Desiree Petrich
Hi! I’m Desiree, I left my management position in Healthcare in 2021 after 10 years in the field, to follow my dream of growing myself, and helping others to develop into the person and leader they want to be. I now get to share the message of personal development, growth and leadership with those around me, to help set individuals up for success in their homes, at work and in their relationships.
I truly believe that both personal and professional success lies in our ability to create happy lives through confidence, kindness, strength, and collaboration. This helps us to overcome adversity, take risks, and lead a life we’re proud to call our own.
WHAT I DO: I help businesses and individuals prepare for opportunities, lead by example, and create self confidence in their ability to set goals and reach them. I do this through teambuilding, leadership development, group coaching and masterminds, keynote speaking, and personality assessments to help teams continue to grow as one.
WHY ME: I help individuals learn what they value about themselves, their team, and their company.
I have built myself up from the bottom in several areas of life. From losing 50 pounds in high school, and learning to maintain it, to starting as a CNA in a nursing home and working my way into a management position at a dementia facility.
I read an average of 70 books per year, and use that knowledge to help educate and add value to others who are looking for a happier life, but don’t know where to start.
I lost my mom in 2022, and found a way to maintain my healthy habits while grieving her loss, and raising a 2 year old and a 2 month old.
Jordan Michael
Jordan Michael is an accomplished vocalist, theater actor and author. With a truly exceptional voice and an extensive catalog of big band, Broadway and classic songs, he brings new energy wherever he performs. Diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder), he has never let his ‘different ability’ impede his love for music and passion for bringing joy to others.
Jordan sings at corporate and private events, has performed at outdoor festivals and in numerous theater productions. He also can start your event with the National Anthem. He is the author of “Things I Know – My Disability Does Not Define Me”, a booklet of Jordan’s own photography paired with personal life reflections, insights and encouragement for others.
You can’t help but smile when you hear his smooth vocals set to toe-tapping, big band and other classic songs. Jordan is the perfect fit for your Welcome Reception, your Gala, or any spot in your agenda that you need some fun.
Brenda Clark Hamilton
Brenda Clark Hamilton is a dynamic keynote speaker who offers fresh perspectives in leadership, communication, team-building, and offering one’s personal best to life, relationships, and career. Brenda launched her speaking business in the fall of 2005, by offering training to businesses in her northern Iowa community. She spoke at her first statewide conference in January of 2008. Since that time, she has become a nationally-recognized conference speaker and audience favorite, keynoting at hundreds of events in twenty states.
Audiences are quick to note Brenda’s sense of humor, in-depth knowledge, high energy, and skill at keeping them engaged. Brenda speaks at approximately 100 events each year, in every industry imaginable. Her recent speaking venues have included several trips to Colorado Springs to provide professional development for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
Brenda’s career experience includes coordinating professional development for 1200 Iowa teachers. She holds a Master’s degree in education.
Chad Ellsworth
Chad Ellsworth is an author; professional keynote speaker; career, leadership, and life coach who empowers people to cultivate courageous cultures in their workplaces and organizations. In 2018, he published, “Building up without tearing down: How to cultivate heroic leadership in you and your organization.” On December 29, 2018, he was featured in a story in the Star Tribune, “Coaching us to purposeful lives.” In 2007, Chad was named an Anti-Hazing Hero by HazingPrevention.Org, and in 2010, he received one of two national awards that year for outstanding professionals by the Fraternity Information & Programming Group (FIPG).
Chad served the University of Minnesota community for more than 15 years as a Career Coach for the Carlson School of Management, where he was recognized in 2018 as Staff of the Year; an Academic Advisor and interim Pre-Health Career Coach for the College of Biological Sciences; an Academic and Career Coach for the Center for Academic Planning & Exploration; Adjunct Faculty for the College of Biological Sciences, Leadership Minor, and Office of Undergraduate Education; Program Director for the Office for Fraternity & Sorority Life; and Student Activities Advisor.
Originally from Lincoln, Nebraska, Chad received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska in 2001, and his master’s degree from the University of Maryland in 2004. He currently serves Carleton College as the Program Director for Employer Relations. He lives in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area with his wife, Kristin, and two sons, Joey and Paul.
Lindsey Seavert
Lindsey Seavert is an Emmy, Edward R. Murrow, and Alfred I. duPont award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker fueled by a calling to bring untold stories to light.
The legacy of teaching in her family inspires Lindsey to use stories as a vehicle to empower, educate, create empathy and spark systemic change. Her parents were Minnesota public school teachers who gave her the gift of curiosity, so with a book and pencil often in hand, she began writing as a young child, and hasn’t stopped since.
She worked as a reporter at five news stations stretching from Northern Minnesota, Nevada, and Ohio before coming home to the Twin Cities and working as a reporter at WCCO-TV and KARE-11 TV.
In 2020, Lindsey moved to a freelance journalist and filmmaking role after releasing her first award-winning documentary, Love Them First.
The feature-length documentary, created at KARE 11, features a courageous Minneapolis principal fighting to get her students off the list of ‘failing’ schools while grappling with Minnesota’s vast achievement gap between Black and White students.
Love Them First has received hundreds of screening requests from school districts across the country and continues to change the conversation among educators when it comes to racial inequities in schools, the injustices of standardized testing and the best practices to teach children experiencing high levels of stress and trauma.
The film, which received one of journalism’s highest honors with the 2020 Alfred I. duPont award, has been applied into collegiate educational curriculum, featured at national education conferences and utilized at countless education staff development workshops.
The impact is only beginning, and Lindsey hopes to continue this advocacy, raising consciousness about the intersection of race and education, as she explores future film projects. Her work often focuses on women, families and children in underrepresented communities. Much of her inspiration comes from her late father, who spent his career advocating for teachers.
Lindsey is dedicated to mentoring young journalists and volunteering in the Twin Cities community. Her hobbies include running, fitness and creative writing.
The greatest chapters of her own story feature her family, her husband Ian, her son Stellan and daughter, Phoebe. They live in southwest Minneapolis.
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.”