Karen Albert, Social Media strategist, expert, speaker, and owner of Behind Your Curtain

• Over 25 years experience in marketing, training and consulting
• Launched targeted Social Media marketing campaigns for thousands real estate professionals
• Achieves tangible marketing results for realtors by strategically promoting brand awareness and increasing customers
• Created the popular 30-day social media facelift program that has, to date, helped over
• 25,000 real estate professionals create and maintain a high-quality and consistent online presence that has led to over 100 million in sales!
• Offers educational presentations, hands-on workshops and e-learning courses targeted specifically towards educating real estate professionals on the value of Social Media and Internet Marketing for their business and their individual brand
• Is a sought-after social media subject matter expert speaker & guest on nationwide radio & media broadcasts such as, National Association of Realtors, Women’s Council of Realtors, Pat Hiban, Inman Magazine, Online Entrepreneur Magazine + more
• Is lead singer in her local band and enjoys volunteering to aid in the needs of her community

Chris Beall, Deputy Secretary of State, State of Colorado

Mr. Beall serves as the deputy to Secretary of State Jena M. Griswold, a constitutional officer of the State of Colorado and the head of the Colorado Department of State. This agency is responsible for the supervision of elections in Colorado, as well as the regulation of campaign finance and lobbyist activities and various business functions in the state, including the registration of business entities, trademarks, trade names, and secured transaction filings. The office also is responsible for the regulation of charitable solicitations, non-profit bingo and raffle operations, and notaries public. Mr. Beall is responsible for all four divisions of the Department and is the final agency decisionmaker on all campaign finance, lobbyist, and notary public complaints.

Mr. Beall teaches as a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, lecturing on copyright, trademark, and free expression law.

Prior to joining the Secretary of State’s office, Mr. Beall was one of eight deputies to Attorney General Phil Weiser, responsible for the Business & Licensing Section in the Colorado Department of Law. Mr. Beall’s career in the private sector focused on work for publishing and news media companies as a First Amendment and intellectual property litigator in New York City. He previously was a partner at the firms of Fox Rothschild and Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz in New York and Faegre & Benson in Denver. Mr. Beall served as a law clerk to the Hon. David Ebel, a circuit judge for the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Beall was awarded a juris doctor degree summa cum laude from Duke University Law School, and he received his bachelor of arts degree from Yale University.  

Scott Peterson, General Counsel, Colorado Association of REALTORS

Scott is an experienced real estate and business professional with an extensive background representing individuals and companies on a broad range of matters. He currently serves as General Counsel for the Colorado Association of REALTORS (CAR), the state’s largest real estate trade association. CAR is dedicated to serving more nearly 27,000 Colorado REALTORS and 27 local REALTOR associations statewide.

As General Counsel, Scott is responsible for advising the CAR Board of Directors, Leadership Council and the CAR CEO on legal matters related to the Association's business. In addition, he provides legal support and education directly to CAR members and the state's local REALTOR associations through the CAR Legal Hotline and various education/speaking events. Finally, Scott advocates for the Association and REALTOR interests in legal matters involving third-parties such as vendors, contractors, and state regulatory agencies.

Kelly Rickenbach, Chief Claims Counsel, Stewart Title Guaranty Company

Kelly Rickenbach is currently Chief Claims Counsel for Stewart Title Guaranty Company.  In that role, she has responsibility for managing the entire Claims Department for the United States and Canadian divisions.  She has been with Stewart for nearly 20 years, serving in many different Claim related roles during that time, which included handling title claims for the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions.   Prior to her time with Stewart, Kelly worked in private practice at a mid-sized Seattle law firm. 

She holds a LLM from the University of Washington School of Law, JD from Seattle University School of Law and B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington.  She resides in Seattle, Washington with her husband and two boys. 

Henry Sobanet, Chief Financial Officer, Colorado State University System

Henry Sobanet is a Colorado native, educated at Regis Jesuit High School, and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Colorado. He began his professional career as an economist at the Colorado Legislative Council, the nonpartisan research office for the state legislature.

Henry’s first employment at the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting was in 1999 as Deputy Director. In September 2004, Governor Bill Owens appointed him to be Director of the office where he served through the end of the term. From 2007 to 2011, he was President of Colorado Strategies LLC, a firm that specialized in economics, public affairs, and strategic management, notably in the areas of state tax policy, ballot issues, health care, and advising members of the business community.

In 2011, Governor John Hickenlooper asked Henry to return as Director of the Office of State Planning and Budgeting. During his tenure, OSPB created a performance management academy for state government leadership, fostered the adoption of Lean process improvement efforts in all state departments, and re-wrote the State’s strategic planning and performance management law. These efforts have received both in-state and national accolades in several books, articles, and an academic review from the University of Colorado.

Currently, Henry is serving as Chief Financial Officer of the Colorado State University System. In this role he covers system-wide financial issues including annual budgeting and treasury functions. 

Henry has served on a number of boards and commissions, including the Colorado Transportation Commission, Second Judicial District Nominating Commission, Colorado Economic Relief and Recovery Taskforce and the Legislative Task Force Concerning Tax Policy (Chair). He is currently a board member of the Jefferson County Human Services Foundation. 

Pat Stone, Williston Financial Group, Chairman & Founder

Pat has enjoyed a lengthy career in real estate and real estate-related services, including “C suite” officer positions with three public companies and as a director on two Fortune 500 Boards. His senior executive management positions included nine years as President and COO of the nation’s largest title insurance company, Chairman and Co-CEO of a software company, and CEO of a real estate data and information company.

Pat currently serves as Executive Chairman and Founder of Williston Financial Group, and serves on the boards of Nassau Reinsurance, Transmodus, Trysting Tree Golf Club and the Oregon Symphony. He previously served as Vice-Chairman of Metrocities Mortgage, a 2005 top twenty mortgage lender, and as Chairman of The Stone Group, an Austin, Texas-based tenant-rep brokerage company. Pat has also served on the boards of Fidelity National Financial, First American Corporation, FNIS, MicroGeneral, SKLD, World Minerals, Green Street Advisors, DigitalMap, Homegain, RedVision, Wystein Capital, and Inman News.

 In 2013 Pat was named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Real Estate” by Inman News and as one of the “Top 101 Real Estate Industry Doers” in 2015 and again in 2021. Other accolades include receiving HousingWire’s coveted “Vanguard Award” in 2019 and again in 2021, Progress in Lending’s “Lending Luminary Award” in 2019, 2020, and 2023, Inman’s “Best of Finance” award in 2023, and October Research’s annual “Leadership Award” in 2020.

 Pat’s Philanthropic involvement included serving as Chairman of the Santa Barbara Art Museum and as a Director for the Portland Art Museum. He is a past Chairman of the Oregon State University Foundation and Co-Chair of its Billion Dollar Capital Campaign. Pat has three daughters, seven grandchildren and resides in Portland, Oregon with his wife Vicki.

Richard Welshons NTP, ALTA President-Elect

Richard Welshons began his career in the title insurance industry in 1984 when he joined Dakota County Abstract Company (“DCA”), an agency founded by his father, Paul, and grandfather, Amos. He was named President of the company in 1989 upon the retirement of his father. Richard and his brother Dave owned and ran the company until they sold to North Dakota Guaranty and Title in 2022. In addition to being a member of ALTA’s Board of Governors, Welshons serves as Chair of the Abstracters and Title Insurance Agents Executive Committee, Chair of ALTA’s Bylaws Committee and is active in other active ALTA Engagement Groups. Welshons has served on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Land Title Association continuously since 1997 and served as its President from 2001 to 2002 and as its Secretary/Treasurer from 2003 to the present. In addition to his role on the Board, he also serves as a Director of the Association’s Political Action Committee.

Active in his local community, Welshons has served on the Board of Directors for the Hasting Area Chamber of Commerce, the Hastings Area YMCA and the Hastings Public School Foundation. He has participated in many other community committees, boards and commissions throughout the years.