Culture Catalysts 2026: Recognizing the People Who Keep Showing Up
- Nick Lombardino
- 20 hours ago
- 13 min read
Written by CultureCon
This post is a celebration of people 🎉​
People who
✅ Care deeply about culture.
✅ Contribute in their own unique ways.
✅ Help move the work forward, often without seeking recognition.
Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of learning alongside individuals who have been deeply embedded in our community. They aren’t just familiar faces, they’re consistent participants who return year after year, show up fully, and invest their time, energy, and care into the work. As regular attendees and contributors, they’ve helped shape the culture ecosystem through their presence, ideas and commitment to others.
We're calling them Culture Catalystsâš¡
Culture Catalysts spark momentum. They turn values into action, ideas into practice, and conversations into real change. Their impact extends beyond any single role, organization, or moment, strengthening the broader culture movement in ways both visible and unseen.
Below, we’re honored to spotlight a group of Culture Catalysts and celebrate the impact they’ve had on us, our community, their organizations, and the broader communities they serve.
Meet the Culture Catalysts!
Todd Wuestenberg
Chief Culture Officer at Haverkamp Group | LinkedIn
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Todd Wuestenberg approaches culture as both a responsibility and a discipline. As Chief Culture Officer at Haverkamp Group, he leads the organization’s efforts to ensure values are not just articulated, but actively lived through leadership behavior, decision-making, and day-to-day interactions. With deep experience in organizational leadership and the multifamily housing industry, Todd focuses on helping leaders understand the influence they carry and the role they play in shaping the environments their teams experience every day.
As a Culture Catalyst, Todd is committed to making culture practical and actionable. He champions the idea that healthy culture is built through clarity, consistency, and accountability, especially at the leadership level. Through his engagement in the broader culture community, he brings a grounded, real-world perspective to conversations about what it actually takes to sustain trust, belonging, and performance over time. His work reminds us that culture doesn’t improve by accident, it improves when leaders choose to invest in it with intention.
Recommended Watch:
Matt Caldwell
State of Maine Director of Organizational Development at State of Maine | LinkedIn
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Matt Caldwell brings a thoughtful, systems-level approach to organizational development in the public sector. As Director of Organizational Development for the State of Maine, he focuses on strengthening leadership capability, talent practices, and workplace culture across a complex and mission-driven environment. His work centers on helping public servants do their best work by aligning people, purpose, and processes in ways that support both effectiveness and humanity.
As a Culture Catalyst, Matt demonstrates that meaningful culture work is just as critical in government as it is anywhere else. He approaches culture change with pragmatism and care, recognizing the scale, constraints, and responsibility that come with public service. Through his sustained engagement in the broader culture community, Matt brings curiosity, openness, and a commitment to continuous improvement, reinforcing the idea that strong culture is essential to serving communities well.
Beth Ridley
Founder and CEO at Ridley Consulting Group | LinkedIn
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Beth Ridley is the kind of leader who brings both clarity and compassion into every room she enters. Through her work at Ridley Consulting Group, she partners with organizations and leaders to navigate complexity, strengthen relationships, and build cultures rooted in trust, accountability, and humanity. Beth has a rare ability to meet people where they are while still helping them move forward with intention and courage.
As a Culture Catalyst, Beth consistently shows what it looks like to turn values into practice. She creates space for honest conversation, meaningful reflection, and real behavior change, not just at the organizational level, but at the human one. Her work reminds us that culture is shaped in everyday moments, and that lasting impact comes from leaders who are willing to listen deeply, challenge thoughtfully, and lead with heart.
Recommended Watch:
Michelle Naples
Chief Integration Officer at Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin & Upper Michigan | LinkedIn
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Michelle Naples brings a rare blend of systems thinking, humanity, and steady leadership to her work at Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin & Upper Michigan. As Chief Integration Officer, she helps align people, processes, and strategy in service of a deeply mission-driven organization, ensuring that the infrastructure behind the work is as thoughtful and values-centered as the work itself. With decades of experience in nonprofit and public human services, Michelle is known for helping organizations translate purpose into practice in sustainable, human ways.
As a Culture Catalyst, Michelle demonstrates what it looks like to build culture from the inside out. She approaches integration not as a technical exercise, but as a relational one, creating conditions where collaboration, trust, and shared accountability can thrive. Her leadership reflects a belief that strong culture is essential to meaningful impact, and that when people feel supported, aligned, and empowered, both organizations and communities are better served.
Dr. Darin Eich
Founder of Innovation Learning (InnovationTraining.org) | LinkedIn
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Dr. Darin Eich designs learning experiences that feel less like instruction and more like an unfolding story. As an educator and facilitator, he uses narrative, creativity, and play to help individuals and teams ideate together, explore new possibilities, and make meaning of complex ideas. His work invites people into shared experiences where curiosity, imagination, and collaboration come alive, turning abstract concepts into moments of collective insight.
As a Culture Catalyst, Darin shows how storytelling can unlock stronger collaboration and more generative thinking inside organizations. By helping people examine the stories they’re telling, and co-create the ones they want to tell next, he creates space for reflection, trust, and shared ownership. His approach reminds us that culture change doesn’t happen in isolation, it happens when people are invited to imagine and build something together.
Recommended watch:
Dr. Donte Vaughn, DM, MSM
Founder & President at LightPoint Advisors | LinkedIn
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Dr. Donte Vaughn brings rigor, clarity, and lived experience to the work of organizational culture and leadership. With nearly two decades of experience across executive leadership, consulting, and academia, Donte helps organizations understand how culture truly operates, not in theory, but in day-to-day behaviors, decisions, and systems. Through his work at LightPoint Advisors, and previously as CEO of CultureWorx, he partners with leaders to align culture, performance, and purpose in ways that are both human and measurable.
As a Culture Catalyst, Donte challenges organizations to move beyond aspirational language and toward real accountability. He encourages leaders to examine how power, engagement, and responsibility show up in practice, especially during moments of change or tension. His work reinforces the idea that culture is not something organizations have, it’s something they actively shape, and that meaningful progress requires intentional leadership, honest reflection, and sustained commitment over time.
Recommended watch:
Nichole Sirois
Director of Culture and Executive Support at Medical Review Institute of America | LinkedIn
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Nichole Sirois plays a uniquely influential role at Medical Review Institute of America, where culture and leadership support intersect in meaningful ways. As Director of Culture and Executive Support, she helps shape the day-to-day experience of work while also ensuring that leadership is grounded, aligned, and able to show up well for their teams. Her role reflects a deep understanding that culture isn’t built in isolation, but through the rhythms, relationships, and decisions that happen every day.
As a Culture Catalyst, Nichole demonstrates how intentional culture work often happens behind the scenes. She brings thoughtfulness, care, and follow-through to the spaces where trust is built and momentum is sustained, helping leaders and teams operate with greater clarity and cohesion. Her approach reminds us that strong culture is supported not just by bold ideas, but by the people who quietly and consistently help organizations live their values in practice.
Greta Jackson, Ed.S.
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Greta Jackson brings a learning-centered, deeply human approach to leadership and culture strategy. Prior to launching her consulting firm, Cultivare, she led employee engagement and culture enrichment work inside organizations, including her role at Tegria, where she focused on building connection, belonging, and psychological safety at scale. Today, she partners with organizations as a trainer, facilitator, and coach, helping leaders and teams turn values into everyday practice.
As a Culture Catalyst, Greta focuses on helping people do the real work of culture together. She designs spaces where leaders can learn, teams can collaborate more honestly, and organizations can move from intention to action. Her work reflects a belief that culture is cultivated through learning, dialogue, and shared ownership, and that meaningful change happens when people are supported, challenged, and equipped to grow.
Patty Saari
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Patty Saari brings both heart and strategy to the work of workplace engagement. As Senior Vice President of Workplace Engagement at Augeo, she leads efforts to help organizations design recognition and engagement experiences that make people feel genuinely seen and valued. With deep experience across loyalty, recognition, and client strategy, Patty understands how thoughtful systems and programs can strengthen connection, motivation, and trust at scale.
As a Culture Catalyst, Patty focuses on translating care into action. She champions engagement practices that go beyond surface-level rewards and instead reinforce meaningful behaviors, shared values, and everyday moments of appreciation. Through her work and continued involvement in the culture community, Patty reminds us that strong culture is built when people feel recognized not just for what they do, but for who they are and how they contribute.
Jessper Maquindang, EML, SPHR
Founder & Leadership Strategist at FamiLEAD Management Consulting | LinkedIn
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Jessper Maquindang brings a steady, human-centered approach to leadership and culture work, helping organizations move from complexity and fragmentation toward clarity and cohesion. With a background in executive leadership, HR strategy, and organizational development, Jessper partners with leaders and teams to strengthen trust, collaboration, and performance. His work is rooted in the belief that strong cultures are built when people feel aligned, supported, and empowered to do their best work together.
As a Culture Catalyst, Jessper consistently bridges strategy and humanity. He helps leaders translate values into everyday behaviors, guiding teams through change with intention and care. Whether through coaching, facilitation, or leadership development, his approach emphasizes connection, accountability, and shared ownership, reminding us that sustainable performance comes from cultures where people are seen, heard, and developed with purpose.
Recommended watch:
Tricia Huizinga, PHR, SHRM-CP, CRP
Vice President of Human Resources at Baudville Brands | LinkedIn
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Tricia Huizinga brings a thoughtful, people-centered approach to human resources and employee recognition. In her leadership role at Baudville Brands, she helps shape HR strategy and employee experience in ways that reinforce connection, appreciation, and trust. With deep expertise across talent practices and recognition, Tricia understands how intentional HR systems can support both individual growth and organizational culture.
As a Culture Catalyst, Tricia champions recognition as a powerful driver of belonging and performance. She approaches culture work with care and credibility, translating values into practices that help people feel seen and appreciated for how they contribute. Through her engagement in the broader culture community, Tricia consistently brings curiosity, generosity, and a commitment to helping organizations build cultures where people are recognized not just for results, but for the impact they have on one another.
Courtney Cordova, SHRM-CP
Talent Acquisition Manager at College of the Canyons | LinkedIn
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Courtney Cordova brings a thoughtful, people-centered approach to talent acquisition in higher education. As Talent Acquisition Manager at College of the Canyons, she focuses on how institutions attract, engage, and welcome talent in ways that reflect their values and long-term goals. Her work sits at the intersection of hiring, culture, and employee experience, helping ensure that the first touchpoint people have with the organization is intentional and human.
As a Culture Catalyst, Courtney approaches talent acquisition as more than a transactional process. She views it as a powerful lever for shaping culture, belonging, and trust from day one. Through her curiosity, openness to learning, and consistent engagement in the culture community, she brings new ideas back into her organization, reinforcing the belief that who we bring in, and how we bring them in, matters just as much as what people do once they’re there.
Michelle Spehr, MA, M.Ed., MCHES
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Michelle Spehr brings warmth, intention, and deep presence to the work of culture and connection. As a facilitator and culture consultant based in Wisconsin, she designs and guides experiences that help people slow down, reflect, and engage with one another more meaningfully. With a background in education and health, Michelle blends learning design, well-being, and human connection to create spaces where people feel grounded, welcomed, and open to shared insight.
As a Culture Catalyst, Michelle has played a steady and meaningful role in cultivating connection within our community over the years. Through her facilitation, she helps groups arrive fully, listen deeply, and leave with a stronger sense of purpose and belonging. Her work reminds us that culture isn’t only shaped through big ideas or bold strategies, but through the care, presence, and intention we bring to how we gather and engage with one another.
Dr. Maggie Redling & Coleman Williams
Co-Founders at Wrestling With Talent | Maggie's LinkedIn and Coleman's LinkedIn
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Dr. Maggie Redling and Coleman Williams bring creativity, rigor, and a healthy sense of play to the work of leadership and talent strategy. As co-founders of Wrestling With Talent, they partner with organizations to rethink how leadership, performance, and people practices actually show up in day-to-day work. Drawing on deep experience in learning, talent management, and HR strategy, Maggie and Coleman help teams move beyond rigid frameworks and toward approaches that are practical, engaging, and grounded in real human behavior.
As Culture Catalysts, Maggie and Coleman model what shared leadership can look like in practice. Their work emphasizes collaboration, trust, and mutual accountability, reminding organizations that culture is not built by individuals in isolation, but through relationships and coordinated effort. By blending thoughtful strategy with storytelling and humor, they make complex culture challenges more accessible and actionable, helping teams build environments where people can grow, contribute, and succeed together.
Recommend Reads:
Leah Roe, CPA, CPCC, PCC
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Leah Roe has been part of this work from the very beginning. Based in Madison, she is the founder of The Perk and one of our longest-standing collaborators, helping organize the very first CultureCon event and laying early groundwork for the community that exists today. Since those early days, Leah has continued to partner with leaders and teams to build trust, resilience, and confidence through practical, human-centered coaching rooted in real-world experience.
As a Culture Catalyst, Leah embodies what it means to keep showing up. She brings energy, honesty, and generosity to every space she’s in, creating environments where leaders can be reflective, courageous, and aligned with their values. Her long-term commitment to this community, paired with her ability to blend thoughtful strategy with celebration and joy, reminds us that culture isn’t built in moments, it’s built over time through people who believe in the work and invest in it consistently.
Ryo Hanalei Zsun
Culture Ambassador & Community Builder | LinkedIn
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Ryo Hanalei Zsun is known for bringing warmth, authenticity, and genuine care into every space he enters. During his time at Zappos, he played a visible role in helping people experience and understand the company’s culture, from his work on the Customer Loyalty Team to serving as a Culture Tour Guide welcoming visitors from around the world. Ryo’s approach to culture has always been rooted in connection, storytelling, and making people feel seen.
As a Culture Catalyst, Ryo exemplifies how culture comes to life through everyday interactions. He shows up with curiosity, kindness, and a deep respect for human connection, reminding us that culture isn’t just something organizations design, it’s something people live. Through his continued engagement in culture-focused communities, Ryo carries forward the spirit of belonging and hospitality that defined his time at Zappos, helping others experience what it looks like when culture is practiced with intention and heart.
Jennifer Anderson & Sarah Giencke
Co-Leads of Madison Culture First Chapter | Jennifer's LinkedIn and Sarah's LinkedIn
Jennifer Anderson and Sarah Giencke are deeply committed to helping people build resilience, clarity, and connection in the way they work and lead. Based in Madison, Jennifer leads her resilience consulting practice through Resilience, LLC, while Sarah is the founder of Riset Resiliency, where she focuses on nervous system awareness and sustainable well-being. Together, they support individuals and teams through change with steadiness, self-awareness, and care.
As Culture Catalysts, Jennifer and Sarah co-organize Madison’s Culture First Chapter, creating a consistent, welcoming space for practitioners and leaders to gather, learn, and reflect together. Through thoughtful facilitation and community stewardship, they help normalize conversations around vulnerability, belonging, and well-being in the workplace. Their leadership reminds us that culture change doesn’t happen in isolation, it happens when people commit to building community, tending to one another, and showing up again and again with intention.
Joey Williams
Culture Specialist at Healthpeak Properties | LinkedIn
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Joey Williams brings intention, warmth, and approachability to the work of organizational culture. As a Culture Specialist at Healthpeak Properties, he focuses on helping people feel heard, connected, and supported across a complex, geographically distributed organization. Joey’s work centers on listening, communication, and relationship-building, ensuring that culture is not just articulated in values, but experienced consistently by employees at every level.
As a Culture Catalyst, Joey is a connector by nature. He advocates for every voice, creates space for honest dialogue, and helps make culture feel accessible rather than abstract. Whether through onboarding, listening sessions, or community-building initiatives, he shows how culture work can be both meaningful and human. Joey’s presence reminds us that strong culture is sustained not by grand gestures, but by people who show up with curiosity, care, and a genuine desire to bring others along.
LuAnn Buechler
Business Coach, Master Trainer | LinkedIn
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LuAnn Buechler brings joy, clarity, and momentum to the work of leadership and culture. As a business coach, master trainer, and transformational speaker, she helps individuals and organizations reconnect with what truly drives them and translate that passion into purposeful action. Known for her infectious energy and people-first approach, LuAnn blends strategy, storytelling, and experiential learning to help leaders align passion, people, and process in ways that feel both meaningful and sustainable.
As a Culture Catalyst, LuAnn has a gift for sparking belief and possibility in others. She creates environments where people feel energized to lead with authenticity, courage, and heart, reminding us that culture change doesn’t have to be heavy to be impactful. Through her coaching, training, and long-standing commitment to helping people do work they care about, LuAnn embodies the idea that when passion is honored and shared, it becomes a powerful force for connection, growth, and transformation.
Recommended watch:
CultureCon Impact Award Nominations
Know someone who embodies the spirit of a Culture Catalyst?
Nominate them for the CultureCon Impact Award. We’re accepting nominations through March 31, 2026, and would love to recognize individuals making a meaningful impact on culture in their organizations and communities.
About CultureCon:
CultureCon, a Certified B Corporation®, is on a mission to inspire positive change around organizational culture. Through large conferences, online courses, consulting services, and certification programs, we deliver experiences that provide practical tools and motivation for our customers to become cultural change agents within their organizations. Our customers include business owners, CxOs, HR leaders, senior management, individual contributors, and anyone who wants to build more uplifting, inspiring, and healthy workplaces.
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