Ralph Hayles - Lessons Learned From Friendly Fire
Ralph Edward Hayles, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (retired) is an accomplished military officer, management consultant, communications technology inventor, and public speaker. With 20 years of service in the Army, he spent over 13 of those years in key leadership positions in front-line combat units, culminating as the battalion commander of the Apache attack helicopters in the Army’s First Infantry Division (“Big Red One”) during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
He has been featured in two award-winning front-page Wall Street Journal articles. His interview on CBS “60 Minutes” won the Peabody Award and his combat story is performed in the play GUNFIGHTER, written by Tony-award winning playwright Mark Medoff (Children of a Lesser God).
After retiring from the US Army in 1991, he has been a stockbroker with Dean Witter; a financial consultant; a faculty member at Clemson University’s Business College; a founding partner of the management consulting company Alpha Performance LLC; and, Executive Vice President of ATR Electronics, Inc., a high technology antenna development company. In January 2007 he was awarded a US Patent on the Flashlight Combat Identification technology that identifies friendly soldiers and vehicles located inside the impact zones of US weapons, and he has two additional patents pending issue. The US Congress recently appropriated funding to conduct further research and development on his technology to reduce incidents of “friendly fire” against US and allied soldiers.
Colonel Hayles is a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, where he excelled in high school baseball and football that earned him five college athletic scholarship offers. He graduated from Trinity University (San Antonio, TX) in 1971 with a BS in Business Administration with concentrations in management, accounting, and engineering. His classmates voted him the top ROTC cadet leadership award in his senior year, he was a Distinguished Military Graduate, and he was commissioned a second lieutenant in Armor. He holds a masters-level degree in operations planning from the US Army Command & Staff College. He flew over 3,000 helicopter flights as either pilot or co-pilot/gunner in the United States, Germany, and Arabia during his career. He received an early promotion to lieutenant colonel as a result of his talented service.
Ralph Hayles currently resides in Texas with his wife and two kids.
Nikki Stone - Overcoming Setbacks to Achieve Olympic Success
At the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, Nikki Stone became America's first-ever Olympic champion in the sport of inverted aerial skiing. What made her performance so unbelievable was the fact that less than two years earlier a chronic injury prevented her from standing, much less walking or skiing down a slope at almost 40 miles per hour. But her tenacity and refusal to step down from a challenge brought Nikki back to the top of the mountain and the freestyle skiing podium. The majority of Nikki's time is now dedicated to encouraging and inspiring audiences around the country -- explaining in detail how she achieved success and they can do the same when they "spread their wings."
Her tenacity and refusal to step down from a challenge brought Nikki Stone back to the top of the freestyle skiing podium. This top spot was far from foreign to Nikki, as throughout her career she earned 35 World Cup medals, eleven World Cup titles, four national titles, two yearlong Aerial World Cup titles, and a World Championship title. She also became the first pure aerialist ever (male or female) to become the yearlong Overall Freestyle World Cup Champion.
Nikki Stone motivates audiences to triumph over obstacles and take life-enhancing risks, like she did, to reach extraordinary goals that may initially seem unattainable. Nikki takes her audiences through a roller coaster of emotions where they are in tears one moment, rolls of laughter the next, and ready to stand up and cheer the very next. Nikki applies universal principals common to all Olympic champions and successful businessmen and women. All speeches are customized to incorporate any personal themes, messages and issues that companies are looking to communicate to their employees. Nikki also includes many options to help diversify conferences: team-building trampoline exercise, ski hosting adventures, Olympic tours, etc.
Nikki now resides in Park City, Utah and has remained very involved with the Olympic movement by sitting on eight different Olympic and Sports Committees. Due to her vast success and constant referrals as a motivational speaker, the United States Olympic Committee has recently hired Nikki to train elite athletes and Olympians in speaking and presentation skills.
You may have seen Nikki through her numerous television appearances on such shows as “Late Night with David Letterman”, “Today Show”, “Good Morning America”, “CNN Early Addition”, “MSNBC Morning Line”, “ESPN Magazine” show, “FOX News Sports Express”, “CNN Business As Unusual”, “FOX Sports News” live, and “Late Late Show with Tom Snyder”. You could have also caught Nikki in one of her nationally televised commercials for companies like Chevrolet and the Salt Lake Olympic Committee.
Nikki Stone has written several articles for the United States Olympic Committee, local newspapers, and various skiing magazines. Nikki is also a contributing author to the empowering book, Awaken the Olympian Within: Stories from America's Greatest Olympic Motivators. Awaken the Olympian Within is a collection of inspirational essays, written by the Olympians themselves, which includes personal anecdotes of struggle and triumph which can encourage the reader to achieve their own dreams in almost any endeavor. Clients have found that this inspirational book has helped them sustain the high-spirited motivation that Nikki projects in her speeches.
Nikki Stone will add a unique, dynamic flavor to any meeting, conference, or celebration -- explaining in detail how she achieved success and attendees can do the same when they "Spread Their Wings".
Carolyn Griffiths - Lessons from Setting Up an Independent Accident Investigation Organization
Carolyn Griffiths is a chartered engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. She has worked ‘through the ranks’’ from shop floor to senior management within various sectors of the railway industry, in operational, technical and policy jobs. She joined British Rail in 1979; after 9 years in various roles including shift supervision and maintenance depot management, she left to establish maintenance operations for the then new Mass Rapid Transit in Singapore. She returned to the UK in 1991 as Engineering Director for South Yorkshire Supertram, the tram system then under construction in Sheffield. In 1994 she was appointed as Technical Director of the Office of the Rail Regulator to create and lead a team to advise on train operating and engineering matters of regulation. She moved to the private sector in 1998 with ADtranz as Director New Products, working in both Sweden and the UK. She was then promoted to ADtranz’s Corporate HQ in Berlin as Senior Vice President, Business Processes and Quality and was responsible for managing a business wide change program. She left in 2002 and returned to the UK to work as a consultant and worked on assignments both in the UK and overseas. Three and a half years ago she was appointed the Chief Inspector of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB). She was responsible for the establishment of the RAIB and now leads this organisation which investigates rail accidents and incidents throughout the UK on light rail, metros and the main line railways. She reports to the Secretary of State on matters concerning investigations. At the time of writing the RAIB have completed 76 investigations and the published reports can be found on the RAIB web site www.raib.gov.uk
Carolyn is a former Chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Railway Division, a member of the Division’s Board and member of the Institution’s Council. She was appointed to the governing Council and Court of Imperial College, London during 2006.
Ed Frederick - The Accident at Three Mile Island - An Insider's Perspective
Mr. Frederick was a member of the Control Room crew at the onset of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 accident on March 28, 1979. The decisions made, and actions taken by Mr. Frederick and the rest of the crew on that morning resulted in severe damage and partial meltdown of the reactor core. The accident was the subject of intense public interest, and is the only General Emergency and evacuation associated with Nuclear Power operation in the United States.
Mr. Frederick has described the accident at conferences and symposiums across the United States, Canada and Europe providing insights into the causes and the impact of the accident to the local community and to the nuclear power industry. He has provided articles and commentary to many industry publications. His most recent project is the INPO video, “The Special Characteristics of Nuclear Power “(January 2008) which describes lessons learned from the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents.
Mr. Frederick served in the US Navy Submarine Service, is a former Senior Reactor Operator. He has worked at Three Mile Island for 34 years and is the Human Performance Manager, conducting event analyses and providing oversight to all departments regarding work fundamentals and human performance concepts.
Marcia Wieder - You Can Make Improvement Happen
As America’s Dream Coach®, Marcia Wieder travels the world - an ambassador for making dreams real. She’s known for giving inspiring and moving talks to notable companies such as AT&T, The Gap and American Express.
In addition to being a charismatic speaker, she’s the renowned author of three books dedicated to achieving your dreams: Making Your Dreams Come True® , Life is But a Dream, and Doing Less and Having More. She’s also a syndicated columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle, in which she urges readers to take "The Great Dream Challenge"- a call to arms for dreamers from all walks of life.
Appearing several times on “Oprah” and “The Today Show”, she’s shared her message of a "passion-filled life" with millions of viewers. Equally exciting, was the PBS featured national television special, “Making Your Dreams Come True®”, the namesake of her popular selling book, which has also been translated into numerous languages.
Interestingly enough, while serving as the President of the National Association of Women Business Owners, she was often invited to the White House. During her time living in Washington D.C., she had the honor of meeting former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr.
With a growing world-wide audience, receptive and eager to achieve their dreams and support others in doing the same, Marcia founded Dream Coach® University, where Dream Coaches are certified to lead her masterful work. Many Dream Coaches have their own successful practices, and others have brought her powerful message into their companies, communities, and even schools.
As the founder of Dream University, her live events include: the Dream Coach Certification program, How to be An Inspiring Speaker Workshop, Create Your Future Now Weekends and Masters of Manifestation. Her online global community, Amazing Dreamers has thousands of members and features respected colleagues such as John Gray, David Bach, Les Brown and more.
The universal content of her keynotes and workshops appeal to a wide range of audiences. Whether she’s teaching at the Stanford Business School, speaking to executives in China or Prague, or addressing a group of young women gathered at Girl Scout Camp, her belief that "each of our personal dreams matter, and are worth achieving" strikes a chord in everyone, everywhere.
