Jennifer Kushell is one of the most widely recognized experts on young entrepreneurs. She is the co-creator and president of Young & Successful Media Corp.; a business dedicated to helping young people succeed at an early age.

Kushell is also the founder of The Young Entrepreneurs Network and the author of The Young Entrepreneur's Edge. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, CNBC, as well as several magazines.

Kushell has worked with thousands of young people and entrepreneurs through her speaking, teaching, writing, and corporate consulting. At the age of 28, Jennifer has been seen by over 100 million people worldwide. Today, she remains dedicated to helping her generation maximize the level of success and meaning in their lives.

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Paul J. Steffes was born and raised in Dickinson, North Dakota and graduated from Trinity High School in 1969. He went on to attend North Dakota State University where he was an active member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. He was named a member of Pi Tau Sigma and Tau Beta Pi, both engineering fraternities honoring scholastic achievement. He graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, Paul joined his father in business as Vice-President of Steffes & Son Manufacturing, Inc. In 1986, Paul became President of Steffes & Son Manufacturing, Inc. and acted as head of a research and development team that began to develop and expand the concept of electric thermal storage heating. In 1987, Paul started Steffes ETS, Inc. to manufacture a family of electric thermal storage (ETS) heating equipment. Steffes & Son Manufacturing, Inc. and Steffes ETS, Inc. merged in 1998 to form Steffes Corporation. Paul is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board for Steffes Corporation.

Paul is a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of North Dakota. He is also a Senior Member in the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He is nationally recognized by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) as an expert in ETS technology and is called upon often to provide insight and expertise into the ETS industry.

In 1990, Paul received the Meritorious Service Award presented by Dickinson State University. The award is presented to individuals in recognition of their involvement with education and economic development in southwestern North Dakota. In 1991, he received the Greater North Dakota Association Entrepreneurial Spirit Award from the Greater North Dakota Association. This award is presented for innovation and leadership in generating new business development in North Dakota. In 1999, Paul received the North Dakota Small Business Person of the Year Award from the United States Small Business Administration. In 2000, he was recognized as the Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year.

Paul is currently a member of the Dickinson Rotary Club, Dickinson Friends of the Pool Committee, St. Joseph’s Lifecare Foundation Board of Directors, Consolidated Communications Cooperative Advisory Board, Dickinson Elk’s Lodge, and Dickinson Knights of Columbus Club.

Paul and his wife Laurie have three children: Suzanne, Kyle, and Kathryn.

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Guy Moos is a Dickinson native. He began working part-time at Baker Boy (the family business) in 1968 while he was in school. He later became Manager of the Baker Boy Pizza & Café in 1974, Manager of The Donut Hole located in Mandan, ND in 1978 and General Manager of Baker Boy in 1984. He has been the president of Baker Boy since 1993. Since 1979, Baker Boy has grown from 3 full time employees to over 240.

He has also been actively involved with many local, statewide and regional organizations, including the Greater North Dakota Association (past chair), St. Joseph's Lifecare Foundation, North Dakota Freedom of Enterprise Foundation, and Dickinson Public School Foundation (past-president).

In 1993, he along with his father received the GNDA Entrepreneurial Spirit Award. In 1999, he was named Baker of the Year by the Bakers of North Dakota Association.

He is a member of the New Economy Initiative (vice-chair), North Dakota Department of Commerce Foundation, University of Mary Executive Operations Committee, Southwest Regional Workforce Training Board (past president), and the Mpls Federal Reserve Bank Advisory Council on Agriculture.

He and his wife Sandy married in 1984. Sandy joined Baker Boy that same year and worked with Guy and others to grow Baker Boy. After 17 years of working together, Sandy retired from Baker Boy to be a stay at home “mom”. Guy and Sandy have one child (Melissa).

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Dennis J. Elbert was appointed Dean of the College of Business and Public Administration (CoBPA) at the University of North Dakota (UND) in July, 1997. A long time UND faculty member, Elbert served as a Professor Marketing and as Director of the Small Business Institute (SBI) for many years, in which he worked with 20 to 25 businesses each year. He is involved in university and community service, consulting, research and seminar work. Elbert has served or is serving on several Boards of Directors including Noridian Insurance (Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Dakota), Altru Health Systems, United Health Resources, Simmons Advertising, YMCA, Newman Parish, Chamber of Commerce, US Bank Advisory Committee and Cirrus Industries. Elbert is an enthusiastic and highly motivating speaker and facilitator who has offered over 600+ seminars throughout the Midwest and Canada in the past 10 years. Additionally, Elbert has authored or coauthored more than 75 papers, monographs, textbooks cases and published articles. His journal publications include the Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Marketing Education, Swiss Journal of Small Business Research, Journal of Professional Services Marketing and Services Marketing Quarterly.

Elbert has two degrees from UND, a BSBA ('68) and an MS in Marketing ('72) and a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri - Columbia ('76). A Vietnam veteran and UND ROTC graduate, Elbert retired from the US Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1996. The UND CoBPA currently has 1,550 undergraduates students, 105 MBA students, 41 MPA students and 10 MS students in a new Career and Tech Education cohort program. The graduate programs are offered statewide via an Interactive Video Network (IVN) system. The College includes both the Small Business Development Center (SBDC),a rapidly expanding business incubator called the Center for Innovation (CI) and a recently funded rural technology project entitled Government Rural Outreach (GRO).

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LoAnn's Marketing Inc. has grown substantially over the last seven years, specializing in design, market research, media relations, media production and employee training. LoAnn's represents clients in a variety of industries including healthcare, utility, traffic safety, retail and finance.

In addition to her business, LoAnn is actively involved with her four children and assists her husband in operating the family farm. She works as a volunteer in many community organizations and her company is a member of the Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce, Greater North Dakota Association, International Association of Business Communicators and North Dakota Professional Communicators.

LoAnn was named one of the Five Outstanding Young North Dakotans in 1998 by the North Dakota Jaycees. LoAnn's honors include the Sam Walton Award, National Excellence Award from the American Bankers Association, Roughrider Country Appreciation Award, Who's Who Among National Businessmen and Women and America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals. She was also chosen to produce a mini series for the Discovery Channel. LoAnn's Marketing Inc. has received several state and national awards in both print and electronic media.

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Consul General Kyu-ho Choo is a graduate of Sungkyunkwan University's College of Law in Seoul, Korea. He also studied at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan and received an MA from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, in Washington, DC.

The Consul General has served as the 2nd Secretary of the Korean Embassy in Venezuela and the 1st Secretary of the Korean Embassy in Japan. He has also been the Director of the Information Analysis Division II, Inter-Korean Affairs Division, and NE Asia Division I for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Consul General has been a Minister-Counsellor for the Korean Embassy in both Italy and Japan and was Counsellor of the Korean Embassy in the USA. He has been a spokesman for the ROK Government's Task Force Team on the Issue of Distorted Japanese History Textbooks. In August of 2002 Kyu-ho Choo became the Consul General of the Korean Consulate General in Chicago, IL. Consul General Kyu-ho Choo is married with two children.

According to Peter Drucker of the BottomLine, a weekly E-Letter publication, South Korea is a prime example of entrepreneurship at work. In the February 1, 2003 issue he stated that, "Barely 40 years ago, it (South Korea) had almost no industry or educated people. Today, it is world class in two dozen industries and its citizens have become the world's foremost practitioners of entrepreneurship."

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