Lisa Edison-Smith practices exclusively in the area of employment and labor law and litigation. She focuses her practice on providing practical advice to North Dakota and Minnesota employers on a variety of issues related to human resources, discrimination and harassment, employment compliance issues, wage and hour law, employment contracts, policy review, hiring and termination, and employee benefits. She frequently provides training on harassment and other current issues in employment law to employers throughout the area. Lisa also represents employers in labor matters and arbitrations. Regularly recognized by Chambers USA as a leading North Dakota employment defense lawyer, Lisa’s clients praise her as a “prompt and client-focused” attorney who “understands how employers can avoid messy situations.” She is an editor of the North Dakota Employment Law Letter, a monthly newsletter designed to provide proactive advice and the latest employment law news to North Dakota employers. Lisa is a graduate of Hamline University School of Law, where she was awarded the Lyons Award as the graduate with the highest academic standing. Before joining the firm, she served as a law clerk to the honorable Chief Justice A.M. Keith of the Minnesota Supreme Court and worked for over eight years for GTE corporation in finance and accounting. She graduated summa cum laude from North Dakota State University with an undergraduate degree in accounting and business administration and passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant exam with national distinction. Lisa is a native of Milnor, North Dakota. She and her husband, Greg Smith, have two grown children, Britt and Andrew, and live in Fargo.

Joan Engeseth is the manager of Corporate Training for Noridian (Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota). Joan has several years of experience in leadership development and organizational ethics. She is a Senior Professional in Human Resource Management, certified by the National Society for Human Resource Management organization. She has an undergraduate degree in education and a Master's Degree in management from the University of Mary.

Dennis L. Faurote, CPA is founder of The Faurote Group, Denny is a highly-regarded Human Capital Consultant and trainer. Over the years he has provided business advising, counseling, training, and coaching to a vast array of high-profile organizations…and high-profile organizational leaders. As well, he is a popular keynote speaker on a number of motivational topics. His industry expertise covers a broad spectrum: state, regional, and national conventions for a variety of enterprises; corporations; non-profits; universities; entrepreneurs; sales organizations; and, professional services firms. The Faurote Group specializes in providing organizations with solid practical information for leadership effectiveness, employee productivity, and organizational success by inspiring individual achievement. For more than a decade, he provided client service and human resource direction within the International Professional Services Firm, Deloitte. Under Denny’s leadership a key Practice Office was recognized as the #1 HR operation in the worldwide firm for several years. Denny’s success as an executive coach, trainer, and leadership consultant has earned him accolades from clients throughout the United States. His passion for helping clients reach new levels of achievement is evident in the programs he has developed such as LifePrint ™ to Living and Leading and his work with Dr. Tony Alessandra incorporating The Platinum Rule.™ Combining the head and the heart, Denny delivers results that inspire employees, teams, and executives to a much higher level of performance. He brings a unique combination of life experience and business knowledge that connects with his audiences. Denny is a graduate of Ball State University. He serves on the faculty of Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business, conducts leadership conferences for other universities across the country, and is very active in community affairs. In addition, Denny has been recognized by the Indiana CPA Society including being named the Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry in 2002 and the Outstanding Discussion Leader in 2002 and 2003.

William C. Fleenor, CPA.CITP, PH.D. is currently the CFO of K2 Enterprises. He has conducted seminars for more than 40 State CPA Societies and has spoken at numerous accounting technology conferences, including speaking at the AICPA Information Technology Conference for the past 14 years as well as doing training for other organizations such as the FBI. Will is a past Chairman of the AICPA Information Technology Conference in addition to being past chairman of other conferences and professional committees. Will is a co-author of the Practitioners Publishing Company’s Guide to Installing Microcomputer Accounting Systems and has had numerous articles published in professional journals including the Journal of Accountancy, the CPA Journal, and others.

Jay Giannantonio, MBA, CPA, CIA is a management consultant specializing in internal audit, risk management, process improvement and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance issues. His professional experience includes long stays at Verizon/Bell Atlantic and KPMG Consulting in a professional career that began in 1980. His teaching experience includes time as an adjunct faculty member in the MBA program at Widener University. Jay lives in the Philadelphia area.

Missy Ohe’s presentations are passionate and energetic. Whether speaking to a small group or a large assembly, Missy Ohe gets the audience involved. As a professional speaker and connection specialist Missy Ohe is known for helping audience participants recognize their gifts, bringing out their inner beauty. Missy Ohe brings with her stories from within her 19 years in the sales industry. Missy Ohe has founded five companies, has been an ambassador for the state of North Dakota for BNI, was a cosmetologist for 13 years as well as a cosmetology instructor. Missy’s stories along with, “4 Levels of Believing in Yourself”, reach out to individuals impacting their lives. Missy Ohe is trained under Doug Carter; trainer to Tony Robbins.

David L. Osburn, MBA is the founder and managing member of David L. Osburn & Associates LLC, a Las Vegas-based business training and contract CFO firm that provides seminar/keynote speeches for various groups including CPAs, bankers, attorneys, credit union employees, credit managers, trade groups, and business owners. He also serves as a contract CFO for several clients including construction companies, medical practitioners, and real estate developers, co-manages a bank educational program with the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and is a board member of North Star Business Services, a commercial lending company (commercial real estate and equipment financing). His extensive professional background encompasses over 24 years in banking, finance, and marketing. His bank commercial lending credentials include comprehensive loan underwriting, management, customer development, and loan work-out experience. In addition, David is an Adjunct Professor for Regis University, an accredited MBA program and the College of Southern Nevada, a community college. He has taught college courses for over 22 years, covering Finance, Accounting, Economics, Marketing, Banking, Business Law, and Management. He earned an MBA in Finance/Marketing from Utah State University and a BS in Finance from Brigham Young University. He is also a graduate of the University of Oklahoma National Commercial Lending School.

Jackie Pflug survived a terrorist hijacking, a gunshot wound to the head from which she developed epilepsy, and a lengthy rehabilitation process during which she drew on her background in special education to master her own learning disabilities. Today she is an author and motivational speaker who inspires audiences with her story of courage.

Audrey Thomas is founder of Organized Audrey, LLC, the largest and most recognized organizing firm in the Twin Cities. Audrey has spent sixteen years as a small business owner and organizing consultant working with businesses and homeowners. She began teaching organizing skills professionally in the Twin Cities of Minnesota in 1991. Audrey is a national speaker and organizing authority with clients in major corporations, government agencies and professional associations across the US. Her audience participants, clients and readers know her as a down to earth and authentic person. She’s a “real” business owner who balances work and family every day. Her customers see her as an authority presenting quality information and guidance that helps them create order and peace in chaotic environments. She is a regular contributing author for several business related magazines distributed nation-wide. Her insight and advice has been published in major magazines like Women’s Day, Workspace Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Successful Woman, Women’s Business Minnesota, Minnesota Parent Magazine and newspapers such as, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Seattle Times, Orlando Sentinel, and others.

Phillip Van Hooser has spoken, written and consulted on leadership and customer service issues worldwide since 1988. From his experience as a manager for FORTUNE 500 heavy manufacturing and consumer products companies and a director for a locally owned community bank, Phil knows firsthand the methods that equip executives and managers to lead their people more effectively and serve their customers more successfully. Phil’s best-selling book, "Willie's Way: 6 Secrets for Wooing, Wowing and Winning Customers and Their Loyalty," and his management training system, “The Leadership Journey,” have been used by corporations across the U.S. to help their people become more successful leaders and service professionals. Through his masterful storytelling, Phil's audiences experience tried and true leadership and customer service lessons drawn from the real work world -- ideas that can be quickly transferred to current circumstances to create immediate improvements. Each year, Phil teaches thousands of executives and managers how to become the leader to take their organizations to new levels of success and profitability. His audiences include P&G Pharmaceuticals, BlueCross BlueShield, Lockheed Martin, KPMG, Verizon and Wells Fargo. A longtime member of the National Speakers Association, Phil has earned NSA's Certified Speaking Professional designation and he currently serves as President-elect of NSA. A member of the Speaker Hall of Fame, Phil resides in Princeton, Kentucky.

Harold Wilde, CPA, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Director of the Department of Accounting at UND. He is currently the President of the ND State Board of Accountancy as well as Past President of the ND Society of CPAs. He is a frequent speaker for several societies and CPA firms in North and South Dakota and is a recipient of the AICPA Outstanding Discussion Leader Award.