Ted Ma
Ted Ma is an international keynote speaker, author, and leadership strategist who works with leaders to increase their influence and impact. Unlike many leadership experts, Ted built an international sales team from scratch to over 6,000 independent agents, reaching the top 0.1% of over 300,000 sales reps. As an elder millennial, he has been coaching leaders for over 18 years. He believes that enhancing performance, morale, and loyalty begins with creating a culture of mentorship.
Ted was named one of the Top 100 keynote speakers of 2019 by Databird Business Journal and has been featured in publications including USA Today, Inc, CNBC, and the New York Times. He has shared the stage with speakers like John Maxwell, Jack Canfield, and Mel Robbins.
Casey O’Brien
Casey O’Brien, a native of St Paul, Minnesota, is a six time cancer survivor and widely recognized motivational speaker. After being diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, an extremely rare form of bone cancer, at the age of 13, his main goal in life has become inspiring others. After having the cancer relapse in both of his lungs in high school, he made varsity football debut as a Placeholder. He checked into the hospital for chemotherapy the following morning. He later walked on to play football as a Placeholder for Coach PJ Fleck and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Casey played in his first career Big 10 football game at Rutgers on October 19th, 2019. His first play and moment shared with Coach Fleck were covered by ESPN, ABC World News, The Today Show, and more. He spoke in front of a national audience at the 2019 ESPN College Football Awards Show after receiving the Disney Spirit Award for the most inspiring story in all of college football. He was the keynote speaker in front of 2,000 people at the 2019 Big 10 Media Days in Chicago, and his speech has now been viewed over 100,000 times. He looks to spread his positivity, unbelievable resiliency, and motivation to succeed to every group he speaks to.
Mark Johnson
Colonel Mark Johnson is one of America’s top motivational speakers, traveling the world and the United States inspiring audiences to achieve great success, above and beyond their expectations. Born in Warrensburg, this native son has made presentations in every U.S. state and twelve nations overseas. Mark has led a fascinating life, full of travel and death-defying adventure. He survived numerous harrowing life and death situations during his twenty-one years as a Colonel in the Green Berets. He commanded specially-trained and educated teams that our nation selected for the most dangerous and hazardous missions. He conducted operations, many of a sensitive and classified nature, in over fifty- five nations on four continents. The invaluable lessons he learned in Leadership, Motivation, and Team Building, were shaped in times of extreme danger on the battlefields of the world. He learned to inspire those in his care to fearlessly excel despite enormous odds and he now translates those valuable lessons to today’s business world, community leaders, and classrooms of all levels. He is a highly decorated combat veteran; having received over twenty awards, including the Bronze Star, earned for his heroic leadership during the first Gulf War. He also fought in Somalia, popularized by the movie “Blackhawk Down”. He is a Master Parachutist, having made over two-hundred jumps, and has been awarded the foreign parachutist badge from fourteen nations.
Since 9 / 11, Mark has been continuously called upon to assist our nation in the Global War on Terror, returning frequently to the Middle East and Asia. He has spent months in Iraq and Kuwait, teaching Counter Insurgency to battle staffs and commanders of all services. Mark spent 8 years on the faculty of the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, working for General David Petraeus, among others. He instructed and mentored many Special Operations leaders of today, including the current commander of SEAL Team Six, the unit responsible for conducting the Osama Bin Laden raid. Despite the fact that Mark is in high demand on the speaking circuit, he finds time to teach multiple leadership courses each semester at two Community Colleges in the Kansas City area, including Longview College in Lee’s Summit, MO. He also provides leadership and planning training to state and community leaders, as well as academic leaders from numerous colleges and universities in the U.S.
He is the author of two books: “How to Get Anyone to Follow You Anywhere: Green Beret Secrets to Leadership and Team Building”; and his latest, “Lessons in Leadership: Straight Talk from a Green Beret”, in which he was invited to the White House to present to former President Bush and wife Laura, and who kept his signed copy in the den at the White House.
Waldo Waldman
Known as “The Wingman,” Lt Col Waldo Waldman, MBA, CSP, CPAE is a highly decorated combat fighter pilot with 65 missions in Iraq and Serbia. A Hall of Fame Speaker, business consultant and executive coach, he is the author of the New York Times bestseller Never Fly Solo. Waldo helps organizations build collaborative cultures of trust, courage and commitment in highly competitive, rapidly changing business environments. In addition to his time in the military, Waldo has real world corporate sales and management experience and is an expert on change management, peak performance, and resilience – having broken through a lifelong fear of heights and overcoming claustrophobia as a fighter pilot.
A key message in his inspirational and high energy “Never Fly Solo” signature keynote is that you can’t reach your highest potential alone. You need wingmen – trusted partners – to help you win when adversity strikes. His compelling stories and techniques on overcoming obstacles, performing under pressure, earning trust, and servant-based leadership are extremely relevant to diverse organizations who seek to create a “One Team, One Mission” performance-focused culture of trust and collaboration.
Waldo is the author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Never Fly Solo and an inductee into the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame, a prestigious award that has been bestowed on less than 190 speakers worldwide. A graduate of the U.S Air Force Academy, he also holds an MBA with a focus on Organizational Behavior and is the founder of The Wingman Foundation whose mission is to build funds and awareness for veterans in need. He’s been featured on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Inc. Magazine, and The Harvard Business Review, and his global clients include American Express, Hewlett Packard, Verizon, GE, The Denver Broncos, Merck, Johnson & Johnson and dozens of national associations.
Bob Sansevere
Who is Bob Sansevere? This veteran journalist, author and media personality, in describing himself, notes that, “I’m charismatic, wildly entertaining and remarkably insightful, and if you’re even a fraction as impressed with me as I am with myself, you’re going to love what I have to offer.”
What Bob can offer, in a style all his own, is something completely different from the usual suspects of inspirational speakers. That’s because Bob’s life work in the media has been an amazing three-plus decade journey across an American landscape of winning, losing and everything in between, from high school heroes to the Super Bowl. And the lessons he’s learned along the way on this journey have something everyone can relate to. In fact, with Bob it’s all about the journey. When Bob steps up to microphone, he has one and only one goal – to take everyone in the room on a journey. His journey will take you to towns you never heard of and places you want to go, full of everyday people and national celebrities, some funny, some sad – but all sharing the same simple message: Embrace the Journey.
Bob’s colorful narrative and stinging wit bring industrial-strength commentary to the simple things in life that often mean the most. His larger-than-life on-stage presence turns up the energy level in any room. He is an animated choreography of insight, anecdotes and chuckles – all punctuated, when you least expect it, by an incisive heartfelt wisdom that delivers a one-two inspirational punch that people are sure to carry with them long after they’ve left the room. Bob’s a powerhouse monologist of the first order, and can deliver a funny and thought-provoking speech that can engage and enrich people in your group — and inspire them to tap into their “inner winner.” Whether it leads to a significant work-related accomplishment or a life-enhancing achievement, Bob’s words will encourage your group to Embrace the Journey. Bob is a sports columnist and hosts his own digital radio show, “The BS Show.” Bob spent more than 30 years as a member of the KQRS Morning Show, the highest-rated morning show in America for much of the past two decades. Bob also has been a contributor to several TV news and sports shows. He spent eight years as a member of the Orono City Council and serves on the Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose school board. And, with his wife, Mary, was a foster parent for more than 15 years. Bob has written a book entitled, “The Best Minnesota Sports Arguments.” And calling on his background as a multiple national champion in the horse show world, Bob has designed with Jostens, an internationally known jewelry company, official championship rings and pendants for two horse registries.
Gaye Lindfors
Gaye approaches life as a front row observer of celebrations, messy places, and you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me! moments. Not afraid to poke fun at her own mishaps, she shares life and business lessons, hope, and humor from her own experiences: successful corporate and non-profit leader, business owner, a city girl with a small-town heart, caregiver, and self-proclaimed Chief Encourager.
Whether you’re working, volunteering, taking care of things at home, or showing up for your friends, your heart wants to feel alive. With her stories and the welcoming style and wit she’s known for, Gaye will encourage your heart, help you rediscover the joy in your everyday, and remind you that your life makes a difference.
Gaye led a human resources department that supported 11,000 airline employees, served as Special Assistant to a university president, and has an M.A. in Industrial Relations. She has served in leadership roles in associations, non-profits, and volunteer and professional women’s organizations. She is past-president of the National Speakers Association/Minnesota chapter, and was Regional Director for Christian Women in Media. Gaye is the author of several books, including “This is Livin’!” and “Getting My Ducks in a Row and Other Stories of Faith.”
Sara Frasca
Sara Frasca helps organizations capitalize on a refreshing new way of thinking, creating a culture that enables creative problem-solving to drive lasting change.
An expert on innovation and the power of human creativity, Sara Frasca weaves together sparkling story-telling with inspirational tools of innovation, while masterfully driving actionable impact from the moment she steps on-stage.
David Glickman
David Glickman has been a professional speaker and entertainer for over 20 years and is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame. Before transitioning from “show business” to “speech business” he worked with comedy stars like Steve Martin and Ellen DeGeneres, as well as operating his own chain of comedy clubs.
In the late 1990s, David moved full-time into professional speaking. His presentations were created from a combination of the “workplace wisdom” he learned as a business owner and the “comic relief” he learned on the comedy stages.
Today, David’s popular keynotes teach vital strategies for success. His valuable content, combined with his customized humor, provide attendees with incredible tools to handle the myriad of challenges they face every day.
Scott Burrows
Scott Burrows is a motivational business speaker who brings the concepts of Vision, Mindset and Grit to life using his life-changing story as the backdrop for organizational success. Three simple, yet powerful words that when put into action can help your organization stand up to any challenge.
By the age of 19, Scott played college football at Florida State University for legendary coach Bobby Bowden and was a top-ranked kick-boxing Black Belt champion whose last fight was broadcast by ESPN. Scott’s life changed dramatically when he survived a catastrophic car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down and diagnosed a quadriplegic. Told he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, Scott realized his split-second decision to not wear a seat belt had altered his course forever.
Despite his grim diagnosis, Scott astounded his doctors and refused to be sidelined. After graduating with a degree in Finance, Scott served as a Financial Advisor in the Insurance and Financial Industry for Northwestern Mutual. He specialized in life and disability insurance, as well as retirement, estate and wealth planning. In his 5th year, he hit a huge goal and qualified for the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), the Premiere Association of Financial Professionals, which is a 100% commission-driven sales production award that fewer than 8% of his peers qualify for annually from more than 500 companies in 70 countries around the world.
At the pinnacle of his career, Scott experienced yet another setback, a second automobile accident. Although buckled in this time, new injuries forced him to RE-evaluate, RE-invent and once again RE-ignite his life by practicing what he preaches.
During his nine month recovery, Scott reminisced about the overcoming adversity speakers he heard at sales and leadership conferences. Their life-changing stories inspire others to chase their dreams, regardless of obstacles or barriers. That’s when Scott decided he would make the tough decision to leave an industry he had so much passion and success in to pursue a speaking career that has taken him around the world.
Scott also took advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help expand his brother’s golf course fertilizer and equipment company into Southeast Asia by disrupting an industry and doing what the competition was unwilling to do – offer custom-blended fertilizers designed specifically to meet the needs of golf course fairways based on individual soil tests. This expansion brought in an excess of 1.6 million the first year.
Scott is the author of Vision, Mindset, Grit! Vision refers to your goals and aspirations, the endpoint you are seeking. Mindset is the continual mental preparation and adjustment needed to meet oncoming challenges. Grit is the day-to-day determination to persevere when you are too tired, too sore or too beleaguered to press on.
Scott has delivered keynote in 45 states as well as Australia, Spain, India, Thailand, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil, the Czech Republic and Canada, and our soldiers at the Minot Air Force Base.
Bruce Christopher
Psychologist and humorist, Bruce Christopher, is America’s foremost “Enter-Trainer” today. He has earned this distinction because of his high-energy style and humorous presentation of his material. He is a licensed psychologist holding degrees in Professional Psychology and Interpersonal Communications from the University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas. Bruce has Enter-Trained audiences internationally because of his humorous approach to today’s hot topics which impact our personal, professional and practice lives. He combines excellent content with loads of laughter and contagious comedy.
He has been honored to speak at the Exclusive Million Dollar Roundtable Conference (three times!), the Royal College of Surgeons in London, the Mayo Clinic, and on the largest stage in the world.
His clients include: American Airlines, American Express, Best Buy, Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Boeing, General Electric, IBM, The IRS, Oracle, 3M, New York Life, State Farm, Texas Instruments, U.S. Navy, U.S. Postal, Wells Fargo and many others.
Bruce is a credentialed professional speaker and trainer, he is a member of the American Psychological Association, the National Speakers Association, and is a practicing clinical psychologist. He has earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation (CSP), which is the speaking profession’s highest merited international measure of professional platform competence. Less than 12 percent of speakers worldwide, currently hold this professional designation. He speaks over 100 times each year and is one of the most sought-after speakers in the Fortune 500 and at the most prestigious medical and dental conventions.
His mission is: “Laugh ’till you cry…Learn ’till you change!” “I was expecting a lecture, instead what I saw was more like a stand-up comedy show with great content!”
His best-selling keynotes consistently sell out to standing room only crowds at national conventions.
When you are faced with morale problems, communication conflicts, customer service issues, managing change, need for teamwork, or just a great time of laughter. . . this Psychologist is in!