Themes and Table Facilitators

Coby Horton is US Bank’s Regional President for Central and Eastern Oregon.  In this position, Coby oversees both business & commercial banking, and the Bank’s 22 retail branches throughout the region’s 47,000 square miles.  The region employs nearly 225 team members who collectively manage approximately $1.2 billion in deposits and $500 Million in both consumer and business loans.

MOsley WOtta has been featured internationally as a speaker, performer, poet, visual artist and educator for over a decade. A former slam poetry champion for the state of Oregon, MOWO’s work focus on the power of voice. He has been featured multiple times as a TED X speaker and performer. His CV includes Sundance Film Festival, Fiji International Jazz & Blues Festival, MAGIC trade show Las Vegas, Street Con Dubai, Valley Fiesta Australia, PBS Oregon Art Beat. Recently MOWO was selected as and Oregon Humanities Conversation Project leader. Additionally MOWO is an Art Ambassador with the RISE UP INTL and the US Embassy.

Scott Allan has run Hydro Flask, both as President & CEO as well as General Manager, since 2012 growing the company from early stage up through its $210 million acquisition by consumer products brand holding company Helen of Troy. During this time, Hydro Flask became the #1 water bottle brand in Outdoor and Natural Foods retail, global in scope with distribution in 18 countries worldwide, and was twice named to Outside Magazine’s Top 100 Places to Work.

The founder and president of Bend Outdoor Worx, Gary Bracelin has over 30 years experience building outdoor brands. He formed BOW, an outdoor and action sports accelerator, as a resource for early and growth stage outdoor companies. The only independent accelerator in the U.S. that specializes exclusively in the outdoor products industry, BOW has helped establish Bend as an outdoor industry hub.

As the Bend Chamber President, Katy Brooks works with Bend Chamber members and community leaders to build and maintain a business ecosystem that is diverse with incredible human talent to create a vibrant, resilient economy. Katy’s career features forging value-added partnerships and collaboration to secure public/private funding, create new business ecosystems and attract and retain diverse development. She directed economic development, public affairs and public/private partnerships for the ports of Portland and Vancouver, USA. During her time at the ports, Katy also accrued experience in transportation policy and planning, environmental management issues, and commercial/industrial development. She has served on the National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board, led freight emissions reduction efforts and served on local and state business boards. Katy has been a public affairs and strategic planning consultant for public and private organizations in Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

“Educational options that are as unique as each student inspire personal and community growth,” says Jon Bullock, D.Ed., founder and executive director of the Redmond Proficiency Academy. One of the country’s most unique and successful charter schools, RPA is embraced by its community as the option for students seeking compassionate and comprehensive individualized learning pathways. A public charter school, RPA strives to provide students with a proficiency-based education is a personalized learning environment. RPA currently serves nearly 840 students in grades six through twelve from throughout Central Oregon. Learn more at rpacademy.org.

Katie Condit is the Executive Director for Better Together, an organization focused on building partnership and alignment across sectors in Central Oregon to increase student success.

JWDRS Inc. is a corporation that holds and qualifies contractor’s licenses nationwide for one of the largest fenestration manufacturers in the world.  It also studies and develops prototypes of construction materials and products with potential markets in construction in the 5 to 10 year future timeframe.  Our facility in Bend designs and builds advanced prototyping technology including 3D printers, CnC machines, and cold silicone molding technology.

Wally Corwin is the President & Director of that corporation as well as the Corporate Manager of Product Integrity for JELD-WEN Inc.

Katrina is the Executive Director of the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance, an organization dedicated to building a community-based food system. HDFFA publishes the annual High Desert Food & Farm Directory highlighting farms and businesses committed to supporting our local economy, while also providing projects that improve access to local food options for all residents.  HDFFA was ranked as one of the 7 Awesome Food Organizations in Oregon.

Libby Unger, Cari Baldwin and Paula Sansburn

GreenFig is a micro education company offering microdegrees in applied business science for high demand jobs in marketing, operations, product, sales and support. Our hybrid training approach accelerates your speed to impact. Our CEO, CLO and COO  will discuss GreenFig’s innovative approach to lifelong learning, our scholarship program for 15 candidates in Bend, and business programs designed to help you build your team and maximize the ROI on marketing investments.

Onboard Dynamics is seizing the opportunity to provide clean refueling for domestic and international fleets. We have developed natural gas compression technology utilizing an internal combustion engine which enables affordable vehicle refueling either from the existing low-pressure natural gas grid or from remote and renewable natural gas sources. Our first commercial product – a mobile, self-powered system – is being deployed this summer through a program sponsored by Southern California Gas Company.

Shannon Keith took a trip to India in 2005 that changed her life.  After witnessing women being forced to sell their bodies in order to feed their families and hearing stories of sex trafficking, she was compelled to found an organization that would create a lasting impact for women and their families. More than 10 years later, her company — Sudara — is a thriving benefit corporation with a mission that is still rooted in job creation for women in India who are at the highest risk of or survivors of sex trafficking, while empowering them to create a lasting, generational impact for their families.

Roger Lee is the CEO of Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO), a private non-profit corporation serving the tri-county region of Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson County.  EDCO has grown to be the largest private economic development organization in the state with six offices in the region and a team of 14 professionals.  The organization is focused on business development including recruitment, entrepreneurship and growing existing traded-sector employers.  Lee has led EDCO’s efforts since 1999 and past economic development experience includes work at the Seattle/King County Economic Development Council and in Baker City/County, Oregon. His industry experience includes employment at Hewlett Packard and Idaho Power.  A native of Idaho, he is a graduate of the University of Washington in Economics.

Sarah Lindsey is a Talent Acquisition Consultant at BBSI.  Sarah has a background as an HR Generalist and is especially skilled at matching companies with the right talent. Her recruiting experience covers both agency and corporate environments and a very diverse range of industries from staff to executive-level roles. BBSI is a human capital consulting firm that delivers expertise, guidance, strategic and tactical support to enable owners in running their business more effectively. The team of 5 experts in Bend share best practices in Human Resources, Risk Management & Safety, Talent Acquisition, Payroll and overall general business management.

Dr. Jay Mathisen currently serves as Deputy Superintendent of Bend – La Pine Schools.  Committed to offering increased choice and innovation in high school programming for students in Central Oregon, he is working with principals to shift their work from that of middle management to design team leaders.  This summer he is traveling to Rwanda to serve with local African teachers and education leaders around learner-centered teaching practices in rural and refugee schools.

Erin Foote Morgan, a happy wife and mom of four, is originally from Anchorage, Alaska but chose Oregon as her home two decades ago when she moved to Eugene to complete a bachelor’s in political science at the University of Oregon. She made a quick trip to the University of Missouri for a Master’s in journalism and headed back to her adopted state where she began her career as a reporter for The Bulletin. Since then, she’s served as an administrator and journalism instructor at COCC, the managing editor of the Source, the owner of her own small fundraising and communications consulting firm, and now as the first executive director of Bend 2030. Her role at the non-profit is a personal joy—a fit that allows her to bring together skills in communications, strategic planning, policy development, fundraising, outreach and development of innovative civic engagement models to support Bend residents in shaping the future of this special place.

Jim Schell’s four careers include entrepreneur, author, social entrepreneur and a hybrid of the three. He is currently Board Chair of Lights On Publishing, Humm Kombucha, Sudara, Opportunity Knocks and Looking Forward. He has also written a book outlining Bend’s current ecosystem, of which he is a part.

Dr. Alice DeWittie of Summit High School has challenged perceived educational cultural norms through innovation at Summit High School.  She is part of a design team that is reinventing high school and creating a new paradigm for education.  Alice has been at Summit High School for 5 years and previously was an administrator and specialist with Reynolds School District and district TAG specialist with Portland Public Schools.  This summer she traveled to Finland and Italy to learn more about their educational systems and student success.

Longtime human resources pro Sally Sorenson joined Oregon’s Wild Harvest earlier this year to support the company’s growth with great talent. Oregon’s Wild Harvest is an organic herbal supplement company founded in 1994 and headquartered in Redmond. The family owned company is dedicated to nurturing healthy soil, clean water and saving and replanting its non-GMO seeds on its organic herb farms in Culver and Sheridan. Today, Oregon’s Wild Harvest brand supplements can be found in natural food stores from coast to coast.

Kelly Sparks leads OSU-Cascades’ effort to build a campus in Bend.

In collaboration with campus and OSU leadership, Kelly is focused on long range strategic planning, physical infrastructure and the financial health of the branch campus.  She transitioned to OSU-Cascades in 2013 following her role as associate dean for finance and operations at the University of Oregon, School of Law.  In her role at the law school, she served students, faculty and staff as the head of finance, human resources, information technology and building operations and maintenance.

Prior to her time in higher education, Kelly was the founding executive director for a non-profit in Washington State. The majority of her career though was spent in the private sector in various strategic planning, project management and financial planning roles at Coach Leatherware, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and ultimately as a vice president for finance and strategic planning at Nordstrom.

Ken Streater is an entrepreneur and community growth leader. As an international adventure travel outfitter, Ken led wilderness expeditions on five continents, facilitating camaraderie and life changing experiences for clients around the world. As an owner of NAI Cascade Commercial Real Estate, Ken and the team are reshaping the brokerage industry by embracing the value of community before commodity. And, as a founding partner of Hooray Cafe and the Goodness’ Sake Project, Ken sparks the desire in people to be more individually and do more for one another, recognizing that community growth is paramount to personal success.

An internationally recognized, custom, residential architecture firm, tozer design specializes in deep green, sustainable, design.  “Better, not bigger” is a company motto.  Connecting project to place, tozer design regularly employs bio-regional design solutions in creating high performance shelter.

Founder, ZANOMA ℠ | Entrepreneur | eCommerce Pioneer | Amazon Expert | Investor | Adventure Seeker

Entrepreneur and 20-year digital marketing pioneer, has had a passion for building and optimizing brands as well as their websites since the late 90s. A longtime and avid follower of Amazon innovations and inventions, he began helping manufacturers and brands increase sales in 2002 via zShops (now known as the Seller Central platform). As a frequent beta tester, George consulted with key developers during the launch of both Vendor Central and Amazon Answers (formerly known as the “ask the manufacturer” program). While he has no crystal ball (at least not one that we’ve seen) he’s shown a unique aptitude for identifying opportunities and implementing highly successful Amazon-specific solutions for a range of client brands. George is without doubt an Amazon expert. He continues to actively survey and analyze the eCommerce, SEO, SEM and Social Media landscapes and regularly shares his insights.