Annual Conference Speaker Lineup

Keynote Speakers

Amanda Brinkman is the creator, producer, and Host of the Emmy-nominated Small Buisness Revolution. She has built a reputation as a revolutionary brand marketer who has the ability to foster creativity from the inside out. Building on her years in the creative world at advertising and marketing agencies, she cultivated that same level of passion within her marketing and creative departments in the corporate world. She believes that all companies can “Do Well, by Doing Good” and is passionate about helping brands realize their true brand purpose and turn it into real brand actions.

Keynote Speaker Nick Morrison is a powerful voice on resilience, perseverance, and turning adversity into success. Once a Professional Bull Rider whose career ended at just 21 after a devastating injury, Nick has lived through challenges few can imagine. He endured over 40 concussions, a broken neck, and a traumatic brain injury that left him mute. Yet through relentless determination, he taught himself to speak again, one word at a time. Today, he shares his remarkable story with organizations worldwide, inspiring leaders and teams to rise stronger when faced with adversity.

Breakout Session Speakers

Christina Kurschner

STAR Services

With over fourteen years of work experience in the human services sector, Christina Kurschner is a passionate and dedicated person-centered plan facilitator. Christina was the ANCOR 2023 Minnesota DSP of the year and she is part of the 2026 ANCOR Foundation Leadership Academy. As a person-centered plan facilitator at STAR Services, Christina supports people and their advocates through often challenging conversations to find opportunities for a better future.

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Erin Martin

STAR Services

Erin Martin first began supporting individuals in 2014 as a direct support professional and personal care assistant, which led to her career as a person-centered plan facilitator.  Because of her ability to remain neutral, she is known as "Switzerland" by some people she has planned with. As a person-centered plan facilitator at STAR Services, Erin supports people and their advocates through often challenging conversations to find opportunities for a better future.

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Courtney Kelly Chapman

CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership

Courtney Kelly Chapman provides leadership in the strategic development of numerous CQL services including training, certification, consultation, and special projects. This includes the planning, creation, coordination, and implementation of the services and associated activities.

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Sarah Stein

STAR Services

Sarah has over 25 years of experience in the human service providing person-centered supports for people with disabilities. Since being at STAR Services, Sarah has dedicated over 19 years of her career to consulting with providers in the human services on developing systems to create and improve compliance to Minnesota’s complex state regulatory requirements. She has used these years to also educate and train professionals including executives, directors, managers, and others on compliance and person-centered services and supports. Providing interactive, one-on-one, in person and virtual educational opportunities are the main methods of sharing her knowledge and expertise. At the heart of everything Sarah does is the desire to improve the capabilities of all people through the improvement of knowledge and skills. A passionate educator, Sarah engages and connects with participants to help them create the best quality of training possible for their company and participants.

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Megan Sanders

University of Minnesota - Institute on Community Integration (ICI)

Megan Sanders is a national workforce consultant at the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration. She provides training, consultation, and technical assistance to provider organizations, states, and individuals to address workforce challenges for direct support professionals (DSPs) and frontline supervisors (FLSs). Using data and best practices, her work informs strategies to support the recruitment, selection, training, and retention of DSPs and FLSs. She earned master's degrees in social work and public policy from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree from Truman State University. Working as both a DSP and a FLS before joining the ICI staff in 2020, Sanders learned firsthand how the field’s persistently high staff turnover and vacancy rates affected her and the people she supported.

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Claire Benway

University of Minnesota - Institute on Community Integration (ICI)

Claire Benway is a National Training Consultant at the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration. She provides technical assistance, training and development support within the direct support profession. She works on state and federal projects focusing on improving community services for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Her current projects involve training, technical assistance and state policy development in person centered thinking/planning, direct support workforce development and community living. She authors content and provides quality assurance for on-line curricula in DirectCourse. Claire is a a certified Person Centered Thinking 2 Day Mentor Trainer and holds a Masters in Theatre Education from Emerson College in Boston Massachusetts.

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Amy Hewitt

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - INSTITUTE ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION (ICI)

Amy Hewitt, has an extensive background in the disability field and community long term services and supports. She has worked in various positions over the past 40+ years to improve community inclusion and quality of life for children, youth, and adults with disabilities and their families. Her career began as a Direct Support Professional, and she currently employs DSPs to support her brother-in-law, who lives with autism, addiction, and other chronic conditions and receives Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). She is the Executive Director of the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota and conducts research, evaluation, and demonstration projects about community living and the direct support workforce. She is a well-known author of numerous journal articles, curricula, technical reports, and books. Most recently, she co-authored, Direct Support Workforce Solutions: A guidebook for individual and collective action toward workforce stability. Dr. Hewitt is the editor of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, a journal of the AAIDD. She is a Past President of the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD) and Past President of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). She has a PhD in social work from the University of Minnesota. 

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Molly Asplin

The Modern High Performer

Molly Asplin is an executive coach and leadership facilitator who works with managers and senior leaders navigating growth, complexity, and organizational change. She leads practical workshops that help leaders strengthen role clarity, communicate expectations more effectively, and support developing supervisors without increasing burnout.
 
Her work is especially relevant for organizations where strong individual contributors are stepping into management roles and leading teams through ongoing workforce and system pressures. Molly is known for creating engaging, practical sessions that give participants language they can use immediately in real leadership situations.
 
She is based in Minnesota and works with organizations across the Midwest.

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Grant Haley

Homeward Bound

Grant Haley has over 24 years of experience working with people with disabilities, including 12 years in direct care and 12 years in corporate training and leadership roles. Grant will graduate with a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota on May 30, 2026. He currently serves as the Vice President of Operations for Homeward Bound Incorporated and is a speaker and trainer with the John Maxwell Leadership team. Grant is passionate about helping people and organizations find innovative approaches to overcome obstacles and believes that nothing significant can be accomplished in any business without first investing in and developing people into better leaders. 

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Taylor Paulson

Tap-Speaks

Taylor Paulson is a financial wellness speaker who works with organizations, schools, and communities to help people feel more confident with money. Through relatable stories and clear frameworks, Taylor breaks down complex topics into simple, actionable steps.
 
Whether speaking to employees, students, or community groups, Taylor’s focus is always the same: reduce shame, increase understanding, and give people tools they can actually use in their real lives.
 
Taylor’s sessions are highly customizable and can be tailored to your audience’s needs, from foundational money skills to advanced planning conversations.

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Lisa Nicholas and Rachel Gustofson

CCRI, Inc.

Together, Lisa and Rachel have over 30 years of experience working with CCRI. Both have held various position within the company from direct care to various administrative roles. During this time, Lisa and Rachel have had the opportunity to get to know the needs of the people supported and what they are looking for in a caregiver. It is from this experience, that these ladies are able to recruit, screen, interview and train employees who have the passion to provide person centered services. 

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Cheyenne Gardner

MITC Software

Cheyenne Gardner is an experienced Events Coordinator with a master’s degree in Communications and a strong background in working alongside intellectual/developmental disability (I/DD) and mental health providers across Maryland. With a passion for education and connection, Cheyenne specializes in planning and executing impactful events that empower providers with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed.

In her current role, Cheyenne partners with organizations to design engaging educational experiences that highlight the benefits of implementing reliable, efficient software systems. She is committed to helping providers streamline operations, improve service delivery, and better support the individuals and communities they serve. Her unique blend of communications expertise and industry experience allows her to translate complex solutions into accessible, actionable insights.
Known for her attention to detail, collaborative approach, and dedication to meaningful outcomes, Cheyenne plays a key role in bridging the gap between technology and human-centered care.

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Brandon Eddy

Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Let's go with this: Brandon Eddy is a Care System Liaison with the LTC/IDD Team at Jazz Pharmaceuticals. He brings more than 12 years of experience serving the I/DD community across a variety of roles, including as a group home nurse and Director of Nursing at Hammer Residences. Brandon is passionate about supporting providers and improving care coordination for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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Brittney Zeller

STAR Services

With over 15 years of experience in the human services field and a love of all things compliance, Brittney uses her gifts to support providers in maintaining compliance while providing amazing person-centered services. Navigating the requirements of the human services field can be complicated and confusing. Brittney helps providers follow state and federal guidelines related to service provision, licensing, and enrollment. An expert in the MHCP portal, application requirements, 245D services, and CFSS, Brittney truly understands the legislative requirements for compliance. Her drive to support providers doesn’t stop with compliance. Brittney is also a Person-Centered Thinking trainer, and she applies person-centered philosophy, action, language, and thinking to everything she does. Brittney’s consultation and training expertise shine, and providers feel uplifted and ready to take on all that is needed to provide great services! 

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Lexi Dunn

Advocacy Dunn Right

Lexi Dunn is a disability advocate, speaker, and peer support specialist focused on the psychosocial impacts of disability and the systems that shape disabled people's lives. Drawing from her lived experience as both a disability service recipient and disability advocacy professional, she brings an honest, thought-provoking perspective to conversations about accessibility, inclusion, and meaningful partnership.

Currently pursuing a degree in Social Work, Lexi blends lived experience with systems-level insight to advocate for more person-centered, disability-affirming practices. She serves as Co-Chair of The Arc Minnesota's Regional Quality Council on Disability and works as a Disability Peer Support Specialist on the University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration's Ready to Ride research project.

Through her advocacy, public speaking, and community leadership, Lexi works to help organizations move beyond compliance and toward authentic inclusion by recognizing people with disabilities as partners, leaders, and experts in their own lives.

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