Speaker Bios

Watts Wacker

Watts Wacker is one of the most celebrated and influential minds in modern business. Mr. Wacker – lecturer, best-selling author, political commentator and social critic – is one of the world's most respected futurists. His uncommon versatility and vision have allowed him to help the world's top corporations and organizations navigate the sea of change that is taking hold in the new millennium. He has been the futurist at SRI International, the legendary Menlo Park think tank, and spent 10 years as the resident futurist at the preeminent social research organization, Yankelovich Partners.

As founder and director of FirstMatter LLC, Mr. Wacker has focused his attention on creating a new kind of think tank. He describes himself as a 21st-century alchemist as well as "a cross between James Brown and the unknown comic–the hardest working nobody in the business."

Harold Lloyd

Harold Lloyd was the president and CEO of a 14-unit retail organization for 10 years. The 1,000 associates on his team were innovative market leaders dedicated to superior customer relations. Subsequently, Harold became a business mentor with a mission to provide qualified, executive-level assistance to companies on a temporary basis, eliminating the need to add permanent top management. To further assist his clients, Harold authored "It's About Time," a book published by Cornell University that focuses on time management.

After 14 years of coaching others, Harold decided to return to the business world in a more hands-on capacity as a regional franchise developer for Friendly's Restaurants. And now, as a presenter, Harold's practical, exciting ideas and dynamic presentation style have earned him a highly regarded reputation.

Joan Evans

Joan Evans was appointed director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services in December 2006 by Governor Dave Freudenthal. Evans came to the department from the Carbon County Higher Education Center in Rawlins, where she served as director since 2004. Prior to that, she served as the assistant director for 13 years. Evans holds a bachelor's degree in finance and a master's degree in adult education from the University of Wyoming. She has served as a member on the Wyoming Workforce Development Council, the Carbon County Economic Development Council and the Wyoming Government Investment Fund Board of Trustees, among other organizations. She has received numerous personal and professional commendations.

Bruce Turkel

Bruce Turkel is an advertising and branding expert who helps make his clients' brands more valuable. He has worked with great companies such as Nike, Discovery Channel, HBO and the Miami and Kissimmee convention and visitors bureaus. Bruce has spoken at MIT and Harvard, has been heard on NPR and CNN and has been featured in Fast Company and Communications Arts magazines. He has published three books on advertising and marketing, including his latest, "Building Brand Value."

Josh Hallett

Josh R. Hallett is an internationally recognized thought leader in the convergence of social media and corporate public relations and marketing. He is currently a new-media strategist at Voce Communications, providing social-media consulting and development work to brands such as Yahoo, Sony Computer Entertainment America and a number of B2B/B2C firms. For more than 10 years, Josh has been working with emerging Internet communication technologies and works closely with public relations practitioners and corporate communicators to integrate these tools into an organization's public and media relations strategies.

Pat Powers

Pat Powers is president of Management Technologies in Spokane, Washington, a company he started in 1979. Before that, he was an executive vice president of a $300 million wholesale grocery company for 15 years. Currently, he provides human resources consulting services and training programs to a client base of more than 800 companies nationwide. Pat consults with almost every size and type of company, giving executives and employees insight on how to build productive and long-term working relationships. He is recognized nationwide as a public speaker and as a leader in the human resources communications and motivational field.

Eric Peterson

Eric T. Peterson, CEO and principal consultant at Web Analytics Demystified, has worked in web analytics since the late 1990s in a variety of roles, including practitioner, consultant and analyst for several market-leading companies. He is the author of three best-selling books on the subject: "Web Analytics Demystified," "Web Site Measurement Hacks" and "The Big Book of Key Performance Indicators." He's also one of the most popular web analytics bloggers at webanalyticsdemystified.com.

Beth Pratt

For nearly a decade, Beth Pratt has worked in environmental leadership roles in Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks. In her current role as the director of environmental affairs for Xanterra Parks & Resorts at Yellowstone, she develops sustainable business programs for the concessionaire's operations. Ms. Pratt joined Xanterra after nearly nine years as vice president and chief financial officer for the Yosemite Association, where she produced award-winning programs aimed at stewardship and environmental education in partnership with the National Park Service. Her environmental career began at Dopaco Inc., manufacturer of packaging for McDonald's and Burger King, where she implemented a successful recycling and waste-minimization program. She also served on the founding board of directors for an innovative industry/regulatory agency partnership aimed at reducing waste.