In Pursuit

As Briar Cliff University’s 11th President, Dr. Keck (née Karstens) was appointed in 2018, and is a compassionate and proven leader with a background in higher education, law, and fundraising.An Iowa native and one of nine children, Dr. Keck graduated from Wartburg College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, after which she earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and then her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education from Drake University. A lifelong learner, Dr. Keck is proud to be a first-generation college student, as well as the first in her family to earn an advanced degree. Her PhD research explored the experiences of college and university presidents as fundraisers while leading private, nonprofit institutions of higher education.Dr. Keck began her career as an assistant prosecutor and associate attorney before establishing her own law firm. During this time, she also served on the Wartburg College Board of Regents and participated in their presidential search. It was during this process she determined she wanted to work in higher education in a leadership role.This new passion for higher education eventually led Dr. Keck to philanthropy roles at the University of Iowa Foundation as their Director of Planned Giving, and then at Indian Hills Community College as their Executive Director of Philanthropy and Alumni Relations.In addition to her success as a lawyer, business owner and university executive, Dr. Keck is also a lifelong believer in, and practitioner of, volunteerism. She currently serves in a board of director capacity for the following organizations:  Leadership Siouxland, UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center, Girls Inc. of Sioux City, and Iowa Sister States.Dr. Keck exemplifies Briar Cliff’s Catholic Franciscan values, demonstrating service and openness to all, both personally and professionally. She has received accolades for her collaborative leadership style, an approach she has practiced since her days in the courtroom, fostering strong relationships through collaboration. Dr. Keck and her husband Jim reside in Sioux City. Additionally, Dr. Keck’s two adult children, Clara and Grant, reside in the Des Moines metro area. 

Colonel Bruce Hurd is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and command pilot, logging thousands of flight hours in KC-10 and KC-135 air refueling tankers. He completed a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding 30-year military career in 2007 and was honored to serve as squadron and group commander of two award-winning flying units, among many assignments.In 2019, he wrote and published his memoir, "Aim Point: An Air Force Pilot's Lessons for Navigating Life," which instantly became an Amazon #1 bestseller. Recognizing a huge unmet need to provide direct assistance to the 80% of adults who rightfully feel they have a great book within them, he founded Aim Point LLC in 2020.His company is dedicated to helping veterans and other first-time authors write, edit, and publish their books through a series of writing retreats and individualized author coaching. Graduates of his program have written international #1 bestsellers and earned numerous recognitions, including being named as #1 new release in Air Force biographies.Recognizing the importance of having a forward-looking vision and a positive self-image, Bruce shares the important people and experiences throughout his life that helped shape his perception of himself and contributed to his many successes.

Dallas Dean Clark (born June 12, 1979) is a former American football tight end who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Iowa, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was recognized as the top college tight end in the nation. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft and he was a member of their Super Bowl XLI championship team against the Chicago Bears. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Baltimore Ravens.Clark attended the University of Iowa, where he played for the Iowa Hawkeyes football team from 1999 to 2002. He did not see action during the 1999 season, but he finally saw the field in 2000. He played on special teams and made six tackles during the season as a linebacker. Prior to the 2001 season, the Iowa coaching staff decided to move Clark to the tight end position.Clark was the 2002 recipient of the John Mackey Award which is presented to the most outstanding tight end in college football, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and a unanimous first-team All-American.[3] He won the Kenny Yana Award at the end of the 2002 season as well, as he helped lead Iowa to the Big Ten title and an 11-2 record. Although he had one more year of eligibility remaining, Clark decided to enter the 2003 NFL Draft. He left Iowa with 1,281 career receiving yards in just two years at the tight end position.Clark was chosen in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts with the 24th pick. When drafted, the Colts called Clark a "perfect fit" for their system, eventually replacing Marcus Pollard and Ken Dilger at the position.[6] He started 10 games as a rookie and had 340 receiving yards before suffering a broken leg against the New England Patriots. He started 15 games in 2004 and had 423 yards receiving with five touchdown receptions.

Martin Strel, a legendary Guinness record marathon swimmer, has always been looking for the challenges of impossible and the Amazon was the recent one. On April 7th, 2007 Martin Strel completed his epic Amazon river swim all the way from Atalaya (Peru) to the Atlantic Ocean at Belém (Brazil). He was struggling the river for 66 days for more than 10 hours a day and totally swam 5268 kms or 3274 miles. He became a wordwide hero.Martin was born in Slovenia. Slovenia is a small Central European country located south of Austria. He taught himself to swim when he was 6, in a nearby stream, and became a professional marathon swimmer in 1978. Earlier in his life, he was a successful guitar player. He still plays a guitar nowadays a little.Martin has been swimming ultra-marathons and raising an important awareness of clean waters for many years. He has dedicated several swims to the protection of environmental resources.Many people still cannot believe what he has done so far, so that’s why they sometimes describe him as “Daredevil”, “Fishman”, “Human Fish” or even “The Craziest Man in the World”.Of his many achievements, the greatest of these are the following:1997: Africa - Europe, Mediterranean Sea between Tunisia and Italy, 78 kms29 hrs, 36 min, 57 s - Martin became the first to cross the sea from Africa to Europe. 7 swimmers have attempted this before, all failed. Martin swam without a wetsuit under FINA (International Swimming Federation) supervision with 7 international judges.2000: Europe (10 countries) - Danube River, 3004 kms58 days - a new world long-distance record. Martin goes for the first time in the Guinness Book of Records. He was the first to swim the whole Danube from source to estuary.He decided to make a difference for entering into a new millennium era.2001: Europe – Danube River, 504.5 kms Non Stop84 hrs, 10 min – a new world record in non-stop swimming achieved on the Danube in July 2001. Martin first beat the record by Argentinean Ricardo Hoffman (481,5km, 84hrs 37min), then proceeded to swim on and finishing at 504.5 km, after 84 hrs 10 min.2002: USA (10 states) - Mississippi River, 3797 kms68 days - Martin swam the entire length of the Mississippi in the USA. The project was entitled Eye to Eye. Martin was the first to swim the river from source to estuary and he surpassed his Danube record and entered in the Guinness Book of Records again. He also dedicated his great sporting achievement, covered by all of the world´s major media, to peace, friendship and clean waters. He particularly reached out to the American public by stating that he lays his historic swim on the altar of remembrance of the victims of September 11.2007: Peru, Brazil - Amazon River, 5268 kms66 days: Most of the people could not believed it until it happened. The Amazon is known as largest, longest and the most dangerous river in the world. Martin decided to risk his life and made a history. For him this was a story of “Achieving the Impossible”. Martin wanted to show the world that people can achieve their dreams and goals with hard work and persistence. He also promoted the importance of preservation of the Rain forest, the biggest oxygen producer on the planet. A new Guinness Record has been broken again. The whole world was following this amazing historical event and American filmmakers produced an award winning (Sundance 2009) feature-length documentary called Big River Man which is distributed by Discovery Channel in North America. The book: The man who swam the Amazon has been released in many countries worldwidee

Kevin Blake Weldon is a Nashville Country Music Recording artist, professional Mindset coach and 30 year veteran in the network marketing industry. As a recording artist, Kevin has 8 albums to his credit, 7 music videos, 2 top 40 hits and a #1 in Europe. To date His music videos have been viewed over 30 million times and his latest album, "Jeans", was released this summer.As a professional mindset coach, Kevin is certified with the Proctor Gallagher Institute and is a graduate of the prestigious PGI Matrixx program. Actively studying advanced mindset under Bob Proctor in Bob's Inner Circle, Kevin has completed the Lead The Field program and is certified in the Thinking Into Results program as well. Kevin is also the co-founder of Sea Clearly Now, a professional mindset consulting business with his fiancee, Natalie Bouchard, former #3 in the world in women's fitness bodybuilding.In his Network Marketing career Kevin has risen to the top 3 income earners with 3 different companies and the #1 earner with his last company. With a true servant leader's heart, Kevin has built personal downlines of over 550,000 while hosting in excess of 1000 training calls, zoom webinars and promotional videos. He was heavily involved in field development and served on several advisory boards and business development committees.Kevin is a proud father of 2 amazing daughters who served 4 years in the USMC and when not on the road, spends his time between his hometown in east Texas, Nashville and Airdrie, Alberta.

In Episode 11, we talk with Tori Ganahl, a truly inspiring and trailblazing leader for a company called The She Factor.Growing up, I was surrounded by powerful women who were thought-leaders, entrepreneurs and trail-blazers. One specifically was my mom, Heidi Ganahl – founder of Camp Bow Wow, the world’s largest pet-care franchise.But when it came time to go off on my own, I was determined to pave my own path. During my time at the University of Oregon, I did everything I could to grow, learn and lead. I dove deep into my education, taking extra classes and joining clubs to further my knowledge. I led the largest sorority on campus as President, which then led me to become Panhellenic President and a leader of the FSL community. But something was missing.As everyone around me was deciding where they would move or what job they would take, I was discouraged. Even after 45 informational interviews, I was feeling like I would never find the perfect match. A week later, I got a call from a recruiter and solidified a position in Portland, OR in IT staffing. After a year with the company, even though I was on the path to success, I was still feeling like there was something more for me – I was craving passion and purpose.Enter SHEFACTOR™ – a brand my mom and I built together that inspires young women to live life with greater authenticity, empowerment, and joy. And it’s changed everything for me – I’ve learned so much about myself and pushed myself harder than I knew possible. I’ve identified what makes me tick, what I value, and how to be the best version of myself. But how could my journey have been different if I had a roadmap to help me realize my full potential sooner?There’s more pressure than ever for young women to succeed in their career, but no focus on a holistic approach to balancing everything in their lives, to feeling fulfilled. By giving women the tools, mentorship, community, and empowerment to succeed, SHEFACTOR™ is helping women become confident, successful leaders of their lives and create the life they love – their “Journey to She”.

Timothy O’Donnell is one of the world’s most successful and experienced American long-course triathletes. As a professional, he has earned 50+ podium finishes including over 22 wins at major events throughout the world.Along with the ITU Long Distance World Champion (2009) title, his other wins include nine Ironman 70.3 victories, two IRONMAN wins, and six Armed Forces National Championships.At the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, Timothy has finished 3rd (2015), 5th (2013), 6th (2016), 8th (2012) and earned the top American spot in 2013 & 2015. In 2013, he tied the existing American IRONMAN record with an 8:01:32 victory at IRONMAN Brazil. In 2015 at IRONMAN Brazil, he completed his fastest IRONMAN to date at 7:55:56. He was the IRONMAN 70.3 US Pro Champion in 2012 and the IRONMAN US Pro Champion in 2011.

Jon McGraw co-founded Vision Pursue (VP) after its principles radically shifted his mindset, performance, and overall life experience.He's since guided and assisted in the successful application of these principles inside hundreds of corporate teams and sports franchises. He's a sought after keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and Performance Mindset trainer.Before VP, Jon played 10 years in the NFL. plus completed business management and entrepreneurship programs at Harvard Business School and Wharton Business School.

Scott Duffy began his career working for best-selling author and speaker, Tony Robbins, and went on to work for several small businesses that became big media brands like CBS Sportsline, NBC Internet, and FOXSports.com. Next, he founded Smart Charter, an online booking tool for private aviation, which was acquired by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.Today, Scott’s mission is to help change the world through entrepreneurship. He leads the conversations that spark new ideas, innovations, that help entrepreneurs achieve exponential growth. He is the Host of “What Now? with Scott Duffy”, has been listed as a “Top 10 Speaker” by Entrepreneur, spoken at the NYSE and provided commentary in numerous media outlets including CNBC, FOX News, and CBS Radio. He is a 2x best-selling author on entrepreneurship. His latest book, “Breakthrough” is published by Entrepreneur Magazine/Press.Connect with Scott online at www.scottduffy.com or via Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn @scottduffymedia.

Kyle Lowder is a 2 time Emmy nominated actor and producer. He received his first Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Brady Black on NBC’s DAYS OF OUR LIVES, on which he had a 6 year run. Following DAYS OF OUR LIVES he jumped networks to CBS where he spent another 6 years portraying Rick Forrester on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.Over the next few years he would tour Italy as a recording artist promoting his self titled debut album, and play the role of Stacee Jaxx in the original Las Vegas company of Broadway’s Rock of Ages. He is the executive producer and star of both seasons of Amazon’s LADIES OF THE LAKE, which garnered him his second Emmy nomination for Best Digital Drama.His most recent roles have come in the popular Christmas movie, A MERMAID FOR CHRISTMAS, and the upcoming, THE RAVINE, where he stars alongside Eric Dane, Teri Polo, Leslie Uggams and Peter Facinelli.

Cynthia Kersey is the founder and CEO of the Unstoppable Foundation whose focus is to ensure that every child on the planet has access to the life-long gift of education.She is a respected leader in the transformational industry, a best-selling author of two books, “Unstoppable” and “Unstoppable Women” and an international speaker.Cynthia knows first hand that giving is not only good for business, it’s good for the soul. She inspires people to give and provides business professionals with a practical action plan on how they can expand their business, create customer evangelists and become completely invigorated about their life and business by integrating generosity as a fundamental part of their business model.Cynthia embodies her message and has integrated giving and contribution into her life and business for well over two decades. The Unstoppable Foundation has provided a daily education to over 40,000 children, and provides access to life-saving services such as clean water, health care and nutritious food through organic gardens to over 78,000 men, women and children in Kenya alone!

Referred to as the "Ambassador of Country Music," Shawn Parr has spent 20 plus years on the Los Angeles country music scene. His involvement in country music spans from his current radio shows to television and the Academy of country music.Parr has a passion and a long-term involvement with country music. He is heavily involved with the Academy of Country Music and hosted the Academy's Bash in Irvine, California in 2006.Shawn Parr is a Southern Californian native. He grew up in Norwalk, California and attended John Glenn High School, spending a lot of his youth in the "O.C." (Orange County).He began his career at local dance venues and launched into his current career by becoming the warm-up personality for the TV show "Hot Country Nights." As the Announcer for the Academy of Country Music Awards, KZLA brought him on board at the helm of the KZLA Morning Show and later to the mid-day shift.His career also includes acting with roles in such films as "Lucky You" and "Waist Deep." Parr is also the voice of many awards shows such as the Golden Globes, the California Speedway, numerous commercials voice-overs, and the American Music Awards for the 16th year in a row.

Keoni Waxman is an American filmmaker who was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is known for writing, directing and producing action films, dark thrillers and indie dramas which he shoots all over the world for his company ActionHouse Pictures. Keoni currently resides with his family in Santa Monica, California.Keoni went to film school at the University of Colorado, Boulder where he discovered his passion for making movies through his various peers and professors and by working his way up in the camera department where he eventually ended up being a camera operator. Shooting films for others turned into writing and directing films for himself and eventually Keoni wrote and directed his first feature film before even graduating.Since then Keoni has worked all over the world making movies and television. His most recent film is "The Ravine", shot in New Orleans and based on the novel by Robert Pascuzzi. Produced by Hope Messenger Media (Robert & Kelly Pascuzzi) the film is a message of redemption and forgiveness and continues to push new boundaries of creative vision.

Les Norman is a syndicated sports radio host, TV analyst, author and motivational speaker. Norman also used to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals during the 95’ & 96’ seasons as an outfielder and pursued baseball heavily from a young age.Rising from the ashes of poverty and childhood abuse, Les defeated the odds and rose to prominence by earning a Junior Olympic Gold Medal and playing Major League Baseball.Along with his syndicated sports radio show, “Breakin’ the Norm”, heard weekly, his high energy presentations inspire others to break through, push forward and become not just what they want to be, but what they never imagined they could be!

Producer – Phillip B. Goldfine is a film, television and broadway producer. He won the Academy Award as executive producer in 2014 for best documentary (Short Subject) for the film The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life and the Emmy in 2011 for writing for a variety show for El Vacilon.He began his career as a development and production executive at companies including FBC (Fox Broadcasting Corp), New Line Cinema and Trimark Pictures. Goldfine’s credits include an eclectic library of over 100 other motion pictures.As a development executive he orchestrated such motion pictures as The Mask, and Jim Carrey’s first dramatic role, Doing Time on Maple Drive. As a producer he has worked with such stars as Wesley Snipes, Jack Black, Hilary Swank, Shirley MacLaine, Denise Richards, Mark Ruffalo and many others. Goldfine has produced films for all the major studios including MGM, Universal Studios, Paramount, Sony, Disney, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate Films.Mr. Goldfine has also produced for many of the major networks and streaming sites including Netflix, A&E, CBS, Reelz Channel, National Geographic and the SyFy Channel.This year Mr. Goldfine has The Hard Way premiering on Netflix March 5, 2019 and a Christmas film for Universal Studios. In addition, he debuts his first Broadway Play TOOTSIE THE MUSICAL which opens April 23, 2019 at the Marquis Theatre.In his spare time Phil Goldfine’s latest endeavor is to break the world record in the 50 Meter Men’s Freestyle swimming event and become the only human being to have ever won an Oscar, an Emmy and a swimming world record.

Whitney Johnson is the CEO of WLJ Advisors and one of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world as named by Thinkers50. She is an expert on helping high-growth organizations develop high-growth individuals.Whitney is also an award-winning author, world-class keynote speaker, frequent lecturer for Harvard Business School's Corporate Learning and an executive coach and advisor to CEOs.An innovation and disruption theorist, she is the author of the bestselling Build an “A” Team: Play To Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve, and the critically-acclaimed Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work.As a former award-winning Wall Street stock analyst, Whitney understands momentum and growth. She was an Institutional Investor–ranked equity research analyst for eight consecutive years and was rated by StarMine as a superior stock picker.

Kevin Blake Weldon is a Nashville Country Music Recording artist, professional Mindset coach and 30 year veteran in the network marketing industry. As a recording artist, Kevin has 8 albums to his credit, 7 music videos, 2 top 40 hits and a #1 in Europe. To date His music videos have been viewed over 30 million times and his latest album, "Jeans", was released this summer. As a professional mindset coach, Kevin is certified with the Proctor Gallagher Institute and is a graduate of the prestigious PGI Matrixx program. Actively studying advanced mindset under Bob Proctor in Bob's Inner Circle, Kevin has completed the Lead The Field program and is certified in the Thinking Into Results program as well. Kevin is also the co-founder of Sea Clearly Now, a professional mindset consulting business with his fiancee, Natalie Bouchard,  former #3 in the world in women's fitness bodybuilding. In his Network Marketing career Kevin has risen to the top 3 income earners with 3 different companies and the #1 earner with his last company. With a true servant leader's heart, Kevin has built personal downlines of over 550,000 while hosting in excess of 1000 training calls, zoom webinars and promotional videos. He was heavily involved in field development and served on several advisory boards and business development committees.Kevin is a proud father of 2 amazing daughters who served 4 years in the USMC and when not on the road, spends his time between his hometown in east Texas, Nashville and Airdrie, Alberta. 

Growing up, I was surrounded by powerful women who were thought-leaders, entrepreneurs and trail-blazers. One specifically was my mom, Heidi Ganahl – founder of Camp Bow Wow, the world’s largest pet-care franchise.But when it came time to go off on my own, I was determined to pave my own path. During my time at the University of Oregon, I did everything I could to grow, learn and lead. I dove deep into my education, taking extra classes and joining clubs to further my knowledge. I led the largest sorority on campus as President, which then led me to become Panhellenic President and a leader of the FSL community. But something was missing.As everyone around me was deciding where they would move or what job they would take, I was discouraged. Even after 45 informational interviews, I was feeling like I would never find the perfect match. A week later, I got a call from a recruiter and solidified a position in Portland, OR in IT staffing. After a year with the company, even though I was on the path to success, I was still feeling like there was something more for me – I was craving passion and purpose.Enter SHEFACTOR™ – a brand my mom and I built together that inspires young women to live life with greater authenticity, empowerment, and joy. And it’s changed everything for me – I’ve learned so much about myself and pushed myself harder than I knew possible. I’ve identified what makes me tick, what I value, and how to be the best version of myself. But how could my journey have been different if I had a roadmap to help me realize my full potential sooner?There’s more pressure than ever for young women to succeed in their career, but no focus on a holistic approach to balancing everything in their lives, to feeling fulfilled. By giving women the tools, mentorship, community, and empowerment to succeed, SHEFACTOR™ is helping women become confident, successful leaders of their lives and create the life they love – their “Journey to She”. 

Timothy O’Donnell is one of the world’s most successful and experienced American long-course triathletes. As a professional, he has earned 50+ podium finishes including over 22 wins at major events throughout the world. Along with the ITU Long Distance World Champion (2009) title, his other wins include nine Ironman 70.3 victories, two IRONMAN wins, and six Armed Forces National Championships. At the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, Timothy has finished 3rd (2015), 5th (2013), 6th (2016), 8th (2012) and earned the top American spot in 2013 & 2015. In 2013, he tied the existing American IRONMAN record with an 8:01:32 victory at IRONMAN Brazil. In 2015 at IRONMAN Brazil, he completed his fastest IRONMAN to date at 7:55:56. He was the IRONMAN 70.3 US Pro Champion in 2012 and the IRONMAN US Pro Champion in 2011. 

Jon McGraw co-founded Vision Pursue (VP) after its principles radically shifted his mindset, performance, and overall life experience.He's since guided and assisted in the successful application of these principles inside hundreds of corporate teams and sports franchises. He's a sought after keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and Performance Mindset trainer.Before VP, Jon played 10 years in the NFL. plus completed business management and entrepreneurship programs at Harvard Business School and Wharton Business School.