Theme: Re-FORMing

Eight speakers, two entertainers, coffee, lunch, wine, and a private speaker reception,

Old Town Temecula Community Theater
42051 Main St.
Temecula, California, 92590
United States

Academy of Ballet Arts Junior Company

Junior Company is Academy of Ballet Arts' elite performance group. Dancers train in classical ballet and contemporary dance full time while they pursue professional careers in classical ballet. Academy of Ballet Arts has been a part of the Temecula Valley since 2011 and has since sent dancers to companies and schools worldwide, including the Royal Ballet School, Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, Colorado Ballet, and more.

Connie Skeeter Stopher

"Connie Skeeter Stopher has spent her personal and professional life encouraging, empowering, and enabling people to pursue their dreams. Whether that be through starting their own business, traveling to that dream destination, or reaching their career potential. Connie’s career in economic development has enabled her to work with a wide variety of people and industries around the globe. That work has sparked her curiosity about what makes some people pursue their dreams while others hold back. Connie holds a Masters in Public Administration from Idaho State University, a Non-Profit Management and Leadership Certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education, is accredited as a Certified Economic Developer from the International Economic Development Council, Idaho’s 2019 40 Under 40 awardee, and according to her son, gives the best hugs.

Dramane Kone Djelia Kadi

Master Drummer

Dramane Koné formed his group Djelia Kadi with his family and friends. Compromised of djembe, balafon and dunun players, as well as African dancers and acrobats. Dramane, the master drummer, is also a music director, composer, and song writer. He travels worldwide to perform for festivals, corporations, movies, sounds tracks, parties and theaters. The group's initial raison d'être was as an educational seminar, as Koné taught the members their parts, basic west African rhythms, and techniques. Soon after it evolved into a musical/entertainment performance and recording ensemble.

John Santagate

Formerly an industry analyst and management consultant, John is credited with being the first major industry analyst to study, evangelize, and provide market research on the field of autonomous mobile robots in supply chain applications. Today he leads the robotics business unit at Körber Supply Chain North America, teaches a course on supply chain and logistics at the University of Massachusetts, serves on the board of advisors for several tech start-ups, and coaches youth basketball and youth football in support of his 3 young children.

Manny Lopez

Manny has created an award-winning educational platform to teach mentorship & entrepreneurship to day 1 entrepreneurs and kids aging out of foster care! As a foster kid himself, he's seen the challenges these kids face as many of these kids end up dead, homeless, or in jail once they leave the foster care system. His goal is to connect these kids with mentors and help them build their own dreams... and shares his process of how to do it!

Rev. Charlene Kussner

A licensed minister and the spiritual director at the Center for Spiritual Living, Temecula Valley, Charlene Kussner is a dedicated servant leader within her community. She teaches spiritual classes, facilitates group learning, and is a promoter of lifetime learning experiences. Charlene became a kidney donor in September 2022; she advocates for blood and organ donations and is a speaker for the National Kidney Foundation. As a living kidney donor, she encourages us all to consider "being the hero in someone else's story" by giving of themselves to save a life. In her personal life, she celebrated 25 years of marriage to Suzy Kussner, and is also a mother (Mutti) to two sons, Nate and Zach.

RusLan Biryukov

Ruslan Biryukov holds a unique distinction as the only cellist globally with US commercial pilot licenses and certified flight instructor licenses. With over 25 years of teaching experience spanning the realms of arts, music, and aviation, he currently serves as the Principal Cellist for the Temecula Valley Symphony and Huntington Beach Symphony Orchestras in California. A distinguished alumnus of the Moscow Conservatory and USC Thornton School of Music, Ruslan draws inspiration from the rich traditions of the 20th century, mentored by musical luminaries like Rostropovich, Starker, Schoenfeld, and others. As the visionary founder of the Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra and the Los Angeles Cello Quartet, Ruslan excels as a prolific pedagogue. His students have achieved remarkable success, accumulating over 500 awards in various competitions worldwide. Notably, his flight students have gone on to work for major airlines and the US Air Force.

Smita Malhotra

Dr. Smita Malhotra is a pediatrician, author and photographer. Her journey has brought her through several transitions including owning her own wedding photography business and becoming the Chief Medical Director of a large school district. Each transition has required adjusting to the unknown and the willingness to embrace new opportunities. Her career path is an incredible testament to following your own ‘inner-knowing’ to achieve the success that can only happen from a life authentically lived.

Taylor Cole

Taylor Cole is Chief Technology Officer of a Navy Lab and holds a master’s degree in fluid mechanics. He is also an accomplished BASE jumper, an avid downhill mountain unicyclist, adventure parent, and the inventor of a technology geared towards improving the sleep of autistic children. And he has accomplished all of the above, despite a major learning disability.

Theresa Rose

Theresa Rose, Brand and Business Crystallizer, shares the power of having cocktail napkin clarity for businesses, personal brands, and philanthropic organizations. The Picture Superiority Effect is the study of how visuals are more easily understood and remembered than words, and in a noisy, distracted world, our ideas have a much greater impact if we show and tell our brilliance, and not just sell it. From psychology to thought leadership to military operations to entrepreneurship and beyond, contextual models are successfully used to clearly, concisely, and consistently deliver an essential framework for understanding. Theresa invites us to use less words in order to deliver more insight so that our most valuable ideas are seen, understood, remembered, and most importantly, activated.