Patricia Neal, Co-Founder & President, Heartland Inc.
As co-founder and President of Heartland Inc. Patricia’s focus is inspiring Heartland’s growth through program development and execution. Under her guidance, Heartland’s  signature programs have flourished: Thought Leader Gatherings, The Art of Convening Trainings, VisionHolder Interview Series, When Women Lead: The Inner Voice of Women’s Leadership Retreat, Men’s Wilderness Journey Retreat, and consulting and coaching programs. All Heartland programs are dedicated to nourishing a community of leaders committed to taking their visions into whole and balanced action in the world.
 
With 25+ years of working with entrepreneurial start-ups, and community organizing, Patricia has had broad experience in convening, marketing and organizational operations. Prior to Heartland Inc., Patricia held various marketing and media positions at Telemedia Communications, launching two national magazines, and Garden Way Mfg. Inc.
 
Patricia serves as a Founding Board member of Honoring Women Worldwide, and as board member of Watershed High School. She also has been instrumental in the development of three Waldorf Schools and is an activator and convener in the Waldorf School movement. Patricia is currently co-writing The Art of Convening: A Field Guide to Essential Conversations and Questions of Leadership with husband and partner Craig. She is mother to three wonderful children, and grandmother to 2 delicious boys, Henri and Charlie, who live just five blocks away.

Heartland Inc.
3600 Zenith Ave. S., #101
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612-920-3039
patricia@heartlandcircle.com
http://www.heartlandcircle.com

Craig Neal, VisionHolder, Heartland Inc.
Since awakening to his life's purpose in 1963, Craig Neal has celebrated life as a passionate change leader, publishing executive and organizational executive and guide to those called to authentically show up in life and work.

Throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s Craig held executive positions with Garden Way, Inc, Rodale Publishing and helped launch Harrowsmith and Eating Well magazines. In 1996 he concluded his publishing career and as Publisher of Utne Magazine. In 1996 Craig founded Heartland Inc. with Patricia, his wife of 25 years. Since then he has been dedicated to creating networks of authenticity and essential conversations among individuals and within organizations through training and convening events that serve to bring about the desired systemic personal, social and organizational transformations needed in these extraordinary times.

In 1998 Heartland produced the first "Thought Leader Gathering" for 40 change leaders in Minnesota. Eight years and 125 Gatherings later, Craig has guided over 1200 leaders in these ongoing membership based groups in Minnesota and the Bay Area of Calif. He and Patricia created the Essential Conversations Process (ECP) for educators (Circle of Fire) and MBA students, along with convening meetings for businesses and communities alike.

In 2004 Craig launched the Art of Convening TeleTraining series for those called to be an inspired catalysts for change in their organization or community. Over 200 leaders are currently engaged or have graduated from 21 Art of Convening groups.

Craig is skilled at building relationships within and across organizations and in developing and maintaining superior communication skills and member relations. He founded the Conscious Business Alliance, the Minnesota Magazine Publishers Association, and served as a founding board member of Business for Social Responsibility and of Responsible Minnesota Business. Craig lives with Patricia and their two sons on an urban gardenstead in Minnesota. He loves the land, is an avid gardener, beekeeper and voyageur. He is currently writing The Art of Convening: A Field Guide to Essential Conversations.

Heartland Inc.
3600 Zenith Ave. S., #101
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612-920-3039

Cindy Wold, Web Chief, Heartland Inc.
Cindy is the designer and manager of Heartland’s website, e-commerce site and  and email newsletters.

In addition to working with the Heartland team, Cindy also designs and develops websites independently through her own business and as a volunteer. 

Cindy has a BA degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors. Besides her interest in websites, worthy causes and the internet, she is also an artist and writer.

Cindy is the mother of 2 grown daughters and  lives in Minneapolis with her  husband,  2 stepsons, 1 cat and 1 dog.

Heartland Inc.
3600 Zenith Ave. S., #101
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612-920-3039
cindy@heartlandcircle.com
http://www.heartlandcircle.com

Amy Lenzo, Clear Light Communications, Heartland Inc.
Amy runs Clear Light Communications, a design company that supports community-minded individuals, businesses and non-profits share their visions online. She serves as a consultant on all areas of Heartland's online presence, and is a member of the bay area TLG production team.

Amy publishes a blog called The Beauty Dialogues and contributes a weekly column on Art & the Environment to a collective Ecopsychology blog.

Her passion is in using the language of art and creativity to shine a light on our innate interconnections - to each other, the elements of the natural world, and the great mystery at the center of it all.

John Gillespie, President, Beyond the Bottom Line
Beyond the Bottom Line provides interim financial and operational management for concept, start up, emerging and middle market companies. John’s expertise encompasses financial, human capital and informational technology management with over 27 years experience in control, treasury, and systems implementation as well as operating management. He is currently the interim Chief Financial Officer for several start up and emerging companies.

For the last seven years in the Finance and Accounting Outsourcing industry, his primary responsibilities included business development, sales, account management and client servicing for diverse industries including retail, technology, software, business services and not-for-profit clients that included more than 100 pre-revenue to multi-billion dollar revenue companies, such as Barnes & Noble and CCH. Inc.

The practice centered around demonstrating and guiding Founders, CEOs and Boards on how to grow their enterprises in a deliberate, strategic manner including securing investments and lines of credit, performing due diligence for acquisitions or sales, structuring accounting and financial operations, and implementing specific courses of action to improve the bottom line. Previously, he worked as the CFO and senior strategic advisor at four privately held entrepreneurial companies in addition to a subsidiary of Mobil Oil.

From 1990 –1997, John’s career was spent with Innovation Luggage, where he was COO and CFO. Since 1990, John has been actively involved at both the national, regional and local level with Financial Executives International (FEI). In 2003, he was elected to the FEI’s North Atlantic Regional Board.

John lives in Cranford, NJ, with his very accomplished wife, Linda. They have two college-age children.

Beyond the Bottom Line
18 Central Ave.
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-276-7576
http://www.beyondtbl.com/

Pele Rouge, Resonance
Pele Rouge is a carrier of an ancient body of Earth Wisdom teachings which were passed to her in an 8-year apprenticeship with WindEagle and RainbowHawk of Ehama Institute. She and her husband FireHawk have brought forward many aspects of these teachings in a wide variety of individual and organizational settings in the U.S. and Europe. Pele’s life purpose is to create sacred ceremonial space in which people can gather to “do their work.” She has extensive circle experience. She is a contributing author of Community Building and author of the forthcoming book and CD for children of all ages, Never Shout at a Bear. Pele’s large, extended family is of primary importance to her; it has been a major source of learning and delight to her. Her professional background includes 10 years as a Continuing Education Specialist at University of California Extension, Santa Cruz, 6 years as a certified personal financial planner, and 2 years as Senior Context Designer for the International Center for Organization Design.

Resonance
610 Mitchell Drive
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
831-421-9771
http://www.resonance.to

FireHawk, Resonance, Ultimate Vice President
FireHawk is an artist, a teacher and a healer who works with digital media in a sacred way. As an entrepreneur, he produced and directed large corporate media projects for 28 years and has, with his wife Pele Rouge, completed eight years of training in an ancient body of Earth Wisdom teachings offered by EHAMA Institute of California. These teachings of the Mother Earth are now the ground from which FireHawk creates. His calling is as a storyteller, telling the stories of the emerging wholeness, (particularly in the realm of business transformation) through the use of digital media which Ken Carey describes as "one of love’s most powerful and effective tools of transformation...., facilitating education and catalyzing widespread awakening."

Resonance
610 Mitchell Drive
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
831-421-9771
http://www.resonance.to