Brigadier General (retired) Rhonda Cornum, PhD, MD
Retired U.S. Army Colonel, POW Survivor, Leadership & Resilience Expert

Resilient Leadership Starts with You

Resilient leadership begins long before a crisis occurs. It starts with the mindset and daily habits leaders develop within themselves.

In this powerful and deeply personal keynote, Dr. Rhonda Cornum introduces three essential resilient thinking skills that leaders can apply every day to strengthen decision-making, adaptability, and personal leadership capacity. Drawing from her extraordinary military career and her experience as a prisoner of war, Dr. Cornum shares how resilience is built, practiced, and sustained through both adversity and everyday challenges.

Participants will explore each resilient thinking skill through a practical leadership framework, including redefining the skill, understanding its purpose, learning actionable steps for implementation, and recognizing when to apply it. Dr. Cornum connects these concepts through compelling real-world examples, contrasting lessons learned during captivity with relatable situations leaders encounter in daily professional and personal life.

The session concludes with an interactive discussion, allowing participants to reflect on how resilient thinking can immediately influence their leadership approach, team culture, and long-term effectiveness.

Attendees will leave with practical tools and a renewed understanding that resilient leadership starts from within and can be intentionally developed every day.

About

Rhonda Cornum joined the Army as a biochemist in 1978, the first year of women’s integration into the service from the WACs. She later attended USUHS, graduating in 1986, followed by surgery internship at Walter Reed.  She was then assigned to Fort Rucker in several capacities, culminating in her assignment the 229th attack helicopter battalion. While deployed with the 229^thAttack Helicopter Battalion to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, she was shot, and shot down, while on a search and rescue mission for a downed pilot.  Major Cornum was captured and held as a prisoner of war for 8 days. Although losing 5 of an 8 man crew, multiple injuries, sexual assault and uncertainly of survival could have been considered a traumatic event, she used the psychological skills of compartmentalization, reframing, problem solving, purpose and meaning, and goal setting to endure the captivity and subsequent release. She was later able to use those experiences positively while continuing a successful military career.

Following repatriation and several surgeries, she began a Urology residency and subsequent utilization tour. She took command of the 28^th Combat Support Hospital at Fort Bragg, NC on 25 July 2000.  In this position she deployed as the Medical Task Force Commander to Bosnia for SFOR 9 and deployed three subordinate units to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom.  After that command tour she attended the National War College and graduated in June 2003 with a Masters in Strategic Studies.

She commanded the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center from 2003 to 2005. During this time, Landstuhl cared for over 26,000 evacuees from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa; including 5,540 battle injuries.  In June 2005, she became the US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Surgeon, Ft McPherson, GA. Responsibilities included casualty care of the deployed force and providing medical expertise to the higher headquarters for all CONUS-based Army Forces.  Promoted to BG in 2008, she first served as the Assistant Surgeon General for Force Projection, but rapidly moved to the Army G3, where she established and was the first director of the U.S. Army’s novel Comprehensive Soldier Fitness initiative. Rebranded (first) Army Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness, and later Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F), this strategy represents the model for universal implementation of physical and psychological health promotion in the DOD.

In addition to senior flight surgeon wings, BG (ret) Cornum earned the airborne, air assault, and the expert field medic badges. Decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2 OLC), Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (4 OLCs), Purple Heart, Air Medal, POW Medal and others. Dr. Cornum has written or co-authored one book, eight book chapters, and numerous scientific articles.  She sits on numerous committees and advisory boards and is a Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr Cornum is Board certified in Urology, and a Fellow in both the American College of Surgeons and the Aerospace Medical Association.

She retired from the Army in 2012 and resides on a cattle farm in Kentucky.  In addition to consulting on psychological fitness programs, she raises, trains, exhibits and judges Gordon and English Setters.

Dr. Derrick Edwards
Psychologist, Fire Service Veteran, Resilience & Mental Health Expert

About

Dr. Derrick Edwards is a Tennessee licensed professional counselor and mental health advocate dedicated to supporting first responders. With two decades in the fire service and a background as an advanced emergency medical technician (AEMT), he brings a unique perspective to his work in firefighter mental health.

As an assistant professor of psychology at Tennessee Tech University (TTU), he leads the TTU Responder Health Lab, where his research focuses on the psychological impact of emergency response careers.

Holding a master’s degree from TTU and a doctorate from Trevecca Nazarene University, Dr. Edwards is committed to bridging the gap between mental health care and the emergency services community. His expertise in trauma, stress management, and counseling provides firefighters with the tools to build resilience and long-term well-being.

His work helps to empower firefighters with knowledge and resources that foster both mental and physical health throughout their careers.

Dr. Rick Brinkman
Workplace Behavior Expert, Conflict Management Expert

WHINERS, AND SNIPERS, AND TANKS, OH MY!!

Everyone has people in their life they can’t stand, and  Dr. Rick Brinkman literally co-wrote the book on it. “Dealing with People You Can’t Stand, How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst”, is in its 4^th edition as of 2024 and is an international bestseller with translations in 27 languages.

In his trademark entertaining, humorous style, he will show us how to use Conscious Communication^® to successfully transform behaviors like: Whining, Negativity, Attacks, Tantrums, Know-it-alls, Think-they-know-it-alls, Sniping, Narcissists, Yes people, Maybe People, Nothing People and more.

Dr. Brinkman says, “Communication is like a phone number, you need all the digits to get through, and you need them in the right order.  There is a strategy for each of the difficult behaviors that can transform them.  It is just a matter of being a Conscious Communicator^® and taking responsibility for the power you have to influence others.”

Dr. Rick has performed over 4000 programs in 18 countries. His clients have included: The NASA Astronauts Corps and leadership team at Johnson Space Center, LucasFilm, The Dept. of Defense, Sony Pictures, The Federal Reserve, Adobe, FBI, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, NW Leadership in 2016 and many others.

What you will learn:

• How to change your reactions to anyone 
• The 5 Secrets of the Conscious Communicator that will eliminate and prevent half the conflict in your life 
• The how and when to use email, phone, and face to face communication 
• Meeting strategies to have everyone participate, stay focused and meet less while getting more done 
• How to quickly defuse anger and upset 
• Neutralizing group whining, negativity and sniping 
• Resolving different points of view without conflict

About

Dr. Rick Brinkman is a motivational speaker and trainer best known for his Conscious Communication® expertise conveyed to millions of people via keynotes and trainings, radio, television, print interviews, and numerous award-winning books, videos and audio programs. He has presented over 4,000 programs in 18 countries to top companies, associations and government clients.

He is co-author of the international bestselling book, Dealing with People You Can’t Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst, published by McGraw-Hill and translated into 25 languages. He is also co-author of four others, Life by Design: Bringing Out the Best in Yourself, Dealing With Relatives, Love Thy Customer, and Dealing with Meetings You Can’t Stand: How to Meet Less and Do More, available May 2017.

Dr. Rick’s unique presentation style of Educating through Entertainment showcases his acerbic wit and lively storytelling, engaging seven parts of the brain instead of just two from boring facts and figures. This promotes information retention and helps listeners to quickly utilize the communication skills he teaches, leaving his dynamic seminars with immediate, memorable takeaways.

Sharing human behavior insights and content-rich communication strategies, Dr. Rick helps organizations improve leadership performance, teamwork, soft skills, risk and meeting management, and teaches sales and service professionals how to apply his principles of Conscious Communication® to improve their bottom line results.

Dr. Rick has received numerous awards including Funniest Speaker of the Year by the Sales Forum and the Institute for Management Studies (IMS) Distinguished Faculty Award. He has been featured as a communication expert in the Wall St. Journal, O Magazine, CNN, CNBC, The New York Times, USA Today, and many others.

His clients include IBM, Intel, Aetna, NASA Astronaut Corps, Xerox, Chevron, Wells Fargo, Princeton University, the Under Secretary of Defense, LucasFilm, Sony Pictures, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, the FBI, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and countless associations.

Dr. Rick imparts sophisticated knowledge with a light-hearted touch. Using everyday situations, and character sketches, he creates a larger-than-life presentation that fills your people with comic and cosmic “shocks of recognition” and insight. In short, his techniques produce results-oriented action for your organization because the substance of Dr. Rick’s content is embedded by humor into memory.

Lewis “Von” Kliem, MCJ, JD, LL.M.
Attorney, Criminal Justice Leader, Critical Incident Decision-Making Expert

Leading Through Complexity: Clarity, Accountability, and Decision-Making Under Pressure

Public safety leaders in policing, fire, and EMS are operating in an increasingly complex environment where professional judgment, operational realities, evolving expectations, and public scrutiny intersect. Drawing from a unique perspective at the crossroads of training, investigations, litigation, and critical incident evaluation, this session explores how vague or shifting standards can emerge after the fact and create pressure for accountability models that are unclear, inconsistent, or disconnected from human performance under stress. Participants will learn how to identify these dynamics early, distinguish principled standards from aspirational or hindsight-driven expectations, and provide clarity to their teams in high-stakes operational contexts. The presentation emphasizes leadership’s role in aligning policy, training, and evaluation processes with realistic decision-making conditions, while maintaining credibility, transparency, and defensible lines of effort. Designed for public safety executives and senior professionals, this session offers practical lessons leaders can apply across disciplines to navigate uncertainty, strengthen organizational decision-making, and sustain trust through principled, honest accountability.

About

With over 30 years in the criminal justice profession, Von worked as a civilian police officer, attorney, educator, and author.  He was a senior policy attorney for Lexipol and is currently the President and Chief Consulting Officer at Force Science.

As a litigation consultant, Von is involved in some of the most high-profile use-of-force cases in the U.S. and internationally.  His team evaluates police practices, policy, law, and human factors in decision-making and performance.

As a nationally recognized use-of-force expert, Von has presented training for the FBI LEEDS program, the U.S. Marshals, the American Counsel of Second Amendment Lawyers, the Use of Force Summit, the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, and countless local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, police executives, and attorneys.

As a lawyer, Von worked as a Senior Prosecutor, Police Legal Advisor, Senior Policy Attorney, Military Magistrate, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, Operational Law Attorney, Intelligence Law Attorney, and Domestic Operational Law Attorney.  In addition to use-of-force law and constitutional policing, Von specialized in the response, investigation, and prosecution of family violence and sexual assault cases.

As an Army Judge Advocate (Retired), Von was recognized as an Expert Military Justice Practitioner and a highly sought-after police practices, investigations, and use-of-force legal expert.  As a member of the Army Staff, he supported some of the Pentagon’s top attorneys and helped draft DoD and Army use-of-force policy.

Mike Mullane
Retired NASA Astronaut, Vietnam Combat Veteran, Leadership & Safety Culture Expert

Countdown to Leadership, Teamwork, and Safety

Astronaut Mike Mullane will use the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster to develop the causes and dangers of ‘Normalization of Deviance, defined as incremental risk taking until such action becomes the ‘new normal’ for the individual or the team.  The results of this process are ‘predictable surprises’ including injuries and fatalities.  Mullane will also develop lessons on responsibility and accountability in hazardous work environments through the telling of a story from his Air Force flying career in which he was forced into a last second ejection from a crashing fighter aircraft.

About

Colonel Mullane was born September 10, 1945 in Wichita Falls, Texas but spent much of his youth in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he currently resides.  Upon his graduation from West Point in 1967, he was commissioned in the United States Air Force.  As a Weapon Systems Operator aboard RF-4C Phantom aircraft, he completed 134 combat missions in Vietnam.  He holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and is also a graduate of the Air Force Flight Test Engineer School at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Mullane was selected as a Mission Specialist in 1978 in the first group of Space Shuttle Astronauts.  He completed three space missions aboard the Shuttles Discovery (STS-41D) and Atlantis (STS-27 & 36) before retiring from NASA and the Air Force in 1990.

 Mullane has been inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame and is the recipient of many awards, including the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit and the NASA Space Flight Medal.

 Since his retirement from NASA, Colonel Mullane has written an award-winning children’s book, Liftoff! An Astronaut’s Dream, and a popular space-fact book, Do Your Ears Pop In Space?  His memoir, Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut, has been reviewed in the New York Times and on the Jon Stewart Daily Show.  It has also been featured on Barnes and Noble’s 2010 recommended summer reading list.

Mullane has held a lifelong passion for mountain climbing.  Since age 60 he has summited Africa’s highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro, as well as Mt. Rainier and forty of Colorado’s 14,000 ft. peaks.

Colonel Mullane has established himself as an acclaimed professional speaker on the topics of teamwork, leadership and safety.  He has educated, entertained, inspired and thrilled tens of thousands of people from every walk of business and government with his incredibly unique programs.