The 2021 Lone Star PETS speakers are presented in the order of their presentations.
Click on their picture to watch the video.
Todd Jenkins
Dr. “Bowtie” Todd Jenkins currently serves as the Senior Diversity, Inclusion, and Innovation Leader in Corporate America at a Fortune 400 company and as a Global Inclusion Trainer, Strategist, and Consultant with Bowtie Leadership, Inc. As a consultant, he has worked with several companies such as Walmart, Google, Facebook, American Airlines, Deloitte, etc., oil and gas companies, small and large non-profits, and entrepreneurs. He graduated with honors from the University of South Carolina with two degrees, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology, obtained a Master of Science from Illinois State University, and Doctorate from the University of Arkansas. His research area focused on minority professionals; retention and perception of their supervisor within the workplace. Currently, he is enrolled at Harvard University, completing post-doctorate studies as Harvard Fellow.
Dr. Jenkins is a proud Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow from the Rotary Club of Fayetteville, Arkansas; he has served as the former Rotaract Advisor, Interact Sponsor, RYLA presenter, Youth Services Chair, two terms on Club Board of Directors, and graduated from his District and Zone Leadership Academy. Dr. Jenkins is currently one of the youngest Youth Exchange District Chairs in Rotary International. He has had the honor to speak at various Rotary districts, zones, and international conventions. Dr. Jenkins continues to serve on various boards locally and internationally in education, business, and inclusion initiatives.
Today he is known as Dr. "Bowtie Todd" who has given inspirational talks and education to audiences of all sizes and backgrounds throughout North America, Asia, South America, and Europe. Dr. Todd Jenkins is a proud husband, author, servant leader, and conversationalist who believes in his philosophy "bowtie" it all together, serve and simply be a gift unto the world!
Feel free to connect with Dr. Jenkins on social media outlets Instagram/Facebook @dr.bowtietodd, www.bowtieleadership.com, or email bowtietietodd@bowtieleadership.com !
Stephanie UrchickRotary International
Stephanie is Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Doctors At Work LLC, a consulting and training company aimed at assisting organizations and individuals with leadership development, communication, customer service and business development. Additionally, she writes a community service column for a local magazine serving the Canonsburg, PA area.
She has been named Rotarian of the Year by both her Rotary District and her Rotary club, and has received the Distinguished Service Award from The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. In September of 2016, Stephanie appeared in the publication “Women in Business” that highlighted women from a 23-county area of Pennsylvania who are making a difference.
A Rotarian since 1991, Stephanie is a member of the Rotary Club of McMurray, PA and has served Rotary as a Foundation Trustee, Chair of TRF’s Centennial Celebration Committee and the Rotary Strategic Planning Committee, member of the Atlanta RI Convention Committee, District Governor, Regional Foundation Coordinator, International Training Leader, President’s Representative, district delegate to two Councils on Legislation, and as a member of various RI Committees and in various club and district Foundation roles. She is a Major Donor and a member of the Bequest Society of the Rotary Foundation.
Stephanie has participated in a variety of international service projects, including National Immunization Days (polio prevention) in India and Nigeria, the building of an elementary school in Vietnam, water filter installation in the Dominican Republic, and mentoring new Rotarians in the Ukraine.
Brennan PooleNASCAR
Brennan Poole is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Premium Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 30 Toyota Tundras for On Point Motorsports. He has formerly competed for Venturini Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing. Raised outside of Houston, Texas, Poole was born in Sacramento, California, living there until the age of seven. He is known for his Surfer-like appearance and persona including his long hair. Poole earned the nickname "The Bull" early in his career, after charging from the rear of the field to earn several victories.
Rotary International President ElectShekhar Mehta
Shekhar Mehta is only the 4th Indian in 115 years to be nominated as the President of Rotary International for the year 2021-22. Shekhar Mehta was born in 1959 in Kolkata India. A keen academician, he graduated from St.Xavier’s College, and has the unique combination of Masters in Commerce, a qualified Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant and Company Secretary.
He heads the Skyline Group engaged in Real Estate Development in different parts of India, including the largest group housing in the state of Rajasthan.
He is member of many professional, cultural and charitable organizations. He is a serving trustee of Shelter Box (UK) and Operation Eyesight India, a Canada based organization.
Shekhar Mehta joined Rotary in 1985 and has been Chairman of Strategic Planning Committee of Rotary International, Rotary India Literacy Mission. Rotary Foundation India, Rotary India Centennial Celebrations, and Rotary India Humanity Foundation. He served as District Governor in 1999-2000 and was elevated to the Board of Directors of Rotary International for 2011-2013. While serving as Rotary International Director, he helped Rotary add 2 countries to its fold – Bhutan & Maldives.
Shekhar Mehta is a motivational speaker. He has spoken at hundreds of events nationally and internationally. His motivation skills are par excellence which has helped raise millions of dollars for The Rotary Foundation. Shekhar.Mehta is recipient of the highest awards of Rotary International & The Rotary Foundation: “The Service Above Self Award”, “The Meritorious Service Award”, and “The Distinguished Service Award”. He will serve as the world leader of 1.2 million Rotarians in 200 countries and geographical areas in the year 2021-2022.
Texas is very close his heart as the annual convention of Rotary International in the year 2022 when he would be serving as Rotary International President is scheduled to be held at Houston.
Shekhar Mehta is married to Rashi Mehta. She is a social worker and is a stage artist having performed in socially relevant plays across India.
His guiding mantra in life is “Service is the rent that we pay for the space we occupy on this earth”.
Ann Lee HusseyAnn Lee Hussey of South Berwick, Maine has made the eradication of polio and the alleviation of suffering by polio survivors her life’s work. Over the past several years she has actively participated in 30 volunteer NID (National Immunization Days) teams organizing and leading the last 26 teams herself, choosing to take those NIDs to places that do not often see westerners – Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Niger, Nigeria, Madagascar, Pakistan as well as less “touristy” destinations in Egypt and India – where the need is greatest and where the publicity and goodwill surrounding the trip are as critical as the immunizations themselves to help communicate the need for eradication.
She has shared her story and passion hundreds of times at numerous Zone Institutes, District Conferences, PETS and Foundation events, and at the International Assembly in 2017, 2018, and 2019 carrying the message of polio eradication around the Rotary world and beyond, raising money and creating new converts to the fight. She is determined that no child will needlessly have to suffer what she herself, a polio survivor, has been through. Her concern for polio survivors includes working to ensure mobility and dignity for those who survived the disease but did not have access to the kinds of surgeries and treatments that she was able to receive. And has led RI grants to this end.
Ann Lee has put a face on the subject of polio eradication, winning hearts and minds and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. A polio survivor herself, the story Ann Lee tells is personal, and so is her journey in the fight to eradicate polio.
But for all the immunizations Ann Lee has herself made possible through NIDs, she considers fundraising, public awareness and inspiring others her most critical accomplishments.
Ann Lee’s work has earned her the International Service Award for a Polio-Free World, the Rotary Service Above Self Award and she was honored as a White House Champion of Change for her humanitarianism and contributions to public service, aimed at improving people’s lives and making a better future around the globe. She was featured in the magazine Real Simple in June 2012. She was featured in a video in Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Annual Letter for February 2017. In March 2017, Rotary and The World Bank recognized her as a Woman of Action celebrating International Day of Women. Locally in her home state of Maine, she was honored at the Maine State Senate chamber for her remarkable achievements and included in Maine Magazine as one of the 50 Mainers of 2017 who have changed our world, improved our lives, and broadened our horizons.
Ann Lee is a member of the Rotary Club of Portland Sunrise in Maine and served District 7780 in many capacities including as Governor in 2010-2011 and currently as District PolioPlus Chair, once again. Ann Lee is Executive Director of the Polio Survivors Rotary Action Group, She ended her term as Chair of the RAGs Council and serves as the Immediate Past-Chair of The Fellowship of Rotarian Past District Governors. Outside Rotary, she serves as a trustee of York Hospital in York, Maine.
She served as an Advisor to Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee and as a member of the Global Polio Eradication Transition Management Group from 2015-2018. She has also served as Presidents’ Representative at several district conferences and represented Rotary at an Easter Seals Annual Convention. Previously she served as a member of the RI Rotarian Action Groups Committee, on the Reach Out to Africa Initiative, and as Zone 32 Coordinator for Health and Hunger.
Ann Lee is a Veterinary Technician who with her Rotarian husband, Michael Nazemetz, DVM recently retired from their practice, Village Veterinary Clinic in Rollinsford, NH. They reside in South Berwick, Maine USA with their devoted yellow Labrador, Parker and their cat Elliott. Ann Lee and her husband are members of the Paul Harris Society. They are Rotary Foundation Major Donors and Bequest Society members.
Vicki PulizVicki Puliz | Rotary International Director 2021-2023
Vicki will serve as Rotary International Director from the “Big West” Zones 26 & 27 from 2021 to 2023. Vicki is a proud member of the Rotary Club of Sparks, Nevada. She joined Sparks Rotary in 1992, served as club president in 2004-2005, and as Governor for District 5190 in 2013-2014.
Vicki’s “Why” in Rotary is to make a positive difference—whether in youth service, public image, polio eradication, leadership development, education, or growing Rotary through new clubs and supporting Rotarians and Rotaractors.
Vicki graduated from the University of Utah with a Marketing degree and Master of Business Administration and went on to own a commercial electrical contracting firm in northern Nevada.
Vicki and her husband, Tim, live in Reno, Nevada at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Their blended family includes 7 adult children, 9 grandchildren, and 3 Rotary Youth Exchange daughters. Their interests include outdoor activities and general aviation. Vicki and Pilot Tim are members of the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians. They support Our Rotary Foundation as Major Donors and members of the Paul Harris Society, Polio Plus Society, and the Bequest Society.
Service in Rotary:
RI Director 2021-23
International Assembly Training Leader 2020
- Far West PETS Education Chair 2020
- Rotary Public Image Coordinator 2016-19
- GETS Chair 2019Far West PETS Faculty 2015-2020
- GETS and GNTS Faculty 2014-2019
- Southwest Section Chair for International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians 2014-2017
- District 5190 Trainer 2014-16
- District 5190 Governor 2013-2014
- RYLA Facilitator in D9100 Benin, Africa, 2011
- Co-Creator of Rotary District 5190
- Eighth Grade Leadership program 2010
- District Youth Service Chair 2009-2012
- National Immunization Day to India 2009
- RYLA Co-Chair 2005-2006
