Marshall White, thrives on designing and delivering programs and will often be seen orchestrating the delivery of our larger, more complex events like the Ultimate Towner. While facilitating, Marshall uses a keen sense of observation and perception to draw out pertinent lessons and thrives on watching people and organizations grow to their full potential. He enjoys not only training and developing corporate teams and leaders, but also being part of a team; using this as a vehicle for personal and professional development. In his free time, Marshall enjoys backpacking in the wilderness with his wife Shannon as well pursuing his passion and aptitude for extreme endurance mountain challenges, often with GDI President Tim Walther.

About Josh Morris

Joshua Morris is the director of Grand Dynamics International in Asia and founder and CEO of The Progression Group, a multicultural organization that works with students, educators, corporations, and athletes to fuel individual growth, create meaningful connections, and prepare for what’s next. An entrepreneur, leader and coach based in Thailand since 1999, Josh excels in connecting teams, communities, and cultures, a skill that enabled him to play a critical role as the lead international team coordinator in the Thai Cave Rescue in Mae Sai, Thailand in July 2018.

Josh has worked with businesses, NGOs and governments to identify and harness opportunities to build a more sustainable future through a combination of education, personal development, business strategy, cross-cultural communication, and community partnership. In addition to directing vision and strategy for his own company, Josh provides leadership training and development programming to businesses throughout Asia. He has consulted The Thai Authority of Tourism to develop innovative strategies for sustainable tourism development in the region. He has also spearheaded projects to develop local guides and pioneered exchange programs to raise standards in adventure tourism and rescue throughout Thailand and other parts of Asia.

Fluent in English and Thai, with personal roots in both western and eastern traditions, and staff based in Asia, Europe and the United States, Josh is uniquely positioned to enable leaders and teams to transcend organizational barriers. Bridging the gap between language and differing cultural perspectives, Josh’s work with executives is focused on creating high-performing teams by fostering meaningful connections through shared experiences.

An experienced rock climber, caver and expedition leader, Josh leveraged a love of the outdoors and a passion for personal growth, and transformed it into a movement that empowers individuals, protects the environment, connects the community, and supports local economies. His extensive experience has helped him bring a compassionate, client-focused approach to his work and leadership, and has given him the unique ability to empower others to go deeper, climb higher, and fuel their personal and professional development.

Just as progression is a steady movement to a more advanced state or place, Josh guides others in their journey toward a more conscious, successful and fulfilling future.

About Josh’s Thailand Cave Rescue Keynote Speech

For more than ten years, Josh has spoken at events of all sizes, for organizations from numerous industries. His humility, energy, and prowess as a storyteller enable him to connect with a room of ten people or a hall of several thousand. As a leader and coach, Josh helps audiences bring a mindful approach to high stress situations, empowering them to achieve impossible results. Weaving in the story of his experience from the Thai Cave Rescue, his training as an expedition leader and educator, and everyday examples from life and business, Josh engages and inspires audiences, connecting them to their highest potential, and delivering lessons and strategies to get there.

In July of 2018 the world was mesmerized by the story of the impossible rescue of 12 members of the Wild Board football team and their coach from a flooded cave. As the world watched, all 13 members of the team were safely evacuated from the cave to safety above ground. It was an improbable rescue that inspired billions around the world. Few know the inside story and intimate details of what it took to achieve this incredible feat. Not only did it require innovative methods and new approaches in cave diving, but diplomacy and deliberation with decision makers to even arrive at the decision to dive the boys out, something that had never before been attempted.

On the morning of July 06, Josh Morris found himself in a military briefing room discussing plans for diverting water away from the cave. Little did he know that 18 years of cave exploration, fluency in Thai and experience in the corporate and government sector were about to converge, placing him at the center of the rescue. Within a few hours, Josh became a critical part of the rescue, acting as the chief international coordinator and government liaison between the international divers, US Air Force Para-rescue Specialists (PJs) and senior level Thai authorities.

Applying his knowledge of the Thai language, caving experience and experience leading teams, Josh was able to assist decision makers in accessing key information and presenting the information in order to assist leaders in making critical decisions at a time of great uncertainty. In recognition of his role in the rescue, Josh received the award of Knight Commander 2nd Class from the King of Thailand.

Josh’s speeches highlight the challenges of bringing multiple groups of people from different cultures together to align around a unified goal. Highlighting points of chaos, strong leadership and team spirit, Josh speaks about what it takes to achieve success including:

• Establishing a common goal
• Working outside hierarchy and tradition in order to get things done more quickly and efficiently
• Creating a sense of urgency in order to improve performance

With more than 20 years of experience living and working in Asia, Josh weaves the challenges faced during the cave rescue with natural connection to everyday life and work, highlighting the need for agile decision making, mindful leadership, building empathy among the team, and taking risks in order to innovate for the future. Josh has worked with and delivered speeches to multiple industries including Private Equity, Venture Capital, Insurance, Chemistry, and Education. He can easily customize his speeches around relevant topics for different audiences.

High Level Speaking Themes

• Leadership
• Communication
• Personal growth
• Team development
• Planning & Strategy
• Sustainability
• Community partnership
• Crisis Management

Testimonials

Charles D. Hodges, Lt Col, US Air Force, Commander, 26th Special Tactics Squadron
(In regards to the Thailand Cave Rescue Mission 2018)
“Josh’s cross-cultural communication skills, perspective, and insight were vital to our team’s success. Those skills, coupled with his discerning leadership style, allowed us to navigate some tough cultural intricacies. Without him our mission would have never gotten out of the planning stages.”

Emily Merlino, Program Operations, Smartly by Pedago
“Josh was generous enough to be the keynote speaker at Smartly Institute’s Singapore Conference in August of 2019, and we could not be more impressed. Josh is professional and a pleasure to work with, and his speech was the highlight of the conference. You can tell that he really puts time, effort, and thought into his speeches. Our conference attendees were unanimously impressed with the caliber of his speech. We would love to work with Josh again, and would not hesitate to strongly recommend him as a keynote speaker!”

Charles Motion, Executive Director, Aviation, Willis Towers Watson
“Josh Morris visited our offices in May of last year to deliver a fascinating presentation on the well-publicized and dramatic cave rescue of Thai school boys football team.  I had originally heard Josh speak at an event at Tanglin Trust School and was struck by his insight into this extraordinary event.  It was immediately apparent that important lessons in leadership, crisis management, communications and clarity of purpose lay at the heart of his story and I was keen for Josh to come and speak to colleagues and clients along the same themes.  Josh tailored his presentation cleverly to meet our target audience and we received a huge amount of very positive feedback from those lucky enough to attend.  The only part we would change would have been to allocate more time to enable the audience to ask all the questions they wanted to.”

Adrian Gonzalez, CEO North Asia, South Asia, Pacific, Insights Division, Kantar
“At Progression, Josh teaches real life experiential leadership skills and has become a mentor and source of inspiration that has seen a number of our participants elevated to country CEO level positions. I am hugely grateful to Josh for his contribution to leadership development at Kantar. He is a tremendous asset to our company and indeed to leadership generally.”

As a specialist in isomorphic metaphors, Scotty enjoys a good laugh and making clients really appreciate the natural environment of the outdoors.
Scotty was first inspired by group dynamics in his Organization Behavior class in college and has been involved in educational and professional development ever since. He has worked for Outward Bound (OB) for 24 years, across nine states and led OB professional courses for the last fifteen years, both on-site and in wilderness settings. In addition, Scotty is also a guide for the Exum Guide Service and School of American Mountaineering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In this role, Scotty instructs individuals and teams of all ages on rock climbing and leads climbs throughout the Teton Range including the Grand Teton! This enables him to share his love of mountains and teamwork with climbers and business groups alike.
When Scotty is not working, he loves spending time with his family. As a father of two beautiful girls, Scotty enjoy building igloo’s with his family, skiing powder, mountaineering, climbing and guiding routes in the summer. Scotty is also gluten-free and the author of several Gluten-Free Chewy Granola Bar recipes which adds a great touch (and taste!) for clients that he guides up the Grand Teton on our annual Grand Adventure and on other various mountaineering routes.

During the past 20 years, Glenn has worked with 100’s of organizations and 1000’s of individuals to effect positive change. “I believe that organizational change starts with individual awareness. In addition to utilizing the most current scientific approaches, we can provide a unique and refined approach to learning through experiences. It is proven that change will happen when the approach to learning is impactful,” states Slattery “Our business life is an essential component to living a fulfilling life. By providing unique learning experiences, which create individual realizations, we can drive this new awareness to creating valuable insights which effect bottom line results” In addition to his career in coaching and professional development, Glenn is also an accomplished climber with high altitude ascents and multi day rock climbs throughout the world. He lives in Sedona, Arizona with his wife Lolly and son Trevor.

Through a personalized, collaborative and solution-based approach, I work with each of my clients to develop a custom-tailored roadmap that’s optimized for their specific needs and abilities.

I help my clients to improve their:

• Leadership skills
• Executive Presence skills
• Management skills
• Emotional intelligence
• Communication skills
• Trust and influence
• Conflict-resolution skills

I bring a wealth of professional experience into my coaching, built on my background as a credentialed school psychologist, business entrepreneur and mountain-bike guide.

I’ve coached a broad range of professionals, from senior executives at Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies to start-up entrepreneurs and professional athletes. I’ve worked with Fortune 100 companies, schools, and individual business owners.

Contact me to schedule a few minutes to talk about your needs.

Mike works within communities and corporations alike, challenging beliefs, making people laugh (because they really shouldn’t take themselves so seriously) and removing the roadblocks that keep individuals and teams from moving forward together.

Mike began his career in leadership over 19 years ago with the YMCA, specializing in summer camping programs, outdoor education, and ropes course facilitation.

Mike went on to work extensively in the recreation and outdoor education fields, and in 2000 he shifted gears, becoming wildly interested in how adults learn, and the best ways to teach them. He earned his Master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology from California State University, Chico, and uses this academic rigor to compliment the high-energy, cooperative and interactive programs he offers the world.

As a young police officer and father of two, I was looking to make a positive connection between a job I loved and family living. I began taking leadership and team building courses leading to the building of rope courses and the facilitation of community groups. I made connections between community, school and business leaders to generate customers to explore and experience my enthusiasm for these programs. As interest piqued, my clientele diversified. My style and focus branched out. This hobby provided a healthy balance between my police duties, family and pursuit of purposeful living. My goals and life experiences continue to evolve and bring true meaning to the joy of life.

Brandon enjoys helping people clarify and achieve their personal and professional missions to create more successful organizations. Brandon has worked with large and small organizations around the world including organizations operating in the US, Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Korea, and various countries throughout Europe. He loves the challenges and adventures that come with the international arena.
Brandon also has a strong background in business finance, technology and management, which allows him to better understand the challenges facing many teams as well as potential solutions.
In his free time, he enjoys meditation, traveling, snow skiing, rock climbing, hiking and spending time with friends and family.

Erick Erickson, Lead GDI Facilitator, specializes in inspirational coaching for individuals and teams on personal and corporate levels. Erick has more than forty years of business management and human resource development experience. In addition Erick has been engaged in the Building Construction and Energy Conservation Industries since 1970.

Erick has two components of his personal vision, “Build Buildings, and Build People”.
Erick’s fields of expertise include, Master Carpenter, Energy Conservation Consultant and Builder.

Erick is a Master Trainer through the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCR) as well as a consultant trainer for the Association for Builders and Contractors, ABC; and NYSERDA. He continues to teach Building Construction training programs through SUNY, State University of New York.

Tim Walther and Erick Erickson are co-authors of Seeking True North: The Pathway to Freedom, Beauty and Success. This book is a compilation of the models, methods and tools taught throughout their leadership development “Advances”.

Jeremy is an Event Specialist for Grand Dynamics International (GDI), helping to lead the design, delivery, and implementation of EPIC Leadership Experiences from coast-to-coast for some of the most prestigious companies in the world.

Jeremy has spent the past 25 years of his professional career building high performing teams in his work as a former Chief Program Officer of Safe Schools Mohawk Valley and as the current Chief Innovation Officer for Integrated Community Alternatives Network (ICAN), where he oversees programs that provide Mental and Behavioral Health services to children and families in need.

In addition, he serves as the lead trainer for his organization providing Keynote presentations, training and development, and experiential events at the local, state and national level.

Jeremy has a passion for the outdoors and has spent more than 20 years providing Adventure Based learning and Leadership Development for groups on various High Ropes Challenge Courses located throughout the Adirondack Mountain Region in upstate New York.

In his down time, he continues his unending quest to seek adventure in all its forms, whether that be hiking the nearest mountain, through his passion for travel and experiencing different cultures or simply by making the most out of every experience he’s able to share with his family and friends.

Ashley Futral Chapman is considered one of the Best Freediving Instructors in the world. She is a lead Grand Dynamics Facilitator and Elite Coach, specializing in water-based team experiences. She teaches participants how to shift their mindset and about the physiology of optimal performance through the lens of freediving. North Carolina native, Ashley has undoubtedly left her mark on the world of competitive freediving. She took interest in the sport of freediving in 2008 as a means of spearfishing the North Carolina waters with her husband, Ren. Years of competitive experience have culminated in 3 world records and 17 national records. Co-owning and operating the freediving company, Evolve Freediving, Ashley teaches people the art of breathold diving.

Sven Jorgensen is a Master of The Impossible Arts. Sven has dedicated his life, and his considerable passion, to learning stupidly difficult skills…so you don’t have to. As a veteran circus artist with thousands of performances throughout Europe and the Americas, Sven uses feats such as The Tower of Power and walking The World’s Thinnest Tight Wire, to thrill audiences and remind you that “You are Amazing and Everything is Possible!”.

Sven is an endurance athlete who loves running, hiking, biking, and climbing his way up and down every mountain trail he can get his feet on!

Sven created the first dedicated circus arts training space in Colorado and went on to help design and manage The Boulder Circus Center, leading countless performance teams.

Sven’s mission is clear: elevate and uplift humanity by demonstrating, live and in-person, the impossible made possible.

David Fabricius is a world-class YPO resource and award winning keynote speaker, fire walk facilitator, sales trainer, business-investment-life coach, real estate entrepreneur-educator, and author.

As a Keynote Speaker at Global Leadership Conferences for Entrepreneurs and Corporate Leaders, David is a world renowned team building facilitator and globally one of the highest rated speakers for YPO, WPO and EO. He is most famous for his fire walk experiences and has worked with organizations such as Microsoft, Motorola, Mass Mutual, Avis, The IMD in Switzerland and many more.

As a seasoned Time Mastery Coach for Lifestyle Optimization and the co-owner of Savage Adventure Camp, Colin is on a mission to revolutionize how we perceive time and embrace life’s exhilarating challenges. With a formidable background as a CPA in public accounting, Colin intimately understands the perils of high stress and burnout. Today, he channels his expertise to guide busy professionals and parents toward reclaiming their time and reigniting their passion for life. His approach is rooted in cultivating meaningful connections, spending quality time with loved ones, and creating new experiences, fostering a holistic sense of well-being. Strategic workshops, experiential learning, and personalized coaching converge to cultivate a culture of innovation, collaboration, and empowered leadership, propelling companies toward unparalleled success. An avid endurance athlete, he thrives on pushing his physical and mental boundaries, constantly seeking new ways to optimize the human experience.

Ren is an experienced safety diver for various international freediving competitions including PFI’s Deja Blue. He has acted as Chief of Safety for Suunto’s Vertical Blue, Caribbean Cup, The Big Blue, Deepsea Challenge, and even AIDA Individual World Championships.

Ren was raised in Wilmington, NC, and alongside Ashley has taught freediving since 2009. He began freedive spearfishing in 2007 and has since made a name for himself in the spearfishing community as a spearfishing instructor, spearing guide, videographer, and underground producer of spearfishing videos with Searen Productions.

Ren also boasts the position as coach to his world record-holding wife.

Kevin Sears is a nationally known managed care and population health expert who has led payer and provider business operations for national and international healthcare systems such as The Cleveland Clinic, Trinity Health, Inc. and Intermountain Health Care, as well as health plans such as Coventry Health Care and The Centene Corporation. Kevin also spent a year on special assignment advising the Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation in developing alternative payment models for the Affordable Care Act.

During the past 25 years, teams under Kevin’s leadership have achieved industry-leading results through a wide variety of initiatives to drive organic growth, enhance top-line revenue, improve medical expense management, and reduce administrative costs. Kevin’s areas of expertise include:

• Managed Care Business Strategy
• Value-based Contracting and Population Health-based Care Redesign
• Contracting, Pricing, and Product Development
• Provider Network Development, Credentialing, and Operations
• Product Development, Insurance Sales, and Payer Operations
• Medicare Advantage Organization and Product Development

Kevin publishes and speaks widely. He has served or currently serves on a number of influential advisory boards and national forums including United Health Group, Anthem, Cigna, the Health Care Transformation Task Force and the National Business Group on Health. Kevin holds an MHA from The Ohio State University and a BA from Brigham Young University.

Jimsak is a lead program facilitator specializing in transformational experiences for business leaders and teams.

Known for his innovative approaches to learning and development, Jimsak has a proven track record in designing and implementing dynamic training programs that enhance individual, team, and organizational performance with customized, world-class adventure experiences.

Jim supports organizations in rapidly building diversity and inclusion initiatives. As a cultural architect and an equity-focused professional, he has consulted numerous organizations to improve their diversity in talent and sustain an inclusive culture.

He has served clients in various industries including higher education, policy and research, the nonprofit sector, logistics, tech, and data.