Kurt Madden
CEO of Career Nexus and
CFO of the Fresno Business Council

Prior to serving as CEO of Career Nexus, Kurt was the Chief Technology Officer for Fresno Unified School District for 14 years. He has also held several leadership positions including CEO of One by One Leadership, a community leadership development organization, a Corporate VP for a Fortune 1000 technology firm and President and Founder of two local technology companies. He is the author of two books: Leadership Questions and Synergetic Follower. Kurt serves on several boards and councils including the Fresno Business Council Board, the Economic Development Board of Fresno County, Fresno State University Alumni Board and the Cradle-to-Career (C2C) Leadership Council. Kurt is a long-time adjunct professor at Fresno State University. His focus has been on increasing student growth and success by synthesizing learning, experience and technology.

Deborah Nankivell
CEO of the Fresno Business Council

Since 1993, Deborah J. Nankivell has been the CEO of the Fresno Business Council, a civic organization made up of business, academic and community leaders committed to using their skills and resources to improve critical aspects of the community. Prior to moving to California, Deborah was the executive director of Common Cause Minnesota for nearly ten years. She practiced law in the areas of criminal defense, workers compensation and personal injury. 

She also served as a consultant for Community Intervention, an organization that provides tools nationally to community leaders to systemically address addiction issues centered in the schools with a focus on prevention, early intervention and recovery. In 2014, she published Bugle Call: Stewardship is Serious Business to share the lessons learned as a civic practitioner committed to community transformation. She has a BA in philosophy from the University of Minnesota and a JD from William Mitchell College of Law. 

Genelle Taylor Kumpe
CEO of San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance and COO of the Fresno Business Council

Genelle Taylor Kumpe has devoted her career to empowering others, advocating for women and children, and improving her community in every possible way. Genelle is currently the COO of the Fresno Business Council (FBC) and CEO of its manufacturing initiative, the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance (SJVMA). She was reintroduced to FBC’s work when she served as an adjunct faculty member at Fresno City College teaching 21st Century Workplace Skills. She transitioned to City College after spending three years as the Executive Director of the Marjaree Mason Center, Fresno County’s resource for shelter and services for victims of domestic violence and their families. Genelle’s dedicated and innovative work in this role earned state-wide recognition, receiving the Breakthrough Leader Award from the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.

Prior to joining the Marjaree Mason Center, Genelle served as the Associate Director of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship for 10 of the 15 years of her tenure at California State University, Fresno. She led more than a dozen programs that promoted innovation and entrepreneurship nationally and internationally and have been replicated in other regions. Genelle received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from California State University, Fresno; and is a certified entrepreneurship teacher via the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.