Jermaine Davis
Before receiving the prestigious College Instructor of the Year Award, Dr. Jermaine Davis worked in corporate America for IBM, Keebler Cookies, and Frito-Lay in sales and management. In 2003, Dr. Jermaine started Snack Attack Vending of Minnesota. After six-years of continuous growth, Dr. Jermaine sold his company and devoted his life to full-time speaking, teaching, facilitating, and writing. Now, he’s an award-winning Professor of Communication Studies at Century College and Organizational Leadership at St. Kate’s University in Minnesota. Dr. Jermaine has authored 10 books including, Get Up Off Your Butt & Do It NOW, Leading with Greatness, and Leading and Working with an Inclusive Lens. He is known across the United States for teaching his popular 3 C’s Approach: Dr. Jermaine helps teams thrive and flourish with effective Communication, Cooperation, and Collaboration.
Dr. Jermaine was raised in a drug- and gang- infested area on the West Side of Chicago. After the tragic loss of six family members to violent deaths, he enrolled in college to change the direction of his life. Dr. Jermaine holds a BA and a MA in Speech Communication, and a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership. Dr. Jermaine specializes in helping leaders, teams, and organizations develop healthy work environments so ALL employees can thrive and flourish.
Dr. Jermaine is an international speaker, leadership, and communication coach that engages audiences with his unique style of speaking and facilitating known as – EDUTAINMENT – a fun combination of education and entertainment. Prestigious organizations like 3M, Allianz, Best Buy, Sam’s Club, Prudential, Wells Fargo, West Point Military Academy, John Deere, Medtronic, Land O’ Lakes, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car regularly seek out Dr. Jermaine’s expertise in the areas of increasing employee engagement, leadership development, communicating with influence, and overcoming workplace burnout.
Most importantly, he still loves to eat his grandmother’s homemade Mac ‘n’ Cheese AND all-you-can-eat crab legs.
Lea B. Olsen
Growing up in poverty in a racially-blended family created social dilemmas for Lea at a young age. She learned that when your family doesn’t fit the mold, you have to get comfortable breaking the mold. It was one of her first Wins in Life.
Lea began her basketball career in the junior year of high school and, after only two years, went on to play Division I basketball at the University of Minnesota. Surrounded by coaches and teammates while doing what she loved was transformational. She developed an appreciation for the critical role process plays in achieving your goals.
Lea’s unique perspective on Winning in sports, business, and life has given her a game plan on how to Win with purpose and passion. As a speaker and thought leader, she thrives on helping people and businesses find their Wins while staying true to their core values and beliefs.
Jeff Kortes
Jeff has more than 25 years experience in human resources. He has worked at companies that specialize in manufacturing, construction, and high tech. During his career he has worked to recruit, retain and develop employees, at companies including ConAgra Foods, SPX, Midas International and American Crystal Sugar.
Jeff is the founder of Human Asset Management LLC, which helps organizations to recruit, engage, develop and retain talent. Organizations that embrace his process have experienced reductions in employee turnover of 40-80%. He is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and a frequent speaker on the topic of loyalty, employee retention, recruitment and culture building. He is an avid high school wrestling fan, CrossFit participant and US Army veteran. Jeff is the author of Give Your Employees C.R.A.P…and 7 Other Secrets to Employee Retention and HR Horror Stories…True Tales from the Trenches.
Curtis Hill
Motivational Speaker | Diversity Expert | Inclusion Equity Coach | Author
In today’s world? Diversity, inclusion, and equity are no longer should have components in cultivating fair, safe, and effective business environments – they are a must.
That’s where diversity strategist, author, and speaker Curtis Hill comes in. Curtis brings audiences an empowering message of awareness, culture, and resilience, combined with a powerful mix of savvy business skills honed from a lifetime of both raw and well-crafted experience.
Growing up in Chicago, Curtis easily drifted into a life of violence and crime and quickly rose to become one of the city’s most recognizable and notorious gang members. While dealing drugs earned him a six-figure per month bankroll, it cost him everything when he witnessed the cold-blooded murder of his best friend and came face-to-face with the immense suffering it caused in his community.
That’s when Curtis turned to education to springboard his street smarts into solid business acumen. After earning four degrees, including a Master of Arts in Teaching, an Educational Specialist in Administration and Supervision, and a Black Belt in Six Sigma, Curtis now travels the globe helping businesses and associations manage the chaos of people, practices, and profits. His unique way of communicating complex issues like race and division with humor and humanity keeps audiences both laughing and learning.
Whether from a virtual or physical stage, Curtis delivers messages for leaders, sales professionals, service providers, and business professionals with high energy, purposeful passion, and solid strategies that create long-lasting and significant differences in their personal and professional lives. Want to learn how you can integrate more diversity, equity, and strong, effective business skills into your organization?