Joe Schmit
Joe Schmit is an award-winning broadcaster, community leader, author and popular keynote speaker. As a sports broadcaster he has covered every major sporting event in the past 4 decades and has interviewed many of the biggest names in sports. He joined KSTP-TV in 1985 and has won 18 Emmys from the National Television Academy. In 2020, Joe was awarded The Silver Circle designation by the Upper Midwest Chapter of the Emmys for extraordinary contributions to the broadcasting industry. He was also honored with a National Headliner Award in 2001.
Before joining KSTP-TV in 1985, he was Sports Director for WBAY-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His career also includes positions as weekend sports anchor for KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and WKBT-TV in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Joe earned his degree in Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Joe is also an author of two books: “ Silent Impact ” and “ The Impact Blueprint.”
In 2019 Joe was also inducted into the Minnesota Speakers Hall of Fame and earned his CSP designation (Certified Speaking Professional) from the National Speakers Association. Less than 15 percent of NSA members worldwide have achieved the CSP designation.
Joe is a long time youth mentor committed to advocating for a number of community organizations with Big Brothers and Big Sisters is at the top of his list. He is a past president and board member of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Twin Cities. He has raised over $3 million for the organization through the Joe Schmit Celebrity Golf Tournament which had a 16-year run. In 2000, he was the winner of the Jim Kelly Distinguished Service Award from Big Brothers and Big Sisters and in 2001, a winner of the Odyssey Award for commitment to youth mentorship. He was also honored as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF) Community Leader of the Year in 2005.
In 2018 Joe was honored with the Mike Givens Distinguished Service Award for The Mind over Matter Foundation. Joe and his wife Laura also chaired a $4.5 million dollar capital campaign for VEAP, the largest food shelf in Minnesota. He is past president and board member of the Fairway Foundation and has contributed time to many other charitable organizations.
Kit Welchlin
Kit Welchlin began public speaking at age 9 in 4-H. Purchased his first manufacturing company at age 21, and by 26 was CEO of 3 manufacturing companies in three states.
Kit has B.S. and M.A. Degrees in Speech Communication. He has delivered more than 3,500 presentations to more than 500,000 people over the past 29 years.
In 2014, Kit was inducted into the Minnesota Speaker Hall of Fame and in 2018 earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation from the National Speakers Association. In 2020, Kit earned the Certified Virtual Presenter designation from speakers. Audiences learn strategies for effective communication, leadership development, and stress, time and procrastination management.
Jack Stahlmann
Hi. I’m Jack. This is a bio I wrote about myself, but I made it look like someone else wrote it, so it doesn’t seem like I’m bragging.
Jack Stahlmann’s informative and educational presentations are built around his experiences in Los Angeles as an actor, producer, director — and of course, a waiter.
In Hollywood, he launched his own production company which created several films that enjoyed international success and was an Assistant Director for the Margaret Cho stand-up show, Cho Revolution.
As an actor, his shining moment came in a co-star role on the CBS drama Cold Case, where he played a wimpy park ranger. He also appeared on Days of Our Lives and several commercials.
Jack graduated with honors at DePauw University and has been a regular contributor to The Huffington Post. He currently resides in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Ronald Henderson
Are you a company executive or conference organizer looking to help your people or attendees gain more focus, reduce employee stress, increase customer retention, revenue, and influence?
For Celebrity and corporate trainer Ron Henderson, a professional image isn’t just a nice appearance, it’s the entire package—inward and outward—that sets the stage for ultimate success. In today’s highly competitive business world, professionals need to establish a differentiator, which allows them to increase their client base, optimize performance and achieve better results while reducing their stress
Ron helps audiences turn their thoughts into action with his high energy and engaging presentations. As a master motivator, he walks leaders through ways they can become their best and most productive selves. With more than 40 years of experience as a keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and media personality, Henderson has developed a program with the success of leaders as its centerpiece.
Ron is the host of the popular TV show Motivation and the former host of “Winning Workouts,” the cable exercise series. Henderson also co-hosted “Fan Fitness Sunday” on KFAN radio with Mark Rosen of WCCO TV. Henderson is also author of several books.
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.
Chad Weinstein
Chad Weinstein delivers presentations on ethics and leadership that inspire, educate, and entertain audiences with real-life examples and practical concepts and techniques. His life’s work is helping ethical leaders to achieve extraordinary results through improved trust and team engagement. As a speaker and educator, he seeks to energize audiences by uniting positive ethics with organizational performance.
For over 25 years Chad has worked as a business leader and consultant, helping Fortune 500 and start-up companies, public sector and non–profit organizations to achieve their goals. Before focusing on ethical leadership full-time in 2007, he led teams in IT, R&D and operations, as well as in marketing and sales. He draws on these experiences – working with leaders in fields as diverse as law enforcement, health care, mining, and high-tech manufacturing – to tell real stories that audiences remember and apply to their lives.
Chad also earned a Ph.D. in ethics from the University of Minnesota. In the course of his studies, Chad observed that the practice of business ethics is almost always negative, warning people to avoid mistakes. Chad set out to frame a new, positive perspective for ethics education, encouraging people to pursue greatness.
Chad is the founder and president of Ethical Leaders in Action (ELA), a Minnesota-based firm that provides consulting and training to public safety agencies, health care organizations, associations, and businesses. Before founding ELA, Chad founded and led the Hill Center for Ethical Business Leadership, a division of the James J. Hill Reference Library.
Jack Uldrich
Jack Uldrich is a well-recognized global futurist, speaker, and the author of thirteen books, including a number of award-winning best sellers. He is a frequent speaker on technology, change management and leadership and has addressed hundreds of corporations, associations and not-for-profit organizations on five continents. He regularly makes television appearances on PBS’s Frontline, the Science Channel, and the Discovery Channel, and is a frequent guest on major media outlets, including CNN, CNBC, Fox and National Public Radio.
Jack is also an ongoing contributor on emerging technologies and future trends for a number of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Wired Magazine and Inc.
Jack is a former naval intelligence officer and Defense Department official. He served as the director of the Minnesota Office of Strategic and Long-Range Planning under Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura. His most recent book is Business as Unusual: A Futurist’s Unorthodox, Unconventional, and Uncomfortable Guide to Doing Business and his forthcoming book is The Rise of Generation RE.
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.
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
Is your team struggling to find meaning in the daily grind? Gaye gets it. She sees life up close—with all its grand celebrations, everyday chaos, and those “you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me” moments. Not afraid to laugh at her own mishaps, she delivers practical business and life insights wrapped in hope and humor from her journey as a successful corporate and non-profit leader, business owner, and self-proclaimed “Chief Encourager.” She reminds you that both your work and your life truly matter.
Whether you’re leading a department, volunteering in your community, managing the home front, or showing up for colleagues, Gaye understands your desire to feel purposeful. With her engaging style and thoughtful wit, she helps you rediscover joy in your everyday responsibilities and recognize the ripple effect of your contributions. Audiences leave her presentations feeling genuinely refreshed—as if they’ve hit a mental reset button—with renewed energy and clarity about the meaningful difference they make every day.
Gaye’s experience comes from diverse leadership roles: leading a human resources team for 11,000 airline employees, serving as Special Assistant to a university president, and earning an M.A. in Industrial Relations. Her leadership extends to associations, non-profits, and professional women’s organizations. As past-president of the National Speakers Association/Minnesota chapter and former Midwest Regional Director for Christian Women in Media, Gaye brings perspective from both corporate and community settings. She has authored several books, including “This is Livin’!” and “Getting My Ducks in a Row and Other Stories of Faith.”