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Keynote Speakers

Abby Malchow Amazon

Abby Malchow is the Manager of Small Business Partnerships & Education at Amazon where she develops and manages partnerships that help drive success for entrepreneurs and small businesses through delivering education, programs, and investments that support their continued growth.  

Abby joined Amazon in December 2018 and during her tenure she has remained focused on enabling the success of entrepreneurs, small businesses, and underserved businesses th...

Jay Kriner Entrepreneur Featured on Shark Tank

Jay Kriner, viral Shark Tank star, festival producer, race car driver, Patent Designer, COO of GALE Project Technologies, and published best selling Author! As a visionary leader in innovation, I am driven by the belief that what was once imagined can now become a reality. Leading transformative product development and cutting-edge technological advancements, I excel at turning ideas into tangible solutions that redefine industries, and it all started as a SMALL BUSINESS! Join me and hear in person about my journey of disruptin...

Jay Gonzalez Amazon

Jocsan "Jay" Gonzalez is the founder and CEO of Selsela, a wooden figurine business. He is a first-generation Mexican-American immigrant who founded the company while raising money for college. The business allowed Jay to graduate as an Accountant and find his dream job. Selsela continues today and is now funding his parent's retirement. The Gonzalez family continues to create new figurines and donates a portion of Selsela's profits to animal conservation....

Robin Schulze Amazon

Robin is a professional bass trombone player and the innovative owner of Brasstache, a company that creates novelty accessories for brass and wind instruments. These humorous attachments lighten the mood and help make learning an instrument a little more entertaining for everyone. Robin's products have gained unexpected popularity, even being used by members of the Berlin Philharmonic and other renowned musicians. Robin has performed with many of the country's top orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Sym...

workshop Speakers

Christine FootitInternal Revenue Service

Chris Footit has been with the IRS for 32 years. She is the Branch Chief for the Tax Outreach, Partnership and Education branch in Communications & Liaison. Prior to her current position, she was a Revenue Officer in...

David KingFinancial Crimes Enforcement Network

David King works in the policy division of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he drafts regulations for the Corporate Transparency Act to ensure smoo...

Phil LamFinancial Crimes Enforcement Network

Phil Lam leads the effort to enhance transparency of corporate ownership for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. FinCEN safeguards the U.S. financial system...

Yusef MuhammadSCORE

Voted as The SBA Minority Small Business Champion of the Year, by The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), City of Houston, “Champion of Diversity” and recipient of the “Certificate of Special Congressional Re...

Jim LekovichIron Mountain

Jim Lekovich is a Senior Marketing Manager at Iron Mountain, where he works to support customers in transforming their information management efforts in order to adapt to a constantly changing business environment. Jim h...

Kirsten Elise DunnRecession Proof Collective

Kirsten Elise Dunn, a visionary Social Entrepreneur, is on a mission to make a real difference in communities across the United States. For her, sparking change isn't just a lofty goal—it's a practical business strateg...

Tom MarsanBeverly Companies

Tom Marsan is a certified snow professional who has been in the landscaping and snow removal industry for over two decades. He is an active member of ILCA and SIMA and is currently the general manager at Beverly Companie...

Scott GutcheWalmart, Inc.

Strategic leader with a demonstrated success working in the retail industry, delivering innovative solutions for growth. More than 35 years of experience with Walmart and Sears, Scott has l...

Luke SchneiderFire Department Coffee Inc.

Luke Schneider, CEO of Fire Department Coffee, started his journey of service in the U.S. Navy as a shipboard firefighter. His love for helping others led him to become a firefighter in Roc...

Jeff KlimkowskiDUDE Wipes

Jeff Klimkowski is the Co-Founder and CFO of DUDE Wipes where he primarily focuses on strategic planning, evaluation of growth opportunities as well as management of customer and supplier r...

Emiliano JöckeriFranchise Group

As a Senior Consultant, Mr. Jöcker consults with established franchisors as well as emerging franchisors across numerous industry segments, both domestically and internationally. A native Spanish speaker, he provides fr...

Brittany RichmondThe Speaker Lab

Brittany Richmond is a former school counselor turned professional speaker. After suffering from anxiety in her teen and young adult years, Brittany decided to help others like her by stepping into the field of mental he...

Timothy ConnleyCisco

Tim Connley has spent more than six years helping ITsavvy clients achieve business outcomes with Cisco solutions. In that time, he has helped ITsavvy grow their Managed Services offerings around Cisco, aligned resources ...

Philip KroneProductive Strategies Inc.

Philip Krone has been an active marketing professional for manufacturing, service and professional firms since 1972. He is President of Productive Strategies Inc., a management and marketing consulting firm located in No...

Richard L. MartinezMetropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Richard L. Martinez, Jr., is the Acting Diversity Administrator of the Diversity Section of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. He has nearly 29 years of governmental service and experience. T...

Liz FergusonActiveCampaign

Liz Ferguson has worked at ActiveCampaign for 4+ years and is currently a customer trainer. She travels the country, running in-person trainings for ActiveCampaign users. Liz helps businesses automate their marketing and...

Frank StephensComputing Technology Solutions

Frank Stephens founded Computing Technology Solutions (CTS) in 2001 with the idea that small and mid-sized businesses deserve the same IT proactive support, cybersecurity and strategies that Fortune 500 organizations rec...

Tracy OliverWells Fargo

I am passionate about consulting with business owners to find the right tools to run their business effectively. Wells Fargo is a great partner that can provide the highest quality products and services. I'm dedicated to...

Gwendolyn YoungYour Virtual Admin Expert

Gwendolyn Young is the go-to Business and Operations Management Consultant for six and seven figure CEOs who are ready to greet their next level of growth. 

Gifted with both strategic ...