Speaker Bios

Mary C. Bodvarsson, Ph.D.

Leadership Consultant and Coach
Ascension Leadership, LLC.

An experienced educator, leader, consultant, and leadership coach, Mary is passionate about adding value to people’s lives through education and coaching. A former university professor and corporate trainer, Mary utilizes years of experience in sales, consulting, training, and education along with various assessment tools to help people and organizations in the following areas: leadership development, employee development, team building, communication skills, change management, and conflict resolution.

Mary received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a focus on Adult Cognition, Learning and Development from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in 2005. From 2006 through 2013, Mary was in the Psychology department at St. Cloud State University in Central Minnesota. During her tenure, she received numerous accolades for her teaching and engagement with the students. In 2010, Mary initiated the development of the St. Cloud State chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success. She served as Faculty Advisor to the chapter until her departure in 2013. Mary was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award from The National Society of Leadership and Success in 2011.

Both before and after her academic career, Mary worked in the private sector. Her prior work was as a Trainer, Team Lead, and Manager of an in house training organization for a large software organization. The wide range of experiences that Mary had in the corporate education world resulted in her asking many questions concerning adult learning and development, ultimately leading Mary down the path of pursing an advanced degree in that area. After leaving academia in 2013, Mary started her own consulting business – Ascension Leadership LLC. In her work with clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to academic institutions to small family run manufacturing companies, Mary regularly leads both individual and team sessions assisting people to learn how to communicate, collaborate, and work together more efficiently and effectively towards common goals. An accomplished facilitator and coach, Mary’s engaging leadership style in the classroom naturally lends itself towards a positive and fruitful learning environment.

Andrew Zhao

Associate Executive Director
Amazeworks

Andrew has spent the majority of his career working in the nonprofit sector where he’s invested in the cultures of schools, businesses, organizations, and the community. He’s passionate about helping groups live out their mission and values while making sure everyone experiences belonging. He holds a BA in Operations Management (University of Maryland), certificates in Change Management (Cornell University) and Equity (University of Minnesota), and is a Qualified Administrator (QA) of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). The journey toward belonging takes all of us, so it’s important to progress forward together while also trying to meet as many people where they’re at individually. Andrew lives in South Minneapolis with his spouse, 3 kids, and 2 dogs and he loves the Chicago Cubs.

Scott Nelson

Senior Partner
Clarity Central

Scott Nelson is a leadership coach, communications trainer, and senior partner at Clarity Central. He is also an instructor for the University of St. Thomas Executive Education. Previously, he was a conflict resolution mediator at Mayo Clinic. Scott started his career as a sales manager while also training and speaking on the topic of influential communication. He has done post-graduate work in ontology following his BBA in Management. He is also a firefighter with Excelsior Fire District. Scott’s experience involves several industries as well as many different organizational and personality types. He has worked with people of incredibly varied backgrounds, including Maasai tribes in Tanzania, executives in corporations, and leaders in health care, non-profits, schools, and local and federal government.

Matt Norman

Presdient & CEO
Norman & Associates

Matt Norman coaches and advises executives on how to build great people and culture.

He is President & CEO of Norman & Associates, which offers custom coaching and consulting in the areas of talent strategy, personal effectiveness, planning, and goal alignment.

Norman & Associates is also the largest North American provider of Dale Carnegie learning programs which help people improve how they communicate, lead, influence, and work together.

Matt is regularly recognized as a top revenue producer, executive coach, facilitator, speaker and leader of award-winning teams. And he has been named to the Minnesota Business Power 50 for his contributions to the community.

He’s also the award-winning author of Four Patterns of Healthy People, and Lead with Influence: A Proven Process to Lead without Authority. You can find his articles on personal and organizational effectiveness at http://mattnorman.com.

Matt loves being a husband and father of three, enjoying shared activities like skiing, mountain biking, trail running and music.