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A native of Northeast Ohio, Tressel graduated from Berea High School in suburban Cleveland in 1971. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1975 and a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Akron in 1977. He also holds Honorary Doctoral degrees from YSU in 2001 and Baldwin-Wallace in 2003.

After serving as an Assistant Football Coach at the University of Akron, Miami (OH), Syracuse and Ohio State, Tressel was named YSU Head Football Coach in 1986. In his 15 year tenure, including six as Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, YSU appeared in the playoffs 10 times and won four National Championships. In January 2001, Tressel left YSU to become the Head Football Coach at The Ohio State University. In 10 seasons, he guided the Buckeyes to the 2002 National Championship and seven Big Ten Championships. After leaving Ohio State, Tressel served as Executive Vice President for Student Success at the University of Akron, and then returned to YSU in 2014 as President.

At YSU the academic quality of freshman classes continued upward; retention and graduation rates rose dramatically; the Honors College grew from 300 students to over 1200 students; the university hit record fundraising levels; the physical plant was transformed with the addition of private housing options and state-of-the-art academic research and workforce training facilities. Jim and Ellen are currently leading the Capital Campaign to build the new Zoldan Family Student Center on the YSU campus.

Among his many honors: Chevrolet National Coach of the Year, the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, the American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year, the Paul “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year, and the Sporting News National Coach of the Year. Tressel was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015. At YSU, he received the Heritage Award in 2008 and was inducted into the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. He was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015. Jim and his father, Lee Tressel are the only Father-and-Son to have both been named to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Tressel has published two books, has given hundreds of presentations and lectures across the country, and has had extensive involvement in fundraising and philanthropy, including the recent $1 million gift to create the Jim and Ellen Tressel Student Work Opportunity Endowment Fund at YSU. Currently, Jim and Ellen serve on the Board of the newly created James P. Tressel Institute for Leadership and Teamwork.
Tressel and wife, Ellen, are the proud parents of four accomplished adults: Zak, Carlee, Eric, and Whitney. Their grandson, Jonathan James, and granddaughter, Rose Marie Alson, are the apples of their eyes. President Tressel can be followed on Twitter: @JimTressel5

Andreas E. Widmer is an Associate Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business, where he has been shaping minds since 2012. He also serves as the director of the Art & Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship. Andreas co-founded The SEVEN Fund, a philanthropic organization that promotes enterprise solutions to poverty. His extensive experience as a business executive spans high-tech, international business strategy, consulting, and economic development. He has held leadership roles at the OTF Group, Eprise Corporation, Dragon Systems, and FTP Software. His work has taken him across the globe, from the United States to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, leading teams to bring over 100 leading-edge technology products to market.

As an author, Andreas has explored the intersection of leadership, entrepreneurship, and spirituality. His book, “The Pope & The CEO: Pope Saint John Paul II’s Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard”, draws from his experiences serving as a Swiss Guard for Pope John Paul II and his subsequent career in business. His latest book is “The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship, Creating Enduring Value,” released in April 2022 under the Matt Holt Imprint at BenBella Books.

His advisory roles include the Zermatt Summit, Transforming Business at the University of Cambridge, the Archbridge Institute, St. Jerome Institute High School, New Paradigm Fund, and SENT Ventures. He is also an advisor to the Rising Tide Foundation in Switzerland. In recognition of his contributions to the Church and society, Andreas was awarded an honorary doctorate by St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia in 2018 and Pope Francis bestowed the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr on Andreas in January, 2024.

A dual citizen of Switzerland and the United States, he is fluent in English, German, Italian, and French. Andreas argues that we have lost sight of the human person as the center of the economy, and that investing in employees is in fact the only opportunity with infinite returns. He considers his biggest accomplishment in life to have built a great marriage together with his wife, Michelle, and his greatest joy is seeing the character of their teenage son, Eli, develop and grow. He can be reached at andreas-widmer.com.

Maryanne Miller is a retired 4 star General for the United States Air Force. Her last position before retirement in October of 2020 was Commander, Air Mobility Command. As the Air Component Commander for U.S. Transportation Command, General Miller was responsible for directing global air mobility operations in support of national objectives. She was the highest ranking woman in the entire defense department until her retirement.

General Miller was commissioned in 1981 as a distinguished graduate of the ROTC program at The Ohio State University. She is a command pilot with more than 4,800 flying hours in numerous Air Force aircraft.

Maryanne spent 39 years serving as an officer and pilot in our Air Force but now serves on the Boards of Bristow, The Leaven Kids and is a Trustee of Manhattan College in NY. She also serves on the Council for Criminal Justice and the Veterans Justice Commission. And since 2013 has been a volunteer and co-worker for St. Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity serving the poorest of the poor around the world.

From his first meeting with the players, University of Kentucky Wildcats head coach Nick Mingione brought a very clear and specific vision to the program: they would be a family, they would focus on developing the “Student. Person. Player” and they would do things that had never been done before.

In his first season, the Cats did exactly that, winning an NCAA Regional championship in front of the largest crowd in school history to that point and advancing to a Super Regional for the first time. After posting the most wins by a first-year head coach, Mingione was recognized as the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year and the Rawlings/Perfect Game National Coach of the Year. Since that debut season it has only gotten better as UK has advanced to the second Super Regional in its history, hosted one (it’s third overall) for the first time and advanced to the school’s first College World Seres. In between, Mingione won his second SEC and National Coach of the Year awards, and saw more of his players recognized for their off field and academic work.

Mingione is a native of Tarrytown, N.Y., spent much of his childhood in Florida and was a standout player at Embry-Riddle University. He and his wife, Christen, have a son, Reeves.

Matthew Mitchell is a three-time SEC Coach of the Year and the winningest head coach in the history of the University of Kentucky women's basketball program. He established the Winning Tools principles originally as the foundation for his teams’ success. Through Mitchell's focus on the fundamentals, he led the program to new heights―seven 25-plus winning seasons and UK’s first SEC Championship in 30 years. Mitchell now leads the Winning Tools leadership platform, sharing the proven value of these principles beyond just sports.

Tess Christensen is co-founder of West of Perfection. She is a Leadership Development and Executive Coach, Business Consultant and retired Pharmaceutical Senior Executive. She has over 30 years of leadership and coaching experience. Tess is a Champion of Joy and is passionate about helping others to grow, develop and succeed.

During her long career at Pfizer Inc, Tess had a broad and diverse commercial experience including roles in Contracting, Key Account Management, Global Commercial Operations, Marketing and Sales Leadership. She built and led large commercial organizations in both Primary Care and Rare Disease. Tess retired in November of 2022 after serving 3 years as the Vice President for the Rare Disease Strategic Customer Group for the US Market.

Tess earned her BS in Chemistry at Gannon University and her MBA with a specialization in Healthcare Management from Indiana Wesleyan University. She holds certifications in multiple programs, including Lean Six Sigma. Tess lives in Southlake Texas with her husband Scott and daughters, Kati & Kyli.

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