Keynote Speaker

Donnie Campbell

If the word “believe” resonates with you, it means that you are probably a diehard fan of the hit series Ted Lasso, which portrays a football coach from Kansas who is hired to be the head coach of the English Premier Soccer Leagues AFC Richmond. But did you know that there was a real inspiration behind this award-winning show?

Coach Donnie Campbell is a math teacher and a high school basketball coach from Kansas who was plucked out of obscurity when Jason Sudeikis, the American actor and star of the 5-time Emmy Award winning show, revealed to Stephen Colbert on the late show that Campbell was in part the impetus for the lead character he plays with such wit and wisdom. It was back in the late 1990’s when Jason played basketball at Shawnee Mission West and Donnie was his coach. Little did Campbell know that all of the pearls of wisdom he was dropping on Jason and the team would appear years later and make an indelible impression on millions around the world.

Today, Campbell has been busy making appearances on local and national television including ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s The Today Show. In addition to teaching, he is now speaking to organizations and companies about leadership and specifically, how important it is to instill strong values in the people you work with. He credits his leadership skills to his always positive attitude and to his mentors that prepared him for success both in the classroom and as a coach.

Campbell graduated from Lyons high school in 1980 and attended Kansas State University on a football scholarship and played basketball his freshman year. For the past 36 years, he has coached and taught math, but more importantly he has been building the confidence and character of the young men and women who have played for him.

Presenter

Jeff Utecht

Jeff Utecht is an internationally recognized educator, consultant, keynote speaker, and leadership strategist whose work focuses on helping organizations understand, engage, and lead today’s multigenerational workforce.

Over more than two decades, Jeff has studied how Millennials and Gen Z learn, communicate, collaborate, and engage - first as students and now as members of the workforce. His work has evolved into helping leaders navigate an unprecedented workplace in which four generations bring different experiences, expectations, communication styles, and definitions of work and leadership.

Jeff has trained more than 75,000 professionals worldwide, consulted with more than 200 organizations and school districts, and delivered keynote presentations around the globe. His international work has included participating in educational discussions at the invitation of the Prince of Bahrain and presenting at the UN-supported Global Knowledge Summit in Dubai.

Today, Jeff works with organizations to strengthen leadership, employee engagement, onboarding, communication, and organizational culture across generations. His perspective is particularly relevant to healthcare, where leaders must recruit, develop, engage, and retain professionals from multiple generations while maintaining strong, collaborative teams.

Jeff’s message is simple but powerful: today’s employees are yesterday’s students—and understanding what shaped them can fundamentally change how we lead them.

Presenter

John Williams

John Williams has 30 years of experience with health care design, planning, regulation, and code development. He serves as Vice President of Content and Outreach for FGI and as the Executive Director of Facilities Construction and Licensing for the Washington State Department of Health, where he oversees the review of licensed health care facilities with state licensing and federal certification requirements. John chaired the International Code Council’s Committee on Healthcare for 12 years and currently serves as Chair of the FGI Code Guidelines Revision Committee (CRC). He also serves on various technical committees for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and is a frequent speaker on health care codes, standards, and regulatory issues.