Todd Conklin spent 25 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a Senior Advisor for Organizational and Safety Culture. Los Alamos National Laboratory is one of the world’s foremost research and development laboratories. Conklin has been working on the Human Performance program for the last 15 years of his 25-year career. It is in this fortunate position where he enjoys the best of both the academic world and the world of safety in practice.

Conklin holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from the University of New Mexico. He speaks all over the world to executives, groups and work teams who are interested in better understanding the relationship between the workers in the field and the organization’s systems, processes, and programs. He has brought these systems to major corporations around the world. Conklin practices these ideas not only in his own workplace, but also in the event investigations at other workplaces around the world. Conklin’s best selling book, Pre-Accident Investigations: An introduction to Organizational Safety is a best selling book on safety. Conklin has several other books and a huge podcast following for his twice-weekly podcast of the same name. Conklin defines safety at his workplace like this: “Safety is the ability for workers to be able to do work in a varying and unpredictable world.”

Amy O. Cooke is the retired Chief Executive Officer of the John Locke Foundation and Publisher of Carolina Journal and founder of the public policy consulting firm East x West Strategies.

As Locke’s CEO, Cooke led the organization through the COVID crisis and merger with the Civitas Institute that transformed Locke from a think tank into a battle tank. Now in its fourth decade, the award-winning Locke is the most influential driving force for public policy that ensures all North Carolinians have the freedom and opportunity to thrive.

Prior to her move to North Carolina, Cooke served as Executive Vice President of the Independence Institute (II), Colorado’s free-market think tank. She was also Director of the Energy and Environmental Policy Center at II, Locke’s sister think tank.

Dennis Unkovic is a senior partner with the law firm of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP.  He frequently briefs business executives, trade associations, and government leaders on high profile issues, and negotiates complex commercial transactions, including international mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures as well as advising on inbound and outbound investment projects.

Michael Grubich is President & Managing Partner at LAK Group. With more than 25 years of global leadership experience, Grubich is a seasoned Human Resources executive. He provides strategic leadership regarding all talent solutions and initiatives which enhance the performance of organizations, individuals, teams, and leaders.

Throughout his career, Grubich served in several global thought and operational leadership roles. As part of his responsibilities, he led a variety of Human Resources functions, including Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Culture Shaping, Organization Design & Development, Talent Acquisition, Succession Management, Learning & Development, Assessment Change Management, Strategic Planning, and Engagement Practices.

Gus Faucher is senior vice president and chief economist of The PNC Financial Services Group, serving as the principal spokesperson on all economic issues for PNC.

Faucher is frequently cited in international, national, and regional media outlets including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He serves on the board of directors of The Economic Club of Pittsburgh - the local chapter of National Association of Business Economics (NABE). He is also co-chair of the Financial Roundtable of NABE.

Faucher earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, with concentrations in labor economics and public economics. He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Cornell University.

Brian Foy is with AssuredPartners in their Columbus office. Foy has years of experience with multi-national issue brokers in developing both insured and alternative risk transfer mechanisms, for large property and casualty programs, both for private and public companies. Foy coordinates the processes to communicate the qualities of his clients to the insurance marketplace to achieve effective risk transfer process, unique to each client.

Beth Alexander is a Senior Consultant for TÜV SÜD GRC. She is responsible for providing fire protection expertise to clients. Her work experiences include health care, steel mills, woodworking, metalworking, and warehousing. She works to create a team with clients and the architects/engineers to solve their fire protection needs.

John Link is a seasoned professional with a wealth of experience in consulting and insurance. A proud graduate of the University of Iowa with a BBA (’90), Link has dedicated 35 years to the business world, 25 of which were spent refining his skills in insurance with Cottingham & Butler Insurance. Currently based in Dubuque, Iowa, Link is a trusted advisor for corporations ranging in size from $20 million to $12 billion in sales. The foundry team at Cottingham & Butler works with three dozen foundries, skillfully navigating the complexities of their insurance risks. 

Reg Zeller has held executive roles from product management to acquisitions in four different Fortune 500 companies. In 2017 he acquired Ermak, and is now CEO and Founder of CaneKast.

Matt Fetter has been with Metal Technologies Inc. since it was formed in 1997, starting as Sales Manager and then Vice President of Sales and Product Engineering. He was named Chief Operating Officer in 2010, followed by President in 2016. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Toledo.

Susan Bear is responsible for accelerating and ensuring robust processes are available for Engineering, Quality Program Management, and Information Technology (IT) functions used by the Grede centers of operations and corporate teams. In addition, she provides strategy and vision for new engineering business development and is involved with customer-related concerns in the functions of Quality, Engineering, and Program Management.

Bear joined Grede in July 2018. Prior to that, she spent 14 years at Stabilus GmbH, where she served most recently as Director of Engineering and Program Management. She also held roles in Application Engineering, Program Management, and Sales Management. Bear began her career as a Design Engineer in the manual clutch division at ZF Sachs. Bear is also a member of the AFS Board of Directors.

Todd Pagel is Vice President of Operations for Waupaca Foundry. He first joined the company in 1993 and became Plant Manager in 2015. Todd is an expert in foundry plant operations.

Angela Schmeisser leads St. Marys Foundry, a Midwestern iron foundry with a reputation for producing intricately-cored, complex castings. A graduate of the West Virginia University College of Business & Economics, she has extensive experience working in the metals industry. She is skilled in Operations Management, Sales, and Manufacturing. Schmeisser is the 2023-2024 President of AFS.

David Gilson is a business commercial executive with experience across national and international responsibilities, markets, and accounts. He has expert qualifications in identifying and capturing market opportunities to accelerate organic growth, increase revenues, and improve profit contributions. He also has capabilities in identifying acquisition end market opportunities. Gilson, who is the 2023-2024 AFS First Vice President, has been an expert presenter at many AFS events.

John Lancaster is the Plant Director at General Motors, bringing experience from previous roles at General Motors. Lancaster holds a Masters Degree in Engineering Management from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. With a robust skill set that includes continuous improvement, manufacturing operations management, manufacturing engineering, value stream mapping, Toyota production system and more, Lancaster contributes valuable insights to the metalcasting industry. He previously served on the AFS Board of Directors from 2018 to 2022 and has been involved in AFS at the chapter level.

Kiley Eck Hayon started her career at Eck Industries in 2002 as a quality project manager, progressing with increasing responsibilities to become Vice President of HR & Finance in 2010, and then President in 2016. Hayon earned a BA in computer information systems and an MBA from University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Hayon is a member of the AFS Board of Directors. Hayon is also a member of the AFS Finance Committee.

Liz Ulman is the Director of Employee Communications & Initiatives for MacLean Power Systems. She is responsible for an array of people-related activities including compliance, diversity, internal communications, and much more. Prior to this role she served as Vice President of Dotson Iron Castings for several years. Ulman is also a member of the AFS Board of Directors and past member of the AFS Talent Development Division.

Michelle Szymik, MS, PHR has a diverse range of work experience. Szymik currently serves as the VP of Human Resources at Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry Co. Szymik has a background in process improvement and performance management. She has a Master of Science (MS) degree in Organizational Performance and Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Human Resource Management, both from Bellevue University. Szymik also holds several certifications including a Professional Human Resources Certification (PHR) from HRCI, a SHRM-CP certification from the Society for Human Resource Management, and a Professional in Human Resources® (PHR®) certification from HRCI. She is a member of the AFS Talent Development Division.

Jean Bye has spent over 45 years with Dotson and served as the company’s CEO from 2010 until 2020 and as the Executive Chair of the Board until her retirement in 2021. 

Beginning her career with Dotson Iron Castings in the 1970s, Bye is the first woman and non-family member to serve as President and CEO in the company’s over 100-year history. As a pioneer for women in metal casting, Bye has spearheaded numerous lean manufacturing initiatives that have had a tremendous impact on Dotson. By implementing a first-in/first-out process, the company saw significant improvements to work-in-process and finish goods times, as well as on-time delivery, casting lead times and PPM rejects. 

In addition to her strong work ethic, commitment to excellence and keen technical knowledge, Bye is a dynamic leader who is committed to paving the way for the next generation of women in manufacturing. She serves as a formal and informal mentor for many of her employees, and actively collaborates with managers to develop employees and support their careers. Bye leads presentations nationwide focused on the shortage of skilled workers in the metal casting industry and highlights the benefits of hiring women. She helped launch the association’s “Women in Metalcasting” (WIM) group and in 2018, was honored with a WIM Award for Excellence which recognizes exceptional leaders, champions, mentors and role models for women in the metal casting industry. 

Bye’s leadership spans beyond her role at Dotson, as evidenced through her support of both employees and the Mankato community in the wake of a devastating fire in 2017. The disaster recovery efforts of Bye and her team were honored with awards from both MN Business and the Manufacturing Leadership Council. She has also led numerous other community initiatives ranging from sponsoring an Automation Station Exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota to serving as a board member of the Mankato Area YMCA.

Doug Kurkul has been CEO of AFS since 2016. On his watch, AFS executed a landmark Economic Impact Analysis, implemented a new Strategic Plan, grew corporate membership to a 20-year high, won congressional approval of significant research funding, introduced new programs and communications, and solidified the Society’s balance sheet through debt elimination. Before joining AFS, he led the Printing & Imaging Association of Mid-America, the Round Rock Economic Development Partnership, and the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce, and was VP of Member Communications & Marketing at the National Association of Manufacturers, named by Fortune magazine as one of the 10 most influential associations in the nation’s capital. He has represented AFS at industry events in China, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Poland, Italy, Mexico and throughout the U.S. 

He earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the American University in Washington D.C. and a B.A. from Ashland University in Ohio, as well as leadership training from Duke University’s Center for Creative Leadership.

Stephanie Salmon provides advocacy representation for AFS in Washington, D.C. An experienced government relations professional, she has spearheaded AFS policy achievements on a variety of industry issues. Salmon holds a BA in International Studies from The American University.