Speaker

September Speaker: Jeff Weist, Lobbyist

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.

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.