NEXT Summit

Colby Burke
Founder, Turos Group

Founder of The Turos Group, Colby is a strategic momentum-builder who excels in talent development at all levels. Motivated by the collective potential of developing people and winning organizations, Colby’s research-based framework, The Five Rhythms, solves business problems with people solutions, maximizing employee engagement and organizational performance.

With more than 20 years of leadership experience across a variety of organizations, Colby has proven success in performance development, cultural transformation, and career transition modeling. He is proficient in developing high potential performers and has extensive C-suite collaboration with succession planning. Using his expertise in elevating human resources to a strategic business contributor, Colby leads organizations in equipping sessions and action plan creation to facilitate ongoing workplace improvements and enhanced employee engagement, leading to increased organizational performance. A TeamTelligent Associate, Colby’s certifications include TeamTelligent KSA Suite, Lominger Leadership Architect, MBTI, and various tools from The Ken Blanchard Companies.

Colby has worked within both for-profit and non-profit organizations, one of which earned the Chicago Tribune’s #1 Best Place to Work in Chicagoland for mid-sized firms, and he spearheaded an industry-first, international human resources Culture Conference. Colby lives in the Chicago area with his wife and two boys.

Dr. Robert L. Jackson
Chief Academic Officer
Great Hearts America

Dr. Jackson serves as the Chief Academic Officer of Great Hearts America and the Founding Director of the Institute for Classical Education. For a dozen years, he served as a professor of English and education at The King’s College (New York), training future teachers in the rudiments of educational history and philosophy—i.e., the great books and the liberal arts. His research interests include the interdisciplinary integration of poetry and the early 20th century debates between progressives and classicists concerning public schools. His articles and essays have been published in Society, Academic Questions, Mythlore, and Comment. Dr. Jackson received awards for teaching excellence at Florida State University and The King’s College. His administrative experience includes the oversight of two university language programs, coordination of a childhood education degree, and service as an associate provost.

Dr. Kimberly Thornbury
Senior Program Director for Enrichment
M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust

With nearly 25 years of service in higher education, Dr. Thornbury has a wealth of experience as a nonprofit volunteer, board member and community leader. Through her roles in higher education, she has provided leadership in research, communication, strategic planning, student affairs and enrollment management for three different institutions. The Murdock Trust is characterized by tremendous intentionality and care focused on human flourishing and the common good. Not only does the Trust provide funds, they are also deeply committed to bringing people, ideas and information together to help nonprofit executives, educators, business and community leaders and other influencers better serve their organizations and communities. Dr. Thornbury serves on the executive team and works to initiate, oversee and help facilitate strategic training and gatherings including board training, fundraising, and leadership.

Lori Windham
Senior Counsel
Becket

Lori Windham is Senior Counsel at Becket, where she has represented clients on cutting-edge religious freedom issues since 2005. She has represented parties before the Supreme Court, including Becket’s victories in Hosanna-Tabor, Hobby Lobby, and Little Sisters of the Poor. She has won more than a dozen victories in federal appellate courts, including successful defense of cities and school districts sued for accommodating religion, victories for houses of worship facing discrimination in the land use process, and overturning a multimillion-dollar judgment against a major evangelical ministry. She recently won a first-in-the-nation injunction for an adoption agency threatened with shutdown for its religious beliefs.

Recognized in Washington as an expert on religious freedom issues, Lori has testified in Congressional oversight hearings before the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Outside Washington, Lori is sought-after speaker on First Amendment law, including appearances at Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, Central European University, and many others.