Following more than 20 years in a high-powered role at Goldman Sachs, a persuasive call from the State Department gave new purpose to Connie’s retirement dream of balancing work, charity and family time. She spent the next several years developing a successful government-backed startup to help economically empower women in Afghanistan. Connie applied her extensive business intelligence to identify a viable product, secure funding, find and train employees, and reinvent the supply chain for an ancient industry—hand-woven rugs.

ARZU Studio Hope is a stable, self-funding enterprise that’s changing the lives of Afghan women, and is truly Connie’s pride and joy.

“Experienced litigator” wasn’t the first bullet point on the Wisconsin Humane Society’s executive director job description. In fact, it wasn’t on the list at all. Luckily, the board saw the value in what Anne Reed’s 30 years of legal experience could offer the organization—after she realized it herself. Her leadership, drive and wide range of analytical and problem-solving skills allowed her to overcome industry inexperience and succeed in a role well outside of her comfort zone.

Chance brought Anne to the job description, but creative thinking and determination earned her the title. Under her leadership, the Wisconsin Humane Society is thriving and will become strong enough to sustain success long after her time.

Roger Brown’s position as the president of the Berklee College of Music in Boston blends his lifelong passions for education, music and international work perfectly. In hindsight, it was a natural next step after stepping down from his founding role at Bright Horizons Family Solutions, the largest worldwide provider of early childhood education. As it was happening, however, he had serious concerns about how to break into higher education. His determination to secure his dream job fueled his pursuit and willingness to learn, and he was able to convert a happened-upon job posting into a new rewarding career.

Berklee College of Music is more vibrant and successful than ever, thanks to Roger’s dedicated leadership.

As an HR professional with more than 30 years of working in a multitude of industries, Mike Rohrkaste is no stranger to building and supporting very successful teams. Following an extended retirement transition out of leadership at the Oshkosh Corporation, he heard about an opportunity to support a team he had been part of all along—Wisconsin. Getting elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly was a long, grueling and humbling process that involved his entire family. In the end, Mike was able to use his human resources knowledge to tap the minds of his constituents and become a public servant.

Mike considers holding public office as the crowning achievement of his professional life. He’s committed to bettering the state and creating lasting improvements for Wisconsin residents.

Fran Edwardson’s journey from general counsel at United Airlines to CEO at the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois is full of reminders to seize opportunity—because life is short. While at United, Fran lost her husband suddenly and was only one week back from bereavement leave on 9/11. Those events tested her in ways she never thought possible, and taught her what she is capable of in high-stress situations. After several years of deliberation and work transitions, Fran decided to pursue nonprofit leadership. She landed an interview with the Red Cross, wowing them in the selection process with her drive and disaster-response skills.

Fran believes that every experience, good or bad, is preparation for another venture. She has become an influential leader at the Red Cross because of her experiences and enjoys building the capacity for the next generation.

When the Great Recession hit, Wayne Breitbarth’s fast-growing office furniture business came to a screeching halt. His accounting background hadn’t given him great sales chops, but after witnessing the power of LinkedIn firsthand, he realized just how to reinvigorate his sales numbers. A few months later, Wayne had mastered LinkedIn and he and his sales team were using it to leverage relationships and drive sales. His success was so impressive that he started teaching his clients and, eventually, anyone who wanted to learn how to use LinkedIn.

Wayne gradually transitioned away from the furniture business and became a full-time LinkedIn consultant. His book, “The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success: Kick-Start Your Business, Brand, and Job Search,” is in its third edition, with more than 80,000 copies sold to date.

Tillie Hidalgo Lima found her first calling in pharmacy. She loved math, science and working with people, and she dedicated herself to being a positive influence in her customers’ lives. When her husband needed help with his concierge business, however, she discovered how well a focus on quality and accuracy could bolster any company’s operations. She applied her math and people skills to running operations at Best Upon Request. Eventually, Tillie took over the struggling family business as a first-time CEO, who needed to overcome extreme financial challenges while learning executive leadership skills.

Best Upon Request is now a thriving family business, with two of Tillie’s daughters preparing to join her at the helm one day.

A successful tech entrepreneur, Jim Berbee could have retired in his early 40s. Instead, his desire to actively help people, along with a budding interest in the philanthropic and business sides of health care, revealed a new path—he wanted to be a doctor. Two years of prerequisites and an MCAT later, Jim was accepted to Stanford for medical school. It took four years of medical school in a new state and several years of residency back in Wisconsin after that, but Jim transformed from IT entrepreneur to emergency room physician.

Jim draws from his business background frequently when assessing patients’ needs, but his drive to keep learning is the foundation behind his 180 into a successful medical career.

Forty years in health care fulfilled all of Sue Ela’s lifelong professional goals. She was a well-educated nurse who spoke up, got involved and grew to become the Chief Operating Officer of a large health system. Having accomplished her goals, she grew restless in her position and felt the need for change. She worked with a startup for a while, but didn’t realize the career change she wanted until she and her son started brewing hard cider from the apples at their family orchard. Now, Sue is the COO at Ela Cider Company, a role with the same title but many new challenges.

Ela Cider Company brews award-winning hard cider that reflects the excellence of the orchard and its community. Sue loves what she does and that she gets to do what she’s good at with her family beside her.

Robert Finkel spent 25 years supporting other entrepreneurs and reveling in helping people achieve their dreams through growing their companies. After a time, the environment became ill-suited to his character, however, so he looked for an opportunity where he could be his aspirational self, surrounded by like-minded people. He found that community when he immersed himself in the research of plant-based supplements and botanicals—and the beverages that use them. Over several years, Robert and his team developed unique flavor profiles, beverages and a restaurant around his company, Forbidden Root.

Forbidden Root Restaurant and Brewery gave Robert the opportunity to surround himself with high-quality beers, food and people. His role as “rootmaster” showcases his passion for his job and sharing unique experiences with those around him.

Beverly Johnson
Supermodel, Fashion icon, Businesswoman and New York Times’ best-selling author, “The Face That Changed It All”

Helen Johnson-Leipold
Chairman and CEO, Johnson Outdoors

Deborah L. Ford
Chancellor, University of Wisconsin - Parkside

Joe Sweeney
Businessman, speaker and New York Times' best-selling author

John A. Challenger
CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Amy Huntington
President, Market Group Americas, Philips Lighting

Ann MacDougal
President, Encore.org