The Presenters

Jamie Crouse

Keynote Speaker

Jamie is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Plexus Corp. in Neenah, Wisconsin. She is responsible for leading the strategic vision of the Human Resources team, including the execution of our talent management strategy.

Jamie holds a Bachelor's degree in Human Resources from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland College Park.

Breakout Session 1

9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.

Learning is More Than a Mindset

Kurt Wismer, Christy Scott, Lynn Fischer, & Karen Hoffman

Lake Country Ballroom - North

Today’s learners are multi-dimensional and require more than just the right mindset to be successful. As educators, we must allow learners to demonstrate what they know and can do. Join us to learn strategies and share our passion for empowering students to acquire critical skills and knowledge, practice new behaviors, and adopt new mindsets across four distinct dimensions of the entrepreneurial journey:

Discovery: Adopting a spirit of curiosity, imagination, optimism, and opportunity-seeking.
Design: Approaching challenges as inherently solvable through a process of complex thinking, creative problem-solving, and purposeful design.
Development: Actively experimenting, tinkering, testing, iterating, team-building, and project-managing.
Delivery: Effectively communicating, packaging, and telling compelling stories of big ideas.

Our students use inquiry-based learning strategies and creativity to stretch their thinking by:

applying project and problem-based learning strategies to develop products, services, and apps for others.
establishing and refining their social-emotional learning skills by presenting, managing time, and communicating with others.
using design thinking and methods for designing solutions, solving problems, and managing projects.
applying collaborative and peer learning strategies to accomplish tasks and projects with peers.

Kurt Wismer

Horace Mann High School

Kurt Wismer teaches Business, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and IT for the North Fond du Lac School District. In addition, he is a Google for Education Certified Innovator and Trainer, a Microsoft Certified Innovative Educator, and an INCubatorEdu Master Teacher and trainer. Kurt uses technology throughout his curriculum to create durable learning experiences that are both rigorous and transformative to prepare his students for success in an ever-changing world. In 2014, Kurt was honored as the Wisconsin K-12 Outstanding Business Education Teacher, and in 2022 as the Eastern Wisconsin Excellence in Education winner. Kurt has a master’s degree in Career and Technical Education from UW-Stout. Learn more about Kurt at www.mrwismer.com.

Christy Scott

Christy Scott stands at the helm as team leader, priority setter, obstacle remover, and chief problem solver at Uncharted Learning. Having been at Uncharted Learning since its inception, she has acquired a clear and focused vision behind Uncharted Learning’s mission to change the face of entrepreneurial education; Christy’s foresight energizes our organization. Christy started as a coach and subject matter expert for our first INCubatoredu program at Barrington (Illinois) High School. Seeing students passionate about creating their businesses inspired her to join Uncharted Learning’s purpose of bringing real entrepreneurship experiences to classrooms across the country. Her knack for elevating the conversation and connecting the dots has become the driving force behind Uncharted Learning’s success.

Where is That Lesson?

Ross Toellner

Lake Country Ballroom - Central

Ross Toellner has taught at Bay Port High School for 10 years and in that time his has forgotten more cool lessons and units than he has used. In this informal breakout session he will share some of the different resource groups that are free and difficult to find. He wants you to feel free to come in with different lessons and resources and to feel the freedom to ask for resources and lessons from the group. Come to gain something new or remember something old.

Ross Toellner

Bay Port High School

Ross Toellner is a High School Business and Marketing teacher at Bay Port High School in Green Bay. He has taught for 10 years and is currently the Wisconsin DECA Center Treasurer, Wisconsin FBLA Tabulation Coordinator, and WMEA President.

Ross has two wonderful children at home and the best wife in the world (and no she did not write this for him). In his free time he is also the Technical Director of the Fall Play and Spring Musical, he loves the Milwaukee Brewers and enjoys spending time at his parents home Up Nort’.

Breakout Session 2

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Regional Career Pathways:

Ensuring College, Career, & Community Ready Graduates

Beth Kaminski

Lake Country Ballroom - North

The Regional Career Pathways approach is a statewide effort to deliver high-quality career pathways in high schools that reflect the needs and vision of a regional collaborative group which includes employers, education representatives, and economic and workforce development representatives. Learn about how the intentional use of Regional Career Pathways can support the Academic and Career Planning process for students, leading naturally to a career in their chosen industry of study.

Through a combination of:

a series of connected career and technical education courses
industry-recognized certifications
work-based learning experiences
dual enrollment opportunities
career and technical student organization activities
find out how students can be supported in moving seamlessly from high school into a postsecondary option for a specific career area.

Beth Kaminski

After spending 21 years in the K-12 education system at the high school level as a teacher, instructional coach, associate principal, and principal, Beth was named the State Director for Regional Career Pathways for Pathways Wisconsin in July of 2022.

As a high school principal for 11 years in southeastern Wisconsin, Beth was a strong advocate for Academic and Career Planning work and Regional Career Pathways, which greatly benefitted the educational experiences of the students with whom she worked. In her new statewide role, working alongside the state Regional Career Pathways Coordinators, Beth is excited to partner with K-12 districts across the state, along with the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Workforce Development, Higher Education Institutions, state and regional Economic Development Organizations, and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce to ensure that all students are able to find fulfilling employment in high-skill, in-demand sectors and that Wisconsin employers have an available talent pool to hire from, both now and in the future. Through accountability, communication, and collaboration, Beth is excited to engage in this work throughout the state to elevate the work of RCP for the benefit of all K-12 students and systems, as well as employers.

There's an App for That!

Jennifer Gipp

Lake Country Ballroom - Central

Have you ever wanted to create your own app? Looking for a way to bring programming into your curriculum? Attend this session to learn about a multi-platform program that you can use to create apps. Bring your device and start programming!

Jennifer Gipp

DC Everest Senior High School

Jennifer Gipp is currently teaching Business and IT classes at the DC Everest Senior High School in Wisconsin. She teaches Business Management, Computer Hardware, Microsoft Essentials and a variety of programming classes including App Design, Game Design, Web Design, and AP Computer Science Principles. In addition to teaching, Jennifer has dabbled in the business world, holding a variety of positions. She is an author, and has written the “Spotlight On” textbook series for middle school for Cengage Learning. She has also started and managed a children’s photography studio, with locations in three cities. She recently sold the business, and is now working as a mortgage loan officer. Jennifer is the recipient of the 2008 WBEA Outstanding Secondary Business Educator Award, the 2009 NCBEA Secondary Business Teacher Distinguished Service Award, the 2010 NBEA Middle School Teacher of the Year Award, and the 2013 Wisconsin Russ Hosler Award for her contributions to Business Education. She is married with two college-aged children, Hunter and Olivia.

Insight and Feedback on the Culture Surrounding Academic and Career Planning

Debbie Stanislawski & Urs Haltinner

Lake Country Ballroom - South

Attend this session to advance the conversation on where you and your school are relative to the degree that ACP is surfacing within the curriculum, teaching, student learning, career guidance, and collaboration across academic and career programs. Preliminary findings will be shared on prior research with the bulk of the time being spent on dialogue that will contribute to the business and marketing perspective on ACP.

Debbie Stanislawski

UW - Stout

Debbie Stanislawski is the program director for B.S. Marketing and Business Education at UW - Stout.

Urs Haltinner

UW - Stout

Teaching Interests: Remaining passionate about the social, political and economic environment undergirding the US workforce development system (Career and Technical Education and emerging life-work paradigms) defines me as a Career and Technical (CTE) Educator. Within CTE, preparing teachers and leaders to advance their practice keeps me pushing on the breadth and depth of its technical content. This requires honoring and valuing my business and industry colleagues and their insights. As a teacher educator, I push myself to prepare teacher-candidates that can thrive in emergent teaching, leading and learning paradigms.

Vendor Mini Session

1:00 - 2:00

Listen to the conference vendors present on the awesome products and services offered by their company!

Breakout Session 3

2:10 - 3:10

Standards/Target Based Grading Behavior Reporting

Jason Holter

Lake Country Ballroom - North

Standards based or target based grading is a concept that many Wisconsin schools are currently digging into. While we might be in different places on the journey, there are so many things that we can learn from each other to help the process become a little more comfortable and familiar. My school, West Salem, will be piloting target based grading in the Fall of 2023 and I want to share the experiences that we’ve had building out outcomes in preparation for that day. One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced is the need for a Behavior Report Card for our students. If we take the behaviors out of academic grades, how do we assess students on our behaviors? The session will be about the process that my school has taken to remove behaviors from academic grades while still holding students accountable for their actions.

Jason Holter

West Salem High School

Jason Holter is in his 11th year as a Business and Marketing teacher and DECA advisor in the West Salem School District. A UW-Stout graduate, Holter spent the first 9 years of his career in the business world before transitioning into the classroom in 2008. Since becoming a teacher he has served Wisconsin DECA and Marketing Education in a variety of roles including DECA Center President (2014-2015, 2017-2018), WMEA President (2018), and is currently serving as Wisconsin DECA Board President (2022-2023). In the classroom, Jason currently teaches several technical college transcripted courses, including Accounting, Finance, and Marketing and also serves on West Salem High School’s Behavior Report Card committee.

Heat Press Hot Tips Updated!

Heidi Warren

Lake Country Ballroom - Central

Learn tried and true ways to operate a heat press apparel business within your marketing classes, school store, and/or DECA program. With a heat press available for demonstration, you will see how easy it is to make full-color, customized apparel in less than a minute. You will walk away with information on equipment & operation, pricing, vendors, and promotional strategies to help you make it your own. Starting small or diving all-in, this session will have everything you need!

Heidi Warren

Chippewa Falls High School

Heidi is a marketing teacher at Chippewa Falls and has been in education for 13 years. She runs the DECA program and a successful school store with a production aspect that makes customized apparel for the store, clubs, and athletics. She lives in Eau Claire, WI with her husband and two chocolate labs.

FBLA New Advisers - WRU@?

Stephanie Jansen & Jan Imhoff

Lake Country Ballroom - South

Future Business Leaders of America is an amazing organization that provides so many opportunities for students. As a new or potential new adviser, we understand it might be a bit overwhelming. In this session, we will share resources that will help you guide and build your FBLA chapter. Join us and bring your questions, too!

Stephanie Jansen

Muskego High School

Stephanie Jansen is a Business, Marketing, & Information Technology teacher at Muskego High School. She serves as the Muskego FBLA Adviser and oversees the Warrior’s Warehouse, a successful school-based enterprise. She also serves as the WI FBLA Outreach Specialist. There is never a dull moment in her busy schedule and she loves what she does each day - providing educational experiences for students to help them learn, grow, and succeed in the classroom, through FBLA, and beyond! Stephanie earned her bachelor's degree from UW-Whitewater in Education and her master's degree from UW-Milwaukee is Secondary School Counseling. Stephanie is also a former recipient of the Russell J. Hosler award. During her "free time" Stephanie loves to travel and play tennis and also cherishes time with her family, especially her grands!

Jan Imhoff

Portage High School

Jan Imhoff is a Business & Information Technology (B&IT) Teacher, a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Adviser, and a member of the FBLA National Board of Directors. She has taught B&IT and advised FBLA for over 25 years. She has seen many changes over the years.

As the Portage FBLA Adviser, Jan has had over 150 National qualifiers, 9 National Champions, and 14 other Top Ten finishes at Nationals. This year Jan is the adviser to the WI FBLA State President, her 12th State Officer.

Jan is a past winner of the WI Educators for Business & IT (WEBIT) Outstanding Early Educator Award, the WEBIT K-12 Outstanding Educator Award, and WEBIT’s Russell J Hosler Award for contributions to Business & IT Education. She was also named WI FBLA Adviser of the Year in 2009. Most recently in 2018, Jan was 1 of 100 teachers awarded the WI Herb Kohl Teacher Fellowship Award.

In her free time, Jan likes to travel, spend time with family and friends, and is a fan of the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Cubs, Food Network, and crime TV shows like NCIS and Chicago PD.

Breakout Session 4

3:30 - 4:30

DECA Updates

Ashley Tessmer

Lake Country Ballroom - North

DECA is a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in the areas of marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in order to be college and career ready. DECA offers a comprehensive learning program that integrates into the classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to businesses, and promotes competition. Ultimately, when implemented, this leads to academically prepared, community-oriented, professionally responsible, experienced leaders. In this session, we will share updates and resources to help guide you in building your DECA chapter this school year.

Ashley Tessmer

Ashley Tessmer is a Business and Marketing teacher at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School. Ashley earned a Bachelor's degree from UW-Stout in 2006, majoring in Marketing and Business Education. Ashley also holds two Master's Degrees: Education from UW-Stout in 2010 and Educational Administration from UW-Superior in 2021. Ashley started her career in Wisconsin Rapids in 2007 and has since taught a wide range of classes including Introduction to Marketing and Business, Marketing Principles, Business Communications, Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Starting A Small Business, and Marketing and Business Work Experience Supervision. In addition to teaching various Marketing and Business courses, Ashley also serves as a DECA Advisor to over 225 students, oversees The Wolf Den (school store), is Prom Advisor, and is on a variety of building leadership committees. Ashley is also part of the Wisconsin DECA Leadership team serving as the Facilities Director for the State Career Development Conference. Additionally, Ashley is currently the President-Elect for the DECA Board. In 2018, she was recognized as a DECA Red Apple Advisor. In March 2020, Ashley was also awarded DECA's Outstanding Chapter Advisor of the Year. Finally, during the 2018-2019 school year, Ashley was recognized as a Herb Kohl Teacher Fellow.

FBLA Competitive Events for 2022

Jan Imhoff & Stephanie Jansen

Lake Country Ballroom - Central

Come find out what's new and what's changed in the FBLA Competitive Events Program for 2023. There is a new event and lots of good changes in procedures of events. We are here to answer your questions and provide as much information as we can to help you and your students be successful.

Stephanie Jansen

Muskego High School

Jan Imhoff

Portage High School

In her free time, Jan likes to travel, spend time with family and friends, and is a fan of the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Cubs, Food Network, and crime TV shows like NCIS and Chicago PD.

Early Educator 101: Tips & Tricks

Kathleen Thorn

Lake Country Ballroom - South

Things I’ve learned in my first few years teaching that I would like to share with others. Both content and non-content related

Kathleen Thorn

I am from West Salem, WI, which is just outside of the La Crosse area. After graduating from West Salem High School in 2012, I went for my first undergrad at UW-Stout in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Spanish. After graduating in 2016, I quickly decided to go back to school for Marketing and Business Education. As a non-traditional student I was a part of the DECA Districts 1 planning committee, as well as attended multiple WEBIT/WMEA conferences. I accepted the Business teaching at Colfax High School in 2019. Since then I’ve been invited to be involved in the UW- Stout CTE Summit, been a part of the MBE Advisory Board, hosted multiple pre-student teachers, been an FBLA advisor, Yearbook Advisor, Head Track and Field Coach, as well as receiving the WACTE Early Educator award.

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