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Experience

• Co-Founder and Principal, The LeaderFuel Center LLC dba LeaderFuelNow

• Consultant, Facilitator, Strategist, Coach, Connector

• Project Director for The Pacific Institute since 1993 – Cultural Transformation Expertise – Pacific Accord Inc.

• Assisted over 1800 small businesses in start-up phase through Kauffman Foundation FastTrac Program

• A Serial Entrepreneur who has successfully started, bought and sold over 25 businesses in the fields of technology, healthcare, financial services, consulting, networking and education with gross revenues of over $60 million

• Averages 150 annual speaking engagements or programs facilitated worldwide

• Facilitates Women’s Executive and Emerging Leaders programs to advance women in business globally

• Considered a “positive instigator” and global resource for the U.S. State Dept. and United Nations NGOs

• Founder of Connect the Dottes for A Better KCK, a Kansas City, KS community coalition & gang intervention program

• Expertise

• Facilitation of strategy sessions, board meetings and retreats, focus groups, labor relations, and community coalitions

• Expertise in helping organizations create a constructive mindset toward achieving bolder goals

• Adept at shifting organizational culture toward achievement oriented and self-actualizing

• Intuitive listener and interactive facilitator resulting in increased efficacy toward outcomes

• Problem-solving Strategist and Management & Leadership Development consultant

• Employee engagement strategies and solutions

• Educated in cognitive re-structuring and identifying root cause psychological barriers

Geographic/Regional Experience

United States, Australia, India, Europe, Latin America, Africa. Denise facilitates workshops on Leadership, Business Growth, Goal-Setting, Entrepreneurship and Culture for the U.S. Dept. of State for the highest ranking female parliamentarians and entrepreneurial business leaders in underdeveloped countries. She also facilitated workshops and assisted in developing the strategic plan for land reform in the Ukraine. Facilitated C200’s Strategic Plan for advancing women in business worldwide.

Business Summary

Denise Mills’ title of Chief Mindset Officer fits her well. She respectfully challenges individual perspectives while coaching, facilitating Strategy Sessions, Board Meetings, Leadership Development programs, and Executive and Small Business Round Tables. Participants are challenged to think about how and why they think the way they do which affects their outcomes. Her philosophy of “we contribute to what we complain about” holds each of us accountable for the solution, setting it up for success by keeping it simple and practical. Denise’s intuitive nature, candid approach and unique team-building activities combined with simple and effective tools create a powerful result.

Project Successes

• Increased client organization Gallup Engagement Scores by 28% in one year

• Facilitated Strategic Planning process for Committee of 200 (C200.org) to Advance Business Women nationally.

• Catalyst for bringing business partners to the table to successfully open and sustain School based health centers into Wyandotte High School and Northwest Middle School in Kansas City KS

• Significant shift in Fortune 100 company culture from passive/defensive to constructive over a period of 2 years

• Facilitated strategic planning and customized leadership development workshops for Fortune 100 companies including Toyota, Honeywell, and DuPont International

• Facilitated International strategic planning and leadership discussions for the past 8 years with government officials and parliamentarians representing over 70 countries with significant projects in Australia, Ukraine, Brazil, Bosnia-Herzegovina, India, Sierra Leone, and Egypt to name a few.

Awards, Affiliations and Community Involvement

• 2017 – Selected by Archdiocese to lead Mission Teams to promote living Christian Values

• 2011 & 2008 – Honored as one of the “Most Influential Women” in Kansas City

• 2010 – Selected to represent the United Nations peace initiative “Celebrate Positive” worldwide

• 2009 & 2003 – Recognized by Kansas City Small Business Monthly / Think Bigger Media as one of Top “25 Under 25” Businesses in the Kansas City area; First two-time winner in the history of the award

• 2006 – Selected to represent and accept an award on behalf of the Johnson County Library at the White House, when recognized as one of the Top 3 libraries in the nation

• 2002 – Honored by KC Business Journal “Women Who Mean Business”

• Public Board Member for The American Institute of Architects

• Board member for Johnson County Library Foundation and Catholic Education Foundation

• Initiated and organized Young Professionals Organization for American Red Cross

• Founding member of United Way Women’s Leadership Council