Melanie grew up in Montana, surrounded by entrepreneurs. After moving to Pittsburgh in 2008, she started Bridger Financial Group, a highly successful financial planning firm for which she won national and local financial industry awards and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes’ Wealth Managers Black Book, and Pittsburgh Magazine. In 2017, Melanie wrote the Author’s Zone Award-winning book, From Start-up to Success: Navigating the Journey to Becoming (and Staying) a Successful Entrepreneur. She then launched the business, From StartUp to Success, through which she offers personalized business coaching, education, and support to help business owners clarify, simplify, and accelerate their path to success. Melanie also facilitates Pittsburgh Women’s Mastermind, a community of women entrepreneurs supporting one another through in-person and online forums. When she’s not helping people build thriving businesses, Melanie loves spending time with her husband, three boys, and three cats.
Melanie Colusci
Keynote Speaker
Founder & President of From Start-Up To Success
Break-Out Session Speakers
Kathy Sullivan
Consultant & Executive Coach
Kathy is a consultant and executive coach who supports clients to improve organizational performance; providing solutions at the individual, team and organizational levels. She provides strategic guidance, driving positive organizational change through people, processes and systems. Kathy facilitates the alignment of business strategy with talent, utilizing effective OD strategies, to improve overall performance.
Heidi Cressman
Director of Diversity and Inclusion
Heidi Lehnert-Cressman is a graduate of The University of Akron with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics (’87), Mechanical Engineering (’88), MBA (’18) She believes in lifelong learning. Prior to coming to the University, Heidi worked for the Will-Burt company in Orrville, Ohio, where she was granted two patents for mechanical mast designs developed for the military as a Design Engineer.
Jacinda Walker
Founder & Creative Director
Jacinda Walker, MFA is renowned for her work in design, diversity, research, and strategy. She is the founder and creative director of designExplorr, a social enterprise whose mission addresses the diversity gap within the design profession. Her research on Design Journeys: Strategies for Increasing Diversity in Design Disciplines has been hailed as breakthrough work. Ms. Walker’s future goals are to help scale diversity in design initiatives within education institutions, corporations, organizations, and museums.
Stacie Riffert
President & Certified Business Coach
Stacie is the president of Empowered Leadership and a certified business coach, trainer and speaker. She believes that you can be both a successful business leader AND have the time to show up for the people and things that matter most in your life. Stacie specializes in helping business leaders remove stressors, manufacture more time, empower their teams and generate more revenue, which enables them the time and energy to live their best life.