Keynote Speakers
Eliz Greene
Women’s Wellness, Stress and Heart Health Expert
Eliz Greene is ridiculously excited about stress.
She not only finds the chemical reaction in the body caused by stress fascinating, but stress is also her favorite topic to speak about, write about, or discuss in line at the grocery store.
With a surgically repaired heart, Eliz also knows stress management isn’t a “nice-to-have,” but rather an essential survival skill. Surviving a heart attack at age 35 while seven months pregnant with twins propelled Eliz on a mission to share her story to inspire other busy people to pay attention to their health. Just days after her heart stopped and she endured open heart surgery and a cesarean section delivery, Eliz held both her daughters together for the first time. Amazingly, despite the pain and uncertainty, what she felt most strongly was contentment. Her priorities were crystal clear. She knew she’d been given a second chance at life and a unique perspective for a reason. For nearly two decades, Eliz has been on a mission to inspire busy people to pay attention to their heart health. Recognizing stress as an essential and often under-addressed risk factor, Eliz conducted a research study on job stress.
Eliz is an author and writes a Top Health and Wellness Blog. She was named as a Top Online Influencer on Stress and Heart Health. She’s been seen on CNN, PBS, Lifetime, TNT, and many national and local news programs. A national spokesperson and advocate for the American Heart Association, Eliz received the Heart Hero Award in 2010. More recently, she has partnered on the Take Cholesterol To Heart campaign. Today, Eliz is a healthy 52-year-old living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her wonderful husband, Clay, their beautiful (now 17-year-old) daughters.
Terry Hawkins
Transformational Speaker, CSP
Ask Terry Hawkins what her specialty is and she will tell you simply – PEOPLE. Terry is an award-winning speaker, entrepreneur and best-selling author. She is a masterful educator in attitudinal and mind-set change, cutting-edge sales techniques, leadership development, temperament theories and relationship connectors, and communication strategies and many more. Terry is fascinated with human behavior and results, which has led her to tirelessly study the concepts of peak performance and the obstacles that stop people from succeeding.
Terry is also a well-established businesswoman. She founded her training company People in Progress Global in 1989, now called Progress Retail, an e-learning and sales management software company. Terry pioneered empathy-based sales and management training with a purely in-person training facilitation model. The business’ core education product, C.A.R.E. Customers Are Really Everything® has had over 25 years of durability in its analog, in-person format as a front-line retail sales system.
Terry, as a non-digital native, has successfully transitioned her business by leveraging technology. She has persevered through the trials of adapting what she’s known to be true, with what is required to remain relevant in the future. She’s a pioneer in retail sales education, mastering behavioral re-patterning tools that are consistent undertones in her retail education products and her keynote speaking addresses.
Speakers
Jackie Huba
Author, Online Marketer
Jackie Huba is a strategic marketing executive with more than three decades of experience helping companies achieve business and customer goals. She is an 11-year veteran of IBM and as a consultant, has advised companies such as Discovery, Whirlpool, and Dell. She is also the author of four best-selling books, including three on customer loyalty, which include Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics that Publishers Weekly hailed as “a thought-provoking, well-executed look at one of the biggest music sensations of this generation” that “deconstructs Gaga’s strategies and offers advice on how to Gaga-ize any business.”
Jackie coined the term “customer evangelism” with her first book Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force. Her research on highly engaged customers led to the theory of the “One Percenters,” a small but very influential part of one’s customer base, outlined in her book Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message. Her most recent book is Fiercely You, which helps readers overcome their fears and live more confidently.
Jackie is also a Forbes.com contributor, a sought after keynote and TEDx speaker, and her work has been profiled by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, FORTUNE and Fast Company, among others.
She is a graduate of Penn State University, a Pittsburgh Steelers fanatic and resides in Austin, Texas.
Angie Cooper
Senior Provider Relations Analyst, CGS Administrators, LLC
Angie brings more than 25 years of Medicare expertise to the Provider Outreach and Education team. She has worked on CERT error reduction and education for DMEPOS suppliers and physicians/practitioners. Angie is committed to helping providers with the challenges of understanding documentation and policy requirements and navigating the Medicare audit process. Her ultimate goal as an educator is to provide instruction that will result in Medicare provider compliance at the time of initial claim submission.
Katie Deming
MD, Radiation Oncologist
Dr. Deming is a physician leader, inventor and entrepreneur who is transforming the cancer experience through collaboration and development of novel solutions. She completed medical school and residency at Duke University in North Carolina. She is board certified in radiation oncology and specializes in breast and gynecologic cancer.
Dr. Deming believes in a patient-centered approach to cancer care and has spent her career developing better systems for providing cutting edge cancer care in a supportive environment. Some of her accomplishments include creating the first cancer-specific patient advisory council and designing the first cancer service line within Kaiser Permanente nationally. She has served as the Chief of Oncology, Cancer Service Line Director, and Member of the National Breast Cancer Screening Guideline Committee and National Cancer Leaders Forum. Dr. Deming is also an inventor and the founder of MAKEMERRY, the first line of intimates for women with sensitive skin from radiation therapy.
When not in the office, Dr. Deming enjoys working on house projects with her husband and spending time by the lake with their five children.
James Dion
Consultant, Trainer, and Author
James E. Dion (Jim) is an authority in the field of retail and the founder and president of Dionco Inc. – Chicago. Jim graduated from Chicago State University (Illinois) BS and MS in Psychology in 1970 and 1971 and attended Illinois Institute of Technology Ph.D. (abd) in Industrial Psychology and Marketing in 1976.
His retail career already started years before that. In 1964, he started working in a men’s wear store and was appointed Store Manager only five years later. From the beginning, Jim had natural talent in retail. Gathering more than 30 years of progressive retail experience working at Sears, Levi Strauss, and Gilmore Department Stores, Jim has become one of the most sought-after Retail Consultants and Retail Speakers in the US and internationally.
Jim has taught at Laurier University and Ryerson University and the International Academy of Fashion Merchandising and Design in Chicago. He is a regular speaker for the National Retail Federation (NRF) on Retail Trends, Technology, Inventory Control, Best Practices in Sustainable Retail and Store Management.
Jim is the author of several books. His retail selling manual called Retail Selling Ain’t Brain Surgery, It’s Twice As Hard, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting and Running a Retail Store affirmed his standing as one of the most sought-after experts on retail.
Jim is a widely recognized retail speaker and has delivered numerous speeches, seminars, and workshops for some of the largest companies all around the world. He also studies and evaluates new retail POS, EDI, merchandising systems, and CRM software. He lectures on retail trends, technology issues, and on the Internet and its use and misuse by retailers and manufacturers. His style is professional and he speaks from practical “hands-on” experience.
Jessica Gaddie
DME Provider Outreach Education Consultant and DME Redeterminations Clinical Reviewer
Jessica is a Registered Nurse and has worked with Noridian Healthcare Services for more than seven years. Jessica has held a variety of positions with Noridian including, DME Appeals Medical Review Analyst, Medical Reviewer and Senior Clinical Reviewer.
Jessica now holds the position of DME Education Representative Clinical Reviewer. As an Education Representative, Jessica is responsible for offering support to Noridian’s supplier community by creating and presenting training courses involving detailed billing, coding, and coverage guidelines to ensure correct claim submission resulting in proper Medicare DMEPOS payments.
As a Medicare contractor, Noridian requires their education staff to have continued education within the Medicare healthcare field to ensure the most up to date knowledge is maintained. Jessica’s continued education includes a comprehensive knowledge of Medicare policy and procedures, in addition to a strong knowledge of ICD-10, HCPCS, and CPT coding.
Melissa Gallagher
Naturopathic Physician
Dr. Melissa’s focus has been working with individuals addressing digestive disorders, hormone balance, detoxification therapies and lymphatic disorders through lymphatic decongestive treatments. Most often, patients seek her out after they have sought traditional medical resources and have felt frustrated, overwhelmed or unheard.
In the last decade, Dr. Melissa has worked with more than 50,000 patients from infants and elders to professional athletes and even Olympians like Serena Williams. She founded Natural Health Resources to offer highly accessible yet personalized naturopathic healthcare to those seeking to resolve the root cause of their illnesses and strengthening their body’s own innate ability to heal.
Dr. Melissa currently operates her NHR Lymphatic Specialty Clinic in the Heal Center of Atlanta. When she is not working with patients, you can find her in the NHR Studio where she creates, films and produces educational video content for both her growing YouTube Channel (Natural Health Resources) as well as an assortment of virtual courses and educational content for patients, care providers and medical professionals.
Dr. Melissa is also a Vodder trained Certified Lymphatic Drainage Therapist and is certified in treating all aspects of lymphedema including upper extremity, trunk and lower extremity lymphedema in men, women and children. She was personally trained by the team who created electro lymphatic drainage therapy and maintains a vigorous schedule the involves work with cancer clinical trials, cancer patients in the beginning, middle and end phases of surgery, chemo/radiation and end stage supportive care. She is referred to by many local, regional and national plastic surgeons for her assistance in promoting adequate lymph drainage, lipedema management, surgery recovery and speedy healing of surgical incisions. She is also a trained LSP laser therapist and uses a specialized FDA approved blue light laser for addressing scar tissue reduction, cellulite reduction and tightening of skin around the face, neck and chin.
