MPI Midwest Regional Conference

November 11-12, 2009

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Speakers

Geoffrey Freeman

Geoffrey is senior vice president of public affairs for the U.S. Travel Association, the nation’s leading voice for increasing travel to and within the United States. Geoffrey leads all public affairs activities for the organization, including lobbying, strategic communications, research and grassroots mobilization. Geoffrey drives the organization’s activities on near-term challenges, such as the recent assault on corporate meetings and events, and develops strategies to position the industry more favorably in the years to come.

Prior to the U.S. Travel Association, Geoffrey was executive director of the Discover America Partnership, a coalition of some of America’s foremost business leaders dedicated to striking a better balance between homeland security and travel facilitation. Launched in September 2006, the campaign pushed meaningful visa and entry reforms through the United States Congress and drove more than 1,500 news stories about the importance of welcoming international visitors. The Partnership laid the groundwork for the 2008 passage of the Travel Promotion Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, labeled by Travel Weekly as the “industry’s biggest legislative victory in a decade.”

Geoffrey has managed a variety of complex public affairs campaigns and excelled in developing innovative outreach strategies. Prior to launching the Discover America Partnership, Geoffrey was a vice president with APCO Worldwide, a global public affairs firm, where he managed an array of issue campaigns, including the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA). The PPA, supported by America’s pharmaceutical companies, is the largest effort ever created to connect uninsured Americans with free prescription medicines. The campaign succeed in helping more than two million Americans in its first year of operation, driving over 5,000 news stories and repositioning the pharmaceutical industry.

Previously, Geoffrey was the Director of Government Relations and Strategic Outreach for Freddie Mac where he developed and implemented an innovative program to highlight the corporation’s activities in local markets. Under Geoffrey’s direction, Freddie Mac teamed with local stakeholders and elected officials to celebrate newfound homeownership opportunities presented to millions of Americans across the country.

Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Geoffrey served as Director of Strategic Initiatives for the American Association of Health Plans, the leading representative of the managed care industry. Geoffrey helped guide the media and strategic communications strategy around several high-profile and emotional issues including the Patients’ Bill of Rights and Medicare reform. In an effort to build support for the industry beyond-the-beltway, Geoffrey developed several innovative initiatives including a highly successful Hollywood outreach campaign and a partnership with physicians in the fight for medical liability reform.

Geoffrey is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. He resides in Arlington, Virginia with his wife and two children.

Lawana S. Gladney

As CEO of Emotional Wellness, Inc. and as the emotional wellness expert, Dr. Gladney has presented speeches and training sessions throughout North America to educational institutions, businesses, organizations and churches. Some of her clients include Pitney Bowes, Brinker International, Federal Aviation Administration, IBM, AT& T, Texas Instruments, Freddie Mac, Zig Ziglar Corp, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Coast Guard, Meeting Professional International and many others. She is a television personality and has been a co-host of a cable show and an expert for Fox 4.

She has been featured in the Dallas Morning News as well as other national magazines and radio programs. She was featured on the Michael Baisden Radio Show and appeared as a guest expert for Baisden After Dark national talk show. She was been featured in, In Touch magazine to offer advice to celebrities such as Tom and Katie Cruise, and Brad and Angelina. She has also contributed to articles for several magazines and, as an author, she has written four books and co-authored four. Her areas of expertise include emotional wellness, intrinsic motivation and learning, leadership, stress management, and work/life balance. In addition to being a speaker, author and trainer, she is the founder and executive director of a non-profit organization for women, The Six Million Dollar Woman’s Club. She also has served on the board of National Speakers Association North Texas and the board of Meeting Professionals International D/FW chapter and was the recipient of Rising Star Award.

Brad A. Goldberg

Brad A. Goldberg currently owns TriGold Consulting, LLC, a firm providing contingency planning and risk management solutions to meeting professionals.

Brad began his meeting planning career in the United States Air Force, where he served as an officer specializing in risk management. His leadership in that field led to organizing and managing international risk management conferences for the military, civilian contractors and other government agencies.

In his 20 years of military service, Brad also supported the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cambodia, trained embassy attaches in international security, oversaw operational security for seven U.S. bases in Asia and the Pacific, and deployed three times to the Middle East during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Brad has continued his tradition of teaching risk management principles and strategies since retiring from the military in 2006. He served the Tampa chapter of Meeting Professionals International as its 2006 Southeast Education Conference Risk Management Chair, developed and led a related seminar at the Clearwater-based conference, and still teaches the subject each term in the University of South Florida’s Meeting and Event Planning Certificate Program. Based on his wealth of knowledge and earlier accolades, Brad has been asked to speak at SEC again in 2009, and chair the Risk Management Committee for the 2010 conference.

He is also a frequent speaker on risk management, crisis and contingency planning for other trade and professional groups. He has recently presented at the Destination Managers Association International 2009 Conference and Webinar, Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Hurricane Preparedness Symposium and will be addressing the Professional Conference Managers Association Annual Meeting in 2010.

Prior to starting TriGold Consulting in 2008, Brad worked as Conference Services Manager for CommGenix, a medical meetings and communications company, and was a senior meeting planner for the University of South Florida’s College of Medicine.

He currently serves as Vice President of Education for the Tampa Bay Chapter of Meeting Professionals International, and as the Risk Management/Contingency Planning speaker for Train2Meet.

Brad is also the author and publisher of Meet Prepared, a contingency planning and risk management blog for the meeting and hospitality industry, online at http://meetprepared.blogspot.com.

Joshua Grimes

Joshua L. Grimes is a Philadelphia-based attorney specializing in serving the hospitality industry. Among his clients are meeting and event planners, associations, trade groups, hotels, restaurants, convention and conference facilities, and tour operators.

A former aide to Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, Mr. Grimes served as General Counsel for Philadelphia’s annual “Welcome America!” festival and The Philadelphia Festival of the Arts. He also wrote the City of Philadelphia’s Special Events Policy governing events in public venues. Mr. Grimes continues to serve as General Counsel of Historic Philadelphia, Inc. and Lights of Liberty, Inc., two organizations marketing Philadelphia’s historic assets to visitors.

In his current law practice, Mr. Grimes meets the specialized legal needs of hospitality industry professionals. His work on behalf of association meeting and event planners ranges from incorporation issues to liquor liability, insurance, contract drafting and review, music licensing, employment issues, and ADA compliance. Mr. Grimes’ advice helps planners protect themselves and their organizations from potential risks and damages, and thereby reduce the likelihood that they will face costly legal problems in their work.

Mr. Grimes also represents hotels, tour operators, convention centers and meeting facilities. His work for hotels includes contract negotiation, franchise and management agreements, property sales, labor issues, and civil litigation. Mr. Grimes was in charge of legal matters for the opening of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, and recently counseled a major university on matters relating to the operation of a new arena/convention facility.

Mr. Grimes is Legal Counsel to the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association and a member of the Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys. He is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.

A frequent author and speaker on hospitality law topics, Mr. Grimes served as an Adjunct Professor of Hospitality Law in the Temple University School of Tourism and Hospitality Management for 7 years. He is also a columnist for Convene, Successful Meetings Magazine, The Meeting Professional, Association Executive, and Mid-Atlantic Events Magazine.

In April 2003, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) designated Mr. Grimes as a PLATINUM SERIES SPEAKER. This honor was bestowed in recognition of Mr. Grimes’ expertise in legal issues relating to the meetings industry, as well as his excellent presentation and group facilitation skills.

Mr. Grimes has appeared at international conferences of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the Canadian Association of Exposition Managers (CAEM), the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), the International Special Events Society (ISES), the International Association For Exposition Management (IAEM), the International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM), Meeting Professionals International (MPI), and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

In June 2004, Mr. Grimes was named a “Pennsylvania Super Lawyer” by Philadelphia Magazine and Law & Politics.

Mr. Grimes is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and The George Washington University National Law Center.

Alan Ranzer

Alan Ranzer, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Impact 4 Good, is a leading voice in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) movement. Utilizing his M.A in International Development from American University in Washington, D.C, Alan has built a successful career and business focused on bettering communities in need worldwide.

Under his leadership, Impact 4 Good has created and implemented hundreds of teambuilding activities for major corporations which have contributed immeasurably to local charities in the United States and abroad. As an industry spokesman, he has presented at conferences for corporate meeting, incentive, and association industry executives and meeting planners, and has been a panelist on multiple webinars on the topic of CSR. Additionally, he has been interviewed for or quoted in over 30 articles since 2005 in meeting/incentive industry publications, as well as the New York Times.

Alan has worked for respected domestic and international non-profit organizations specializing in the field of community service. His career has included living and/or managing projects in Ecuador, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Cape Verde, Indonesia, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the West Bank and Gaza.

Throughout his career, Alan has maintained his passion for helping others and strives to share this passion with Impact 4 Good clients so they can enjoy the benefits of good corporate teamwork combined with good community citizenship.

He and his wife Beth have two children and live in Bethesda, Maryland.

Colleen Rickenbacher, CMP, CSEP, CPC

Colleen Rickenbacher is a business owner, speaker, author and television personality.

Colleen is celebrating her 25th year as a member of MPI and over the years has served as the President of the Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter; chaired numerous committees; served on the International Board of Directors; the recipient of the Marion N. Kershner Leadership Award and the Past Chair of the MPI Chancellors. Presently she is serving on the MPI Foundation Board of Trustees.

Speaking engagements have taken Colleen around the World and she appears regularly on the Country Music Television (CMT) with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and Fox TV.

Colleen was recognized by Meeting News Magazine as One of the Top 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry.

Her books Be On Your Best Business Behavior and Be On Your Best Cultural Behavior cover all areas of practical business, dining skills and international protocol. The tips she provides to you today will strengthen your image and that of your organization. These differences will separate you from your competition. Colleen will be available to sign her books and to answer any additional questions you may have. Please stop by and visit.

Carl Winston

Carl Winston is the founding director of San Diego State University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. The unique school was created with a blend of industry professionals and scholars working to create a unique teaching model with a “real world” leadership emphasis. In eight years, the program has received prominence and is recognized internationally as one of the “up and comers” in hospitality education. Prior to working with the University, Carl had 20 years of experience in a wide variety of hospitality senior executive level industry jobs throughout North America. These were in lodging, restaurants, amusement parks and related businesses.

Carl graduated from the University of California in San Diego and later Cornell, where he earned his master’s degree from their School of Hotel Administration. He is involved with a large number of local, regional and national industry associations and groups, where he serves in leadership positions and boards of directors.