DAVID KELLER - Leadership and Ethics
Dr. Keller is the Director of the Hollingsworth Center for Ethical Leadership for the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University where he oversees character and leadership development education for approximately 2500 students each year. Dave completed a noteworthy 20+ year career in the U.S. Air Force, where he directed all cadet character, ethics, and leadership programs at the United States Air Force Academy, including more than 120 annual seminars and overseeing the Academy’s acclaimed National Character & Leadership Symposium. Dave also served as Deputy Vice Commandant where he led many of the Academy’s organizational culture & climate change efforts, to include guiding the nation’s largest collegiate peer education team. He holds an undergraduate degree in Human Behavior & Leadership from the US Air Force Academy, a Master’s degree in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology from St Mary’s University in San Antonio and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M, where his primary research focused on moral and ethical development of leaders.
MARY KELLY - Leadership and Free Enterprise
Dr. Kelly is a best-selling author and international speaker specializing in business and leadership development to improve efficiency and profits. A US Naval Academy graduate, Mary spent 21 years on active duty in intelligence and military base management. She lived in Japan, the Philippines, Hawaii, Vietnam, and Hong Kong and has traveled to 40 countries. Quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, Entrepreneur, Men’s Health, CNBC, and cited as the fifth most influential social media person in Colorado, Dr. Kelly loves technology and leadership strategies that help people succeed. Mary’s books, Money Smart: How Not to Buy Cat Food When You Don’t Have a Cat, 15 Ways to Grow Your Business in Every Economy and Master Your World are used in 9 countries. She is also the head coach of the USAFA Equestrian Team and she and her therapy dogs make regular visits to hospitals and schools.
MIKE MCGRATH - Leadership and Patriotism as a POW
A Colorado native from Delta, CO, Captain (ret) McGrath attended the University of Colorado one year before entering the US Naval Academy. He completed flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator. He flew 157 missions over Southeast Asia flying off the aircraft carrier USS Ranger. Later, in 1967, flying his 22nd mission off the USS Constellation, he was shot down and taken as a prisoner of war and held captive for six years, suffering extreme mental and physical cruelties. Mike resisted these brutalities and was released in 1973. He has held numerous positions in the military since then and upon retirement flew for United Airlines. Mike was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003, and is a recipient of the Colorado State Medal of Courage for good reason.
Dr. JOSEPH SANDERS - Leadership in the School and Community
Dr. Sanders served as the first Senate confirmed Permanent Professor and Director of the US Air Force Academy Center for Character & Leadership Development. During this time, he had the unique privilege of influencing the moral and ethical growth of over 13,000 cadets and staff, while supervising over 960,000 hours of character and leadership education, experiences, and training. Joseph has also served as the commanding officer for training, support, and combat units. He has authored and published several articles and book chapters on topics ranging from transformational and servant leadership to organizational spirituality and moral development. In addition, Joseph has delivered over 2,000 lectures and workshops on these topics to a variety of audiences. He is the Founder of Touchstone Leadership Academy, an organization committed to creating transformative possibilities for current and future leaders. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and has been the Director for Leadership Development at All American Leadership. He is currently the CEO for Colorado Uplift, creating a new generation of urban leaders through long-term, life-changing relationships with over 3,500 at-risk youth.
STEVEN SHAMBACH - Introduction to Awesome Power
Colonel (ret) Shambach is a native of Lockport, NY, and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering. Commissioned in the Infantry, he served 30 years in the Army. He holds a MA in Organizational Psychology and a MEd in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. He taught Leadership at West Point and Strategic Leadership at the Army War College. Retiring from the Army as a Colonel in 2004, he moved to Colorado Springs, CO, employed by ANSER (Analytic Services Inc.) and was team leader of a study of character and leader development at the US Air Force Academy for the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force. In 2007, he began employment at USAFA as Senior Character Development Program Analyst. In April 2016, he was assigned as the Professional Development Integration Director in the Center for Character and Leadership Development. His primary responsibility was to integrate professional development efforts at USAFA with faculty and staff, as well as cadets, and with external military and civilian organizations, until his retirement in May, 2018. He is currently the Director of the Rocky Mountain Youth Leadership Conference.
NATHAN WATANABE - Patriotism, Leadership and the U.S. Constitution
Lieutenant Colonel (ret) Watanabe graduated from the US Air Force Academy and received a commission as a US Army Infantry Officer. Following tours in Korea and Panama, he attended flight school and is a Senior Army Aviator rated in the UH-1, UH-60, and Mi-17 helicopters, having flown throughout the United States, Alaska, Korea, and Afghanistan. He retired after 28 years of service in various command, staff, and instructor positions in the Infantry, Aviation, and Missile Defense. He retired in 2016 as an Assistant Professor in Military History at the US Air Force Academy. He has also taught Military History at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and various local High Schools and regularly presents lectures on Military History, Professionalism, Leadership, Discipline, and Character, at the US Air Force Academy and other venues.
JOEL WITZEL - Leadership in the School and Community
Dr. Joel Witzel, PhD, is a Course Director for Falcon AeroLab, a homeschool enrichment program. He utilizes aviation concepts and other sciences to develop students’ STEM skills and interests. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1988 and retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel after 27 years of commissioned service. He began his career as a KC-135 tanker navigator and spent 19 of his 27 years in the Air Force as an instructor and trainer, mainly working in the Air Force Academy’s Center for Character and Leadership Development from 2005 to 2014. There, he oversaw character development programs, scholarly initiatives, and the Academy’s honor system. He also taught the core leadership course for the Air Force Academy’s Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership for 5 years. Joel holds a doctoral degree in Diversity and Higher Learning from the University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education. He has over 2,500 hours flying experience, with dozens of deployments around the world, including a year-long deployment to Kabul, Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012. He and his wife Marty have three college-age children, and they have lived in Colorado since 2004.
ANJA WYNNE - AWEsome POWER
Dr. Wynne, PhD, is a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado. A retired Air Force Personnel & Manpower Officer, Dr. Wynne also served as a US Army Logistics Officer, worked with the IT industry in Europe, the pharmaceutical industry in the US and as the Chief Human Resources Officer at the University of Colorado. She is currently a Culture & Organizational Leadership Consultant focusing on providing global solutions to local organizations by applying her research in the field of cultural intelligence and cross-cultural competencies. These experiences lead to her successful completion of the Global Professional Human Resource (GPHR) certification and she shares this knowledge to her students as an adjunct faculty member in the university’s School of Public Affairs.
LIAM WYNNE - FINANCIAL LITERACY
Liam Wynne is a Financial Advisor (FA) in Monument, Colorado. He earned a BS in Business Administration and Finance, with a concentration in Financial Planning & Investment Analysis at Colorado State University in Fort Collins in 2018. Prior to joining the financial industry, he played rugby at the elite level in the US and New Zealand, originally starting in Europe. After the Denver Barbarians won the National Championship in 2023, he shifted his commitment to a full time career as a FA and now focuses his efforts on helping young people understand financial management