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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Former Pittsburgh Steelers player Andy Russell has amassed impressive accomplishments both on and off the field. As a linebacker with the Steelers from 1963 to 1976, Andy helped propel the team to two consecutive Super Bowl victories in 1974 and 1975; was selected to seven Pro Bowl teams and is the only linebacker in NFL history to play in six consecutive Pro Bowls, was named by the NFL Hall of Fame selection committee to the NFL All Decade Team (1965-1975); and is ranked by the NFL to the Greatest Players team. Andy has been inducted into both the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame and the Missouri Hall of Fame. After retiring from professional football in 1976, Andy went on to earn distinctions in business. Currently, he is managing partner of Laurel Mountain Partners, a merchant banking firm whose primary focus is the acquisition and consolidation of solid waste companies, and Liberty Waste Tire. He is also the founder and former chairman of Rea, Rea and Zappala, Inc., a Pittsburgh-based investment banking firm. Andy is a graduate of the University of Missouri where he earned a B.S. degree in Economics and an MBA.
Morning Speaker
Brenda plays a major leadership role and is responsible for both the business development and account management in the Pittsburgh area. She has extensive experience in Human Resources, including recruiting, training, M&A, and outplacement. Prior to joining LHH, Brenda managed her own business, HR21, focused on helping companies create a 21st Century workplace, with a strong emphasis on connecting the business strategy with the HR function. As a local speaker, she has developed and delivered speaker topics such as, "Capture the Power of the 21st Century Woman", and " The Business of You." Brenda has also taught Business Communications in the Katz School at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to that, Brenda worked in both local and corporate Human Resources with Lazarus Department Stores, US Airways and Ketchum. She
has a BS in Business Administration and her Professional HR certification.
Brenda is a member of the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association,
Society of Human Resource Management, and Coachville. She is also
a panel advisor for PowerLink and a Lee Hecht Harrison President's
Award winner.
Luncheon Entertainer
Recognized by his peers as one of the finest sleight-of-hand magicians in the world today, his first place awards in international competitions in Las Vegas, Madrid and Miami confirms this status. Even David Copperfield has called upon Paul to consult on his TV specials
PAST KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Raul co-founded this rising superstar tech company in June, 2000. During his tenure, he has been recognized as a top ten reader favorite for entrepreneur of the year by Inc. magazine, a CEO of the year finalist by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, and three times as one of the fifty most important hispanics in business and technology by Hispanic Engineer magazine. Before Vivísimo, Raul was on the Carnegie Mellon computer science department faculty since 1991; he is now an Adjunct Associate Professor there. His research on new methods and applications of knowledge discovery led to publishing nearly 50 journal articles in natural, social, and computer science. He was a principal investigator on six grants from the National Science Foundation, served on its advisory committee for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, and was an action editor of the journal Machine Learning.
Keith Shelton began his career at Chick-fil-A in 1998 in the human resources department, where he selected staff employees at the Atlanta headquarters before joining the Operator Selection team as part of the company's massive initiative to expand franchises. Keith is responsible for the entire northeast region, with an emphasis in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey markets. He has helped select over 100 corporate staff members and over 70 Chick-fil-A operator/owners. Read full bio
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Andy Russell, Managing Partner, Laurel Mountain
Partners & Pittsburgh Steelers Legend
Brenda Vester, Vice President of Business Development
Paul Gertner has performed for more than 500 corporations in more than 20 different countries, has lectured at MIT and has been featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal…twice. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Paul has also appeared on NBC’s World’s Greatest Magic, HBO, That’s Incredible! And yes…even Mister Rogers Neighborhood. In 1998 he wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed one-man theatrical production “Paul Gertner-Ten Fingers.” This one-man show became the fastest selling play in City Theater’s history. Most recently Paul was invited as a featured performer at the Presidential Inauguration of President George W. Bush 
Raul Valdes-Perez is CEO and Co-Founder of Vivisimo,
one of Pittsburgh's hottest tech companies that is being touted
as the next Google by industry insiders. The company has developed
an award-winning clustering technology that organizes search results
into titled folders to allow users to learn at a glance the type
of information available and ultimately find information faster.
Blaine McCormick is Associate
Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Baylor University's School of
Business and author of the critically acclaimed new book, 
