Meet The Judges

Danielle Davis, or Dani as her friends call her, is originally from Chicago. A true Chicagoan, Dani proudly reps the Bears, Bulls, White Sox, and Blackhawks. She will support the Cubs, but only when they are not playing the White Sox. (South Siyeed!!)

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Dani loves the Midwest and can’t imagine working anywhere else. “It just wouldn’t be life without four seasons," she says.

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Dani is currently a journalist/anchor at KMTV 3 News Nown. She has also worked in Marquette, Michigan, and Sioux City, Iowa.

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For fun, she likes all outdoor activities along with musical theater, concerts, and Al Fresco dining. An avid reader, her favorite author is Dan Brown but not for “DaVinci Code.” She says Brown’s “Angels & Demons” is what storytelling is all about.

Jasmine L. Harris, is the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at RISE. She received her Masters of Public Health degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center with an emphasis in Community Health Education. Her community involvement began with prevention and policy efforts working with the LiveWise and MOTAC coalitions to reduce the usage of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in greater Omaha. It didn’t take long before Jasmine realized that her skills and experience with policy and prevention efforts aligned with her passions for criminal and juvenile justice reform, social justice issues and women’s rights. As opportunities presented themselves, Jasmine became more involved in promoting change in the community.

 

Her advocacy and civic engagement efforts include being a founding member of and chairing the Nebraska Unity Political Action Committee, Women’s Fund of Omaha Circles Class 6 and part of the 2018 & 2019 Circles Leadership Team, Secretary for the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table Board of Directors and establishing Black & Brown Legislative Day as the former Civic Engagement Committee Chair for the Urban League of Nebraska Young Professionals. In 2017, Jasmine was awarded the Omaha NAACP Freedom Fighter Award and was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Omahans (TOYO!) by the Omaha Jaycees.

 

In 2020, she received a Greater Chamber of Omaha Young Professionals Change Maker Award. Jasmine was the 3rd place mayoral candidate in Omaha's 2021 Municipal elections. 

Matt Singh serves as the Director of the Center of Operational Excellence since 2016. Before working for the State, he worked closely with several organizations to create continuous improvement efforts within a variety of fields including public, private, and non-profit organizations and has also spent the last 20 years in progressive operations management positions.

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He has been on the Omaha Junior Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, is on the Advisory Board to the University of Nebraska-Omaha Supply Chain Management program, and the Advisory Board to the Organizational Development committee of the Nebraska Business Development Center. Matt helped create the Harvard Case Study on the Center of Operational Excellence.

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Matt received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has also obtained a Master Black Belt in Six Sigma, a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, Certified Lean Sensei, a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, and individual certifications from UNO in Supply Chain Management and Business Analytics. Matt will be completing his MBA from Doane University in March 2021.

In her current role, at The Lincoln Council for International Visitors (LCIV), a non-profit volunteer service organization whose purpose is to improve global understanding by partnering with the U.S Department of State to host international visitors participating in their premier leadership exchange program; Lisa coordinates with multiple National Programming Agencies in Washington D.C. to host and develop professional programs for the U.S. Department of State’s, International Visitor Leadership Program.

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She Arranges all aspects of programming for visitors including connecting them with local government officials and other professional experts in their field.

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Her work connecting international visitors with our current and former senators has given her unique insight into state government. With the ability to bring people together, in 2020, Lisa ran for the Nebraska Legislature because she believes as Nebraskans, we have more in common than we have differences and she was willing to put the people first, to address the challenges facing our state, to focus on our shared values and objectives, and to work with both sides to get things done.

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Lisa lived in the Midwest all her life, the past 10 years in Lincoln. She obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Iowa and was a professional auditor for an insurance company for 13 years. She has been married to her husband, Mitch for 28 years. They have four adult children and three grandchildren.

Todd has served as the Manager, Physical Security, at the Omaha Public Power District since September, 2020. Prior to that, Todd served as a law enforcement officer in Lincoln/Lancaster County for over 27 years, his last assignment being Chief Deputy of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. Todd has worked in various capacities with the Lincoln Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, and University of Nebraska- Lincoln Police Department from patrol; investigations; fugitive apprehension; training, accreditation and compliance; emergency management; tactical unit operations; and administration.  

 

Todd received both his bachelor’s and master’s in business management from Doane College. Todd attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA, in 2017.

 

As a longtime public servant, Todd values community service. He currently serves on the board of directors for The Bridge Behavioral Health and has volunteered for several years as a YMCA soccer and softball coach. Todd is a member of several professional organizations including the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), FBI National Academy Associates, and the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) International. 

 

Todd is the proud father of two sons, Jacob and Alek. 

Today, in her role as Vice President of Social Purpose for Home Instead, Erin is focused not just on awareness, but inspiring generations. Her goal is to fearlessly create today the world we want to grow older in tomorrow. Specifically, she is focused on helping all ages see the small acts of kindness they may complete to have a positive impact on seniors’ lives with Ready to Care, a movement to make the world a better place for seniors. She also oversees the organization’s initiative to introduce younger generations to careers in the aging field through the Champions of Aging program, and the nationwide holiday giving program, Be a Santa to a Senior. Additionally in her position, she collaborates on the support of the HFC Grant Program, in which Home Instead provides relief to those caring for loved ones living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias.

 

Since 2005, Erin has been working across the Home Instead network of more than 1,000 global franchises to develop programs that empower and support family caregivers. Her work has included award-winning communications programs that foster connections between seniors and their families, as well as public education efforts to make the world more inclusive of today’s rapidly growing aging population.

 

Erin holds a B.A. from the University of Creighton and is a graduate of Leadership Omaha, where she resides with my husband and two children.

Cristina manages community affairs for Wells Fargo in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Indiana, Ohio, and Iowa. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Cristina was a regional manager for the Girl Scouts of Nebraska.

 

Originally from Barranquilla, Colombia, Cristina is the youngest in a family of 13 children. She migrated to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in business administration.

 

She has been named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Omahans and was honored by the Omaha Jaycees with the Distinguish Community Service Award. She also received the Forty under Forty Award from the Midlands Business Journal and participated in the Bankers Without Borders Global Fellowship Program.

 

Cristina currently serves as a Nebraska Latin American Commission member and is on the boards of the Urban League of Nebraska and the Applied Information Management (AIM) Institute. She is also a former board member of the Omaha Community Foundation, Heartland Latino Leadership Conference, Marian High School, Susan G. Komen Great Plains, Latinas Unidas, and the Midlands Latino Community Development Corporation.

 

Cristina has a B.S. in Psychology from the Universidad del Norte, and a specialization in Human Resources Management from the Escuela de Administracion de Negocios in Colombia.  She obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Bellevue University in Omaha.  Cristina has received multiple professional accreditations from organizations like the Association of Corporate Contribution Professionals and the University of Michigan.