Richard J. Leider
Founder and Chairman of The Inventure Group, a coaching and consulting firm in Minneapolis, MN, Richard has a worldwide practice working with leaders from organizations such as Ameriprise, Caterpillar, Ericsson, Habitat for Humanity, MetLife, Pfizer and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Richard is consistently rated as one of the top executive educators and coaches in the world. He is ranked by Forbes as one of the “Top 5” most respected executive coaches, by Linkage as one of the “Top 50” executive coaches, and by the Conference Board as a “legend in coaching.”
As a speaker and seminar leader, he has taught over 100,000 executives from 50 corporations worldwide. He is an adjunct faculty on executive education programs at Duke Corporate Education and the University of Minnesota Carlson School’s Executive Development Center. He is a guest lecturer in the Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.
Richard is the author of eight books, including three best sellers, and his work has been translated into 21 languages. Repacking Your Bags and The Power of Purpose are considered classics in the personal development field. Claiming Your Place at the Fire and Something to Live For, have been touted as breakthrough books on “positive aging.” He is a contributing author to many leading edge coaching books, including: Coaching for Leadership, The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching, Executive Coaching for Results, The Leader of the Future, and The Organization of the Future.
Richard holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling and is a Nationally Certified Master Career Counselor. He is a Carlson Executive Education Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. He is a Senior Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing where he is a founder of The Purpose Project. As a commentator on work/life issues, Richard appears in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA Today, and on PBS public television, NPR public radio and other media sources. Along with his professional pursuits, Richard has led Inventure Expedition walking safaris in Tanzania, East Africa for 25 years.
A pioneer and leader in the field of coaching, Richard is widely recognized for his leading edge work on helping people discover “their calling” in work and life. His work received recognition from the Bush Foundation, from which he was awarded a Bush Fellowship to study “purposeful aging.” He was named a “Distinguished Alumni” by Gustavus Adolphus College and to the “Hall of Fame” at Central High School in St. Paul, MN. Believing passionately that each of us is born with a purpose, he is dedicated to helping people to “discover the power of purpose.”
Sarah Smith-Orr
Sarah Smith Orr is the owner/principal in a management and planning consulting firm, Smith Orr & Associates specializing in the social/nonprofit sector. She is an adjunct professor at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University (CGU) teaching leadership and governance in the social/nonprofit sector, a lecturer for the Women’s Studies Program at CGU, and also a guest lecturer at the Claremont McKenna College in the area of leadership studies.
She is currently serving as the Interim Executive Director of the Kravis Leadership Institute (KLI). She is also a founding member of the Board of Advisors for KLI. She and colleague, Ron Riggio co-edited and published Improving Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations (Jossey-Bass, 2003), a text that includes chapters she authored or co-authored; one entitled “Soul-Based Leadership,” the other “Transformational Leadership.” She also wrote a book chapter entitled, “Women Directors in the Board Room: Adding Value, Making a Difference,” included in Boardroom Realities, with Jay Conger, Editor (Jossey-Bass). The Drucker Difference, a compilation of essays on the ‘Drucker Difference’ includes Sarah’s chapter “The Twenty-First Century: The Century of the Social Sector,” (McgrawHill, 2009).
Sarah is a certified trainer and a member of the Advisory Board for the Connective Leadership Institute. Due to her deep interest in the role of leaders and a commitment to support the advancement of women, she has been involved in the founding/start-up of Leadership California, a statewide educational program for women leaders in California (founding Executive Director), Leadership Berks County and Leadership Pasadena.
She currently serves as the Chair of the Vail Leadership Institute’s Board of Scholars and as a founding member of the National Advisory Forum for The Women’s Museum, An Institute for the Future. She serves as a member of the advisory board for The Global Women’s Research Institute and the Applied Women’s Studies Advisory Committee, both based at Claremont Graduate University. She recently completed a term on the board of the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Sarah holds an Executive MBA from Claremont Graduate University (CGU) and is currently completing her PhD in Education at CGU. Sarah lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
John S. Tamerin, M.D.
John S. Tamerin, M.D., practices clinical psychiatry in Greenwich, Connecticut. He serves as a Clinical Associate Professor at the Weill /Cornell Medical College where he has taught resident psychiatrists and medical students for over twenty years the skills of interviewing and psychotherapy. Dr. Tamerin has twice been honored by the graduating residents in the Department of Psychiatry and chosen Teacher of The Year “in recognition of his outstanding contribution as teacher and scholar”. Dr. Tamerin has been repeatedly selected by his peers as one of the “Best Doctors In America” and is regularly included in the Castle Connolly Guide of Best Doctors in the New York Metropolitan Area.
Dr. Tamerin’s interests and commitments have been wide ranging. He has served as a member of the American Psychiatric’s Association’s Committee on Psychiatry and Religion. He is a member of the Group For The Advancement of Psychiatry’s Committee on Alcoholism and the Addictions and has been an active participant in the Committee’s development of several significant monographs and books in the field of addiction. Dr. Tamerin is also a member of the American College of Psychiatrists and a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He has published extensively.
He has been a faculty member at the Yad Vashem Center of Holocaust Studies in Jerusalem. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA). Dr. Tamerin is currently the psychiatric consultant to the Greenwich Connecticut Chapter of the National Depression and Bipolar Alliance.
Dr. Tamerin is an enthusiastic jazz musician who plays the alto saxophone. He is married to Susan Penry-Williams and has two children and four grandchildren.
Bob Vanourek
Bob is a dynamic and popular speaker and consultant, drawing upon his considerable turnaround experience with NY Stock Exchange companies and non-profit organizations. He has taught leadership at Denver University and at Colorado Mountain College, is Chairman Emeritus of the Vail Leadership Institute, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute of Enterprise Ethics at Denver University. Bob has served on the boards of and consults with numerous businesses and community organizations
From 1995 to 1999 as CEO, Bob guided Sensormatic, a $1 billion NYSE company, through a successful turnaround after major accounting irregularities were discovered by the SEC. During his tenure, cash flow improved from a perilous -$100 million/year to +$100 million. Previously, Bob was appointed CEO of Recognition Equipment Inc, a $250 million NYSE company, after it was accused of illegal activities. His leadership team settled all litigation, downsized the company 40%, rebuilt it to its previous size, and arranged a successful merger.
Bob has served as Group VP and Division President of two major divisions of Pitney Bowes and VP, General Manager of two divisions of Avery International. All these challenges resulted in strategic turnarounds including the introduction of successful new product lines in half the previous development time.
Bob’s businesses have won numerous local, state, and national awards including a state-level Malcolm Baldrige Quality Prize and the Shingo Prize for Manufacturing Excellence (shortly after Bob left). He was Group VP of Pitney Bowes’ core mailing machine business during the time PB was identified by Jim Collins in Good to Great as one of the eleven “great companies.”
Bob is a Baker Scholar (top 5%) graduate of the Harvard Business School and a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University in economics. He has attended Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Program for teaching leadership, and was certified by Phi Theta Kappa as a leadership instructor. Bob and his wife, June, have been married since 1963 and have two sons and five grandchildren. They won the Colorado Governor’s Award for Volunteer Service in 2003.
Larry Donnithorne – Chairman
Dr. Larry Donnithorne began his formal higher education at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and he later earned two master’s degrees from Stanford University (in economics and civil engineering) and his doctorate in education from Harvard University.
Dr. Donnithorne’s years of military service after West Point led him initially into assignments within the Army Corps of Engineers in places including Vietnam and Korea. He maintained an active registration as a Professional Engineer for many years. He has served in varied executive roles ranging from commanding a company of 150 soldiers in combat in Vietnam and managing construction projects as the resident engineer to serving as president of two colleges.
Dr. Donnithorne also served for thirteen years on the staff and faculty of the United States Military Academy at West Point, teaching ethics and leadership and assisting the Superintendent with reforms of the institution’s character development and leader development programs. His book, The West Point Way of Leadership: From Learning Principled Leadership to Practicing It, was published by Doubleday (now Random House) in 1994 and has been used in numerous leadership development programs. A book review appearing in the Harvard Business Review concluded that “the West Point model of leadership is a fascinating and insightful one, one that Donnithorne presents modestly, carefully, and convincingly…. The philosophy that underlies it…is based on moral principle, timeless values, and the leader’s selfless commitment to others.”
When Dr. Donnithorne retired from active Army service, he served for fourteen years as president of two colleges: one in North Carolina and the other in the Denver area of Colorado. Retiring from the presidency of Colorado Christian University in 2006, he was honored as President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Leadership. He now teaches ethical leadership in the US and abroad.
Among his military decorations, Dr. Donnithorne received the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (with 1 oak leaf cluster), Meritorious Service Medal (with 3 olc), Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal (with 2 olc), Army Achievement Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal with 5 bronze service stars.
Dr. Donnithorne has been married since 1969 to Fran Donnithorne, and they have four adult children. In his leisure time he enjoys reading, hiking, and snowboarding.
Randy J. Simmonds
Randy J. Simmonds, Ph.D. serves as the Clinical Director of the Samaritan Center of the Rockies. Dr. Simmonds graduated from Memphis State University in 1973, and also holds three graduate degrees in theology and counseling. He finished a Master of Divinity in 1977, a Master of Theology in 1982 and a Ph.D. in Pastoral Counseling and Psychology in 1986. In addition he did post doctoral studies in Marriage and Family Studies from 1987-1988.
Dr. Simmonds has served in a variety of pastoral and counseling positions over the last 25 years. He was on Young Life Student Staff during his seminary work, youth minister in Louisiana and Kentucky, Staff Chaplain at Baptist Hospital in Louisville, KY, Executive Director of the Samaritan Counseling Center in Shreveport, LA, from 1986-1992, Executive Director of the Samaritan Counseling Center in Atlanta, GA from 1992-1997, Interim Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Vail, CO from 1999-2000, Interim Pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Edwards, CO from 2001-2003, and currently the Clinical Director of the Samaritan Center of the Rockies in Vail, CO.
In addition to these vocational positions, Dr. Simmonds has served in a variety of academic leadership positions. He served as Field supervisor, School of Church Careers, Centenary College, Shreveport, LA, from 1978-1980; Laboratory Instructor, Dept of Psychology of Religion, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY, from 1980-1982; Pastoral Counseling Resident, The Pastoral Counseling Center, University of Louisville Medical School, Wayne E. Oates, supervisor in 1983; Supervisor, Supervised Experience in Ministry, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY, from 1981-1984; Garrett Teaching Fellow, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY, 1981-1985; Campus Group Leader, School of Church Careers, Centenary College, Shreveport, LA, 1991-1992; Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Colorado Mountain College, Vail, CO, 1998-2000, 2010-present
Dr. Simmonds is a Licensed Professional Counselor, State of Colorado; a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors and has served on a variety of leadership positions with that organization, most recently as chair of the Finance Committee for AAPC. He is a Clinical Member, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy; a Clinical Member, Colorado Association for Marriage and Family Therapy; served on the Adjunctive Staff, CPC Brentwood Psychiatric Hospital, Shreveport, LA, 1986-1992; was a Member, Family Relations Council of Louisiana, 1989-1990, and on the Board of Directors, 1989-1990 and Chairperson, Counseling Committee, 1989-1990.
His civic involvement includes being named as “Outstanding Young Men of America” by the Jaycees in 1983; Who’s Who in the South and Southwest in 1990; Executive Board Member, Boy Scouts of America, Norwela Council, Shreveport, LA, from 1991-1992; and a member of the Rotary Club of the Eagle Valley, 1997 – 2005
