Leadership Conference Speakers

Speakers

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Bio: Jack Uldrich is a renowned global futurist and the best-­‐selling author of eleven books. He is a frequent guest on national media and regularly appears on the Science Channel’s television program, “FutureScape” and the Discovery Channel show “Inside Out.” He is a prolific speaker on technology, change management, and leadership and has addressed Fortune 100 corporations, venture capital firms, associations, not-­‐for-­‐profit organizations and state and regional governments on five continents. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife and two children. 

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Jack Uldrick

Global Futurist, Speaker, Author

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Sara Grafstrom

ARRM

Bio: Sara is the current Director of State and Federal Policy at ARRM. In that capacity she is responsible for tracking all legislative activity and changes that impact ARRM members and advancing ARRM's legislative agenda. Prior to this role, Sara worked as ARRM's Grassroots Coordinator, organizing ARRM's grassroots advocacy efforts in support of our legislative priorities. Prior to coming to ARRM, Sara worked at the Minnesota House of Representatives as a Legislative Assistant and on various political campaigns during the 2006, 2008 and 2010 campaign cycles.

Bio: Scotty Wiese is a world class magician and speaker. Wiese has performed with internationally recognized musicians such as Justin Bieber and Luke Bryan, and at hundreds of Fortune 500 and corporate events every year. Learning lessons and techniques along his tours, Wiese created his award-winning keynote, The Transformative Power of Human Connection, weaving magic, inspiration, and leadership lessons. On April 9, 2022, Scotty made history by performing the first magic show ever at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. 

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Scotty Wiese

Entertainer

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Donna Martin

ANCOR

Bio: Donna Martin brings leadership and longevity to her role as Senior Director for State Partnerships and Innovation with the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR).  Prior to joining ANCOR, Donna served as the Executive Director for Community Provider Network of RI, the state-wide association for providers of services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

Ms. Martin began her career working as a Direct Support Professional while in college.  She went on to graduate from Providence College and also holds a master’s degree in Education from Rhode Island College.  In the years since, she has held positions at all levels of service organizations in both community living and supported employment services, including program management, case management, senior administration and as the Executive Director for a provider agency serving people in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  

She began her work as the Director for Community Provider Network of RI in 2005 and during her tenure she led the provider community through challenging fiscal and regulatory times.  She successfully cultivated relationships with legislators and state administrators that eventually led to the appropriation of funding increases for DSP wages and streamlined regulatory processes.  She coordinated a formidable grassroots and lobbying campaign that has elevated the reputation of the association as one of the best organized advocacy entities within the state.   

Donna left the state association to join the team at ANCOR in 2019 and has had the privilege of supporting their member state associations along with an array of special projects since then.  

Donna is a life-long resident of Rhode Island and has a sixteen-year-old son who has Autism.  He is her greatest joy and has helped her understand the heart and soul of her professional life in a much deeper way.  She brings her experience as a parent to her profession, and it has galvanized her advocacy and sensitivity to the needs of individual with disabilities and their families. 

 

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Amy Dee

Storyteller and Comedian

Bio: 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 on six 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.

Bio: Johnanna Ganz, Ph.D., is a highly analytical, data-focused pragmatist. Dr. Ganz looks for opportunities to turn theory and ideas into action. As an independent researcher and consultant, her passions lie in developing individuals and organizations with the goal of increasing the sustainability of mission-driven people and agencies.

During her doctoral research, Johnanna studied occupational and organizational identity development in victim advocates and their agencies using quantitative and qualitative approaches. She has used this research as a foundation to develop tools and trainings that help individuals and organizations improve their work. Throughout the years of working in many mission-driven organizations, Johnanna saw how her research could help so many. Thus, she began her work as an independent consultant, coach, and trainer to support mission-driven staff, leaders, and agencies as they build their skills around healthy occupational identities and organizational cultures. Johnanna approaches every project and relationship with the philosophy of, “Let’s do better, together.”

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Johnanna Ganz

Researcher and Consultant