Doug Keeley, CEO, The Mark of a Leader
Doug Keeley is a globally recognized communicator, a master storyteller, and a self-professed “leadership junkie”.
After graduating from music school with a Fine Arts degree as a jazz guitarist, Doug wisely decided to start a business rather than starve as a jazzer. His company, ICE, quickly became a pioneer in the communications industry, and he traveled the world working with Fortune 500 corporations. It became clear to him that leadership was the differentiator in business and that storytelling was being lost as strategic skill.
In 2004, he created The Mark of a Leader, designed to inspire new thinking in the workforce about leadership, engagement, and corporate culture. His goal was to create the world’s best library of leadership stories for the corporate market and the most unique way to use stories to drive engagement and performance. And that’s what The Mark of a Leader is today.
Doug has written a book of inspiring stories, authored many magazine features and columns, and been interviewed many times on radio and television. He is an inductee in the Meetings & Incentive Travel Hall of Fame.
When he is not on the road, he and his wife are usually at a rink watching his son play hockey. And he continually proves that he made a wise choice when he made music a hobby rather than a career.
David Strayer, Ph.D., University of Utah
David Strayer is a professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois@ Urbana-Champaign in 1989 and worked at GTE laboratories before joining the faculty at the University of Utah.
Dr. Strayer has published over 150 scholarly articles in this area and for over a decade has focused on understanding driver distraction stemming from voice-based interaction in the vehicle. Dr. Strayer is a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society, the Psychonomic Society, and is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Sciences. In 2010, he received the University of Utah Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award.
Debbie Weir, Chief Executive Officer, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
Debbie Weir joined the National Office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in 2002. A mom of two boys, Weir leads MADD’s efforts to provide supportive services to drunk driving, drugged driving and underage drinking victims, and building MADD’s capacity with a focus on saving lives and preventing injuries.
Prior to joining MADD, Weir worked for 15 years in the nonprofit hospice field, and began her hospice career as a medical social worker specializing in grief counseling. In 1995, Weir developed St. Paul Hospice, a nonprofit hospice program in Dallas, and was the Director of St. Paul Hospice from 1995 to 2002. During her tenure at St. Paul Hospice, Weir developed an expansive pediatric hospice program serving terminally ill children and their families in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
Weir joined MADD’s National Office as Vice President of Victim Services, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Victim Services department, which provides support and guidance to the field and to drunk driving victims. Under Weir’s leadership, MADD created and launched the 1-877-MADD-HELP victim support line, where specialists are available 24 hours a day to answer calls and provide emotional support.
In December 2005, Weir was promoted to Chief Operating Officer for MADD then to Chief Executive Officer in 2010. She provides strategic leadership in the areas of field operations, fundraising, volunteer and program development, as well as victim advocacy. Weir thoroughly believes that the victims MADD supports are the heart and soul of the organization. All efforts are focused on saving lives and serving victims.
Weir holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia, and a master’s degree in social work from Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia.
David Ward, Secretary General, Global NCAP
David Ward is the Secretary General of the Global New Car Assessment Programme, a UK charity which provides a platform for co-operation among NCAPs worldwide. He is also Senior Fellow at the Towards Zero Foundation which supports the safe system approach to road injury prevention, and is Chairman of the Stop the Crash Partnership which promotes use of crash avoidance technologies.
From 2001 to 2013 he was Director General of the FIA Foundation which over that period donated over $100 million to projects supporting safe and sustainable transport. From 2006 to 2015 he was Secretary of the Commission for Global Road Safety which played a leading role in the establishment of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020). From 2010 to 2012 he was the Chairman of the World Bank’s Global Road Safety Facility. From 2007 to 2009 he was President of eSafety Aware a public-private partnership promoting crash avoidance systems in the European Union. From 1996 to 2006 he was a Board Member of the European New Car Assessment Programme. From 1994 to 2001 he was Director General of the EU office of the FIA, the international federation of automobile clubs, where he led campaigns for improved vehicle safety and emission standards.
Prior to his involvement in road safety, David served as Chief Policy Adviser to the Leader of the Opposition, the late Rt. Hon. John Smith MP, and previously worked for the United Nations Children’s Fund, for a development NGO, and as a journalist. David is 61 years old, graduated from London University in 1979 with a BA in philosophy and is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is married to Emma MacLennan and they have two grown up children and lives in Kent in the United Kingdom.
