Speakers

Chris Carlson is the CEO and Nikki Dykgraaf is the president of Radiant Autism Center.

Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy
The Radiant Autism Center is committed to providing the best possible treatment for clients and their caregivers. According to both the US Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is considered to be the most effective, evidence-based treatment. Research shows significant improvements when a child engages in a minimum of 20 hours of active, evidence-based treatment per week.

ABA can help to improve communication and language skills, social skills, motor skills, daily living skills, play and leisure, and learning and academic skills. ABA therapies can also target harmful behaviors such as self-injury, noncompliance, self-stimulatory behavior and aggressive behavior.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 823 0445 4818
Passcode: 089262

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 823 0445 4818
Passcode: 089262

Ms. Baird celebrated her twentieth anniversary on the job in March 2020. She is Frisco's first Public Information Officer (PIO), and as the city grew, so did her role and responsibilities. The job evolved into director of communications and media relations. “I started out alone; today, ‘communications’ is a team of 10. In the beginning, I was charged with writing Focal Point, the city’s newsletter and press releases. Today, our team also broadcasts council and planning and zoning meetings; provides video production; secures sponsorships; produces special events and shepherds private event producers through our city’s permitting process; manages the city’s municipal volunteer program; manages multiple social media platforms and provides communication during crisis situations,” Ms. Baird explains.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 823 0445 4818
Passcode: 089262

LovePacs  (Frisco)	The mission of Lovepacs is to engage the community to feed children in need as an expression of Love. We provide food for students who are on the free-and-reduced lunch program when they are out of school for long holiday breaks.
Refresh Frisco (Frisco)	Our nonprofit serves low-income children in the Frisco community. To qualify for a Refresh Pack filled with hygiene products families must qualify for the free or reduced lunch program through the Frisco Independent School District. Currently over 8,000 students in Frisco ISD qualify for this program.
Treasured Vessels Foundation (North Texas)	Treasured Vessels Foundation is devoted to providing a long-term safe place for healing and growth to individuals impacted by trauma from exploitation in sex trafficking. We have a passion to help restore purpose and value to each person, while providing a holistic and comprehensive approach in therapy for a sustainable future.
Family Legacy (Int’l)	Family Legacy provides schooling for children in Zambia to live out their full potential, opening a world of opportunity that would otherwise be unreachable. Whether it be a grade-school child, a secondary student, or a young adult pursuing a vocational certificate or a college degree, Family Legacy provides a quality education at every level to maximize the future success of Zambian children.
Families of WWII Veterans	Families of World War II Veterans is dedicated to honoring the heroic legacies of World War II veterans and any persons involved in the WWII effort.

 

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 823 0445 4818
Passcode: 089262

Brett Grega is a feature writer for The Borgen Project, a nonprofit dedicated to the fight against global poverty. The Borgen Project works at the political level to gain congressional support for key legislation that aids thousands of struggling people around the world. Currently, Borgen is working to protect the health of women and newborns in developing countries by supporting the Reach Every Mother and Child Act as well as protecting key foreign aid funding through the International Affairs Budget among other legislative goals. Recently, Borgen also helped pass an additional $11 million in foreign aid tied to the COVID-19 relief package.

Grega began working at The Borgen Project in March of 2021. He was inspired to help Borgen in their poverty relief efforts after years of volunteering at a local homeless shelter during the holiday season. His current focus with Borgen is on writing high-quality articles that put a spotlight on recent developments in foreign aid and recovery efforts in order to help spur interest and engagement with global relief work.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 823 0445 4818
Passcode: 089262

 

Adam’s love affair with sports was born on December 13, 1975 at the age of 5.  At a family friend’s holiday party, he watched the Dallas Cowboys beat the hated rival Washington Redskins 31-10 and became hooked.   While he started in liquor sales out of the University of Texas at Austin and quickly moved to the wireless industry, he was always intrigued with all aspects of sports.  The games, the business.  Everything. 

In 2005, a random cold call into Host Communications led to a job as General Manager of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.  He has been here ever since including leading the acquisition of this legendary brand away from IMG to form Sports In Action (dba Highfield Marketing).  The company now has a vast array of media assets and marketing rights such as the UIL and the THSCA. Adam now serves as the company President and minority owner. He lives in Flower Mound with his wife when they are not shuttling to and from Fayetteville, Arkansas to visit their daughter who attends U of A or Austin to visit their son who attends UT.  WPS! and Hook’em Horns!

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 823 0445 4818
Passcode: 089262

Scott Johnson serves as CEO & Managing Partner of Wheelhouse Ventures. A serial entrepreneur, Johnson also serves as the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Wheelhouse portfolio company ZapStand, a medical technology start-up and CEO of portfolio company Wheelhouse Marinas.

Scott served on the City Council in Frisco, Texas (Pop. 205,000) from 2008-2017 having been elected city-wide in 2008 and re-elected in 2011 and again in 2014. As a lifetime conservative, Johnson has consistently fought for low taxes, private property rights, balanced budgets, and controlled growth.

Johnson is also on the front lines of Texas’ job growth as an Executive Board member of the Texas Business Leadership Council – a 100-CEO organization dedicated to Texas’ prosperity. Additionally, he served as an officer on the Board of Directors for the Texas Economic Development Corporation (TexasOne) having been appointed by Governor Rick Perry in 2006 and having served until 2015. Johnson has led missions on behalf of the Governor to Georgia, New York, and California meeting with CEO’s and site selectors and recruiting corporations to Texas. His efforts have contributed to the longest sustained period of job growth in Texas history. He is also a graduate of Leadership North Texas Class 7.

Johnson was named to the Dallas Business Journal’s “40 under 40” in both 2005 and 2010, and the Collin County Business Press “40 under 40” in 2012 recognizing him as one of the top 40 business professionals under the age of 40 in the area. Additionally, Johnson serves on the boards of numerous private companies and charitable foundations including the Collin College Foundation (as an officer of the Board). Scott Johnson is a 4-time IRONMAN triathlon finisher and is the first person known to have completed the IRONMAN World Championships in Hawaii with an artificial lumbar disc. His inspiring story of struggle and determination following four back surgeries caused NBC to profile Johnson during its yearly IRONMAN broadcast in 2010.

Johnson is an involved dad, including coaching the U11 Army football team and the U7 Tigers basketball team. He is a product of the Richardson ISD and is a graduate of Auburn University. Scott is proud of his Christian faith and deeply held beliefs and is an active member of Prestonwood Baptist Church where he has been a member for more than 30 years. He has been married to Julia for 17 years, with whom he has four children – Finley (14), Palmer (12), Creed (11), and Breck (7).

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 823 0445 4818
Passcode: 089262

Valerie Gotcher, MS, CCC-SLP – Founder & Executive Director, IBICA Quality Assurance Team Member
Valerie earned a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of North Texas in 2004. She has worked in a variety of acute care and outpatient hospital settings serving the needs of adults with acquired brain injury and other neurological disorders. Valerie is responsible for the incorporation of BIND in late 2011 and later the receipt of 501(c)(3) status in February 2012. She is the Executive Director of BIND and has served as a Board Member and past President of the Board of Directors for the International Brain Injury Clubhouse Alliance. Valerie is an active participant on the IBICA Quality Assurance Committee and the Plano Chamber of Commerce Small Business Committee. She has been married for 19 years, has 2 children and too many pets. She loves the mountains, reading and yoga.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 823 0445 4818
Passcode: 089262