Description

Save the date for our WBC Spotlight event on April 6th at 12:00 PM! Nearly 4.3 million Americans left their jobs in August of 2021 alone, the highest number on record since the government began collecting data 20 years ago. One of the biggest reasons behind what is being called the Great Resignation is a quest for greater work-life balance which for many was significantly impacted by the pandemic creating a need to re-evaluate. Entrepreneurs, however, often have the ability to scale their work with their lifestyle demands. This spotlight will focus on The Great Resignation and its Ties to the Rise in Entrepreneurship and will feature Steven Blackburn, Chief Operating Officer at LSEO, Brad Zdenek, Innovation Strategist at Penn State University Artificial Intelligence Alliance, Megan Morgan, Founder and President at Principal Ops, Learning & Development Specialist at Benco Dental, and Donald Webster, Executive Director at tecBRIDGE. During this interactive panel discussion, industry leaders navigate the Great Resignation and its impact on entrepreneurship.

See below for more information about our speakers!

Steve Blackburn: Steve Blackburn is the Chief Operating Officer at LSEO, bringing with him years of digital marketing and client services experience developed across various sectors. Steve heads our daily operations. He believes that each team member has a direct responsibility to our customers to deliver the highest quality and provide the best service possible.
Incorporating continuous improvement initiatives, Steve strives to ensure LSEO’s growth in a competitive marketplace. He makes sure our highly skilled and experienced team gets state-of-the-art tools and training. This commitment to personal and professional development enables us to work on our customers’ most challenging items.
Steve joined LSEO in 2019, bringing with him many years of digital marketing and technical expertise developed across a variety of sectors. The attention to detail, excellent rapport-building skills, and accountability he brings to each engagement are contagious. Outside of work, you can often find him watching or attending his favorite sporting events, traveling the country to see his favorite band, or collecting beer from around the world. 

Brad Zdenek: Brad Zdenek is the Innovation Strategist for the Nittany AI Alliance, bringing to the team over 20 years of experience in supporting, developing, and leveraging disruptive technologies to improve the student experience across the K–20 spectrum. Prior to joining Penn State, Brad solidified his love of education while teaching middle school social studies in North Carolina. After choosing to pursue his graduate studies, Brad took on a number of roles at Penn State, including directing the professional development and outreach efforts for both the STEMScouts and Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic initiatives, helping K–12 teachers leverage research-based practices for improving teaching and learning. More recently, Brad served as Innovation Strategist for the Center for Online Innovation in Learning, strategically building and supporting a culture of innovation across the University. Brad is currently a doctoral candidate in educational leadership at Penn State with research interests that include educational ethics, innovation, and the integration and diffusion of educational technology. 

Don Webster: Don Webster is the Executive Director of tecBRIDGE, a regional economic development organization dedicated to building entrepreneurship, innovation, and the knowledge economy in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Don has over forty years of business management and leadership experience. He began his career on Wall Street and rose to be the youngest Executive Vice President of National Westminster Bank USA prior to its sale. During his career at NatWest he was the senior manager in charge of the Bank’s acquisition integration efforts for Citizens First National Bank and Central Jersey Bank and Trust before leading the operations subsidiary of 1,300 staff at Montage Mountain in Scranton. Don is a serial entrepreneur. He has started four companies including a consulting firm specializing in technology consulting, project management, and HR services that was sold to a regional accounting firm, and two software development companies specializing in custom database solutions for small business. Don also manages an angel fund for small business investment in northeast Pennsylvania. Don is a co-founder of the tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition, now in its 20th year, and was named the Ben Franklin Technology Partners 2007 Entrepreneurial Advocate of the Year. He is a former judge for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Business Plan Competition. Don is a graduate of the University of Chicago where he majored in Economics. He and his wife Laura live in Dalton, Pennsylvania and are the proud parents of a daughter who is a Neuroscientist at Brown University and another daughter who is a Direct Care Professional at St. Joseph’s Center. 

Megan Latchford: Megan Latchford currently serves as Learning & Development Specialist for Benco Dental. In her current role, she helps create online & in-person training for associates around processes, tools, policy and company culture. Prior to joining the Benco team, Megan served as Assistant Director for Leadership & Development at Zeta Tau Alpha International Office for five years, training undergraduate women and volunteers. She transitioned to client work focused around project management, social media engagement and eLearning between her time at ZTA and starting at Benco. Megan attended undergrad at the University of South Florida then went on to Loyola University of Chicago where she received her Masters of Education for Student Affairs and Higher Education. She and her husband have four children, Cooper (8), Jack (5), and twins Georgia and Charlie (3). In her free time, Megan volunteers as a member of the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Advisory Board, Nominations Committee Chair for the Junior League of Wilkes-Barre, and ZTA Province President, supporting four chapters of Zeta Tau Alpha in Pennsylvania.