Meetings

September Speaker: Jeff Weist, Lobbyist

Carey Madsen

Jeff Weist is a professional lobbyist who has spent 20 years assisting his clients in all aspects of government relations, including strategic planning, lobbying, political fundraising, coalition building, grassroots and communications.

Jeff believes he has the best job in the world, turning his passion for crafting public policy into a lifetime profession helping his clients navigate the often byzantine maze of government.   

Jeff has been interested in public policy since high school. He continued those pursuits in college at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he majored in Political Science, and acted as Managing Editor of the Georgetown Guardian newspaper.

During his tenure in Washington, DC, Jeff served as Legislative Director for U.S. Representative Dan Schaefer (R-CO).  He advised the Congressman on economic, telecommunications, budget, utility, tax and banking issues and had the privilege of playing a leading role in the first major re-write of the nation’s telecommunications laws in 60 years, as well as crafting groundbreaking utility regulation and tax reform legislation.

After coming home to his native Colorado, Jeff was Director of State Government Affairs for AT&T Broadband, the nation’s largest cable television company, as well as its predecessor company, Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI). In that role, he oversaw legislative affairs and coordinated lobbying efforts region and nationwide.

From AT&T, he graduated to contract lobbying in 2002, and is proud to have cultivated more than decade-long relationships with many of his clients. From major corporations, medium and small businesses, trade associations to nonprofits, Jeff understands the needs of business owners and membership driven organizations alike.

Despite his passion for his work, Jeff tries hard to lead a balanced life that centers on his two teenage boys. Together, they enjoy a wide range of very fun hobbies, including: fly-fishing, shooting, skiing and high-powered rocketry.  Jeff is a Boy Scout Assistant Scoutmaster, and former Cub Scout Cubmaster.  Jeff has also volunteered on numerous boards including the Denver Art Museum Asian Art Association and the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry.

June Speaker – Bob Vanourek, Leadership Wisdom from the Masters

Leadership expert and award-winning author, Bob Vanourek is the former CEO of five companies, ranging from a start-up to a $1 billion company. Bob is the author of two award-winning books: Leadership Wisdom: Lessons from Poetry, Prose, and Curious Verse and the co-author of Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical, and Enduring Organizations, called “the best leadership book since Jim Collins’ Good to Great.”

Bob is a former board member or chairman of eleven organizations, an adjunct university instructor on leadership, and a high honors graduate of both Harvard and Princeton universities.

Bob will read inspiring passages from some of the masters of literature with deep meanings for all of us. After each passage, brief interactive discussions will be held among DAB members about the lessons we can glean from these masters for practical applications in our busy lives. Be ready to dive deep, think hard, and be inspired by the masters.

May Speaker – Andrew Wien, The Dynamic Leadership Center

INTRO TO MINDFULNESS
Modern science has shown that the brain is malleable. What we think, do, and pay attention to changes the structure and function of our brains. Mindfulness is a way to change the wiring of our brains for the better. With training, you can improve focus and productivity, strengthen communication and relationships, better manage difficult experiences, and increase resilience. Come learn what mindfulness is and how it can help you do just that!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
What mindfulness is and the latest neuroscience supporting it  How your brain typically performs at work, and whether or not that is effective  Quick, simple exercises to start incorporating mindfulness into your routines

ABOUT ANDREW
Andrew founded the Dynamic Leadership Center to help his generation be more productive at work. He believes that small tweaks in how we use our brain can fundamentally change our work performance, effectiveness of relationships, and overall fulfilment. (Oh, and make companies more profitable too).

Andrew’s background makes him uniquely suited to have an impact. He …
* is a millennial — he grew up during 9/11, does not carry cash, and is dependent on a charged cell phone
* has a depth of business experience — he excelled at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he saw a stark contrast between how BCG and their clients motivated and engaged their workforce
* is active in shaping the mindfulness community — he collaborates with leading experts to create content, facilitates sessions in companies and his community, and has a dedicated practice of his own.

In his free time, Andrew seeks out endurance/adrenaline sports (i.e. setting hard goals for no apparent reason) and meditation (i.e. sitting in excruciatingly uncomfortable positions for mind numbing lengths of time).

TESTIMONIALS
“It so easy to lose perspective in the workplace, like these deadlines or emails…. And it was a good way to regain perspective.” 

“It helps you make better decisions, and those decisions led to better outcomes.”

“It has made me more patient, more empathetic, more able to see things through other’s eyes.”

March Speaker: Rosalie Chamberlain, Dimensions of Diversity

Rosalie Chamberlain is the Director of Rosalie Chamberlain Consulting & Coaching. She is skilled leadership and executive coach and consultant, having worked with a broad range of corporate, government, and private industries, both national and international. Additionally, she is a nationally recognized speaker and program facilitator. Rosalie has more than 18 years of coaching experience working with individuals and groups on leadership development, team building, talent management, career transitions, and helping organizations become successful and inclusive environments.

She specializes in helping leaders obtain leadership mastery and enhance or develop critical skills that maximize the talent of the workforce of their organization, as well as identify and understand any potential blocks and beliefs that hinder progress.

Rosalie specializes in leadership assessment and effectiveness, multicultural competencies, leadership influence, talent management, organizational culture and managing and leveraging diverse talent. She has unique experience with respect to organizational culture, having worked with multicultural organizations with complex diversity and inclusion challenges to develop and implement strategies, behaviors and best practices for building inclusive organizations.

She is the author of Conscious Leadership in the Workplace: A Guidebook to Making a Difference One Person at a Time (2016). Rosalie is a contributor to The New York Times, HR News Magazine (International Public Management Association for Human Resources), Strategic HR Review, Talent Executive, Chief Learning Officer, ABCNews.com, Onward Nation, Strategy Driven, Recalculating: 97 Experts on Driving Small Business Growth, Center Valley Business Times, American Diversity Report, as well as multiple national and international blogs.

February Speaker: Jon Saints, Senior Engineer at Digital Globe

In February we are pleased to host Jon Saints, a Senior Engineer at Digital Globe.  He will be speaking about the company’s mission and their satellite imagery interpretation.

Jon is a graduate of the University of Arizona and a Fulbright scholar.  He has lead tech initiatives for startups as well as large tech companies.  Jon is seasoned software engineer, proven innovator, and business leader.  Currently he is a Senior Manager at DigitalGlobe working to unlock insights from DigitalGlobe’s massive library of high-resolution satellite images which cover every inch of the planet for the past 15 years.