Theme: Crossing the Line

Join us for a fascinating afternoon of live talks and recorded TED talks on topics that inspire us to “cross the line” and improve ourselves, our community, and our world.

300 Olde Half Day Road
Lincolnshire, Illinois, 60069
United States

Denis Serdyukov

Architecture student at the Illinois Institute of Technology

​Denis Serdyukov knows about crossing lines, having had to cross several of them to immigrate to the U.S. from Moscow. This, however, proved to be only a minor threshold when compared to the adaptation, assimilation, and education required to tackle some of the fiercest challenges of being a first-generation immigrant — experiences that have cemented in him values of determination, meta thinking, and a malleability of mind. Denis studies Architecture under a full-tuition scholarship at the Illinois Institute of Technology, maintaining a special interest in the way designed environments affect the social and mental mechanics of their inhabitants’ lives.

Jeff Stein

Senior Account Executive for Key Solutions in Marketing

​Jeffrey L. Stein is a Senior Account Executive for Key Solutions in Marketing. Jeff also spent 12 years as a broadcaster in Chicago, hosting and producing sports talk and public affairs programing, including interviews with Ernie Harwell and Wayne Gretzky. He is an award-winning presenter, coach, and founding member of Midwest Speaking Professionals, and a Distinguished Toastmaster, the organization’s highest honor. Jeff graduated from the University of Indianapolis with a Bachelor Degree in Communications and Business with a minor in Radio/Television.

Johannah Lipscher Simon

Head of Compliance Learning Strategy at Discover Financial Services

​Johannah Lipscher Simon leads Compliance Learning Strategy at Discover Financial Services. She is also an attorney with a variety of professional designations in business analysis, Lean process improvement, technology and insurance. Johannah partners with business leaders to craft innovative, learner-focused solutions that shift mindsets and bring about positive organizational change. Her professional work includes experience in financial services, commercial insurance, consulting, operations and learning & development. Johannah’s life passions are her family, writing and paper crafting.

Mike Terson

Public Relations and Marketing Manager at the Buffalo Grove Park District

Mike Terson is the Public Relations and Marketing Manager at the Buffalo Grove Park District. He has worked as the public address announcer for the Chicago Wolves hockey team and the Chicago Cubs. He also served as a Village Trustee from 2011 – 2014 in his hometown of Buffalo Grove, where he lives in with his wife, Nicole and their 13-year old son, Jack. Mike was inducted into Harper College’s Distinguished Alumni in 2013. He is a graduate of Buffalo Grove High School and earned a degree in Communications from Northern Illinois University.