About the Speakers

Derek’s passion in life is to help you become the leader you’d want to follow. Much of his day is spent turning managers into leaders as an author, keynote speaker, and leadership coach.

Derek spent three years as the head of employee success and director of leadership development for ETE REMAN, the nation’s largest remanufacturer of transmissions and a USA Top Workplace. At ETE, he taught over 100 managers the core principles of leadership, management, and personal development. Before ETE, Derek spent 12 years at the Wisconsin Athletic Club (WAC) as the director of people and service, director of training and development, and general manager. He became a certified speaker and coach with the John Maxwell Team during his tenure.

In 2017, Derek published the book SHIFT: Move from Frustrated to Fulfilled. In 2024, he published Everyday Leaders: Small Actions, Big Results. While writing, he spent eight years as an adjunct professor of leadership at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Derek is a husband and girl dad blessed with two social and active kids. When he’s not geeking out on leadership, he’s coaching youth basketball or carting his daughters all over like an Uber driver.

Oliver Yarbrough, PMP®, is an author, speaker, trainer, and leading expert in project management and growth strategies to raise competitiveness. He combines “hands-on”, real world experience with project management fundamentals. Oliver offers fresh insights and encourages his audiences to take action with a captivating, entertaining and down-to-earth style.

Mr. Yarbrough holds a Master’s degree from Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business. His professional career includes positions with Fortune 500 companies such as Lucent Technologies (now part of Nokia), Staples, and Sprint (now part of T-Mobile), along with his own successful business ventures.

He is a former Board Member of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) – Government Technology Society, as well as the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) – Atlanta Chapter. Additionally, he has been featured in the Atlanta Business Chronicle's "People on the Move."

Pierce Laedtke is an accomplished IT PMO Manager at Plexus Corp., bringing a wealth of project management and leadership experience to the table. Residing in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with his wife Julia and their three children, Madeline, Oliver, and Isabella, Pierce balances a demanding professional life with family and personal pursuits, including sailing and enjoying time at his off-grid log cabin.

Pierce holds a Master of Business Administration from Concordia University-Wisconsin and a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, where he earned his US Army Officer Commission via Oshkosh’s ROTC program. He further honed his leadership and logistical expertise through the Army Logistics University's Logistics Captains Career Course and Quartermaster Basic Officer Leader Course.

Pierce’s professional journey is marked by a distinguished 17+ year career with the US Army, where he currently serves as a Brigade Logistics Officer (S4). His military experience includes roles as a Company Commander, Executive Officer, and Platoon Leader. Prior to his current role at Plexus, Pierce spent over 12 years at Oshkosh Corporation, progressing through various project and program management positions.

Ivy Wendland is an experienced leader with over 25 years of experience in the property and casualty insurance industry and more than a decade managing large-scale business transformation projects. Currently serving as Director of Enterprise Services, Ivy leads the Project Management, Continuous Improvement and Change Management teams at SECURA Insurance Companies. Prior to this role, she spent time at Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance and Jewelers Mutual Insurance in various leadership roles, directly managing projects and leading teams. Her career journey also includes a few years spent in a project management consulting role and leading the Project Management Office at AriensCo.

Ivy holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and is a Certified ScrumMaster and Prosci Certified Change Practitioner. Ivy is also actively involved in community organizations through her church and serving as President of the Board at Samaritan counseling in Menasha. Outside of work, she is enjoying this chapter of life as a nearly empty-nester, spending time with her family doing just about anything outdoors and helping plan her daughter’s wedding.

Matt Kirchman is a seasoned project management leader with a wealth of experience in building, launching, and leading PMOs across various industries, including energy, finance, manufacturing, and technology. Currently, he serves as the Director of Digital Technology Programs and Vendor Management at Oshkosh Corporation, where he spearheads strategic execution and oversees enterprise portfolio and spend management for a global technology team within a Fortune 500 industrial technology and manufacturing company.

Known for his ability to balance structured approaches with adaptability, Matt excels at helping organizations navigate complex challenges while maintaining a strong focus on delivering results.

As a grateful husband and proud father of two children at university, he spends his spare time checking his couch cushions for spare change to contribute to college tuition. He also enjoys researching exactly what kind of dog he adopted—convinced that it may not be a dog, but actually a large rat.

Kim Mauthe is the Events, Promotion, and Social Media Coordinator for Mile of Music. Her journey with the festival began in 2013 as an intern during its inaugural year, and since then, she has helped bring 11 festivals and hundreds of original music showcases to life.

From managing social media and public relations to coordinating events and overseeing more than 500 festival volunteers, Kim plays a key role in shaping the festival’s vibrant, community-driven atmosphere. Her passion for fostering connections and creating meaningful experiences helps ensure that Mile of Music remains a festival centered on both artists and attendees.

Beyond the festival, Kim serves on the board for Appleton’s Community Early Learning Center and Create Wisconsin.

Andrew has been a part of Mile of Music since Mile 3, starting as an intern in design and growing into his current role as Partnerships & Sales Manager. Often known as the "merch guy", Andrew brings a passion for creating memorable brand experiences and providing a platform for rising talent. With nearly a decade of experience behind the scenes at Mile of Music, Andrew has developed a deep understanding of the intricate logistics, creative partnerships, and community collaborations that make the festival thrive. His ability to forge strong relationships with partners, sponsors, and attendees alike has helped shape Mile of Music into the beloved event it is today. Andrew’s love for music, design, and storytelling drives his work, ensuring each festival is more impactful than the last.

Jay Nakagawa has over 25 years’ experience as a successful product manager and is currently the Director of Competitive Intelligence for Dell Technologies. Jay is recognized for his ability to develop successful product strategies across different industries. Jay is also a keynote speaker at industry and analyst events around the globe.

Having held positions in sales, business development, marketing, and product management, domestically and abroad, he is well versed in insights across multi-disciplinary functions. Jay has worked for enterprise companies, high-growth, and startups in his career and is the former Chairman of the Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) association. He is a faculty member of the Academy of Competitive Intelligence (ACI) and regular guest speaker at the SMU Cox School of Business in Dallas.

Jay holds a B.S. in Information Systems from the University of Colorado Boulder and an MBA in International Business from Regis University. Not to mention a variety of bumps and bruises from the School of Hard Knocks.

Mary Iqbal is a hands-on agile consultant and instructor at Rebel Scrum and organizer for the Scrum Day conference in Madison, Wis. Mary is an experienced Agile Transformation Manager and has experience helping organizations scale Agile across multiple teams by defining products and helping teams self-organize into structures that work best for them.

Cameron Vetter is a technology professional, recognized for his exceptional contributions to the Microsoft ecosystem as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in Artificial Intelligence. His MVP award, which he has earned multiple times, highlights his commitment to empowering developers, IT professionals, and organizations through education, mentorship, and thought leadership.

With over two decades of experience in AI/ML, cloud architecture, and technology leadership, Cameron has established himself as a trusted expert in leveraging Microsoft technologies to drive innovation and solve complex business challenges. Cameron specializes in areas such as Azure, .NET, DevOps, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, helping businesses harness the power of technology to achieve their goals.

Cameron is the AI Practice Director at New Resources Consulting.  His experience spans a wide range of roles, from hands-on software engineering to strategic consulting and technical evangelism. He has worked with organizations of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, guiding them through cloud initiatives and building AI strategies. 

Amber Vanderburg is an award-winning international business leader, keynote speaker, and founder of The Pathwayz Group. She and her global team have worked around the world to create high-performance cultures through accountability, leadership, and collaboration. Amber has bestselling course on platforms like LinkedIn Learning and PluralSight, has been featured in publications like Forbes and HR.com, authored book Uniquely Better, and is known for her engaging, practical, and energetic approach to leadership development.

Andrew Tarvin is the CEO of Humor That Works, a leadership development company that teaches professionals how to use humor to achieve better business results. He began his corporate career at Procter & Gamble, where he managed million-dollar sales & IT projects for a $350 million business. Now, he partners with top organizations--including Microsoft, NASA, and the FBI--to unlock greater potential by bringing smart levity to the workplace.

A best-selling author, Andrew has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Inc, and FastCompany, and was named a ‘Visionary Under 40’ by the P&G Alumni Network. His talk on the skill of humor is one of the Top 50 Most Viewed TEDx talks on YouTube, with more than 15 million views (only half of which were from his mother). He loves chocolate and singing the Hokey Pokey with his 3-year-old daughter (because that's what it's all about).