Speaker Bios

Dave Gee, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Dave is the author of The Corporate Refugee Startup Guide, serial entrepreneur and entrepreneurship program coordinator and faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Dave’s book was written to help working professionals prepare themselves, prepare their families, leave their jobs and build the ultimate startup. He has founded and helped lead four startups, led capital investments, provided marketing and sales strategies for Fortune 500 firms including Motorola, BellSouth, U.S. Cellular and Humana. He has educated students in the areas entrepreneurship and digital marketing. Dave currently manages the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Entrepreneurship Program, co-direct Launch Pad, a student startup accelerator program, as well as teaches entrepreneurship courses. He pioneered the MBA digital marketing curriculum at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He is a passionate mountain biker and home brewer. Dave lives with his family and two labs near Lake Geneva.

Brent Hanifl, Explore! La Crosse

Tourism professional with specialties in Social media marketing,CMS, tourism development, event planning, arts administration, content development,blogging, social media instruction, community outreach.

Urs Haltinner, University of Wisconsin-Stout

Swiss born and educated, Urs has had Business and Industry Experience in Agriculture and Industrial Equipment Sales; Marketing and Business Teacher; multitude of experiences within the context of US CTE programs; as a teacher, CTSO advisor, Work-based Learning coordinator, and the program director and instructor of Business and Marketing Education at UW-Stout . He is currently the Program Director of Doctorate in Career and Technical Education. His focused research is within the space of career, technical, and workforce education and training

Jared Skelton, TestOut

Jared graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Communications. He worked for BYU Athletics, General Motors and other companies in graphic design and event marketing for over six years. He then worked with ParentLink, an education technology company, providing mobile apps and communication systems to k-12 schools/districts for seven years before joining TestOut. Jared works with Higher Education schools in the US and Canada. TestOut provides industry leading courseware to prepare students for both industry jobs and to pass certifications related to IT and Microsoft Office. Email: jskelton@testout.com

Paul Iba, TestOut

Paul is a graduate from University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Behavioral Science. He has worked with several Career Colleges and Technical Schools for the past 14 years including DeVry University before joining TestOut Corporation. He started working in the Higher Education Department in 2014 and now works with the K-12 Team since 2015. He currently manages 15 states with over 200 school accounts. TestOut provides industry leading courseware to prepare students for both industry jobs and to pass certifications related to IT and Microsoft Office. Email: piba@testout.com

Dave Thomas, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction-Business & Information Technology Consultant

In May 2012, Dave joined the Career & Technical Education Team at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as the Business & Information Technology Education Consultant and serves Wisconsin FBLA as the State Adviser. In support of student experiences that enhance career and college readiness, Business and Information Technology Education continues to experience growth opportunities in Wisconsin as he works toward targeted goals that focus upon business engagement, curricula alignment with academic standards, positioning content area programs, instruction with proof of learning, and enhancing the capacity of our leadership network. Dave and his wife, Roslyn, have been married for over 20 years and are proud parents of two daughters who attend middle school and high school in the Middleton - Cross Plains Area School District.

Jane Strong, Prairie Farms Schools

Jane Strong is a K-12 Business and Computers teacher in rural WIsconsin with professional experience in both the private and nonprofit sectors. Her professional background includes design, marketing, sales, and ministry. She was introduced to computer programming decades ago from her professional design engineering father, and still loves to dabble in computer coding and creative work. Strong holds a master's degree in Business Management & Leadership, is the mother of four amazing sons, and is a certified scuba diver.

Jen Hanson, Sturgeon Bay Schools

I have been teaching Business & Information Technology for just over 15 years in various settings--high school, middle school, and upper elementary. My current position is divided between elementary keyboarding classes, middle school computer classes, and technology integration in the content area in middle school, as well as a technology mentor in my district. My husband and I have three children and love living in beautiful Sturgeon Bay.

Jason Holter, West Salem High School

Jason Holter is a marketing and business education teacher and DECA advisor at West Salem high school. Before he entered the field of education; he worked for several companies in southeast Wisconsin. His started his teaching career in Kenosha before moving to Sparta and West Salem.

Jessica Mueller, Baraboo High School

Jessica is originally from Menomonee Falls WI but now lives and teaches in Baraboo WI. She attended UW-Whitewater for her education where she graduated with her business ed, business and vocational ed and coaching licenses. She teaches at Baraboo High School where she teaches personal finance, business law and international business. Jessica is part of the BERT team as she has her EMT license along with two other teachers in her building. She works as an EMT for the Baraboo District Ambulance Service most weekends and is studying to get her AEMT license as well. Jessica coaches the varsity girls bowling team and also the middle school softball team. When she has free time she enjoys watching Big Brother with her husband Shane (who she met in one of her business classes in high school), reading, cooking and anything to do with her dogs Charlotte and Khali.

Kurt Wismer, Fond du Lac Schools

Kurt teaches Business, Marketing and IT for the North Fond du Lac School District. In addition, he is a Google for Education Certified Innovator and Google Education Trainer. Kurt uses technology throughout his curriculum to create durable learning experiences that are both rigorous and transformative to prepare his students for success in an ever changing world. He has lead technology groups and provided considerable training and support as they implemented a 1:1 environment. In 2014, Kurt was honored as the Wisconsin K-12 Outstanding Business Education Teacher. Kurt has a master’s degree in Career and Technical Education from UW-Stout. Currently, he serves on the board of directors for the Brigade, a youth organization for boys and girls in grades 5 through 12 located in Neenah, Wisconsin.

Steve Doell, Wrightstown High School

Steve Doell is a graduate of UW-Whitewater and obtained his Master's from Marian University. He is in his 20th year of teaching at Wrightstown High School and in his 19th year as the school's FBLA advisor. He has been teaching AP Microeconomics for 8 years and was involved in the creation and implementation of this class at Wrightstown.

Michelle Grajkowski

Michelle Grajkowski, a former Special Education Assistant and entrepreneur with more than 18 years experience, who still pinches herself when she leaves for work every morning. Nothing could be cooler than when her worlds collided in June when she accepted her new role with the WMC Foundation. As the Business World Manager, Michelle travels the state, inspiring, teaching, and sharing her love of business with our future business leaders. When Michelle is not plotting and planning her next workshop or teaching her curriculum, she can be found with her nose buried in a manuscript, looking for the next big author, or cheering in her red and white for her son’s football team. GO CARDS!

Karla Saeger

Dr. Karla Saeger is the program coordinator for the business, marketing, and computer science education programs at UW- Whitewater. She serves as the Editor for the Pi Omega Pi, Here and There Newsletter and President-Elect for the National Association for Business Teacher Education. Today Karla will be sharing collaborative work done by The Policies Commission for Business and Economic Education.

Rick Klein, Gundersen Health System, Business Panelist

Rick received a Bachelors in Education from UW-Whitewater and immediately began his teaching career at Darlington High School as a business education teacher. Two years later, he moved to Onalaska where he taught business for 10 years, before transitioning to La Crosse Logan High School where he taught for an additional 6 years. During that time, he received a Master’s Degree from UW-La Crosse in Professional Development. After 18 ½ years in education, Rick switched careers in 2012 by accepting a Human Resources Manager position at Marine Credit Union in La Crosse. He was promoted to Director of Talent Management in 2014. In 2017, he accepted a Human Resources Operations Manager position with Gundersen Health System which employs over 7000 individuals. Rick currently holds PHR and SHRM-CP certifications.

Tim Fandek, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction-Marketing, Management & Entrepreneurship Consultant

Tim is starting his 8th year on the Career & Technical Education Team at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as the Marketing, Management, & Entrepreneurship Education Consultant and serves Wisconsin DECA as the Chartered Association Advisor. In support of student experiences that enhance career and college readiness, Marketing, Management and Entrepreneurship Education continues to experience growth opportunities in Wisconsin as he works toward targeted goals that focus upon work-based learning with Marketing Youth Apprenticeship and curricula alignment with academic standards with strategic WISELearn projects. Tim and his wife Krista are proud parents of 3 children who attend elementary and middle schools in the School District of Sun Prairie.

Rhonda Nachtigall, Watertown High School

Rhonda has been teaching for 23 years in communities throughout Wisconsin. Currently, she is completing year 14 at Watertown High School. Where she advises students in DECA, FBLA, National Technical Honor Society, and Pop-Up Stores. She lives by the motto "Everyday is a new day, and it's the only one we got, make it count!"

Diane Malachowski, Certiport

Diane is a member of the Statewide Deployment team from Certiport working with teachers in the state of Wisconsin that are participating in the Microsoft certification program this year. She has worked at Certiport since 2008.

Melissa Leonard, Wisconsin Microsoft Academy

Melissa Leonard is part of the Wisconsin Microsoft Imagine Academy deployment team. She has worked with Microsoft Imagine Academy since 2012 when she first piloted the program for the state of Georgia. She is a certified Business & Computer Science teacher who has witnessed the positive impacts of the program with her own students as well as educators and learners around the United States

Jason Ovard, StuKent

Joseph Ovard has experience in the social media marketing field from building and launching social media campaigns for a fine art supplier for almost 9 years, as well as managing campaigns for his own online businesses. As a course consultant at Stukent, Inc., a digital courseware provider, he assists business teachers in their efforts to teach real-world social media marketing principles to their students. When he is not at work, Joseph enjoys performing on stage, writing fiction stories, composing music, and spending time with his wife and 6 kids.

Jennifer Lee, Cengage Learning/National Geographic Learning

My name is Jennifer Lee, and I am the new 9-12 partner for National Geographic Learning, a part of Cengage Learning. We provide PreK–12 School digital and curricular classroom materials. Through our digital learning programs and classroom learning resources, schools experience the excitement and joy of learning that National Geographic explorers, scientists, writers and photographers experience.

Jim Sandherr, Schools Manager, EVERFI

Before joining the EVERFI team as a Schools Manager, Jim designed, taught, studied, and managed blended learning programs for underserved youth through DePaul University. Jim also taught high school video production and film analysis through Columbia College Upward Bound program. Jim is excited to help educators thrive in blended classrooms with powerful ed tech tools! Email: jsandherr@everfi.com Twitter: @jsandherr11

Kerri Herrild, De Pere Schools

Kerri has been teaching business since 2002, and while she teaches a diverse set of topics, personal finance has become her passion. Kerri became a Next Gen Personal Finance Fellow in July 2017, and is proud to share their high quality resources with as many educators as possible.

Danielle Stiebs, Oak Creek Schools

Danielle is in her seventh year of teaching. She spent her first three at the small school of Almond-Bancroft in central Wisconsin and has since been at Oak Creek High School. She currently teaches Personal Finance, Global Business, Microsoft 1 and 2, and Technology Trends. She also advises FBLA, developed and implemented a program called MoneyChats! to help reach more students with financial literacy topics during their advisories and serves on several committees throughout the building.

Michelle McGlynn, Waunakee Schools

Michelle is in her 3rd year as the CTE and School to Career Coordinator for the Waunakee School District. Prior to that, Michelle was a B&IT teacher at Waunakee for 10 years. She works with CTE Staff and students on work based learning opportunities as the Youth Apprenticeship Coordinator, and has approximately 20-30 student apprentices each year. Michelle is currently earning her CTE Coordinator certification from UW Stout.

Joan Gard, Waunakee Schools

Joan Gard has been a business teacher for 31 years and is currently the Employability Skills instructor at Waunakee High School, a position which includes supervising junior and senior students who are employed at local businesses. She enjoys working with employers to provide the skills and training necessary for students to succeed on the job. Joan earned a B.S. in Business Education from UW-Whitewater and a M.E. in Professional Development from UW-Eau Claire.

Greg Lovell, Holmen Schools

Greg currently serves as the behavioral interventionist at Holmen Middle School and teaches mindfulness in a variety of settings. He has been studying and practicing mindfulness meditation since 2004 and enjoys sharing it with the community. When he's not teaching, you can usually find him biking, fishing, reading, or spending time with family and friends.

Nick Lechnir, La Crosse Toastmasters

Nick Lechnir is a member and club officer at La Crosse Toastmasters, and currently serves as the Vice President of Education. In addition to his primary professional occupation as the Learning and Development Administrator at Logistics Health in La Crosse, Nick is also a published author, blog writer, professional photographer, and a frequent regional speaker on the adverse effects of substance abuse and addiction on mental health. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse with a double major in Psychology and Sociology. Aside from work, Nick loves spending time with his family of six children, enjoys competitive running, and serves on a number of local community mental health and fitness advisory committees.

Dana Ecker, La Crosse Toastmasters

Dana is the Director of Convention Sales for the La Crosse Convention and Visitors Bureau, otherwise known as “Explore La Crosse”.

Dana has been involved in the travel and tourism field for over 20 years. Her main role is to sell La Crosse to meeting planners from around the state and region. Speaking and presenting to so many planners and associations, she joined Toastmasters 3 years ago to refine and improve her skills. She credits her involvement in Toastmasters in helping her immeasurable in her career. Dana is currently VP of Membership for the La Crosse Toastmasters and past board member of Meeting Planners International and United Way.

When she isn’t attending all of the wonderful events in La Crosse County (Yes, she has FOMO – Fear of Missing Out), she is trying to practice the art of JOMO – Joy of missing out and spending quiet time relaxing on her deck with her husband overlooking the beautiful bluffs and enjoying a good book, usually on great speakers.

Tina Trumbrower, Waunakee Community High School

Tina Trumbower has been teaching Business and Marketing courses for the last 29 years. At her previous school, she taught many courses, advised the yearbook, FBLA, and the National Business Honor Society. She is presently in her fifth year at Waunakee Community High School where she enjoys being referred to as “the accounting teacher.” She loves being part of the Waunakee team where she also teaches Career Workshop and the occasional marketing class. Tina has served as President of the Wisconsin Business Education Association, NCBEA Wisconsin Membership Director, and is currently the NCBEA President. When possible, she enjoys attending Milwaukee Brewer and Green Bay Packer games.

Stacey Ryan, Waunakee Community High School

Stacey Ryan is currently teaching at Waunakee Community High School and the WEBIT President. She has been teaching for 33 years. Other schools include Beloit Memorial High School and Cuba City High School. Stacey currently teaches Personal Finance, Entrepreneurship, Careers, Excel & Access, and Keyboarding. Career Workshop is a team effort within the department and a lot of collaboration from quarter to quarter. Stacey and her husband Tim live in Waunakee and enjoying traveling to the Napa Valley area in California to taste many different wines.

Rhonda Nachtigall, Watertown High School