Each year, RISE West brings together world-class keynote speakers that deliver powerful and insightful messages in a way that moves audiences to action. These speakers are an important part of the conference experience and exemplify the spirit and ingenuity that drives our attendees to pursue success.
Opening Keynote Presentation: Unlocking the Hero Within 
Join us as Heather “Lucky” Penney recounts her experience on the morning of 9/11, when she and her flight lead were sent in a suicide mission against Flight 93. Her reflections on the extraordinary heroism of the passengers show us how we, too, can choose to cultivate our own inner hero.
About the Keynote Speaker
Most widely recognized for her service on September 11, Heather “Lucky” Penney was part of the first wave of women who went directly into fighters from pilot training. The first and only woman in the 121st Fighter Squadron, Heather deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom for initial combat operations as a night-time SCUD Hunter in the western deserts of Iraq, also supporting Special Operations Forces. She flew the F-16 for ten years before having to make the difficult decision to leave the fighter aviation as a single mother. She then flew the special airlift mission and retired out of the Pentagon. For over ten years, Heather was a Director of various Air Force programs for Lockheed Martin, specializing in capture management, government relations, and strategic business development. She now is a Senior Resident Fellow for the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies at the Air Force Association, where she is an expert on defense policy issues related to airpower and the Air Force.
Special Presentation: Building Resilience Against All Odds
With a lifetime of experience as a congenital quad amputee, seasoned Paralympic swimmer, and accessibility designer, Jonathan brings an unmatched worldly perspective. Fueled by his desire to trailblaze for future generations and for those whose voices aren’t heard, he has set out to be the change. Join us to hear Jonathan’s unique outlook on resiliency, determination, and ways for health care to be more inclusive.
About the Keynote Speaker
Born during the Croatian Civil War of Independence (1991-1995), I was placed in an orphanage at birth from my biological family. During this period of time, a Catholic nun from Green Bay, Wisconsin was on a mission trip to Split, Croatia, in order to assist refugee children who had been separated from their parents. Knowing a family back in Green Bay who might be open to adopting a child, she immediately reached out to them. She stated that she found a little boy with no arms and no legs and asked if they wanted him. Sight unseen, they answered a resounding, "Yes!"
Fast forward a few years, I am a high energy kid in small-town Wisconsin in need of an outlet and wanting to be like my older siblings who all had sports of their own. I soon plunged into the world of athletics, quickly grasping onto the sport of swimming. Starting off locally, swimming quickly took me to the national stage as well as the international stage where I competed in Junior Nationals, Junior Worlds, Worlds, Pan-American Games, Canadian Open, Greek Open, and many others.
In 2010, I humbly accepted a position on the resident team at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado where I trained full-time as a Paralympic Swimmer. It was there I began educating and advocating on accessibility, diversity and inclusion through speeches, workshops, and events. After just missing the 2012 team for the Paralympic Games in London, England, I floated down from cloud 9 and enrolled myself into college.
In 2014 to continue my advocacy and education in diversity and inclusion, I signed with a public speaking agency out of Minnesota called The College Agency. This agency allowed me to speak to colleges and universities through their speaker series and Ted talk events.
In 2017, I graduated with high honors from UW-Milwaukee with an undergraduate degree in architecture and a minor in certificate in real estate development. From May 2017 through June 2020 I worked at local architecture firms in the Milwaukee area specializing in construction documents, space planning, rendering, marketing proposals, website development, as well as interior design; all while maintaining my public speaking on the side.
In February 2021, I separated myself from the public speaking agency and opened my own company called Split Star Productions providing keynote speeches and diversity and inclusion workshops to colleges, universities, nonprofits, and companies at various scales. My keynotes and workshops are specialized in accessibility and architecture, disabilities, athletics, as well as LGBTQIA+ through implementation of inclusive techniques in social media, office environments, and day to day language have proven to reach a previously untapped market.
I continue my mission today advocating for diversity and inclusion alongside my passion for architecture and design. I look forward to connecting with you soon and finding a way to improve the community around us