The 2026 Michigan Lean Consortium Annual Conference brings together continuous improvement professionals from across industries to explore what it means to navigate Lean while staying anchored in connection — to our purpose, our people, and our community. We’re excited to welcome a diverse lineup of speakers from across industries who will share real-world Lean experiences, practical strategies, and lessons learned to help you navigate continuous improvement in your organization. |
Session Abstracts - Jump to SpeakerKeynotes
Breakouts
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Keynote Speakers |
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Emcees - Captain and First Mate
| Captain Dr. Debra LevantrosserFaculty, University of Michigan Dr. Debra Levantrosser has over 35 years of executive level international leadership and management experience in a variety of industries. For the last 15 years she has been a full-time faculty member at the University of Michigan (U of M) in the College of Engineering, Industrial and Operations Engineering department where she teaches lean manufacturing, leadership for engineers, senior design and leads career readiness workshops. Debra is also the Faculty Director for the Leadership Program at U of M Online and Professional Education. At the university, Debra has also advised corporations such as 3M, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Boeing, on a multitude of supply chain and leadership challenges. Before coming to U of M, she was The Change Leader for Johnson & Johnson leading the transformation of the global supply chain organization and she was also the Executive Director of Lean Strategy and Deployment for the corporation. Prior to that, she was Director of the Southeast Asian Automotive Practice in Bangkok, Thailand for PricewaterhouseCoopers helping to build it to the top firm in Asia. She has held leadership positions at Ford, Exide Technologies, Vassar Brothers Hospital and her own companies, leading strategic and tactical problem-solving efforts using a continuous improvement mindset. She was the hostess of The Leaning Edge show (podcast) on The Michigan Business Network and is the founder of the Michigan Lean Consortium (www.michiganlean.org). She attended Michigan State University where she received two undergraduate degrees in German and in Political Science with a minor in health studies. She attended Marist University in Poughkeepsie, NY for her MPA degree and completed her doctorate in organizational leadership at Oakland University. She also has certificates from Smith College and Disney University. She lives in Livonia, Michigan with her three dogs and enjoys dark chocolate with peanut butter as a daily treat. |
| First Mate Patrick AdamsPresident | Lean Solutions Patrick Adams is a renowned expert in Lean implementation, Kaizen facilitation, and shop floor management development. With a Bachelor of Science, an MBA, and certifications as a High Performance Work Teams and Improvement Kata Trainer, Patrick brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to every engagement. His background in Tier 1 automotive manufacturing and his bestselling book, Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap, have solidified his reputation as a leader in driving organizational change. As a keynote speaker, Patrick delivers practical insights that empower teams to achieve lasting improvements. |
Breakout Speakers
| Jerry BrownePresident | eLeanSixSigma Jerry Browne is an experienced instructor that has been leading quality and continuous improvement trainings across the state of Michigan full time since May of 2023. He has over 14 years of experience in quality and continuous improvement roles in a variety of industries including vaccine manufacturing, medical device manufacturing, paper/plastics manufacturing, industrial manufacturing and hospitals. Jerry has received his Masters of Education in Instructional Design from Western Governor’s University where is capstone focus was on the transfer of training from the classroom into work practice. He also currently holds associate and bachelor’s degrees in business administration. Jerry has conducted Dr Deming’s red bead experiment across the state of Michigan, including the Annual Deming Conference at MSU. He has presented at numerous Michigan Lean Consortium (MLC) events and has served as a member of the MLC Advisory Board. Jerry has a tremendous passion for educating others, particularly in quality and continuous improvement methodologies. |
| Charmaine FullerCEO | CLF Advisory Group Charmaine Fuller is the Founder and CEO of CLF Advisory Group; a financial advisory firm built for service-based businesses that are generating revenue but losing ground to the financial complexity behind it. With over 15 years across banking, bookkeeping, and financial operations, Charmaine works at the intersection of financial structure and operational reality. She helps owner-operators move from reactive cash management to systems that reflect how their business runs, gets paid, and grows. Her work is built on one simple truth: your numbers should tell you what to do next, not just what has already happened. Session: What Breaks First When Efficient Systems Start to ScaleIn this session, Charmaine explores what happens to financial visibility when a business scales faster than its back-office systems can keep up. She examines how lean operational efficiency can actually mask early warning signs, margin compression, cash timing gaps, and labor cost creep, until working capital is already under pressure. Attendees will learn to distinguish between a business that runs lean operationally and one that is truly financially resilient, using accurate reporting, margin and runway tracking, and scenario planning as their benchmarks. |
| Joel KempistySales and Customer Service | Fat American Manufacturing I began my career as a broadcast director, partnering with producers and journalists to solve problems in real time and craft compelling, clear stories under constant deadline pressure. In that environment, success depended on precision, communication, and coordination across teams. After more than a decade in fast-paced broadcast operations, I transitioned into Sales and Customer Service at Fat American Manufacturing, where I now apply that same discipline to building a lean culture across our organization. I’m responsible for structuring our daily company-wide morning meetings and teaching our Lean 101 Training Program. By putting practical, repeatable structures in place like standardized meeting formats, while encouraging and curating interactive learning environments, we’ve created a stronger culture throughout our building from the shop floor to the front office, which has led to vastly improved collaboration, fewer defects, faster lead times, and a greater sense of ownership at every level, making continuous improvement a driving force in our daily work. |
| Kevin RikkersGeneral Manager | Fat American Manufacturing I am Kevin Rikkers, General Manager of Fat American Manufacturing. I have spent my career at FAM in leadership roles focused on managing teams, teaching, and helping people grow in their jobs. Much of my work centers on workforce development, continuous improvement, and making Lean practical and approachable. I also regularly speak with high school students about careers in manufacturing and the importance of lifelong learning. Today, I lead Lean 101 training at FAM, helping teams build strong fundamentals and develop the mindset needed for sustainable improvement. |
| Lisa MininniPresident | Excellerate Associates Lisa Mininni is the President of Excellerate Associates and Founder of Business Innovation Lab CoWorking & Conference Center. She is recognized as a leading consultant and speaker on human wiring and business alignment, helping leaders understand how people are naturally wired to ideate, communicate, operate, and evaluate information. Her core belief: organizational performance depends not just on strategy, but on understanding the people who execute it and the systems they work within. She is the author of the best-selling book Me, Myself, and Why – The Secrets to Navigating Change, and has been featured on CNN, Good Housekeeping, CareerBuilder, and radio programs nationwide. Session: Human Wiring: Your SuperpowerIn this session, Lisa introduces the concept of Intrinsic Drive Patterns, the natural wiring that shapes how people think, communicate, and lead, distinct from personality or learned behavior. Understanding this wiring, she argues, is one of the most practical levers available to leaders who want to communicate with greater clarity, hire more intentionally, and get the best from their existing teams. Attendees will explore how to identify and activate their own natural strengths, hear real-world case studies on building stronger teams, and leave with tools to align their work environment with how they, and the people around them, are genuinely wired to operate. |
| Brittany ParksFounder | Brittany Parks Process Consulting Brittany Parks is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Brittany Parks Process Consulting, where she helps organizations improve operations, align teams, and lead sustainable change. With experience across healthcare, manufacturing, and education, she brings a practical, cross-sector approach grounded in Lean Six Sigma and real-world leadership. Known for simplifying complex challenges and making them actionable. Her work consistently centers on one core belief: Processes don’t fail on their own—they break down when the human dynamics within the system are overlooked. Session: From Tools to Trust: How to Lead Lean Work When People Are the Real SystemIn her session, Brittany challenges traditional views of Lean by bridging structured tools like A3s, RACI charts, and stakeholder mapping with human-centered practices. Participants can expect an interactive experience that surfaces real-world dynamics, builds practical skills, and reframes how improvement work is led—so that trust, not just tools, drives results. |
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| John PeraltaCustom Experience Director | State of Michigan John Peralta is the Customer Experience Director for the State of Michigan where he leads efforts to make government services simpler, smarter, and more human. With 13 years of service to the State of Michigan—including 8 years devoted to helping agencies elevate their services through human‑centered design, lean process improvement, and data— John is driven by a passion for CI and is known for transforming complex challenges into solutions that genuinely improve the experiences of Michigan residents, employees, and partners. John holds a bachelor’s degree in professional communications and is a certified practitioner and facilitator in human-centered design, change management, and lean process improvement. Outside of work, John and his wife stay busy keeping up with their six-year-old twins, Brooks and Mya. When Michigan weather cooperates, you’ll find them outdoors—playing baseball, golfing, or exploring their neighborhood on family walks with the dogs. Session: Driving Continuous Improvement in the Public Sector: A Human-Centered ApproachIn this session, John draws on his public sector experience to examine how continuous improvement takes shape inside state government, where the "customer" is a Michigan resident and the stakes are real. He connects human-centered design principles to practical CI strategy, showing how listening to the people who use government services is itself a lean discipline. Attendees will come away with a clearer picture of how CI gets deployed at scale across a large, complex organization, and what it takes to sustain that momentum beyond any single initiative or administration. |
| Chad BareitherPrincipal Consultant | Bareither Group Consulting Are you doing too much to improve? Without focus we waste money, without Alignment we waste time, in the end we burn out our people with limited, sustained results. How about we “Improve LESS”? Do it well, do it right, develop people along the way. Chad Bareither, the principal consultant at Bareither Group Consulting, takes this approach and his 20 years of experience to enable change capability for manufacturers and service providers. They implement a system of three integrated elements based in Lean and Six Sigma best-practices – Strategy Deployment, Process Improvement, and Daily Management. Chad is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University as well as master’s degrees in both Industrial & Systems Engineering and Applied Statistics from Rutgers University. Chad and his wife reside in Southwest Michigan with their three children. Session: From Mission to Metrics - Find the Few and Deploy Strategy In this session, Chad Bareither makes the case that most organizations don't suffer from a lack of strategy, they suffer from a lack of focus. He walks attendees through a practical approach to translating mission and vision into a small number of measurable priorities, connecting those top-level goals to the critical drivers that actually move the needle, and converting those drivers into concrete, actionable steps. The whole system fits on a single page, designed for both communication and ongoing tracking so that strategy doesn't live in a binder but in the daily work. |
