2020 Speaker Bios
2020 Welcome Address/Introduction by Summit Credit Union
Kim Sponem
Kim has a passion for empowering people to improve their financial well-being for a richer life. Under her leadership, Summit has become a leader in financial education, the number one mortgage lender in Dane and Columbia Counties and the number one Small Business Administration loan provider by number of loans amongst credit unions in Wisconsin. Summit has also won dozens of awards recognizing its work in the community.
2020 Keynote Speaker
Darcy Luoma
2020 Speakers
Amy Crowe
Jill Mueller
Mary Helen Conroy
Tina Hallis
Sarah Campagna
Sarah Campagna is a driven leader and coach with a passion for purposeful work that directly influences wellbeing. In her role as Managing Vice President of Business Development & Financial Empowerment at Summit Credit Union, she supports and develops her team of financial wellness coaches. For the employer partners in the Financial Wellness for Employees by Summit Credit Unionprogram, she builds connections and guides the financial wellbeing of their employees. Her leadership also extends to the community where she has served on the board of the Middleton Chamber of Commerce for five years, most recently serving as President.
Sarah’s 20 years in the financial industry have been spent largely in retail branch leadership. This work has afforded her many opportunities to make an impact on people’s financial wellbeing, including coaching one of Summit’s Project Money families in 2013.
When it comes to her own wellness, Sarah takes time for mindfulness, crafting and getting outdoors. She also became a certified yoga instructor in 2012 and fulfilled a long-time dream in 2018 when she travelled to Costa Rica for a meditation and yoga retreat.
Shana LaFore
Shana LaFore, is Mom of 2, Instructor, Speaker, Yogi, Traveler, Lover of all things Creative. She is an the Business Development and Solutions Representative at Madison College and a career consultant on a mission to empower others to realize their entrepreneurial dream by helping them clarify their brand story, create a well designed marketing plan and strategize their professional goals. Through her coaching, speaking and leadership trainings, she combines nearly 2 decades of teaching and consulting experience based on her own entrepreneurial journey.
Prior to running her own creative business, she ran the art department of a thriving nonprofit art center and managed a high end interior design showroom, orchestrating the project success and sales objectives of the teams she’s lead. She has coached hundreds of people on the power of the entrepreneurial mindset and is excited to expand with her first international program in Italy, organized through Madison College, in the spring of 2020.
Cyndi Wentland
Cyndi Wentland, Intentionaleaders, LLC – Cyndi’s career has spanned over three decades and has included work in financial services, manufacturing, retail and professional services. In her roles, Cyndi has worked with hundreds of executives to help shape and implement their strategic plans and initiatives, to ensure organizational development and growth.
She has provided leadership coaching and training to managers across the country, sharing best practices, strategies and techniques for interpersonal and business effectiveness. As a successful small business owner, she also knows firsthand the value of strategy, structure and good business practices. Cyndi is the Founder of Intentionaleaders, LLC, and is also an instructor for Madison College’s School of Professional Development & Continuing Education.
She received the 2016 Employee Excellence Award as a part time instructor. She has multiple training designations, in addition to certifications on Myers-Briggs Type, DiSC Assessments, Devine Inventory Assessment and Leadership Effectiveness (360) and Individual Dimensions Inventory by the Management Research Group. She has an MBA from Edgewood College with a focus on Management Development and a B.S. Degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Laura Gmeinder
Her story? She survived a quarter life crisis, made friends with her fear, courageously left her corporate HR job (after 14 years) and set out to make an impact in the world. She is an InBusiness Magazine “40 Under 40”, honored for her business savvy and civic contributions, and a BRAVA magazine “Woman to Watch”. She is a judge for the International Stevie Awards for Women in Business.
Laura holds a Bachelor’s of Science in adult education from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. She has studied through the prestigious Co-Active Training Institute (CTI), the Wright Institute and with Master Coach Marion Franklin. Laura is a certified International Coach Federation coach (ACC) and holds her Professional of Human Resources (PHR) certification.
Laura serves a variety of clients including Fortune 500s, nonprofits, government and startups. She is committed to building community and giving back; Laura supports entrepreneurs for the MarketReady Program (Madison’s Public Market), the Doyenne Group and The Coaching Fellowship. She is a graduate of Leadership Greater Madison and a past president of the Junior League. Laura strives to live an interesting life; the above was accomplished in the spirit of “Do one thing every day that scares you.”
Katherine Ramirez
Kat currently serves as Owner & Creative CEO of adBidtise, which she founded in 2014. adBidtise provides business owners with strategic ways to find affordable advertising options for their business needs, budgets, goals, and expectations so they can Stand Out and Grow. Previously, Kat’s advertising sales experience has covered five markets with high-profile companies. Her previous Sales Management stops included: WDJT CBS Milwaukee, WYTU Telemundo WI Milwaukee, KETV ABC Omaha, WBUW Madison’s CW, KWBQ/KASY CW Albuquerque and WBXX-TV CW of East TN Knoxville. She launched her career as an Account Manager with Roberts and Russell, Inc. Advertising Agency, working along-side Leo Burnett and McCann Ericksen. Kat is a woman-owned, veteran-owned and minority-owned business leader in the advertising and marketing marketplace. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management with a minor in Advertising and Marketing from the University of Central Missouri. With over 30 years of experience – Kat has proudly served our country with the United States Air Force.
Deborah Biddle
With a calm, level-headed approach, keen listening, insightful questioning, and a passion for individual and organizational belonging and thriving, Deborah Biddle influences individuals and teams to successfully rethink and redo the ways they engage with people and make decisions.
Deborah is a Certified Diversity Professional and runs the diversity and inclusion consulting, coaching, and training firm, The People Company LLC. She works with organizations who want to leverage the power of change to heighten development and performance for their people. Deborah designs and delivers thought-provoking and challenging experiences that help people THINK better, DO better and BE better at what matters most.
Dr. Kim Jarvis
Tina Paulus-Krause
Her passion is transformation. She speaks, trains and coaches individuals and teams, to become the best leader of themselves and others they can be.
After a complete transformation of her own, Tina learned how to powerfully reprogram long held beliefs, change toxic habits and create sustainable results. Tina has made it her mission to coach leaders and teams to dig deep and learn to empower themselves to reach their fullest potential. Tina’s life experience, over 20 years in business and her leadership journey provide a perfectly unique and well rounded framework where she can speak and coach from a place of true authenticity helping others create sustainable change and become their own best coach.
Lori Gibson
Katie Hill
Amber Swenor
Summit Credit Union
Established in 1935, Summit Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative open to anyone. Summit holds $3.2 billion in assets and has more than 184,000 members and 629 employees across 37 locations throughout Southcentral and Southeastern Wisconsin. At Summit, we don’t sell products, we build relationships. We’re all about helping you turn wishing, waiting and wondering into planning, doing and experiencing. We can help you save more, pay off debt and reduce your stress.