Keynote Speakers

Ross Bernstein
Author, The Champions Code
“The Champion’s Code: Building Relationships Through Life Lessons of Integrity and Accountability, from the Sports World to the Business World”
The best-selling author of nearly 50 sports books, Ross Bernstein is an award-winning, peak-performance, hall-of-fame business speaker who’s keynoted conferences for Fortune 500 companies on all seven continents. He has been featured on CNN, ESPN, Fox News, and “CBS This Morning,” as well as in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today.
Ross’ program is all about the DNA of what makes champions in sports so unique and how that relates to business. It’s based on a series of books he wrote, for which he was able to interview more than 1,000 professional athletes and coaches that all had one thing in common — they were all members of championship teams. In his research, he concluded that the same metrics and characteristics that were common among champions in sports were also common among peak performers in business. There are reasons certain teams win consistently whereas others don’t… and Ross explains why. It’s based largely on the “Good to Great” concept of how the best companies are able to separate themselves from the rest of the pack through servant leadership. They culture excellence by developing deeper relationships and providing extraordinary customer service. Ross weaves sports stories about the DNA of champions with stories of companies that he has worked with around the world—and shares best practice ideas on ways to overcome disruption, while ultimately building stronger relationships. At the core of his message is the simple fact that we like to do business with people who we trust, who we like, and who just “get it”—CHAMPIONS.

Tim Gard
CSP, CPAE: Funny Motivational Speaker
Laughter Becomes You!
Driving a school bus is a stressful and often-times thankless job. Don’t let the experience drive you or your team crazy. This insightful session will demonstrate how transportation leaders can use and instill humor in their department cultures to combat emotional and mental fatigue suffered by drivers, attendants and other student transportation staff. After all, finding happiness at work isn’t brain surgery.
Tim Gard, CSP, CPAE, is a top motivational speaker and corporate entertainer who is known for bringing tears of laughter to audiences worldwide. More than an insightful and funny guy, Tim teaches people to be more resilient and resourceful by using their own comedic style. As one of the world’s best options when seeking a motivational speaker, Tim also coaches businesses on how to enhance productivity through employee enthusiasm through appropriate workplace humor.
As an internationally recognized authority on stress reduction and conflict resolution, Tim’s easy- to-implement techniques demonstrate ways to diffuse, deal with, and ultimately avoid stressful encounters. Tim does not make light of serious issues; rather, he shines a light on previously unseen possibilities to overcome challenging situations.
Transportation Director Summit Keynote & Training

Ross Bernstein
“Wearing the C: Leadership Lessons from the Greatest Captains and Coaches in Sports”
As a transportation leader in your organization, you wear the “C” on your “jersey” each day, whether you realize it or not. And others are taking notice. They expect you to embody the characteristics of a captain in all you say and do. Selected participants of the Transportation Director Summit are in store for an interactive, humorous and captivating day of training that will help them embrace their inner captain and motivate them to lead the team to victory.
Conference Speakers
As of 3/25/20. Subject to change.
Assistant Director of Transportation
MSD of Wayne Transportation
Tim Ammon
Co-Founder & Partner
Decision Support Group
Kathy Anneken
Child Passenger Safety Technician
Easy Way Safety Systems
Benjamin Bernhart
Assistant Transportation Supervisor
Exeter Township School District in Pennsylvania
Bret Brooks
Instructor
Gray Ram Tactical, LLC
Marshall Casey
Bus Inspection & Maintenance Consultant
Denny Coughlin
Maintenance & Safety Consultant
Lori Desautels
Assistant Professor, College of Education
Butler University
Denise Donaldson
Editor & Publisher
Safe Ride News
Tiffany Ellefson
General Manager
DISA Global Solutions
Alan Fidler
Fleet Manager
MSD of Lawrence Township
Richard Gallagher
Director of Transportation
Bayshore Central School District in New York
Derek Graham
Transportation Consultant
Ryan Hahn
Transportation Consultant
Bruce Henderson
Professor, Department of Psychology
Western Carolina University
Deb Hileman
President and CEO
Institute for Crisis Management
Joshua Hinerman
Supervisor of Transportation
Robertson County Schools in Tennessee
Jason Johnson
Equipment Services Manager
Horseheads Central School District in New York
Alfred Karam
Director of Transportation
Shenendehowa Central School District in New York
Director of Transportation
Rochester Schools Corporation
Dave Meeuwsen
Director of Transportation
Zeeland Public Schools
Matt Miles
Director of Transportation
Metropolitan School District of
Lawrence Township in Indiana
LaShone Mosley
Director of Transportation
Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa
David Murphy
Child Passenger Safety Technician
HSM Transportation
Joseph O’Neil, M.D. (invited)
Riley Children’s Hospital
Janet Petrisin
Director of Transportation
Metropolitan School District of
Wayne Township in Indiana
Ewan Pritchard, Ph.D., PE
Consulting Engineer
Pritchard Engineering
Taryn Richard
School Principal
MSD Wayne Township in Indiana
Joe Scesny
Bus Inspection Consultant
Sue Shutrump
Supervisor of OT/PT
Trumbull County ESC in Ohio
GP Singh
Principal
ByteCurve LLC
Trey Stow
Shop Foreman
Fulton County Schools in Alpharetta, Georgia
Patricia Waites
Assistant Director of Transportation
Hamilton Southeast School Corp. in Indiana
Winship Wheatley
Transportation Consultant
Bobby Williams
Assistant Director, Fleet Operations
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Texas
Charles Vits
Child Passenger Safety Technician
SafeGuard/IMMI