OUR TEAM AND SPEAKERS

Your leaders and managers have the most impact on performance, which is why every member of the Ecsell Institute team is committed to helping them become high-performing coaches. To do that, we stand firm in these pillars:

1

We Measure What Matters

We collect data and raw insights to provide the metrics your leaders need in order to improve.

2

We Train with Purpose

We work alongside you and understand your training needs and goals for your leadership team.

3

We Make it Fun

We offer motivation throughout the entire process and make ongoing learning engaging.

meet leadership team top wave

Meet The Leadership Team

Bill Eckstrom

Chief Executive Officer

2008–Present

Bill Eckstrom is the CEO and founder of Ecsell Institute, the parent company of Ecsell Sports, Ecsell Business and Ecsell Education. Bill has spent his entire career in the sales arena; the first 14 years in personal production, and then 13 in various sales leadership roles. His management career began in 2000 as a District Manager for a medical equipment company and was promoted to U.S. Director of Sales in 2003. In 2004, Bill was lured away to become Senior Vice President of Business Development for a publicly traded healthcare organization. In 2008, he founded Ecsell Institute to fill a void he witnessed and personally experienced in the sales leadership profession.

Get to know Bill

Sarah Wirth

President

2011–Present

Sarah’s life passion is understanding what makes people tick. This makes her equally comfortable at dissecting the characters on her favorite TV show as she is discussing how to improve team member performance.

Get to know Sarah

Kathy Collins

VP of Client Success

2014–Present

Kathy is a completely unfinished person, as she is always in motion to work to become kinder, smarter, more empathetic, and helpful to those around her. She believes that it is a fantastic privilege to be encouraged to develop and grow at Ecsell Institute. She intends to not waste a moment in her journey with this team and our amazing clients. In her free time she enjoys tending her garden, teaching yoga, and traveling to new places.

Get to know Kathy

Ashley Olson

Director of Client Success

2008 - Present

Ashley comes to Ecsell Sports with an extensive background in athletics, growing up as a volleyball coach’s daughter and an avid volleyball player herself. She even followed in her parent’s footsteps by becoming a high school volleyball coach in 2015, and she’s been coaching ever since.

Get to know Ashley

Stacia Jorgensen

Executive Director of Research

2012–Present

Stacia Jorgensen brings an array of experiences and invaluable expertise in data collection, analysis, and research reporting to the Ecsell Institute as the Executive Director of Research.

Get to know Stacia

Claire Eckstrom

Executive Director of Brand Experience

2018–Present

Like all good New Yorkers, Claire is fed equally by the chaos of the city & a good slice of pizza. She spent 6 years in the luxury fashion business prior to joining Ecsell, which included traveling to Milan & Paris four times a year for Fashion Week.

Get to know Claire

Cole Prohaska

Director of Business Development

Cole Prohaska grew up in the small town of Prague, Nebraska, about 40 minutes north of Lincoln. After graduating high school, he went on to study and obtain his marketing degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. And he has been in sales for more than five years now, having taken on a series of different roles prior to accepting his current position with Ecsell Sports.

Get to know Cole

Jarrett Proby

Director of Business Development

Jarrett is a recent graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management and a minor in Human Resources. Though born in Chicago, Illinois, Jarret’s entire immediate family lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and that is what he considers home.

Get to know Jarrett

Jessica Knobbe

Exec. Dir. of Business Development

Sports have always been a part of Jess’s life. In high school, she played volleyball, basketball and threw the discus. Her passion for sports and the student-athlete experience is what led Jess to join the Ecsell Sports team in 2021. Jess has partnered with schools across the U.S. to help improve the student-athlete experience through the development of their coaches. Her passion is helping leaders, coaches and athletes to better understand their unique talents and strengths.

Get to know Jessica

Kenzie Maloney

Sr. Director of Business Development

Kenzie is a 2019 graduate of the University of Nebraska where she was part of the Huskers Volleyball team from 2015–2018. During her time with Nebraska Volleyball, she was part of 4 straight Final Fours, 2 Conference Championships, and 2 National Championships. She graduated as a first-gen graduate with her bachelor’s degree in communication studies and a minor in psychology.

Get to know Kenzie

Mikaela Richter

Director of Business Development

Mikaela Richter attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science and an emphasis in business. During her time at Nebraska, Mikaela was a member of the Husker Volleyball team and helped them win 2 National Championships and 2 B1G Ten conference titles.

Get to know Mikaela

Siera Gage

Director of Marketing Ops

Siera brings her talents from 13 years in product management and leadership in the sports retail industry. She joined the Ecsell team in fall of 2021 and brings her strategic, analytical thinking to our marketing team. Her favorite question to ask is, “Prove it. Show me why what you are claiming is true.”

Get to know Siera

Will Kloefkorn

VP of Sales

Will is responsible for leading sales and growth strategies for Ecsell Sports. His entire professional career has been spent in business development roles. At Ecsell Sports, he works closely with district and high school athletic directors to help them bring a more positive student-athlete experience to their schools.

Get to know Will

Brady Oliver

Director of Business Development

2022–Present

Brady recently graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in May of 2022 with a degree in marketing, a minor in management, and a sales certificate. Since joining Ecsell Institute, Brady is developing in his role as Director of Business Development with the help of his colleagues at Ecsell Institute. Brady resides in Lincoln, Nebraska, and spends his free time traveling, playing sports, watching movies and trying new things with friends.

Get to know Brady

Aspen

VP of Office Therapy

2008–Present

When Aspen isn’t working in the Ecsell offices, she’s busy at children’s hospitals, senior homes, and with athletic teams. She’s a certified therapy dog and has an unmatched intuition that tells her when someone is in need of some TLC.

Get to know Aspen
text only top wave

BOOK AN ECSELL INSTITUTE SPEAKER

There’s nothing we enjoy more than engaging with and motivating leaders and their teams – whether in the business world, sports arena or education system – to strive for personal and professional growth. Book one of our experts today.

Bill Eckstrom

As a result of his experiences, his company’s findings and his public speaking skills, Bill’s work as a keynote speaker is highly regarded throughout North America. While his audiences call him “profoundly authentic” and “highly entertaining,” Bill is most proud of the fact that his material is based on Ecsell’s science and research – he does not present motivational fluff. He has presented to hundreds of groups ranging in size (25–2,500) and topics (found on his personal website, billeckstrom.com).

Sarah Wirth

Sarah has presented to executives from across the globe with organizations such as Mercedes Benz, Estee Lauder, Ritz Carlton, Cheesecake Factory and many more. Her expertise in coaching and leadership, combined with her fact based, common sense approach to their application make her a sought after presenter at any event.

Will Kloefkorn

Will brings a refreshing approach when presenting to senior leaders by challenging his audiences to think about their impact on the performance, lives and general wellbeing of those on their teams. He articulates the emotional and psychological skillsets that organizations must possess in order to learn something new, create a strategy, and turn that strategy into execution that creates sustainable growth. Some of Will’s most highly regarded keynotes are based on Ecsell’s “The Coaching Effect Survey” research and findings. Will’s most popular keynote is called It’s What You Aren’t Hearing from Your Employees That Is Limiting Your Growth.