2025 Midwest PETS Speakers
Nicki Scott
Nicki has a wealth of industry background in corporate finance, strategic planning and change management consultancy. Having started her career with KPMG, Nicki then owned a promotional product business for 12 years and developed expertise in branding and entrepreneurship. She went on to be a mentor and coach for CEOs and business owners for Vistage Worldwide in 2016 before returning to England. In March 2021 she joined the Trusted Executive Foundation as Business Development Partner and has now launched her own Executive Leadership Coaching business called Lead for Good.
As a global citizen, Rotary felt immediately like home when she joined in 2000 in the Chicago area, USA. After serving as District Governor 6450 in 2014-15, she was appointed Rotary Coordinator for Zone 28 2016-2018, Zones 28 & 29 Institute Chair 2017, International Assembly (IA) Training Leader 2017 & 2018 and Seminar Trainer for IA 2019 and 2020. She was also a member of Rotary’s Strategic Planning Committee: a three year appointment ending in June 2019. She is honored to have been selected by Jennifer Jones, RI President 2022/23 to serve as her Vice President.
In January 2018 Nicki returned to her birthplace in England and immediately joined the Leadership Development and Training Team for Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland. In December 2019 she was elected as Rotary International Director and Leader of the Association 2021-23. In 2019-20 she was honored with Rotary’s 2019-20 Service Above Self Award.
Nicki is a strong supporter of The Rotary Foundation: a founding member of the Paul Harris Society, a Major Donor and member of the Bequest Society.
Nicki’s core passions are strategy, leadership coaching & development and motivational speaking. She aims to use these skills in service to Rotary to help bridge the gap to the next generation of leaders for our second century of service.
Ed Futa
Ed Futa, past General Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation, managed operations for one of the world’s largest global humanitarian service organization with 40,000 clubs in 200 countries and geographic regions. With annual revenues of US$ 240 million and expenses of US$210 million, Rotary and its Foundation support 1.2 volunteers in their efforts to serve their local and global communities.
Rotary members are professional and community leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary clubs initiate service projects to address today’s challenges, including illiteracy, disease, hunger, poverty, lack of clean water, and environmental concerns. Rotary’s top priority is the global eradication of polio – a crippling and potentially fatal disease that still threatens children in parts of Africa and Asia. Since 1988, when Rotary and its partners at the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the incidence of paralytic polio infection has plunged worldwide from 350,000 cases to fewer than 2,000 in 2008. Rotary club members worldwide have contributed more than $800 million and countless volunteer hours to the effort, and Rotary is now working to raise an additional $200 million to fulfill its commitment for a $355 million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
From 1999-2011, as the General Secretary of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation, Ed led a diverse and educated staff of more than 650 at Rotary’s World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA and around the world. Ed comes from Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was president of an international marketing consulting firm. He has served on the Board of Governors of the YMCA and as a mediator in the Neighborhood Justice Center of Honolulu. While in Hawaii, Ed was a member of the Bishop’s Advisory Council of the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Honolulu. He is a keynote speaker at many Rotary International events including club and district conferences and international assemblies and conventions. Ed was a member of the Rotary Club of East Honolulu and is presently a member of the Rotary Club of Madison, WI.
Salvador Rizzo Tavares
Salvador Rizzo Tavares is CEO of Grupo Rizzo, which he established in 1987 as an office equipment wholesaler. The group now has four companies and specializes in supplying hardware and software for private companies, educational institutions, and governments. Among his professional accomplishments is the creation of Aula Inteligente technology that has been used to equip more than 120,000 classrooms in public elementary schools in Mexico and, in collaboration with Intel, the development of the Classmate student laptop, more than200,000 of which have been sold in Latin America.
Rizzo Tavares joined Rotary in 1989 at age 27. His mentor was past RI President Carlos Canseco, who imparted extensive knowledge about Rotary during their travels throughout Mexico and the region. Rizzo Tavares has focused on connecting Rotary members, engaging young professionals, and enhancing members’ understanding of the organization. He has served RI as a Rotary coordinator, member of the New Generations Committee, and training leader. He also established Rotary Leadership Institute in 11 countries and led them for 10 years, training more than 5,000 Rotary members.
He is also dedicated to helping strengthen Rotary in his region. “I want to promote the growth and development of Rotary in Latin America and Spanish-speaking countries,” he says. Rizzo Tavares has also led global grant projects to address eating disorders, resolve environmental problems, and provide equipment to detect prostate cancer, among others. He has also served his community in the metropolitan area of Monterrey as a member of an arts organization that combats pediatric cancer. He volunteered for Acciones en Cadena(“Chain Reactions”),which runs programs to protect at-risk youth from alcoholism, tobacco, drugs, and eating disorders. An avid sports fan, Rizzo Tavares is a former golf and soccer player, and multiple marathon runner. He and his partner, Esmeralda, are Rotary Foundation Major Donors, Benefactors, Paul Harris Fellows, and Bequest Society members. Rizzo Tavares have three children, Anna María, Salvador, and Paulina, and three grandchildren, Enrique, Regina, and Santiago.
Gary Metivier
Gary Metivier is born a storyteller. As the tenth child in a family of twelve, he spent most of his youth just listening and observing others. In fact, his teachers were concerned his shyness would limit him in life and told his parents so–in front of him at a teacher-parent conference.
In high school he found his voice in a story a local news station did on his Christian service project. He spent an hour a week at a nursing home with a senior “buddy” that had no family. The news segment featuring him showed him the power of story as many more students wanted to step up to find their way to serve.
As an adult Gary would conquer his shyness and use his storytelling as an award-winning news anchor and reporter. Earning dozens of regional Emmy nominations including 3 Emmy wins, he also was honored with three Edward R Murrow awards and dozens of first place Associate Press awards and state and region recognition for his writing, reporting and producing.
He earned his MFA degree in writing for children and young adults while anchoring 3 newscasts a day. Now, post tv news—he is sharing stories in a whole new way.
Taylor Huie
Taylor is a Medical Device Design Engineer at Stryker Instruments in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A class of 2021 Biomedical Engineering graduate from Duke University, Taylor worked on the faculty-led Duke COVID Engineering Response team to design solutions to minimize the spread and risk of COVID-19.
In Rotary, Taylor serves as Executive Director of the Ascension Rotaract Network MDIO, supporting Rotaract and partnering Rotary teams in Zones 28 through 34. An active dual-member of the Rotary Club and Rotaract Club of Kalamazoo, she also serves in several club, district, and zone roles focused on Rotaract and Membership, including her role as member of Rotary International’s Membership Growth Committee.
During her time in North Carolina, Taylor served as the Charter President of the Rotaract Club of Duke University, launching with an initial 400 members. Starting early in Rotary leadership, Taylor is Past President of the 140-member Interact Club of St. Joseph High School, which has raised over $200,000 for education, water, and medical projects for Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic. Raised in a Rotary family, Taylor has parents in Rotary leadership, two siblings that have served in Interact leadership, and several Rotary Youth Exchange siblings from all around the world.
A global speaker for Rotary International, Taylor has led discussions on starting and sustaining Interact and Rotaract Clubs, as well as fostering synergy through strong cross-generational partnerships. Taylor is honored and excited to share with others what she has learned about motivating young people through a life of “Service Above Self.”