Twelve Years ago, Marie Cosgrove was a single mother of four children when she was fired from balanceback™ because she “made too much” in commissions. Instead of becoming bitter, vengeful, and angry, she started her own company developing a different product. Two years after she was fired, she bought balanceback™, the company that fired her. Skeptics and competitors said she would bankrupt the company and herself within six months. Nearly a decade later, balanceback™ is the world’s leader in fall prevention, concussions, brain and balance disorder diagnostic and treatment devices for clients including Dartmouth, Yale, Vanderbilt, University of Miami, VA Hospitals, and Air Force Bases nationally, as well as major hospitals and universities worldwide.
Larry Costa is an instructor at Columbia University, the author of Massage Mind and Body, and a fashion and beauty expert who has worked with celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Estée Lauder and Donald Trump. He has been featured on “The Early Show,” “Today” and “What Not to Wear.” He lives in New York City.
David Cottrell is president and CEO of CornerStone Leadership. He is a premier authority on leadership and has worked with many of today’s most successful organizations, mentoring leaders to peak performance. Before founding CornerStone, David held leadership positions with Xerox and FedEx and led the successful turnaround of a Chapter 11 company. He has shared his leadership philosophy and lessons with more than 400,000 leaders worldwide.
David has authored more than 25 books, including the perennial bestseller Monday Morning Leadership and his autobiography, Grace Upon Grace. His books
are available in over a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide.
John D. Couch is Vice President of Education at Apple, Inc. Recruited by Steve Jobs as Apple’s Director of New Products in 1978, Couch became the then-fledgling company’s 54th employee. Prior to Apple, he earned degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California Berkeley, and then became a software engineer at Hewlett-Packard, a lecturer at Cal State University, and the author of a popular textbook.
Couch is an active leader in the personalized learning movement, widely regarded as one of the most forward-thinking people in education. His influence extends beyond Apple, as well. He was a technology advisor to President Bush, and later advised President Obama on the initial National Education Technology Plan. Most recently, Couch partnered with Harvard University, funding an ed-tech research initiative at the school’s Crowd Innovation Lab.
Nelson Cowan is a cognitive and developmental psychologist with research interests in working memory, attention, intelligence, individual differences and their development across the life span. He earned his B.S. from the University of Michigan in 1973 with an independent major in the neurosciences, and his Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Wisconsin in 1980. He is currently Curators’ Professor of Psychology at the University of Missouri at Columbia and an associate editor of the European Journal of Cognitive Psychology. In the past he has served as associate editor of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition and of the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. In addition to research articles, he has written two books: Attention and Memory: An Integrated Framework (Oxford Press, 1995) and Working Memory Capacity (Psychology Press, in press), and he has edited The Development of Memory in Childhood (Psychology Press, 1997). He is married with a son in high school and an older stepson and stepdaughter.
John Cox was born and raised in Los Angeles, where he attended the USC School of Cinema-Television. John has worked as a professional screenwriter for the last ten years and has written projects for Warner Bros, DreamWorks, MGM, Sony, ABC, CBS, the USA Network and more. John became a Bond fan when he saw his first and still favorite 007 film, The Spy Who Loved Me, in the summer of 1977. He collects James Bond first editions and is also an expert on the life of Harry Houdini. John lives in Hollywood, Calif.
Tonya Craft was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, by two wonderful parents. Immediately following high school, Tonya attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with the desire to become an educator. Tonya obtained her Bachelor of Science in Education and began teaching at the middle school level, but soon found her niche with elementary students. Soon, Tonya faced life as a single mother and created a personal training business and took a position as a literacy trainer with UT Chattanooga. As a single mother, she worked and went to school full-time, graduating with a Master’s Degree in Education with a reading and literacy specialization. She soon began teaching kindergarten in Northern Georgia.
In May of 2008, however, Tonya’s life would change forever. Falsely accused of child molestation she lost her home, her career, her reputation, her financial stability, and most importantly, her two children. Years of struggling with the judicial system educated Tonya more than any textbook, professor, or seminar ever could. She eventually won her court case, acquitted on all 22 counts. Since then, Tonya has served as a consultant on a variety of child molestation cases. She is pursuing a law degree and is committed to helping others trapped in similar situations. She lives near Chattanooga with her two children.
Rob Craven, former CEO of Garden of Life and MegaFood, brings a wealth of experience to the table, having successfully guided these companies to B-Corporation status and profitable exits. As the founder of Findaway Adventures and ScalePassion, he has mentored numerous impact-oriented founders, equipping them with the strategic and leadership tools needed for success. Drawing on his unique perspective as a founder, CEO, investor, and consultant, Craven offers universally applicable insights and practices. His “scalepassion” mindset not only leads to financial rewards but also creates world-changing impact at a fraction of traditional consultancy costs. Ultimately, Craven’s goal is to empower business leaders worldwide to leverage their organizations as a force for good, effectively overhauling the shortcomings of modern capitalism.
