Enthusiast magazine. (Side note: His father helped...

A passion for wellness fuels Carlos Rivas. Rivas is a highly regarded health and wellness expert by the medical community for his creation of disease prevention programs. He is a highly sought after presenter and health and wellness consultant, and is recognized as one of the top health and wellness coaches in the country. He has helped many corporations, teams, and individuals reach their optimal...

Dr. Brad Calobrace is a leader in the field of cosmetic breast surgery. Considered an authority in the field of cosmetic breast surgery, Calobrace has a thriving cosmetic surgery practice in Louisville, Ky. He performs over 400 breast surgeries per year. He has participated in multiple FDA clinical breast studies and has been a consultant and speaker for contoured cohesive gel implant manufacturer...

Robbie Bartlett's signature voice spans R&B, soul, and jazz. Bartlett and her band have opened shows for Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Sheryl Crow, The Righteous Brothers, and many others. David Crosby and Graham Nash specifically asked for her to perform before and after their concert. The legendary B. B. King once sent word back through his daughter, Shirley King, "Who is that? I like her voice," af...

For 20 years, Mike Berry has been at the helm of the Kentucky Derby Festival (KDF), one of the nation's largest and most notable civic celebrations. The festival spans the two weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby. Berry oversees the planning and production of nearly 70 events on the official schedule. The festival attracts an estimated 1.5 million people to the area each year. Berry built his ca...

Technology entrepreneur Stacy Griggs is a high energy executive with strong leadership skills. Griggs leads the day-to-day operations at El Toro, one of the fastest growing AdTech companies in the U.S. The company focuses on hyper-accurate targeting of digital advertising via IP addresses. He is one of the creators of El Toro's patent for IP Targeting, along with five other pending patents. He has...

Creativity, curiosity and discipline define Delanor Manson's accomplishments across many fields. Jewelry designer, businesswoman, nurse and Navy captain all describe successful careers mastered by Manson. With degrees in nursing and healthcare management, she has been at the forefront of innovative medical initiatives in both patient care and complex administrative issues. Achieving the rank of U....

Peng Looi followed his heart and became a world-class chef. Owner of two successful restaurants, guest chef at the prestigious James Beard House, and recipient of countless awards, Looi traded engineering for cooking and has never looked back. In 1987, Looi opened his first award-winning restaurant, August Moon Chinese Bistro, which features contemporary Chinese cuisine with South East Asian influ...

The desire to serve her community and have a greater impact on more people fuels Theresa Reno-Weber to excel. Recently named president and CEO of Metro United Way, which serves counties across Kentucky and southern Indiana, Reno-Weber has a wealth of experience in private and public sectors. She most recently served Louisville Metro Government where she oversaw the Office of Performance Improvemen...

A passion for life drives Kinsey Morrison to make a difference. Morrison had survived three different life-threatening illnesses by the age of 15. Today, she is a senior at Stanford University in California, studying international relations and Spanish, and dreaming of being a Supreme Court Justice. She is also training for a half marathon and spending 10 weeks in South Africa through a study abro...

A passion for service fuels Jerry Abramson. Abramson's career spans decades of serving the public – from local and state levels to the White House. His passion for making a difference now focuses on educating future generations. As the executive in residence at Bellarmine University, Abramson is developing a new institute for local and state government leadership, which will train elected official...

Tom Cottingham is a serial entrepreneur who builds successful publishing companies in the digital age. As CEO of Insider Louisville, Cottingham leads his team to deliver news in the world of smart phones, tablets and other emerging platforms in which traditional media may struggle. As he describes it: "Our mission is to deliver useful, engaging information about critical issues. We tell stories, t...

Abby Drane leads Uspiritus, whose mission is healing the hearts and minds of vulnerable youth and their families. A career professional administrator in the field of behavioral sciences, Drane re-joined Uspiritus as the president/CEO by unanimous vote in 2014. A twenty-five year veteran in the field, she previously served Uspiritus as CFO before moving to Seven Counties Services as VP of finance a...

Episode 197. Terry Forcht – Founder, Chairman and CEO, Forcht Group of Kentucky Terry Forcht is a leading Kentucky entrepreneur and investor and the founder of Forcht Group of Kentucky. A lawyer by training, Forcht began a law practice in Corbin, Ky. after serving as the chairman of the commerce department at Cumberland College (now University of the Cumberlands). In 1972, he purchased the first b...

Ian Derrer leads the Kentucky Opera, fueled by a lifelong love of opera. He became the fifth general director in Kentucky Opera history in 2006 and leads the organization in their mission to entertain and educate a broad and diverse audience by producing opera of the highest quality. Derrer joined the organization after serving in his previous role as artistic administrator and a member of the sen...

Donald E. Lassere leads the Muhammad Ali Center and fosters its mission of building and expanding on the Center's educational programs, partnerships, and other outreach initiatives. He facilitated a comprehensive rebranding process and implemented a strategic plan that focused the Center on the three primary program areas of education, global citizenship, and gender equality. Lassere also launched...