2023 Skill Builder Presenters

CEO and Founder of See The Signs

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Mary Bicknell, Owner and CEO of SeeTheSigns an International Success Coaching & Consulting company, focuses on mentoring women to become the leader they need (and want) in life and their careers. She is the creator of several highly successful programs, including The Big, Bold Life & Biz Plan Method™.

Whether marching in Washington DC for women’s rights, lobbying for the hungry, or helping women succeed in their personal and professional lives, Mary’s mission for the past 25 years, is to find a way to help women see their power, strength and embrace their capabilities.  

She combines her years as a cognitive behavioral psychotherapist with her experience as a business strategist and consultant to help women worldwide have everything they want…. guilt-free.  Mary works closely with clients to find effective ways to embolden them to get their B.S. (blindspot)  breakthroughs done “already” so they can get on with having everything they dream about.

Mary is a mama to her 17-year-old  daughter, River, a wife to John, and the wrangler to two cats and a cute little mutt. Mary enjoys hiking, drinking coffee over a good book, and is obsessed with the show Alone!

Global Technical Event Producer of Tree-Fan Events and Host of “Events: demystified” Podcast

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Anca P. Trifan, CMP, DES – is the CEO, creator, and strategist of Tree-Fan Events – a woman-owned and operated boutique event planning and production agency that she founded following years of experience in event production, where she adeptly wore many technical hats while skillfully planning, managing, and executing events of varying magnitudes.

Anca is a Certified Event Professional, a Digital Event Strategist, recipient of the 2023 Smart Woman in Meetings Award by Smart Meetings, 40 under 40 BizBash Connect Corporate Meetings 2022 Awards, the 2022 #womentowatch award, and the 2021 winner of the Quickest Virtual Event Pivot Award by Untethered.

Anca is a fascinating speaker and entrepreneur, with a rich life and business experience, a force to be reckoned with, a passionate thought leader and a bold advocate for women in event technology and productions, a natural fitness athlete, and a motivational speaker with a passion for mental and physical fitness for small business owners, women, event & meeting professionals.

SupreME Moms

Founder of Spark! Strategic Solutions and author

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Above all else, Shannon McGuire is a mom. As a mother of four, she’s built and honed valuable skills that she wants to pass on to others—parents and nonparents alike. She believes that the art and science of “momming” can help every human on this planet feel good about being themselves. Shannon applies her mom skills in her many roles: entrepreneur, strategist, coach, community leader, volunteer, and author.

She is the founder of Spark! Strategic Solutions, an Idaho-based consultancy helping leaders co-create human-centered communities and SupreME Moms, an organization dedicated to using mom wisdom to help people conquer life’s adversities.

Faculty Ombud, Boise State University

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Dr. Michelle Bennett serves as faculty in the Interdisciplinary Professional Studies and Bachelor of Applied Science programs as well as an organizational ombudsperson at Boise State University. Bennett has 16 years of experience as a communication faculty and six years as a department chair. Her academic and professional training and teaching experiences are in conflict management, interpersonal communication, listening, emotional intelligence, interviewing, and public speaking. Prior to higher education, Bennett spent 20 years in professional communication and leadership roles in a variety of industries. She also volunteers as an interviewing and public speaking coach to youth.

Founder of Build Woman

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Stefanie Couch is a seasoned sales and marketing executive turned business coach, Stefanie honed her skills in the construction industry and a Fortune 500 corporation. Now, she empowers businesses with innovative growth strategies in branding and sales. A recognized speaker, LinkedIn influencer, and entrepreneur, Stefanie is transforming the business landscape.

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Kelsey Wartman comes to us from the sunny state of Florida, having graduated from the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s in Marketing. Kelsey was excited to move to Idaho in 2014 after meeting her husband Kyler, a Boise native on the east coast. She jumped into real estate right away in the Title & Escrow business. She was licensed in early 2019, and has not looked back. Real estate is her passion, serving on the Board of Directors for the Boise Regional Realtors as well as a State Director for the Idaho Realtors. She has been a member of the Women’s Council of Realtors for 8 years serving in local and state leadership. She loves all outdoor activities Idaho has to offer, skiing, hiking and fly fishing. But most of all she loves spending time with two young sons Kooper and Klayton and husband Kyler. They love traveling as a family and having great adventures together.

Licensed Psychotherapist and Personal & Professional Coach for Women

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As a Boise native, entrepreneur and business owner, Brittany takes a strong stand by empowering women to become the biggest version of themselves. She is a leader in mental health care and women’s support services. She has been a clinically licensed psychotherapist for over a decade, owns her own clinical practice and is highly skilled in the complexities that society faces today in the mental health field. She is the owner of a Personal & Professional Coaching Company, where she works with Today’s Modern Women©- focusing on empowering strong, high achieving women to not have to choose between their careers and motherhood. She helps her clients embrace a deep confidence in their identity that radiates conviction for the woman they choose to be. Brittany supports women in creating a way that works best for them. Brittany is also the founder of Boise Business Women, bringing female business owners and entrepreneurs together to dream and support each other in their business endeavors. Outside of her full career, Brittany’s greatest joys are her family, spouse and two vibrant little boys.

Vice President, Manager of Cash Management Idaho First Bank

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Melissa brings 16 years of banking experience to her current role of overseeing the Bank’s Business and Cash Management programs. Within her role, she works directly with businesses to create and improve efficiencies, manage inflows and outflows of funds, financial activities and mitigating risk.  Melissa, born and raised in Boise, Idaho, loves working for a local community bank that focuses on serving people and communities.  She served on the Idaho Financial Literacy Coalition for 10 years leading programs across the State of Idaho to bring financial awareness to Idahoans.  In that time earned the “State Coalition of the Year” in 2017 for Idaho through the affiliate non-profit, Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, and served on their national board for a year term. Melissa is also passionate about supporting and finding opportunities for other women and co-created a Women In Leadership organization at Idaho First Bank.  This group has become a support system and safe space to build on leadership skills, integrate goals, create an internal community where we can discuss career experiences, successes and mentor each other. In her free time, she spends time with her husband Nick and two daughters, Tilly and Etta.  You can also find her in her garden, running on the Boise Greenbelt with her dog Birdie, or discovering new recipes in her kitchen.

Senior Vice President and Area Market Leader Idaho First Bank

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Aana is the Area Market Leader for Idaho First Bank’s McCall and New Meadows markets where she is responsible for leading the branch and lending teams, business development and  branch strategy. Aana began her banking career with IFB when the community bank was founded in 2005.  She has been in various roles at the bank and has always loved the process of learning as much as possible about her clients, their industry and each specific business to determine the best solution and to deepen community relationships.  Aana is passionate about financial education and enjoys all levels of financial literacy, from the annual grade school field trips hosted by Aana and her team in McCall to improving the financial health of savvy business owners.

Aana graduated from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and in Economics.  She is also a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington. She currently serves on the McCall Memorial Hospital District Board, St. Luke’s McCall Community Board as well as St. Luke’s Safety and Quality Committee.  She also is a founding member of Idaho First Bank’s Women in Leadership Group.  The objective of the group is to provide a platform where experiences are shared, leadership skills are expanded, and the women of Idaho First Bank are supported and feel empowered in the workplace and beyond!  Aana’s favorite place to be is outside, skiing, mountain biking, hiking or enjoying the views offered by McCall and the surrounding area with her husband Luke, daughter Stella, and son Jack.

Health & Wellness Coach and Entrepreneur

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Kari spent 15 years in the tech industry before leaping into her true passion of health & wellness. She had a successful career climbing the corporate ladder, working in communications, marketing, customer success, and executive management. She worked with Fortune 500 businesses and saw several startups through investment and exit. All the while, her own well-being suffered for the sake of her career. She spent countless hours, precious energy, and hard-earned money on programs and fads, chronically stressed and gaining and losing the same weight over and over again. In 2019 she decided to address the root of these issues once and for all, desperately wanting to feel at home in her body and break the yo-yo cycle. After doing this work herself she knew she learned invaluable lessons that could help free others from this same situation. She achieved certifications as a health coach and took the leap into a new career path. It is now her life’s work to help others find freedom and confidence from their own wellness journeys. She does this through her own private coaching business To Your Health, locally in Boise through PIVOT Lifestyle & Fitness by Kristin Armstrong, and for employers through her organizational wellness startup NOCK Sustainable Wellness.

Senior HR Director, Boise Cascade Company

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As Total Rewards Director for Boise Cascade Company, Angella delivers positive impact to over 6,500+ associates by benchmarking and designing innovative compensation and benefit programs to retain and attract talent. She has direct oversight of over $60M in medical programs and administrative responsibility through the retirement plan committee of over $700M in savings plan assets. Her background as a certified public account (CPA), certified internal auditor (CIA), and experience in public accounting have proven to be beneficial to drive cost savings and effectiveness in programs across the company’s diverse vendors. Angella loves to explore our world and positively make a difference in our local community. She currently serves as the president of the Board of Directors for the Learning Lab, and within Boise Cascade Company on the contribution committee and with volunteer events.

Owner Executive Coach, Facilitator and Co-Owner Black River Performance Management

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Angie is an Idaho native that has lived in all 3 corners of the state spending her first 19 years in the Coeur d Alene area and her next 25 years in Boise. She now lives in Pocatello and has been living here for the past 5 years. She was awarded a Woman of Influence award for Entrepreneurship in 2021 in Southeast Idaho by the East Idaho Business Journal. She and her husband Rob own Black River Performance Management LLC.

Angie became fascinated by human behavior after observing people’s behaviors in the Operating Room while working as a Certified Surgical Technologist (CST). She was fascinated by how the leadership in this environment (surgeons) affected the entire team and ultimately affected patient outcomes both positively and negatively. This led to her current career, which is helping individuals and organizations reach their full potential through a better understanding of themselves and how their behavior affects those around them. She also has Career and Technical teaching experience teaching at Boise State University, College of Western Idaho, University of Idaho, and most recently Idaho State University. She is a graduate of BSU and ISU Go Broncos & Go Bengals!

As a business owner herself, Angie has held several board of director positions, including The Association of Surgical Technologists, United Way of SEI, Women United Board Chair, and Businesswomen of Pocatello. She loves to help others find their purpose and ignite their passion to help them reveal their own potential. Her WHY is to “leave others better than she found them” and she believes everyone has a gem inside of them that needs to be discovered, shined, and polished. It is her interest to give back by helping others create a life they love and work in a job that fuels their human spirit.

JD, Certified Integral Master Coach

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Peggy has been coaching leaders, facilitating workshops and public speaking throughout the world for more than 35 years after practicing law for 12. Her path included an intense detour. After 20 years, she walked away from her coaching business because she felt she wasn’t being who she was truly meant to be. The turning point came 11 years later upon discovering the great wisdom teachings about the essential nature of mankind. 

Using her Wisdomary Leading approach, Peggy now serves her mission to help people see beyond the illusion of separation, which is what limits us and is at the root of personal, organizational and world problems. Clients become free to live authentically and effortlessly and have their highest aspirations become reality. Peggy is a Certified Integral Master Coach and holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas. She is the author of two chapters in the Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, the first book on cutting-edge theory and practice on small- and large-scale transformation. She was Assistant Attorney General and Arkansas State Purchasing Director for Bill Clinton when he was Attorney General and Governor and served in President Clinton’s administration in the Federal Labor Relations Authority.