Karl has been a get-your-hands-dirty entrepreneur for 20+ years. He has a BA in Economics from Colorado College and an MBA from CU Boulder. Karl’s background is in running marketing and sales companies. For the past 6 years, he has run The Carruthers Group, a sales growth agency focused on implementing and executing programs for improving all phases of the sales funnel.
Building better service systems is the thread through the tapestry of Linda LaGanga’s career history, which spans high-tech startup operations, clinical service delivery, and quality and process improvement. As an author and educator in clinical appointment scheduling and service operations, Linda has forged new frontiers of clinical appointment scheduling research and practice to promote better access to healthcare services.
Linda is the VP of Quality & Informatics at Mental Health Partners, a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization. MHP was founded in 1962 as the Mental Health Center of Boulder County and opened at the county general hospital on North Broadway in Boulder.
After leading a bicoastal professional and educational life, Linda settled in Boulder, CO where she walks to work as often as possible and minimizes her carbon footprint by using her Eco transit pass to the max.
Julie Reiskin is the executive director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC). CCDC advocates for social justice for people with all types of disabilities.
CCDC is a leading disability rights organization whose unique model of blending legal and non-attorney advocacy has achieved results for thousands of Coloradans with disabilities. With a motto of Nothing About Us Without Us Ever, CCDC has led the way in citizen or client engagement and CCDC trained advocates permeate the Colorado public policy arena. CCDC and Ms. Reiskin assist other organizations with assuring real and meaningful participation by clients at all levels.
Through CCDC and the disability community, Ms. Reiskin has gained expertise on nonprofit accountability and best practices, publicly funded long-term community based services, disability rights law, public benefits and the intersectionality of systemic and individual advocacy. Ms. Reiskin has proposed and helped to implement many solutions to create a sustainable and client friendly Medicaid program such as the consumer direction as a delivery model, acted as a respected advocate for individuals and has trained many others in health advocacy and health policy. Prior to becoming the Executive Director for CCDC in 1996, Ms. Reiskin served as the organization's policy analyst.
In 2010, Ms. Reiskin was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation as the client representative.
Ms. Reiskin provides consulting with organizations seeking to improve, expand or enhance their ability to effectively practice real and meaningful client/constituent engagement at all levels of the organization. She also helps organizations develop disability cultural competence.
Ms. Reiskin moved to Colorado from Connecticut in 1994. In Connecticut, she was a partner in a consulting firm, specializing in diversity issues throughout Southern New England. She also had a private psychotherapy practice.
Previous work includes, but is not limited to, several positions working with "hard to serve" youth and positive youth development, AIDS/HIV Education, and grassroots community organizing. Ms. Reiskin has taught extensively in the areas of disability rights, disability culture and disability policy, along with other areas related to diversity in human services.
Ms. Reiskin received her Masters in Social Work from the University of Connecticut, with a major in community organizing in 1989. She obtained a B.S. in Women's Studies from the University of Connecticut in 1985. She lives in Denver with her partner of more than 20 years and has two adult stepsons, who both make her very proud.
Lloyd Lewis is president and CEO of Arc Thrift Stores. Arc has 24 stores and 15 donation stations in Colorado. Arc provide advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and is one of the largest employers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the state of Colorado.
Lewis’ role includes oversight and management of Arc’s retail stores, corporate and support operations, and a staff of over 1,500 employees. Under Lewis’ tenure, revenue has grown from $30 million to $75 million annually, and earned income from $2 million to $10 million annually.
Lewis currently serves as board chair of the Colorado Cross Disability Coalition and of the Atlantis Community Foundation.
At Arc, Lewis is instrumental in forging relationships with communities of color, including Mi Casa Resource Center, the Latina Chamber of Denver, as well as other community organizations including the Mayor’s Road Home project. He received the Civil Rights Award from NewsEd Corporation for his work with challenged communities in 2008. He is also the recipient of an award as one of Denver’s “unsung heroes” in celebration of Denver’s 150th anniversary in 2009, and Lewis and Arc were named 2010 “Change Maker” for the City of Denver Change Maker program sponsored by Ashoka and the City of Denver.
Matt joined Red Idea LLC in 2010 and is a Partner, General Manager, and Food & Beverage Consulting Practice Director.
Matt was named a 2016 40 Under Forty honoree by BizWest Media as one of the top young professionals in Boulder and Broomfield counties. 40 Under Forty honorees are selected as the best and brightest emerging leaders making a difference in their companies, industries and communities.
Matt earned his MBA with a focus in Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a B.A. in Economics from Emory University.
Sam Allen is an Executive Coach based in Boulder, CO. As a Chair with Vistage International, the worlds leading chief executive membership organization, he facilitates peer groups and coaches CEOs and Business Owners to increase their effectiveness and enhance their lives.
Sam is an experienced CEO. He was International President for The Sports Authority, and managed the creation of a subsidiary in Canada and a joint venture company in Japan, which quickly grew to eighteen stores and $200 million in sales. Before, he was President and CEO of a regional chain of sporting goods stores in Southern California, Sport Chalet. While under his leadership, sales increased from $23 million to $135 million, and he took the Company public. During this time, Sam was a Vistage member for seven years. Before becoming a retail executive, Sam was a business consultant with the accounting firm, Ernst & Whinney, where he received his CPA certification. Education: Master of Business Administration, University of Southern California, and Bachelor of Arts, Pomona College.
Leo Bottary is Vice President, Peer Advantage for Vistage Worldwide, where he directs a thought leadership initiative on the power of peer influence for business leaders. Leo recently coauthored the book, The Power of Peers with Leon Shapiro, which was released by the publisher in March, 2016. Since 2008, Leo has also served as an adjunct professor, teaching online and on campus residencies for two of Seton Hall University’s graduate communication and leadership programs. In 2015, he was named adjunct teacher of the year for the College of Communication and the Arts.
Earlier in his career, Leo served in senior leadership positions at Mullen and at Hill & Knowlton (H&K), where he was also Director of Client Service for the US. In the mid 1990s, Leo founded a public relations agency that a leading industry trade publication hailed as a regional powerhouse, new media pioneer, and great place to work. Bottary & Partners Public Relations won national and regional awards and developed a website that was named best PR Agency website in America by Ragan Communications in 1997. He sold the firm in 2000.
Leo has earned a BA from Jacksonville University, an MA in Strategic Communication and Leadership from Seton Hall University and is expected to receive his EdD from Northeastern University with a concentration in Organizational Leadership upon completion of his Leos dissertation topic focuses on learning outcomes for CEOs who participate in peer advisory groups.
Kirk Dando helped scale and sell a billion-dollar company. As a C-level executive, he walked the lonely road of leadership and worried himself to distraction, but learned a lot. For more than 20 years, he has worked with more than 6,000 executives. These include ten Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year and several Best CEO winners.
His bestselling book, Predictive Leadership: Avoiding the 12 Most Common Mistakes that Derail Growth-Hungry Companies, shows execs how to predict and prepare for the most common business pitfalls. It helps eradicate their fears and doubts that make it lonely at the top. Kirk has a stunning track record of causing breakthrough growth for companies that face problems stemming from their own success.
As seen on Fox Business and Bloomberg Television, audiences relate to his real-world stories and his high-energy, no-nonsense style as he demonstrates how leaders can predict problems before they show up in the results.
You wont find another leadership expert like Kirk. He combines the raw emotion felt by leaders with the real-world action needed to achieve and sustain success. Forget complicated theories and bogus acronyms; Kirk gets to the heart of the matter to help leaders create real change in the lives of their employees, shareholders and themselves.