What role does effective leadership play in a start-up’s success? Does leadership really matter? If I have a really great business idea, do I really need to think about that “soft stuff?” John Maxwell says, "Everything rises and falls on leadership" and Jim Collins talks about the difference Level 5 leaders make in their organization’s success. This panel of leaders from sports, business, and the military will discuss their respective leadership philosophies, the challenges of creating and running an organization, making hard decisions, building teams and much more.

Panel members:

• Joe “Hark” Herold (facilitator, Design Thinking Denver)
• Tami Door (Downtown Denver Partnership)
• Ryan Harris (former Denver Bronco, Super Bowl 50 Winner, AM 950 ‘The Kreckman and Harris Show)
• Ceal Barry (Sr. Assoc. Athletic Director at CU, former Head Women’s Basketball Coach)
• Kristina Scala (Founder, Aspen Academy, Aspen Entrepreneurial Institute, Aspen Youth Leadership Institute)

Bios:

This star powered panel discussion will be led by Col. Joe "Hark" Herold, USAF (retired). Joe is the founder of Design Thinking Denver and Hark Leadership Development, consulting firms based on the principle that leadership, decision-making, and a human-centered approach to innovation can transform organizations and their processes and services.

As a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, Hark recently completed his stint on military orders at AF CyberWorx, the Air Force Cyber Innovation Center, utilizing the Design Thinking construct for technology innovation and cadet education while leveraging—and pushing the bounds of—private-public partnerships. Previously, he served in various strategy, policy, and command roles at the Pentagon and during deployments to Iraq. In his civilian career, he helped establish and lead a multi-state web application hosting business at Sprint and VeriCenter.
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Hark earned a Bachelor of Science from Iowa State University and Master’s degrees from Troy State University and the Army War College. He is also a graduate of executive education courses at Carnegie Mellon University, the Wharton School of Business and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Panelists:
Tami Door, President & CEO of The Downtown Denver Partnership

Tami is guided by a passion for city building and commitment to the strategic and successful future of Downtown Denver. Tami joined the Partnership in 2005 after serving as executive vice president of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest regional chamber, and as vice president supermarket banking at First Chicago-NBD Bank N.A. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Western Michigan University, an MBA from Wayne State University, and has completed several leadership and strategic planning programs.

Tami also serves as vice chair of the Auraria Higher Education Center Board of Directors, treasurer of the Urban Leadership Foundation, co-chair of the Denver Commission to End Homelessness, and is a Board member of VISIT Denver, the Denver Theatre District and a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. She has also been recognized in the Denver Business Journal’s PowerBook and selected as the 9NEWS Leader of the Year.

Ryan Harris, Super Bowl 50 Champion and a 10 year veteran of the NFL. Ryan was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2007 as an offensive tackle. Ryan left Denver for a few years and continued his career with the Houston Texan and Kansas City Chiefs. He then came back to Denver and started all 19 games at tackle in the Bronco's Super Bowl 50 Championship year. Most recently Ryan was with the Pittsburgh Steelers before retiring at the end of the 2016 season. Ryan played college football at the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated with two degrees, one in Economics and Policy and the other in Political Science. Ryan practices the Islamic faith and currently resides with his family in Denver, CO. As a recently retired Champion, you can hear Ryan weekdays at 3PM on AM 950, Altitude Radio's 'The Kreckman and Harris Show'.

Ceal Barry is in her fifth year as the senior associate athletic director for internal operations at the University of Colorado, a role she assumed in the spring of 2014. She is in her 12th year as the department’s senior woman’s administrator (commonly known as SWA). In her 35th year overall at CU, Barry's duties include the oversight of men's and women's basketball, women's golf, soccer and volleyball. She also supervises several Student Services arms of the department including sports medicine, strength & conditioning, academics and student wellness.

Barry retired having coached the most games, matches or tournaments (669) and the sixth most seasons of any sport in Colorado athletic history. Her 427 victories are also the most by any coach at the school. She remains active and dedicated to the sport and served as chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Issues Committee for the 2010-11 season

At CU, she compiled a 427-242 record with 12 NCAA tournament appearances, including six times in the Sweet 16 and three times in the Elite Eight, 13 20-win seasons, four conference championships and assorted coach of the year honors. She became just the 24th coach in women's NCAA history to reach 500 career wins -- hitting the plateau in February 2004-and her all-time record of 510-284 and .642 winning percentage remain among the all-time best. Off the court, Barry has graduated all but two four-year players (well over a 95% graduation rate) and has coached 85 Academic All-Conference student-athletes.

Following her second consecutive Big Eight title in 1994, the United States Basketball Writers Association and Basketball Times Magazine named Barry National Coach of the Year. On the local level, she was inducted into the Colorado Sportswomen Hall of Fame the same year. Barry was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.

She was born in Louisville, Ky., and graduated from Assumption High School in Louisville, where she lettered in basketball, volleyball and field hockey. She followed her bachelor's degree from Kentucky with her master's in education from Cincinnati in 1979

Kristina Scala is mom to Canyon, 22, Sage, 21, and Dillon, 19 who all attend Colorado State University and is the founder and president of:

• Aspen Academy: Pre-K through 8 th grade independent school
• Aspen Youth Leadership Institute: the nation’s only daily elementary and middle school-embedded sequential curriculum and program that develops personal, social and civic leadership
• Aspen Entrepreneurial Institute: the nation’s only daily elementary and middle school-embedded sequential curriculum and program that develops financial and entrepreneurial leadership.
• Bear’s Student Enterprises: led by 12 -14 year olds, this enterprise is led by the youngest known board of directors and managers and includes food service, retail, vending and media service units of business.
• Kleo, an educational and non-profit organizational consulting group.

She is also the co-founder and co-designer of MODI – Move and Discover, a school furniture line and is currently collaborating with a team to develop the Aspen Family Institute. Additionally, Kristina has just begun her work as a guest teacher at the University of Denver’s college of education.

Kristina received her Bachelor of Sciences Degree in Business Administration from California State University at Chico and her Master’s Degree from the University of Denver’s Morgridge School of Education. In addition, she completed the Entrepreneurial Master’s Program at M.I.T. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and was recently selected as a member of the Denver Leadership program. She has been an active member of EO for eight years and is a founding guide for Ascendeur, another peer mentor group for entrepreneurs. She is a certified facilitator in Parenting and Teaching With Love and Logic; 7 Habits for Highly Effective People and Families and the Intercultural Development Inventory.

Ms. Scala is frequently requested as a speaker and facilitator presenting on topics related to education; entrepreneurial and leadership development; personal and organizational mission, vision and values development; as well as parenting, and personal and family development. She works to inspire and motivate her audiences to live a purposeful and authentic life through being kind, doing good, and making the world a better place. Kristina provides a logical and expeditious process through which personal and organizational mission, vision, values, strategic plans and goals are created and realized.