Speakers Biography's
Merrilee Boyack
- MERRILEE BOYACK, is a crazed woman who loves ice cream and taking naps when she can. She is an estate-planning attorney who conducts her law practice from home. She graduated with High Honors from Brigham Young University with a degree in Business Management—Finance and was a summa cum laude graduate from University of Santa Clara Law School. Boyack is also a professional lecturer and the author of "The Parenting Breakthrough" and "Strangling Your Husband Is NOT an Option.". Merrilee and her husband, Steve, are raising four sons ages 15 to 24. She is a Poway City Councilwoman. She is the Vice President of the local chapter of Mothers Without Borders and National Board member, Rotary and Poway Chamber of Commerce member, and a community activist. She was named Woman of the Year for her Assembly District. She also received the BYU Alumni Association Community Service Award, the Wallace Community Service Award and the PTA Council and Unit Honorary Service Award. Her favorite kitchen appliance is a telephone. Her interests include reading, camping, talking, eating out and helping children in Africa . She has lectured throughout the Country, combining lots of humor with an informative style.
- Website:http://www.boyacks.com/Merrilee/
Dr. Lisa Williams
- Dr. Williams is a respected researcher, national columnist and award-winning speaker. She is the President and CEO of Williams Research, Inc. and the author of several books including, Leading Beyond Excellence and the soon to be released Stop Struggling: Get Rich-- Stay Rich! As a former professor at Penn State University and a two-time endowed chair holder, she has dedicated her life to educating and developing future and current leaders. Major corporations and President Clinton's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection have sought her advice. Dr. Williams' research has practical and global implications and as such she has spoken to audiences in the United States, Belgium, Austria, Canada, London and Australia. While featured in magazines for her expertise in business, she is also known for her ability to motivate executives, future leaders and audiences of all sizes. Her peers and students alike recognize her as a leader in the field of business and supply chain management. She has received many teaching awards and recognition from The Ohio State, Penn State, and the University of Arkansas. Dr. Williams has been ranked by the most prestigious journal in the field for the number of articles published. Her research has been published in the Journal of Marketing Channels, Journal of Business Logistics, the Transportation Journal, The International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management and the International Journal of Logistics Management. Her column Profiles in Leadership is published in the Supply Chain Management Review Magazine. She also writes a column on business issues for New Age Retailer and other national magazines. Dr. Williams has been given the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member-an endowed chair. Upon receiving the award she said, "This is like receiving the Academy Award for Faculty". Actually, Dr. Williams has been given this honor --not once but twice-- in three years. As the first female to hold a multimillion dollar endowed chair in her field, the first African American female to graduate from The Ohio State University's Marketing and Logistics Department and the second woman in her discipline to become a full professor, she has committed herself to exceptional scholarship. In fact her accomplishments were recognized when she was given the American Marketing Association PhD. Project Trailblazer Award.
- Website:http://www.WilliamsResearch.com
Gary Rossi
- Mr. Gary Rossi, a Navy Frogman/SEAL, brings the expertise from leading the Navy’s elite teams to help your management team accomplish more than they ever thought possible. Combining the experience from Naval Special Warfare and Bomb Disposal Teams with the skills acquired coaching a multitude of sports teams, Gary ’s passion is leading organizations for achieving performance excellence. He specializes as a “COACH” emphasizing the development and execution of a strategic management system, performance measures, leadership systems, and customer service systems. Gary has been a champion for “Performance Excellence” using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria since 1994. He served on the Board of Examiners for the Hawaiian Quality Award (1996), the Presidential Quality Award (1997-1998) and the California Award for Performance Excellence since 1996. Additionally, Gary has served as a senior examiner leading a team through the assessment process since 1999 as well as obtaining qualifications as a facilitator and trainer for the California Awards for Performance Excellence (CAPE) since 2000. Gary has served on the Board of Directors for the California Council for Excellence and Chairman for the San Diego Council for Excellence. He is also a Senior Member and the San Diego KOALATY KID representative for the American Society for Quality (ASQ). Additionally, Gary teaches classes in Quality, the Balanced Scorecard, Strategic Planning, Leadership and the Consulting Process for the College of Extended Studies at San Diego State University , National University and Mira Costa College.
- Website:http://www.thebaldrigecoach.com/
Jeri Denniston
- Jeri Denniston is a Haines Centre for Strategic Management’s Principal in San Diego and has more than 30 years of experience in a broad range of marketing disciplines. As a consultant, she collaborated on cross-border marketing plans, feasibility studies, and divestiture prospectuses for a variety of real estate and manufacturing businesses in Mexico . Jeri has worked in the transportation, banking, marketing information and publishing industries, developing new products, conducting market analyses, and directing creative services and events marketing efforts. Market development and strategic marketing are her specialties. She has served on several non-profit boards, including two start-ups, and continues her involvement with local non-profits in her efforts to make a difference in her local community. Fluent in Spanish, Jeri holds a BA in Spanish from Chapman University and a Masters in International Management from Thunderbird – the Garvin School of International Management, in Glendale , AZ. With 10 years of overseas living in Indonesia and extensive travel worldwide, she has developed an enthusiasm for world cultures.
- Website:http://www.hainescentre.com/
Craig B. Barkacs, J.D., M.B.A.
- Professor Craig Barkacs began his long and close association with the University of San Diego when he arrived as a law student in August of 1978, after having just graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy from Kenyon College. Upon attaining the benefit of a J.D. /MBA joint-degree from USD, Professor Barkacs embarked on an exciting and illustrious career spanning the legal profession, the business world, and academia. As an attorney who often represented the underdog in high-profile civil and business litigation cases, he and his law partner wife Linda Barkacs consistently achieved outstanding results litigating opposite some of the largest and most powerful law firms in the country. As an educator, Professor Barkacs has designed and taught numerous courses on negotiation, corporate social responsibility, ethics, law, and international business, and has published extensively in those disciplines. He has been very active in teaching in USD's study abroad programs, and he is frequently solicited to teach in numerous graduate programs in the School of Business at the University of San Diego. In addition, he is often sought out by the media to provide commentary on business, legal, ethical, and political issues. As a way of connecting with the broader business community and as a way keeping his skills honed and relevant, Professor Barkacs and his wife (who herself is a graduate of USD's School of Law and a full-time professor in the School of Business), are principals in The Barkacs Group (www.tbgexecutivetraining.com), a business consulting firm that provides negotiation and ethics training for the private sector. Professor Barkacs has won many awards for his research and publications, he has been awarded a prestigious University Professorship by USD for outstanding career achievement in teaching, scholarship and service - the highest award given to an actively teaching professor, and USD graduate business students have on numerous occasions honored him as AProfessor of the Year.@ Professor Barkacs is known for his intelligence, passion and sense of humor, and is widely sought after as a speaker.
- Website:http://www.tbgexecutivetraining.com
Dr. Sheridan Barker, Ed.D
- Dr. Sheridan Barker, a strategic leadership consultant, engages key stakeholders in The Systems Thinking Approach to create stronger coherence between planning, action and desired outcomes for dynamic and forward-thinking organizations. Dr. Barker has recently served as Director of Leadership Services for the San Diego County Office of Education and is well-known throughout San Diego County as an expert facilitator and strategic planner. A student of leadership for over thirty years, Sheri brings passion and a strong commitment to enhancing organizational communication, teamwork, and productivity in service of an optimal future for our democratic society and our role in the global economy.