President: Teresa Schwab, MCC
Teresa Schwab is the President of Arnavon Strategies, a firm offering highly customized leadership development training, as well as individual, team, and group coaching; peer coaching circle facilitation; mentor coaching; and coaching skills training for managers. She is also a founding partner with Ad Astra Coach Alliance, an organization committed to transforming organizations with targeted coaching solutions. Teresa holds a master’s degree in social work from KU. Teresa is a member of the Kansas Leadership Center faculty and coach teams, and she is an instructor with the KU Public Management Center. She is a Breakthrough Coaching Advanced Practitioner, and trained in Case in Point facilitation, the Kegan and Lahey Immunity to Change approach, and is also Dare to Lead trained. She is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, and a Certified Total SDI Facilitator, and is the 2024 Director of Credentialing for Heartland.

Secretary: Joyce McEwen Crane, PhD, MCC, ACTC
Joyce is the owner of Resonance Coaching & Consulting in Wichita and helps people in positions of influence build their capacity to thrive in difficult work and community environments. In addition to her MCC/ACTC she earned from the ICF, she has credentials from the Institute for Life Coach Training and the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy. Her certifications include Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the EQi-2.0, the Immunity to Change model and Adam Grant’s Principles Your personality assessment. She completed the Art and Practice of Leadership Development at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Education program and holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Southern Methodist University. Joyce worked as a psychologist/clinician for 23 years prior to becoming a coach. She is always up for an adventure and is an international traveler, amateur shower singer, and experimental test cook in the kitchen.

Treasurer: Cindy Mead

Director Of Marketing: Ashley Watkins, ACC

With a background as a high school journalism and English teacher, Ashley discovered her true calling lay in supporting the social and emotional growth of her students. This realization prompted her transition into coaching, a path she pursued with dedication and passion. Certified by Coach Training EDU in February 2021, Ashley established her practice, Ashley Watkins Coaching, where she engages in personalized one-on-one sessions with teens and young adults. Her primary focus is on empowering her clients to cultivate mental well-being without resorting to self-medication. Additionally, Ashley leverages her expertise as a Professional Learning Consultant with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, where she aids teachers in implementing digital literacy programs, further extending her impact in the educational realm. Outside of her professional pursuits, Ashley finds joy in various activities. Whether she's immersing herself in nature through hiking, camping, and kayaking, trying new recipes in the kitchen or exploring new dining experiences, delving into a good book, or tuning into thought-provoking podcasts, Ashley embraces life with enthusiasm and curiosity.

Director of Partnerships and Sponsorships: Ronda Dorsey
Ronda Dorsey, M.Ed, B.S., is a Training Instructor with the Army Management Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, where she facilitates the Civilian Education System’s Department of Organizational Leadership Intermediate Course. In 2021, she founded ThirtySpoke offering coaching and mediation services with a neuro-holistic approach. Ronda holds Brain First Institute credentials of Neuroscience Master Practitioner Coach and Solution-Focused Neuroscience Coach.  She is a certified facilitator in MBTI Steps I & II, Crucial Learning/Core Strengths SDI 2.0, and FIRO Element B. Her volunteering is focused on the Kansas State Supreme Court System as a state-endorsed core mediator; StandBesideThem.org as an Executive, Career, and Relationship Coach supporting Veterans and families; and Army Mentoring Program Civilian Mentor with Department of Defense mentees. She will complete the ACC with ICF in 2025.

Director Of Events: Lisa Nickel, MCC

Lisa Nickel is a certified life coach, speaker and happiness specialist. She combines the art and science of happiness to share proven research and tools to support people in creating deeply satisfying and meaningful lives. Inspired by the pillars of positive psychology, Lisa is passionate about enhancing positive experiences, engagement, relationships, purpose and achievement. Best known for her motivational and optimistic style, Lisa delivers keynotes and facilitates workshops for corporate and non-profit organizations looking to promote wellbeing, personal growth and professional development. Previous clients include National Charity League, International Business Communicators KC, Financial Executives International KC, and University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) Career Services. Lisa has enhanced her own happiness through meaningful volunteer service and has held key leadership positions with Reach Out and Read KC, Kansas Association for the Gifted, Talented and Creative, and the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri. When she is not speaking or coaching, Lisa is likely reading, knocking things off her yearly fun list with her husband and wishing her three grown sons would call home more often.

Director Of Credentialing: Robin Ferguson, MCC

Robin Ferguson is the owner of R. A. Ferguson Coaching and Consulting. Robin has an extensive background in leadership and executive coaching and development, as well as personal and spiritual development. Along with having her own business, Robin founded the Children’s Mercy internal coaching program, supporting over 25 coaches across the organization, as well as pioneering CM’s first leadership conference and cofounding CM’s Leadership Institute. She has also served as a coach trainer for Avila University. In addition to her leadership background, Robin is also a mentor coach, RN and Spiritual Leader, and specializes in creating a space for caregivers, those in transition, and anyone ready to ‘level up’ their personal and/or professional lives. Robin holds an MSOD from Avila University and is certified in Team Coaching (with the Global Team Coaching Institute), Clifton Strengths, Enneagram, Situational Leadership, Positive Intelligence, Human Centered Design and Bioethics.

Director Of Membership: Seth Bate, PCC

Seth Bate (he/him), believes that the most powerful moments in coaching rarely come from brilliant questions, arcane models, or memorized frameworks. They come from presence. At his core, Seth believes the magic of coaching is found in fully showing up for others, creating spaces where they can remember their own wisdom and move forward with confidence.
Experience has taught Seth that in coaching, simpler is better. He believes growth is accelerated when noise is filtered out so the most important things ring out. Seth brings a deep conviction that individuals are more capable, resourceful, and resilient than they often realize. A coaching interaction with Seth often includes impolite questions, a good bit of laughter, and a lot of rich silence.
Seth supports and coordinates coaches and teachers at the Kansas Leadership Center. He teaches and mentors developing coaches in the KLC Leadership Coach Intensive, an ICF accredited program. For more than 15 years, he has been an active contributor to the coaching profession through regular participation in chapter, regional, and other professional coaching community activities. He is honored to support the ongoing growth, integrity, and impact of the coaching profession through service on the ICF Heartland board.