Kimberly J. McWaters

President & CEO, Fresh Start Women’s Foundation

The summer after high school, Kim McWaters learned she was pregnant. She decided to keep her baby and forfeit a full-ride scholarship to ASU. At age 18, like her mother before her, Kim became a teenage mom with no education, no work experience, and no marketable skills.  

In 1984, a year after her first son was born, Kim became a receptionist at Universal Technical Institute (UTI).  While raising her son as a single mom, Kim worked on her college degree and started climbing the ranks at UTI. She was named president in 2000 and chief executive officer in 2003.  She led the company’s IPO and became Arizona’s first female CEO of a public company. UTI became the nation’s leading provider of automotive technician training. In 2019, Kim retired as CEO and remained on the company’s board until March 2022. She currently serves as a director for Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG) and WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings (NASDAQ: WSC). 

Kim recognizes how fortunate she is that the former CEO of UTI took a chance on a single mom with no job experience in 1984. Access to employment, education, and resources gave Kim the opportunities she needed to build a brighter future for herself and her family.  

Helping others transform their lives for the better has been a central focus of Kim’s career and life. At UTI, she partnered with industry leaders such as BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche, to train and prepare nontraditional students for well-paying careers in the transportation industry. With a mission to change lives through education, UTI graduated more than 220,000 technicians during Kim’s tenure.  

For the past three decades, Kim has actively served on the boards of multiple non-profit organizations to help at-risk women and children, including Fresh Start Women’s Foundation and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Valley. She is also a founding member of the TechForce Foundation, which provides students access to education and career pathways in the skilled trades.

Kim joined Fresh Start as its President and CEO in February 2021, after serving nearly 20 years on its board of directors.  Fresh Start - a Phoenix-based non-profit serving more than 3,000 women each year and 50,000+ women during its 30-year history – primarily serves women just like Kim was in 1984.  The majority are single moms earning less than $25,000 per year who desperately need someone to believe in them and to provide the access and resources necessary to build a brighter future for themselves and their children. 

As a business leader and philanthropist, Kim has received numerous honors, including:  Most Influential Corporate Board Directors, WomenInc. Magazine; Most Admired CEOs and 40 Under 40 by the Phoenix Business Journal; 50 Most Influential Women in Arizona, AZ Business Magazine; Distinguished Women Award, Northwood University; Bill Shover Leadership Award, Vitalant; and Founders’ Circle and Visionary awards, Fresh Start. 

Kim lives in North Phoenix with her husband, Chris.  She has three adult sons and three beautiful grandchildren.  

Nicole Bidwill

Nicole Bidwill is Vice President for the Arizona Cardinals Football Club, a National Football League franchise that has been in her family since her grandfather, Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Bidwill purchased the team in 1933. Nicole’s father Bill ran the day-to-day operations for decades, as a result Nicole has grown up with the team. Her first job out of college was as a marketing assistant for the Cardinals. She spent several years as the club’s Director of Gameday Entertainment. Nicole championed to bring the cheer program in-house and hatched the mascot, Big Red, during halftime in 1996.  She helped found and continues to participate in the grant approval process for Cardinal Charities; a 501(c)3 grant-based program supporting local 501(c)3s that promote education, healthcare, and alleviating poverty. 

Nicole can be spotted in the community on a regular basis with the Arizona Cardinals Community Relations Crew. She is also frequently accompanied by one of her therapy animals; supporting those in the community who need it the most. Nicole and her English Mastiff, Hank, make their rounds with visits to hospitals and homes of chronically ill children, hospice patients, and foster children. Nicole recently added 2 Therapeutic Shire horses, Sugar, and Gunther, to her team of therapy companions. The horses have been trained and developed by volunteers and professional trainers to have meaningful interactions with foster children, cancer patients, people experiencing addiction, depression, anxiety, and homelessness. Nicole and her therapy animals have appeared in parades, at schools, and during Covid they put on drive-thru birthday parties. 

Nicole is a devoted philanthropist whose recent awards are a good indication of the impact she has made in her community. She has received the Girl Scouts’ Promise Award, which is bestowed on organizations and individuals that parallel the Girl Scout Law. She has received the FBI’s Community Service Award; the Inspiring Greatness Award from Not My Kid; and the People Choice Winner from Dancing with the Stars for raising a record-breaking donation for the National Kidney Foundation.  

Nicole served on the Commission to Prevent Violence Against Women for the Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith, and Family in 2014-2015.

Nicole graduated from Marymount University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration. She lives in Phoenix and has two teenage boys.  

Kimberly A. Post, DNP, MBA, RN

Dr. Kimberly Post has been with HonorHealth in Scottsdale, Arizona, since 1991. In her long tenure with HonorHealth she has served in many roles including staff nurse, service line leader, CNO and Operational Vice President. For the past three years she has served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer, where she leads system operations that include the hospital division, ambulatory services, joint ventures, and the clinical operations of the HonorHealth Medical Group. Her ultimate professional goal is in her current leadership role where she is charged with developing and deploying strategic initiatives, day to day operations, and ensuring that all systems, resources and people are in place to achieve the goals and mission of the organization.

Dr. Post has a bachelor’s in nursing, a master’s in business administration, and a doctorate in nursing practice with an emphasis in leadership from Case Western Reserve University, where she was awarded the Outstanding DNP Graduate award. She also completed an executive fellowship at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She was recognized as one of the Most Influential Women in Arizona in 2018 by the Phoenix Business Journal.

Dr. Post enjoys traveling with her husband of 38 years, reading, and spending time with her 3 children, 4 grandchildren, and 1 spoiled dog.

Lacey Leonard

Lacey Leonard is a Keynote Speaker, Founder and Chief Executive officer at Tackle Health, a licensed Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinic in Tempe, Arizona. Wife to former NFL Defensive Tackle, Louis Leonard, Lacey knows first-hand the plight of former athletes and their families struggling with mental health, chronic pain, and symptoms of CTE. 

Born in Fresno, California Lacey Leonard is the oldest of 4 and was raised in a close-knit family. She attended Fresno State on a track scholarship where she met her husband their freshman year of college.

With her down to earth personality, it only takes a few minutes of connecting with her to understand why people instantly engage. Sought after for her witty, transparent, and inspirational message, Lacey is a powerful keynote speaker and continues to use her voice at various speaking engagements. Most recently, Lacey spoke at Off the Field’s Lunch & Learn sponsored by Honor Health and Hall of Fame health. She’s also been the keynote for the Women of the NFL conference as well as California’s largest female institution, CCWF.

Prior to opening Tackle Health, Lacey worked 15 years in medical, clinical, and fiscal operations at University California, San Francisco. There, she was instrumental in the development of the first ever student-run clinic which brought equal health care services to targeted and underserved communities in Fresno, California. 

In 2022, Lacey took a leap of faith and left her corporate career to open their first Behavioral Health Outpatient facility focusing on healing those suffering with mental health and substance abuse. At Tackle Health, their goal is to deliver quality behavioral health services and provide services for the lack of care for mental health and addiction. Having the unique advantage of being married to a former NFL player and coupled with understanding what these families deal with, Lacey wanted to destigmatize mental health and addiction, especially as it relates to sports. Having a son who lost a teammate to suicide only fueled her passion and she knew creating a confidential therapy program tailored to understanding how the whole person must be treated, not just the substance misuse or mental health condition was imperative to delivering the right care.

Active in the community, Lacey is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Off the Field Player Wives’ Association and serves on the Players Advocacy Committee, which ensures retired players have more access to information concerning their rights under the NFL Concussion Settlement. Passionate about advocating for justice, Lacey has been featured on numerous media outlets including ABC News, NBC, Good Morning America, and News Nation.

Although Lacey is grateful for all that she’s accomplished, nothing compares to the joy of her life, her husband Louis and their two children, Landon and Lleyton.

To stay connected, Lacey’s official IG is @Lacey Leonard or www.LaceyLeonard.com 

Teri P. Smith

Teri Smith was hired as Special Counsel to the Executive Director at the National Football League Players Association on August 4, 2009.  She was promoted to Deputy Managing Director in August of 2010, Acting COO in February of 2019 and then became the NFLPA’s first female and Black COO in March of 2021. 

Prior to joining the NFLPA, Teri participated in multi-million dollar merger and acquisition deals for numerous Fortune 500 companies as a corporate associate at Latham & Watkins, which was ranked as the 2nd best law firm in the world at the time she was hired.  She has advised a variety of start-up organizations, including non-profits founded by current and former professional athletes.  

Teri proudly received her undergraduate degree in Accounting, summa cum laude, from Howard University in 1997 and her Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law 2001.  She is licensed to practice law in the State of New York and the District of Columbia. 

Teri Smith is the first female to be named counsel at the NFL Players Association. As Chief Operating Officer, Teri has a diverse role and a broad range of responsibility within the NFLPA. She has wide influence and responsibility for not only NFLPA staff but also for players and their families. In this role, Teri provides direction of over 150 employees and advises the Executive Director on discreet legal matters and NFL front office communication. 

In 2013, she led an internal team in launching “The Trust”, an independent initiative whose sole purpose is to serve former players. The Trust is funded by money negotiated in the 2011 Collective Bargaining agreement. Her responsibilities included overseeing hiring personnel, drafting and executing relevant legal documents. She continues to serve as Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees.  She also sits on the Board of Fight For Children, a DC-based non-profit organization.  

As a previous adjunct professor in Georgetown’s Sports Industry Management program, Teri taught a sports law class and had a direct influence on many of the future leaders of the sports industry.

Currently, she is the Chair of the Women in Sports Initiative for the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association.   In the past, she was named Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40: Class of 2015.  Teri is a frequent panelist in the sports arena and continues to pursue opportunities to educate and assist those up and coming.  

Teri was raised in Charlotte, NC and now, she and her family reside in Washington, DC.