Convention Speaker Biographies
Lindsay Stevenson, CPA, CGMA is the 2026-2027 Vice Chair of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). Throughout her career, Stevenson has served in several volunteer roles with the AICPA: AICPA Board of Directors, AICPA Nominations Committee, AICPA Depository Institutions Expert Panel, chair of the Audit & Finance Committee, the Emerging Professionals Initiatives Committee, and the Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee, and as a member and elected state representative of Council.
Stevenson is Partner, Strategy & Operations at AAFCPAs where she helps ensure the firm’s strategic priorities are carried through in practice to better support clients. Working across service areas, she aligns decisions related to operations, systems, and technology to strengthen how the firm delivers insight, coordination, and long-term value.
She brings more than 20 years of experience working with executive leadership and boards across professional services and financial institutions. She has guided organizations through complex decisions around growth, technology investment, and organizational alignment. As a consultant, she has overseen diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives, cultural alignment frameworks, coaching programs, and organizational alignment plans.
Stevenson was named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor multiple years and is a recipient of both the AICPA’s Outstanding Young CPA of the Year award as well as the South Dakota Society of CPAs’ Outstanding Young Professional Award. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Gonzaga University’s School of Business Administration.
Dr. Chris Kuehl is a Managing Director of Armada Corporate Intelligence. He provides forecasts and strategic guidance for a wide variety of corporate clients around the world. He is the chief economist for several national and international organizations – Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, National Association of Credit Management, Finance, Credit and International Business and the Business Information Industry Association.
Dan Meers has served as KC Wolf, the world-famous mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs, for more than 30 years, becoming one of the most recognizable and beloved mascots in professional sports. In 2006, he made history as the first NFL mascot inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame, a testament to his creativity, energy, and impact both on and off the field. Throughout his remarkable career, Dan has entertained millions of fans while performing in more than 30 states and six countries, bringing laughter, excitement, and encouragement to audiences around the globe.
While many know him as KC Wolf, Dan’s influence reaches far beyond Arrowhead Stadium. He is a highly sought-after humorous and motivational speaker who connects with audiences of all ages through authentic storytelling, humor, and heartfelt inspiration. Drawing from his unique experiences, personal challenges, and decades in the spotlight, Dan shares powerful lessons about perseverance, attitude, leadership, service, and living life with purpose and passion.
Dan’s enthusiasm, optimism, and genuine love for people are contagious. Whether speaking to corporate leaders, educators, healthcare professionals, students, faith-based groups, or community organizations, he leaves audiences energized, encouraged, and inspired to embrace life to the fullest. His ability to combine humor with meaningful life lessons creates an unforgettable experience that resonates long after the event ends.
Whether you are a lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fan or simply someone looking for inspiration and laughter, Dan Meers delivers a message filled with joy, heart, and practical wisdom that audiences never forget.
Serving as the Bill Daniels Professor of Business Ethics and Legal Studies at the University of Denver, Corey Ciocchetti is one of the University’s most popular and highest-rated professors. Corey joined DU after graduating with a law degree from Duke University School of Law, a Master's degree in Religious Studies and two Bachelor's degrees in Finance and Economics—summa cum laude—from the University of Denver.
Corey is a talented speaker and teacher and has won multiple teaching and speaking awards, including the Outstanding Professor of the Year Award and the Joel Goldman Award for most respected speaker on the CAMPUSPEAK roster. In 2023, he was named one of the Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors in the country. Corey currently teaches classes on business law and ethics in a department ranked by the Wall Street Journal and Business Week in the top ten nationwide for producing students with high ethical standards.
Corey also speaks to tens of thousands of individuals each year about “authentic success” and living an ethical life and is the author of the book Inspire Integrity: Chase An Authentic Life. He has spoken to diverse audiences in over 350 cities and 46 states over the past eighteen years. A Colorado native, Corey resides in Denver with his wife, Jillian, and daughters Sophia and Sydney.
Since founding the Leadership Difference in 1995, over 450,000 people have attended Dave’s “enter-TRAIN-ment” seminars on topics that include leadership, customer service, selling skills, and personal performance enhancement. His clients include Allstate Insurance, Bank of America, Universal Studios, Hilton Worldwide, Janssen/Johnson and Johnson, Novartis, Sub-Zero Wolf Appliances, Electrolux Appliances, Trek Bikes, Walt Disney World and the CIA. In July 2013, Meeting Professionals International selected Best Speaker of the Year at their World Education Congress in Las Vegas. In September 2015, Meetings and Conventions Magazine named Dave one of the Best Speakers of the Year.
Dave is the author of four books. Live and Learn or Die Stupid! focuses on personal contentment and performance excellence. The Power of Understanding People, was released in December 2013 by acclaimed publisher Wiley and was immediately named Best Business Book of the Month by Amazon. The Power of Understanding Yourself, was released on January 7, 2019 also by Wiley and was an Editor’s Pick by getAbstract and named Top Read by Training Magazine. His fourth book, Peak Performance Culture: The Five Metrics of Organizational Excellence, was released in September 2020 on Wiley and is used as a textbook for organizational development in colleges around the country.
Dave has a Master’s of Education degree from the University of Illinois and is a certified Advanced Wine Sommelier. After failing to achieve his dream of playing professional baseball, Dave went on to a successful four year career as a coach at the Tee Ball level. Dave lives in the Walla Walla Valley wine country with his wife of 39 years, Lori; has two adult children, Brooklyn and Slade; three horses, and Miles and Mingus – the canine security system (and Jazz tribute).
Lee Klumpp, CPA, CGMA, is a nationally recognized leader in nonprofit and governmental accounting, audit methodology, and financial reporting. With over 30 years of experience, he has built a distinguished career guiding firms’ Professional Practice Groups, shaping audit and accounting policies, and advising organizations on complex technical issues. His deep expertise extends to GAAP, GAAS, GASB, and regulatory compliance, with a specialization in nonprofit financial reporting (FASB ASC 958), Single Audits (OMB Uniform Guidance), and governance best practices.
Lee has held senior leadership roles in major CPA firms, serving as National Assurance Technical Principal and Professional Practice Principal at BDO USA. In these roles, he has led firm-wide initiatives to enhance audit quality, develop technical policies, and train professionals on emerging accounting standards. His expertise is widely sought after by audit teams nationwide, advising on financial reporting complexities, regulatory compliance, and risk management strategies.
As a former FASB Fellow, Lee directly contributed to the development of accounting standards for nonprofits, helping shape industry practices in financial statement presentation, revenue recognition, and liquidity disclosures. His leadership has extended to professional organizations such as AICPA and GWSCPA, where he has influenced industry thought leadership, ethics policies, and audit methodologies.
Lee is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and educator in the nonprofit and governmental accounting sector. He has presented at AICPA conferences, GWSCPA Nonprofit Symposiums, and state CPA society events, delivering technical updates on FASB standards, compliance, and financial statement interpretation. His expertise has also been showcased through numerous articles and blogs published in Accounting Today, Nonprofit World Magazine, ASAE Now, and BDO’s Nonprofit Standard Newsletter.
Susan Smith manages her own firm specializing in tax planning for individuals and business owners and is also a frequent speaker at tax conferences. Smith was a Senior Manager in the tax departments of Price Waterhouse and Peat Marwick (the predecessor of KPMG). While at Price Waterhouse, she also held the national specialist designation for the real estate and partnership tax practices. During her time at Peat Marwick, Smith led the real estate and tax practices locally. She was an associate adjunct professor at Widener University in the master’s taxation program. Her ratings have consistently exceeded 4.8 on a scale of 5.0. Smith is a four-time recipient of the James L. McCoy Discussion Leader of the Year Award for excellence in teaching. And in 2015, 2016, and 2018, she received the Surgent Outstanding Discussion Leader Award because of her consistently high evaluations for knowledge and presentation skills. Smith earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with an accounting concentration, from the University of Toledo.
Jeff Butler is an author and workplace strategist who explores human behavior within the working world. After graduating with a computer science degree from UC Berkeley, he worked at various companies in Silicon Valley before starting his own which have included building web applications to analyzing technology trends. Jeff addressed companies like Google, Amazon, John Deere and Coldwell Banker. As a researcher and practitioner, he also runs a consulting company and a tech company, TrinityFix where he is able to test his ideas in different workplace environments. His ideas have made it to TEDx twice, appeared in dozens of media outlets including two books on human behavior:- The Authentic Workplace and The Key To The New You . Currently, he lives in Dallas, Texas as an out of place Californian.
