Objectives:

- Discuss elements Northwest FCS’s leadership framework- Explore practical elements of leadership in real life situations- Highlight stories of leadership via positive influence and successful outcomes

Participant Bios:

- Brad Williams was born and raised in Arizona and made his home in the Pacific Northwest over 20 years ago. Brad began his education as a division one athlete at New Mexico State University and earned his BS from Arizona Christian University. As a speaker, leader, and coach, he has spent the past two-decades working with a broad array of businesses, non-profits, and individuals; helping them reach and achieve their maximum potential. In addition to consulting and mentoring individuals, he has served as lead staff member at several successful non-profit organizations, improving leadership practices, implementing significant strategic plans, aligning operations with mission, and preserving relationships through pragmatic and compassionate management. He is currently the lead pastor of B4 Church, one of Oregon’s historically largest and most influential churches.

- Scott Linklater is a native of rural Washington having grown up in the heart of apple and cherry country in Okanogan.  Scott has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.  

Scott is a learning and development practitioner with experience directing training efforts at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Currently, Scott is the Vice President – Learning Design at Northwest Farm Credit Services. 

Scott has published books and academic research with a focus on leadership, employment, organizational development and trust in business.

Objectives:

- Discuss elements Northwest FCS’s leadership framework- Explore practical elements of leadership in real life situations- Highlight stories of leadership via positive influence and successful outcomes

Participant Bios:

- John Edwards is a prolific problem solver and success accelerator. He is an award-winning professional speaker and author of several books that leverage neuroscience to drive behavior change and improved organizational culture. As a thought leader, John has impacted global organizations by creating or leading innovative best-in-class initiatives supporting leadership development, strategic thinking, culture change, and human resources.

His organizational psychology and leadership expertise have led him to roles of increasing responsibilities in Fortune 500 companies like Time Warner, Honeywell, and Lockheed Martin. John also has over 25 years of international experience as a leader, speaker, coach, and consultant. In 2020, John was awarded the prestigious designation of CSP. The Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation is the highest earned international measure of professional presentation skills. Established by the National Speakers Association, this designation is only bestowed upon speakers who have earned it by meeting strict professional criteria. The small number of professional speakers who have achieved the CSP designation speaks to the difficulty of meeting the qualifying criteria.

Additionally, John has served on several Boards of Directors, including as Chairman of the Board for the US Department of Justice Weed & Seed Pilot Program. John holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications and a master’s degree in Executive Leadership.

- Scott Linklater is a native of rural Washington having grown up in the heart of apple and cherry country in Okanogan.  Scott has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.  

Scott is a learning and development practitioner with experience directing training efforts at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Currently, Scott is the Vice President – Learning Design at Northwest Farm Credit Services. 

Scott has published books and academic research with a focus on leadership, employment, organizational development and trust in business.

Objectives:

- Discuss elements Northwest FCS’s leadership framework- Explore practical elements of leadership in real life situations- Highlight stories of leadership via positive influence and successful outcomes

Participant Bios:

- Keith Nelson is a world-class, professional musician, community leader, and teamwork enthusiast. He is passionate about excellence, relational harmony, and understanding one’s role and function on a team. An accomplished bass guitarist, Keith specializes in energizing bands making exceptional music that excites listeners.

Keith has played bass for top artists in the music industry such as: Shania Twain, Andrea Bocelli, Charlie Puth, Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Ariana Grande, Sting, Rod Stewart, Kenny G, and Steven Tyler. Keith has over forty years of experience working in countless bands as both sideman and leader. His effective perspective on leadership, teamwork, and delivering a musical product at the highest level, inspires others to be the best team player they can be.

Currently, Keith is the bassist for David Foster and the NFL Raiders House Band. He is also Secretary/Treasurer of the Las Vegas Musicians Union; and serves his community as Worship Pastor at Anthem Community Church in Henderson, NV. In his free time, Keith can be found trying to create relational harmony between his German Shepherd puppy, Zara, and Siamese cat, Skillet… apparently, one of them is not a team player.

- Scott Linklater is a native of rural Washington having grown up in the heart of apple and cherry country in Okanogan.  Scott has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.  

Scott is a learning and development practitioner with experience directing training efforts at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Currently, Scott is the Vice President – Learning Design at Northwest Farm Credit Services. 

Scott has published books and academic research with a focus on leadership, employment, organizational development and trust in business.

Objectives:

- Discuss elements Northwest FCS’s leadership framework- Explore practical elements of leadership in real life situations- Highlight stories of leadership via positive influence and successful outcomes

Participant Bios:

- Tatyana McFadden is considered the fastest woman in the world. She has 17 Paralympic medals (including seven gold medals), 23 World Major Marathon wins including four consecutive Grand Slams (first place in Boston, Chicago, NYC and London marathons in the same year) and has broken five world records in track and field.

In January 2021 Women’s Running Magazine selected Tatyana one of 24 “Power Women of the Year”. Just one month prior, she graced the cover of the magazine’s Gratitude Issue - sharing her powerful lessons of optimism and resilience. Earlier in 2020, she worked both in front of and behind the camera as a producer and star of “Rising Phoenix”, the Netflix original drama that tells the story of the Paralympic Movement through the lives of 9 Paralympic athletes. The film was released in August 2020 to critical acclaim.

She was named to the Forbes "30 Under 30" list in 2017, selected as the Best Female Athlete of the 2016 Paralympic Games by the United States Olympic Committee, and received the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award at the 2016 Paralympic Games for outstanding performance, overcoming adversity, and exemplifying sportsmanship.

Additionally, in 2016 she received an ESPY Award as the Best Female Athlete with a Disability and was selected by Marie Claire for the “first class” of Young Women’s Honors. In 2015 she received the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award from the Women's Sports Foundation, the Juan Antonio Samaranch Disabled Athlete Award from the International Olympic Committee, and was named World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability by the Laureus Foundation.

- Scott Linklater is a native of rural Washington having grown up in the heart of apple and cherry country in Okanogan.  Scott has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.  

Scott is a learning and development practitioner with experience directing training efforts at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Currently, Scott is the Vice President – Learning Design at Northwest Farm Credit Services. 

Scott has published books and academic research with a focus on leadership, employment, organizational development and trust in business.

Objectives:

- Discuss elements Northwest FCS’s leadership framework- Explore practical elements of leadership in real life situations- Highlight stories of leadership via positive influence and successful outcomes

Participant Bios:

- Brian Canlis: Having grown up in the restaurant business, Brian spent eight years studying and working abroad in England, Austria, and Spain before finishing a hospitality degree at Cornell University. After four years as an officer in the Air Force (he worked with Air Force One - you may have seen him on CNN saluting the president) he returned to Seattle to join his brother Mark at the helm of Canlis: the landmark restaurant built by his grandfather in 1950. Outside the restaurant, Brian has hosted the country’s preeminent event on hospitality, The Welcome Conference and has appeared as a judge on Top Chef and a guest on No Reservations with Anthony's Bourdain.

- Scott Linklater is a native of rural Washington having grown up in the heart of apple and cherry country in Okanogan.  Scott has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.  

Scott is a learning and development practitioner with experience directing training efforts at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Currently, Scott is the Vice President – Learning Design at Northwest Farm Credit Services. 

Scott has published books and academic research with a focus on leadership, employment, organizational development and trust in business.

Objectives:

- Discuss elements Northwest FCS’s leadership framework- Explore practical elements of leadership in real life situations- Highlight stories of leadership via positive influence and successful outcomes

Participant Bios:

- Callie Russell is an Ancestral Skills Instructor known for her performance on History Channel’s “Alone” show, where she survived alone and unassisted in the Canadian Arctic for 89 days. She lives off grid in NW Montana with her herd of pack goats and teaches wilderness living workshops.

- Scott Linklater is a native of rural Washington having grown up in the heart of apple and cherry country in Okanogan.  Scott has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.  

Scott is a learning and development practitioner with experience directing training efforts at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Currently, Scott is the Vice President – Learning Design at Northwest Farm Credit Services. 

Scott has published books and academic research with a focus on leadership, employment, organizational development and trust in business.

Objectives:

- Discuss elements Northwest FCS’s leadership framework- Explore practical elements of leadership in real life situations- Highlight stories of leadership via positive influence and successful outcomes

Participant Bios:

- Erin Shrimpton is a chartered organizational psychologist and expert in workplace behavior change. She works as a LinkedIn Learning Instructor, coach and consultant helping people, teams and leaders change workplace experience for the better. In addition, she is an experienced facilitator, trainer and keynote speaker.

Erin collaborates with HR professionals, leaders and their teams to help them build, curate and even reinvent culture –always using approaches that are evidence based and experience led. Erin spent most of her professional life in London but now lives back in her home town of Dublin with her husband and two small boys.

- Scott Linklater is a native of rural Washington having grown up in the heart of apple and cherry country in Okanogan.  Scott has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.  

Scott is a learning and development practitioner with experience directing training efforts at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Currently, Scott is the Vice President – Learning Design at Northwest Farm Credit Services. 

Scott has published books and academic research with a focus on leadership, employment, organizational development and trust in business.

Objectives:

- Discuss elements Northwest FCS’s leadership framework- Explore practical elements of leadership in real life situations- Highlight stories of leadership via positive influence and successful outcomes

Participant Bios:

- Greg “Boss” Wooldridge is the only commanding officer to lead The Blue Angels for three separate tours. He was first selected because of his demonstrated ability to build teams where communication, trust and teamwork took precedence over rank and status. His heart-driven approach proved a perfect match for the Blue Angel’s culture of excellence, and he was called back to lead 2 more teams through times of difficult transition. Since his success with the Blues, Greg has been inspired to share his methods in order to empower individuals and teams on their journey toward High Performance.

From the very start of his career in the Navy, Greg was immersed in the building of great teams. In flight candidate school he learned from the camaraderie of his class, an emotion that elevated individuals by first elevating the performance of the team. Later, acting as a commander of a carrier squadron, Greg discovered that teams which drive toward something greater than themselves unlock an ability to perform at extreme levels.And finally, when he was selected as the commanding officer of the Blue Angels, The Navy’s—and the world’s—premiere flight demonstration squadron, Greg Wooldridge experienced what it was like to take one’s dreams and beliefs on an upward spiral, into the beyond.

Greg’s one of a kind experience resonates with audiences of any size, background or culture. From leaders searching for an inspiring “how to” approach, to full scale corporate engagements, Boss simultaneously creates that “spark” with his stories from the cockpit, and fans it into flames by providing the nuts and bolts of Blue Angel methodology

- Scott Linklater is a native of rural Washington having grown up in the heart of apple and cherry country in Okanogan.  Scott has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.  

Scott is a learning and development practitioner with experience directing training efforts at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Currently, Scott is the Vice President – Learning Design at Northwest Farm Credit Services. 

Scott has published books and academic research with a focus on leadership, employment, organizational development and trust in business.

Objectives:

- Discuss elements of the “cultivating innovation” portion of Northwest FCS framework- Explore practical elements of bringing ingenuity and cultivating innovation in a day-to-day life- Highlight Jordan’s life of leadership via positive influence and successful outcomes

Participant Bios:

- Jordan Jonas grew up in the Idaho country, surrounded by the beautiful lakes of that vast state. Being surrounded by nature, he grew up spending his formative years in nature. As a young adult he came of age as he spent a year riding freight trains across the US - spending countless days and nights navigating both rural and urban environments. Soon after he left for Russia where he would spend the better part of the next ten years living in Siberia in villages, with fur trappers, and ultimately with traditional nomadic reindeer herders. Amongst these people Jordan would learn the art of survival - not as taught in classes, but as lived day in and day out by people whose existence depends on those skills. The skills acquired over his life were proven effective and reliable when Jordan won season 6 of History Channel's Alone show, spending 77 days in the Arctic while also successfully hunting a bull moose, a wolverine, dozens of rabbits, squirrels, grouse and numerous fish.

Jordan learned to hunt, trap, fish, survive, and even thrive in good times and bad. He learned to deal with adversity and value his family and friends. He learned that experience is valuable, but that the development of character and love are the most important aspects of life. He values where he came from, both his Assyrian and Danish heritage, and strives to be someone worthy of the incredible sacrifices those before him made to give him a good life. He hopes to do the same for his children. He is very blessed and thankful to have an opportunity to live, and live life to its fullest.

- Scott Linklater is a native of rural Washington having grown up in the heart of apple and cherry country in Okanogan.  Scott has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.  

Scott is a learning and development practitioner with experience directing training efforts at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Currently, Scott is the Vice President – Learning Design at Northwest Farm Credit Services. 

Scott has published books and academic research with a focus on leadership, employment, organizational development and trust in business.

Objectives:

- Highlight a life of leadership via positive influence and successful outcomes- Discuss elements of the courage and accountability portion of Northwest FCS framework- Explore practical elements of living a life of accountability and courage

Participant Bios:

- Michel Varisco-Gleason Michel has been described as the pillar of Team Gleason. Although most pillars don’t collect swords and wear jackets in the summer, she is eclectically the structure that completes and supports Team Gleason.

In her original role as Co-Founder of Team Gleason and also as Steve’s wife, Michel had a crash course in ALS and all that implies. In the film, ‘Gleason’, she and Steve shared their story with the world, creating enormous awareness for the disease and Team Gleason. Her official roles are as an advisor and also managing merchandise for the organization, but she remains a pillar or maybe two. And, every good idea is always attributed to Michel.

Also revealed in the film, ‘Gleason’ was Michel’s vision as an artist. Since the film’s release, Michel’s art has been sold across the country and beyond. Her artist statement is:

“I’ve always liked my brain occupied, not with current events or poetry, but with more mundane distractions, like busy work. In 2011, my husband, Steve Gleason was diagnosed with ALS, a paralyzing terminal illness with a 2-5 year life expectancy. We were both 34. I became consumed with fear, anxiety, heartbreak, resentment and relentless grief. The idea of tomorrow frightened and depressed me. One day I came across an old sketchpad with a single drawing on it (One). I brought it, along with some sharp colored pencils, to the hospital during a particularly worrisome surgery. For the first time in years, I was able to sit in one place for hours and feel contentment and peace. My drawings started to change into things I didn’t fully understand. Forms and symbols were creating a new language through which I could express things I never could verbally. Experiencing a still mind was exhilarating. I still experience that same exuberance every time someone buys a print. This art has given me something new to love. It has brought back some of the light I lost. I feel lucky that I can share it with my family, friends and now, strangers. Besides being my children, Rivers and Gray’s mom, my artwork is the thing I'm most proud of right now.”

- Scott Linklater is a native of rural Washington having grown up in the heart of apple and cherry country in Okanogan.  Scott has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.  

Scott is a learning and development practitioner with experience directing training efforts at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Currently, Scott is the Vice President – Learning Design at Northwest Farm Credit Services. 

Scott has published books and academic research with a focus on leadership, employment, organizational development and trust in business.

 

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