Ben Utecht
It is rare to find a true Renaissance man anymore, but that’s just that you get with Ben Utecht. Ben has always chased his dreams, finding his way from a small river town in Minnesota to a Super Bowl championship field. Whether it was becoming a world champion in football, singing with major symphonies, serenading Muhammad Ali on his 70th birthday, or stepping into a national advocacy role, Ben has found success in many realms. He honed his already keen public speaking skills at the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a degree in communications and even started a master’s degree in sports management before being swept up into the NFL.
Ben has established himself as a prominent national leadership and motivational speaker for corporations, conventions, and non-profit events. Both of his programs, The Champion’s Way™ and The MVP Program™, stem from lessons he learned in the locker room with Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy and in the huddle with future Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning. The Champion’s Way™ spotlights and breaks down “The 4 Ls” of leadership: listening, learning, language, and love. The MVP Program™ comes from Ben’s experience with concussions. It inspires audiences to truly care about their minds and to discover how integral memory is to identity. Both programs illuminate dynamic ways to succeed in business and life.
I believe, as a speaker, that vulnerability equals connectivity. This is why I approach my keynote presentations with a mission of bringing you on an emotional journey through my life, into a hall-of-fame huddle, and onto a field of high-impact lessons. All our lives tell a story, and this is how I tell mine!
As an influential advocate for brain health, Ben served as the national spokesperson for the American Academy of Neurology and currently sits on the prestigious board of the American Brain Foundation. Ben was given the AAN’s most esteemed honor, the Public Leadership in Neurology Award, in 2014. Also at that time, Ben released a music video for his song “You Will Always Be My Girls,” written as a love letter to his wife and daughters with the goal of emotionally connecting people to the importance of their memories. The video has impacted the lives of many, garnering over 1.3 million YouTube views to date.
Ben can now add “author” to his résumé, with the release of his new book Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away, published by Simon & Schuster. The book is the first memoir from a former NFL player who left the game as a result of concussions. It takes the reader on a heart-felt journey through the ups and downs of Ben’s life with faith, family, and football. Ben has a message of hope that has reached a nation-wide audience, inspiring people to value every moment to its fullest.
Amy Dee
Amy Dee is recognized by audiences across the country as a master storyteller and brilliant comedian. She combines her background in standup comedy and theatre with her RN degree and experience as a successful business owner to deliver hilarious stories and valuable content on the brain and behavior. Her message and music rise above the boundaries of gender, age, and occupation. Amy’s hilarious stories coupled with her phenomenal content propels audiences to live, act, and work better. Her authentic spirit and down to earth approach have made her one of the most sought-after speakers throughout the United States. She is truly one of the best speakers in the country at combining message and humor.
Amy’s background is as diverse as her audiences. She once ran a non-profit where she managed five hundred volunteers and organized multiple fundraisers that culminated in an eight-hour telethon.
Amy lived in Norway from 1994-2003, and while learning to speak, read and write in Norwegian, she started a photo calendar business in her home. Her company grew to become Xerox’s largest customer in Scandinavia.
Amy returned to college at age forty-three to obtain her RN degree. She was nominated for Nurse of the Year several times during her nine years as a Psychiatric RN. Amy has been a monthly guest expert on NBC affiliate ND Today. She has written four books and numerous song parodies.
Amy S. Tolbert
Amy S. Tolbert, Ph.D., CSP develops multicultural organizations and individuals by bringing you cutting-edge topics, such as, multicultural and diversity initiatives, leadership competency development, managing to style, and creating breakthrough teams. She is principal of ECCO (Energizing Cultural Change in Organizations) International, which specializes in increasing individuals’ productivity and organizations’ profitability through virtual and facilitated learning.
She is well authored with 4 books, many articles, validated assessment tools, asynchronous course offerings, active blogs and author of a video based global communications training to develop intercultural communication skills called Open Mind, Open World. Her offerings include actionable tools, processes and practice – a paradigm shifter with her stories and examples.
She earned her Certified Speaking Professional designation with the National Speakers Association. The CSP is the speaking profession’s international measure of speaking experience and skill. Fewer than 10 percent of the speakers who belong to the International Federation for Professional Speakers hold this professional designation. She was awarded the Mark LeBlanc Award for excellence in the speaking industry and was inducted into the MN Speakers Hall of Fame. Dr. Tolbert earned her doctorate in Human Resource Development, focusing on international/cross-cultural and diversity education/training, from the University of Minnesota. As an esteemed part of the Carlson Executive Faculty, Carlson Executive Education Center, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Dr. Tolbert earned her doctorate in Human Resource Development, focusing on international/cross-cultural and diversity education/training, from the University of Minnesota. She continues to support her alma mater by serving as adjunct faculty for several annual programs at Carlson Executive Education.
Ross Bernstein
The best-selling author of nearly 50 sports books, Ross Bernstein is an award-winning peak performance hall of fame business speaker who’s keynoted conferences on all seven continents and has been featured on thousands of television and radio programs including: CNN, “CBS This Morning,” ESPN, and Fox News, as well as in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today. Keynoting more than 100 live events globally per year, Ross’ passion is studying just what it is that makes the great ones great – and then translating that to business through his “Champion’s Code” program in order to help people not just win, but to win with integrity.
Cindra Kamphoff
Cindra Kamphoff, Ph.D., CMPC, is an award-winning keynote speaker and executive coach for leaders, professional athletes, executives and championship teams. Her clients range from Verizon Wireless, Target, and Walmart to the Minnesota Vikings. She has provided mental training for the Minnesota Vikings for 4 years, working one-on-one with the players.
She is the author of an Amazon bestseller, Beyond Grit: Ten Powerful Practices to Gain the High Performance Edge and the corresponding workbook. Her work has appeared in New York Times, Forbes, The Huffington Post, and USA Today.
She is the founder of the High Performance Mindset podcast which has over 1 million downloads and ranked in the top 100 podcasts where she interviews thought leaders about mindset. Her work has appeared in New York Times, Forbes, The Huffington Post, and USA Today. As a result of Cindra’s speaking and training, people tend to say they have more energy, more control of their inner dialogue and ultimately, perform at a higher level more consistently.
Chad Greenway
Chad played 11 years for the Mn Vikings after finishing an All-American career at the University of Iowa. Growing up on a family farm in South Dakota, Chad learned the valuable lessons of hard work, perseverance, and dedication to a craft can bring success.
Rising from a small town of 350 people to being an 11 year pro, team captain and leader along with 4 time Walter Payton Man of the Year learn valuable concepts and characteristics of being team first. Learn the tools and mentality it takes to get to the highest level of achievement in a sport, and learn the against all odds story of determination.
Along with his playing career Chad ran and continues to run a successful non profit (Lead the Way Foundation) along with his business (Gray Duck Spirits).
Chad speaks on the topics of Business, Leadership, Teamwork and Success.
For local and non-profit organizations, Chad considers their budgets as his schedule allows.
Chris Heeter
Selected as a Top Ten Speaker by MeetingsNet, and as the highest rated speaker of Meeting Professional International’s 2014 World Education Congress, Chris Heeter is out to create a Wild revolution in the workplace. A wilderness guide since 1984 and professional speaker since 2001, Chris has led and worked with a diverse array of teams, both canine and human!
Featured on The Discovery Channel’s “National Geographic Today,” she brings decades of leadership experience indoors, to conferences and offices, working with teams and leaders, helping us recognize that leadership, teamwork, and inclusion don’t have to be so complicated.
Combining business expertise with hilarious stories from her sled dog team and from guiding whitewater trips, Chris challenges and inspires organizations and individuals to be Wildly Present, Wildly Original, and Wildly Welcoming
David Horsager
David Horsager, MA, CSP, CPAE is the CEO of Trust Edge Leadership Institute, Global Trust Expert, Trust Expert in Residence at High Point University, Board member and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. David has advised leaders on six continents, from FedEx, Toyota, MIT, and global governments to the New York Yankees and the Department of Homeland Security.
Trust is a fundamental, bottom line issue. Without it, leaders lose teams, salespeople lose sales, and organizations lose reputation, retention of good people, relationships and revenue. But with trust, individuals and organizations enjoy greater creativity, productivity, freedom and results. Through David’s industry leading research The Trust Outlook™ and firsthand experience working with the world’s highest performing organizations, David reveals how top leaders and organizations drive business results to become the most trusted in their industry.
Petra Marquart
Petra Marquart is an inspirational speaker who has received rave reviews at conventions and conferences around the globe. She is currently principal in the global speaking and training firm, Petra Marquart and Associates and president of See ME, Inc., which provides customer-service training for long-term care communities. She is listed in Who’s Who of American Women and the author of the best-seller, The Power of Service: Keeping Customers for Life.
Petra has written customer-service training programs for Mall of America, US Bank, Fairview Health Services, Honeywell Space Systems, Minnesota Department of Administration, US Department of Veteran Affairs, US Department of Homeland Security, The MENTOR Network, Senior Linkage Line, and the Wisconsin Department of Child Protective Services.
Whether speaking on customer service, leadership, personal power, or performance, Petra’s skilled stage presence comes, in part, from her experience working as a performer in Las Vegas with such stars as Elvis Presley, Tina Turner,and some of the most recognized names in the world.
Sarah Ciavarri
Sarah Ciavarri, M.Div., PCC, BCC, CDTLF, CDWF-C
Transformational. Playful. Power-packed storytelling. Daring. Authentic. Riveting. = So engaging participants actually put their phones away. = This is how event players and participants often describe Sarah’s presence. Through empathy, vulnerability, and her ability to dance in the moment, Sarah has the rare ability to connect with audiences live and virtually at a deeper level. Sarah is a sought-after creative thought leader on vulnerability and resilience, trained in all of Dr. Brené Brown’s curricula, who leaves her audiences with clear action steps to craft a life they love, minimize regrets through bold strategic action, and to achieve professional excellence in the midst of uncertainty and division.
During the pandemic Sarah worked on a COVID healthcare unit and knows in her bones the resilience and dedication to mission that is needed to stare down stress, fatigue, and fear and do what needs to be done.
Sarah’s programs help you and your team:
- Develop Resilience
- Unleash Kindness and Curiosity to Transform your Culture
- Harness the Power of Authentic Vulnerability
- Tap into Dr. Brené Brown’s Research on Leadership and Courage
- Learn How Empathy Can Increase Sales
- Move from Surviving, Through Striving, to Thriving
All of Sarah’s keynote programs are customized to each audience through a pre-event call to learn your organizations goals and what success looks like for you. Sarah does her research on your industry! Each program can be tailored to be delivered virtually, hybrid or in person. Most of these programs can be presented as a keynote, ½ day, or full-day workshop.
Sarah’s Virtual Experience: We got this! Sarah has facilitated hundreds of virtual events so you can trust your virtual event will go off without a hitch.
About Sarah:
Sarah Ciavarri, founder of Level Up Leadership, LLC, is a gifted keynote speaker, author, and thought leader who has been helping organizations, leaders, and teams achieve professional excellence and craft a life they love through increased resilience and authenticity for over a decade. Sarah is able to quickly connect with audiences large and small and travels the country inspiring participants to be courageous, resilient, and authentic. Sarah wrote, “Finding Our Way to the Truth: Seven Lies Leaders Believe and How to Let Them Go” to inspire leaders through her own relatable and humorous stories and to provide readers easy steps to be more successful in their own skin. Sarah is keenly attuned to the inner life of leaders and regularly presents on resilience, burnout prevention, and compassion fatigue.
Sarah is a Certified Facilitator of all of Dr. Brené Brown’s curricula: Dare to Lead, Daring Greatly, Bold, and The Gifts of Imperfection. Sarah has facilitated over 200 workshops on Dr. Brown’s research and has supported thousands of leaders to dream and live big. Sarah is among those who have been facilitating Brené’s research since the beginning. Sarah has the unique honor of being among just a handful of facilitators dual certified in Dare to Lead and Daring Greatly. In addition to this honor, Sarah was asked by the Daring Way senior leadership to step into greater responsibility eight years ago within Brené’s organization as a Case Consultant supervising candidates through integrating Brené’s research into their context. Sarah is Vice President of Spiritual Life at a large senior healthcare organization headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.
Sarah’s Alphabet Train: Sarah’s got lots of letters behind her name but really why you should care is this means Sarah is always learning and adding rigor to her coaching skills. If you want more details, here they are: Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation and is a faculty member with Coaching4Today’s Leaders and LeaderWise, Leadership Agility 360 Assessments, Train the Trainer Certification, 1600 hours of Clinical Pastoral Education, and Board Chaplain Certification. She earned a Masters of Divinity from Luther Seminary where she was a Presidential Scholar. Sarah is an Advisory Board member for the Women in Leadership Program at Mankato State University, Mankato, MN.
Sarah is Vice President of Spiritual Life at a large senior healthcare organization headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.
A few fun things:
- Sarah got her afrave on this summer when she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a nationally televised Twins game.
- Sarah lives on 10 gorgeous acres with her family, a small herd of goats, and two horses that are the best therapy money can buy.
- Sarah and her spouse designed and built their home. She can use a plumb bob, wire a house, and hang drywall with the best of ‘em.
- Sarah put herself through grad school by singing and dancing.