The Regional Summit
The Regional Summit will provide opportunities for public, private and nonprofit leaders from the 11-county region to connect, learn and collaborate on forward-thinking solutions. Event programming will foster dialogue and strategies that address various opportunities and challenges faced by rural, urban and suburban communities, with the goal of working together to advance DSM as a top region for economic development and talent development.
The Regional Summit will take place on Thursday, Oct. 3 from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The event will conclude with The Partnership's annual Economic Impact Awards.
Register Here
Keynote Speaker
Kat Saunders
Kat Saunders is a partner at Economic Leadership, LLC, is a consultancy providing strategic planning, analysis, executive communications and counsel to hundreds of clients over the last decade. The firm is currently working in 23 states across the U.S. and has decades of experience in state and local economic development, real estate, planning, organizational management, public affairs and analytics. Saunders regularly counsels CEOs and other public and private sector leaders on creating change to improve competitiveness and reputation through location analysis, policy change and narrative. She is the lead communications and economic development strategist for Howard Hughes Holdings, the country’s largest master planned community developer, and leads stakeholder engagement and talent attraction strategy for Florida Power & Light, engaging with the utility’s partners throughout Florida. Her previous clients include the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, the Greater Houston Partnership, One Columbus in Ohio, Deloitte Real Estate, Nixon Peabody LLP and The Staubach Company. Earlier in her career, she was Director of Government Affairs for the Tampa affiliate of the National Association of Home Builders.
Agenda
10 a.m. Check-in and networking
11 a.m. Welcome Remarks
- David Stark, Partnership Board Chair
- Tiffany Tauscheck, President & CEO, Greater Des Moines Partnership
- Governor Kim Reynolds
11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Keynote Speaker: Kat Saunders
12:15 – 1 p.m. Lunch & Networking
12:45 – 1:45 p.m. Meet the Mayors
Hear from local leaders about future-forward visions and what keeps them up at night. Participating mayors include:
- Mayor Connie Boesen, City of Des Moines
- Mayor Don DeWaard, City of Pella
- Mayor Russ Trimble, City of West Des Moines
- Mayor Tom Leners, City of Winterset
- Moderated by: Tiffany Tauscheck
1:45 – 2 p.m. Break & Transition to Breakout Sessions
2 – 3 p.m. Breakout Session Block #1
Session 1: Expand Your Developer Rolodex: High-Speed Networking with Housing Developers
ABOUT
Our panel of housing industry leaders will generate ideas for communities to act on, which could spur more housing products in your community.
PANEL
- Joe Pietruszynski, Executive Vice President of Construction, Development and Management, Hubbell Reality Company
- Kalen Ludwig, Partner, Ground Breaker Homes
- Omar Padilla, Community Development Specialist, Iowa State Extension
- Session led by: Sid Juwarker, Vice President of Economic Development, Greater Des Moines Partnership
Session 2: Rising Tides – How to Successfully Navigate the Waves of Water Quality
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Our panel of housing industry leaders will generate ideas for communities to act on, which could spur more housing products in your community.
PANEL
- Hannah Inman, CEO, Great Outdoors Foundation
- John Swanson, Water Resources Supervisor, Polk County
- Roger Wolf, Director of Conservation, Iowa Soybean Association
- Session Led by: Ryan Moon, Government Relations and Public Policy, Greater Des Moines Partnership
Session 3: Talent Innovation Works Session
ABOUT
Join this interactive strategic session solving today’s most-pressing talent challenges.
- Session Led by: Jenae Sikkink, SVP of Talent Development and Inclusive Strategies, Greater Des Moines Partnership
Session 4: Capital Crossroads Roadmap
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Learn about current and future work taking shape for our regional vision plan.
- Session Led by: Kaity Patchett, Executive Director of Capital Crossroads
3 – 3:15 p.m. Break & Transition to Breakout Sessions
3:15 – 4:15 p.m. Breakout Session Block #2
Session 1: Making Child Care Work
ABOUT
The childcare business model continues to face affordability challenges. Let’s hear from industry experts on ways to overcome these hurdles
PANEL
- Mary Sellers, President, United Way of Central Iowa
- Sherry Penney, Employment Engagement Director, Iowa Women’s Foundation
- Josh Terrell, President, 3E Partners
- Session led by: Alex Lynch, Director of Regional Community Integration, Greater Des Moines Partnership
Session 2: Love Where You Live – Enhance Your Community through Arts, Culture and Philanthropy
ABOUT
Tangible ideas to infuse philanthropic components to placemaking.
PANEL
- Angela Dethlefs-Trettin, Chief Community Impact Officer, Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines
- Sally Dix, President, Bravo Greater Des Moines
- Julie Stewart, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Prairie Meadows
- Session Led by: Kathryn Smith, Director of Community Engagement, Greater Des Moines Partnership
Session 3: Work-Based Learning – How to Attract Early Talent with Work-Based Learning Best Practices
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Hear from work-based learning subject-matter experts in both education and industry to determine the why and how of engaging with early talent through work-based learning. Panelists will highlight best practices and why work-based learning should play a role in your talent attraction strategies.
- Wendy Mihm-Herold, CEO, iJAG
- Tascha Brown, Director of Career & Technical Education, Des Moines Public Schools
- Session Led by: Lexi Shafer, Director of Workforce, Greater Des Moines Partnership
Session 4: 20 Storytelling Ideas in 40 Minutes Across 11 Counties
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Walk away with 20 actionable ideas that you can implement tomorrow to tell the story of your community, business or organization loud, bold and broad
- Session Led by: Courtney Shaw, Chief Communications Officer, Greater Des Moines Partnership
2024 Sponsors
Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Learn more here.