They are experts in the following areas:

Business Development- Public Speaking - Recruitment Written & Verbal Communication - Alumni & Student Engagement- Process Improvement-Team Collaboration- Social Media Strategy- Marketing - Employee Engagement-Event Planning- Brand Development- Product Positioning Strategic Planning – Budget Management – Policy Implementation – Project Management – Agile Leadership –Corporate Social Responsibility – Process Management – Sales – Production – HBCU Engagement Strategist – Fundraising-Corporate Partnerships- Solution Building 

Cyrus Ethemad-Moghadam
About the speakers: 

Curious about every new object, technology, device and tool requires breaking down: How does it work? How was it made? Why this, and not that? So when becoming an astronaut was no longer in the cards, the next best thing was mechanical engineering.

After spending their formative years in the defense industry, an after-hours consulting job resulted in a full-time position at a telecom. Cool! No more right angles, no more grey, olive green or desert beige! Later, the boom in optical networking landed him a gig at a start-up in Canada, where they became the Director of Engineering. 

A trip with their CEO, a serial entrepreneur, resulted in a revelation: he could be an entrepreneur too. It was time to take their expertise in development and launch a business of their own.

He started RPM Tech in my basement in 2006. Today, the company employs a group talented engineers, technicians and model makers who conceptualize, design, prototype, test and produce products for a broad range of industries, with customers in the US, Canada and Europe. We innovate, solve problems and make things work. He has accumulated extensive experience in design and development working with startups, small businesses, entrepreneurs and large corporations.

As importantly, he has lived the ups and downs of building a sustainable business and am passionate about sharing the knowledge I have acquired. He is also passionate about their team – they are the reason for my company’s success.

Frank van Vliet  
About the speakers: 

A dynamic and top-performing SALES AND MARKETING EXECUTIVE with a comprehensive background in marketing, strategic planning, business development, and talent management.

Possesses and outstanding track record in dynamic leadership, innovation, and generating profitable outcomes. A driven entrepreneur, exhibits unmatched proficiencies teaching and mentoring teams to support an organization’s growth initiatives.

Lynda Katz Wilner
About the speakers: 

Lynda Katz Wilner, MS, CCC-SLP is a speech and communication trainer and coach and a speech and language pathologist. She is the founder and director of Successfully Speaking, a communication consulting firm that helps individuals and teams SPEAK, SOUND, and LOOK like Leaders. This includes professional speaking skills, voice improvement, foreign accent modification and regional dialect reduction for native and non-native speakers. Lynda conducts public speaking classes to individuals and organizations. She coaches entrepreneurs of start-ups to help prepare them for their pitch competitions.

David Hardy 

About the speakers: 

David Leicester Hardy, an associate professor at James Madison University in Virginia, and a multidisciplinary graphic designer specializing in UX, UI, web, motion graphics, and interactive design.

With over twenty years of professional experience, they have worked for advertising agencies, educational institutions, private firms, non-profit institutions, and artists and musicians.

Sarahbeth Ramsey

About the speakers: 

Sarah Elizabeth (Sarahbeth) Ramsey is new to the Traverse City area, originally a Baltimore native who graduated from Towson University with an undergraduate degree and an MBA from the University of Baltimore (focus: Entrepreneurship). In 2022, she became a certified Brand Specialist, and one month later a certified Brand Strategist through Level C, owned by Andy Starr and Marty Neumeier (author of The Brand Gap).

Get to know more about Sarahbeth business by visiting their website: https://www.bohobusiness.co/

Andrew Buerger

About the speakers: 
Andrew is an award-winning entrepreneur of for-profit and non-profit organizations. One venture, B’more Organic, was the #5 on Inc’s Fastest Growing natural/organic brands in 2017. He is the Founder of Jodi’s Climb for Hope which has raised $850,000 for MS and breast cancer research by getting over 250 climbers safely to the summits on four continents. He is currently the Director of Rare Earth Adventures, an expedition guiding company based in Portland, OR. And, the Director of Mission for RIND Snacks. His book, “Carrying a Flag From Pain to Passion” was a #1 Hot New Release on Amazon’s list of Mountain Climbing books.