Leadership summit speakers
C.L. “Butch” Otter's the Governor of Idaho, a position he has held since 2006. He has also served three terms in Congress; four terms as Lt. Governor; and two terms as an Idaho legislator. Governor Otter's 30-year career in business included membership on the Board of Directors of the J.R. Simplot Company. He also served as Director of the Food Products Division, President of Simplot Livestock, and President of Simplot International.
Jerry Whitehead is the Chairman of the Idaho Transportation Board. He previously served as the board's District 3 Representative. He has an extensive background in transportation, and served as Chairman of the Idaho Trucking Association and as Chairman of Idaho Truck Pac, Inc. Jerry was a member of the Idaho Motor Carrier Advisory Committee for 16 years, and is the owner and President of Western Trailers, which he founded over 40 years ago.
Brian Ness is the Director of the Idaho Transportation Department. He is responsible for an annual budget of over $500 million and provides leadership for more than 1,800 employees assigned to six districts and the department's headquarters in Boise. Brian also chairs the Special Committee on Transportation Security and Emergency Management for the American Association of Highway Transportation Organizations. Prior to assuming the leadership role at ITD in 2010, Brian worked for 30 years at the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Dr. Tomas A. DeCoster is Professor Emeritus of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University and is currently the Executive Director of the National Transportation Leadership Institute for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. He is the Director of Indiana Hospital Association’s Management Institute, is a partner at London Witte and Company, and a Senior Associate at Management Development, Inc.
Dr. DeCoster has conducted seminars for more than 127,000 people over the last five years. He is a consultant for more than 20 state transportation departments and has conducted seminars in China, Venezuela, Nigeria, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.
Jim Johnson is a national expert in assisting organizations to define their existing culture and transition to a more desirable one. He presided over the cultural survey ITD employees answered in 2011 and is collaborating with the Executive Team to identify the organization's strengths and improvement points. Jim is the Managing Partner of Level Three Performance Solutions of Reno, Nevada.
Brig. Gen. Bill Bankhead is the Idaho National Guard's Land Forces Component Commander. He has over 33 years of commissioned service in the U.S. Army, including serving as the Executive Officer for the 2-116th Tank Battalion, the Deputy Brigade Commander of the 116th Cavalry Brigade, and the Commander of the 204th Regional Training Institute.
His awards include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the NATO International Security Assistance Force Medal.
L. Scott Stokes, a second-generation ITD employee, is the department's Chief Deputy. Scott has lived in four of the department?s six districts and served as a staff engineer, project development engineer, the state bridge engineer and District 1 Engineer.
Paul Steinman is the Chief Operations Officer for ITD. He has more than 21 years of transportation experience in Florida and Michigan. He earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Michigan State University in 1989 and is a licensed professional engineer in Idaho, Michigan, Florida and North Carolina.
Mary Harker is the Chief Human Resource Officer for ITD. She previously served as Manager of Human Resource Services. Most of her 26-year career in the human resources field has been with the transportation department. She chairs the Human Resource Sub-committee of the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials.
Mike Golden is ITD's Chief Administrative Officer. He worked for Yellow Freight Systems for 24 years; his latest position was vice president of taxation. He also worked for seven years as chief operating officer and later as chief financial officer for the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Bryan Yager is an adjunct professor at Boise State University. He has been an effective teacher, leader, meeting facilitator, executive coach and energizing speaker for almost 30 years. Bryan's professional passion is helping individuals and organizations expand their capacity for success. He has designed and facilitated workshops and processes covering a wide range of topics including teambuilding, leadership development and change leadership.
Published 8-3-2012