Featured Speakers

Dr. James Cole has served with USSOCOM and has been a Navy Officer, paratrooper, military diver, and surgeon. He left active duty in 2000 but after the events of September 11th, he rejoined the reserves and was deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq. He practices Trauma Surgery, Critical Care, and Emergency General Surgery in Illinois.

Danielle Klein is a Process Improvement Specialist at Nationwide Children's Hospital where she facilitates teams through process improvement projects that improve safety, efficiency, and effectiveness. Danielle is an Ohio University graduate with a bachelor's in industrial and systems engineering and a master's in healthcare administration. She also received her Six Sigma Black Belt certification from the American Society for Quality. Danielle loves contributing to improvements in clinical and non-clinical spaces and the opportunity to communicate and educate on process improvement methodologies.

As Director of Continuous Improvement at Ace Hardware’s Corporate office in Oak Brook, Illinois, Tim Malone is a transformative leader with a proven track record in supply chain optimization and operational excellence. Tim has advanced through key roles in Inventory Control, Replenishment Planning, Supplier Compliance, and led Ace’s import warehousing operations across multiple locations.

Currently, Tim spearheads the Continuous Improvement department, driving Lean Six Sigma initiatives and enhancing the efficiency of Ace’s private Fleet utilization. Renowned for cultivating a culture of accountability and continuous improvement, Tim is dedicated to delivering measurable results and fostering high-performing teams.

Tim Malone holds an MBA from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Science in Operations Supply Chain Management from Marquette University.

Anna Nguyen has worked at Nationwide Children’s Hospital for 14 years in various roles in biobanking and cancer research, bioinformatics, data management, and now process improvement. She is currently a Process Improvement Specialist and facilitates teams from all over the organization through process improvement and change. She is an Ohio Wesleyan University graduate with a bachelor’s in chemistry and zoology.

Mark Reich spent 23 years at Toyota, beginning in Japan in 1988, where he worked in Product Planning during the critical launch of Lexus. In 1994, he returned to the U.S. to join the Toyota Supplier Support Center (TSSC), helping apply the Toyota Production System (TPS) across industries—including healthcare and nonprofits.

In 2011, Mark joined the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI), serving as COO and now as Senior Coach and Chief Engineer, Strategy. He has led lean transformations and coached executives in hoshin kanri across companies such as GE Appliances, Michigan Medicine, and Turner Construction.

Mark holds a degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and studied Japanese at Nanzan University. He is fluent in Japanese.