2022 Future World of Work Summit 

Wade is an experienced P&L leader with a track record of driving change, performance improvement, and margin enhancement. He has led business units in the education technology space in Asia, South America, and the US.

In the logistics sector, he has run programs of change and operational units across Europe and South Asia. Wade supports the community through serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in the Polk County Family Court. Wade earned a Masters of International Business Studies and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina.

Stephen Smith, a partner at Reworc, leads the analytics and product development functions within the global practice. With experience in both Human Resources and Corporate Real Estate as both an internal and external consultant, Stephen is able to help organizations connect the dots between people, place, and performance to drive innovation and growth.

Kermit Kaleba is the strategy director of employment-aligned credential programs for Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. Kaleba leads a portfolio designed to increase the number of occupational short-term credential and AA degree programs.

Kaleba previously served as managing director for policy at National Skills Coalition. He also served as executive director of the Washington D.C. Workforce Investment Council.  Kermit has J.D. and bachelor’s degrees from the College of William and Mary.

Grace Swanson is a member of the leadership team at Accumold. Accumold is a high-tech manufacturer of precision micro, small and lead frame injection molded plastic components.

In her role as Vice President of Human Capital, Grace focuses on attracting and developing people who match Accumold’s brand promise of Smart People, Working Fast, Customer Focused. Her tenure at Accumold also includes the role of Vice President of Production where she was responsible for the company’s Operations team along with the Purchasing and Facilities teams.

She holds a BS in Applied Behavioral Science from George Williams College and a Masters Degree in Business Leadership from William Penn University.

She has served on the Ankeny Workforce Development Task Force, the Iowa State University CIRAS Customer Advisory Board, the Governor’s Future Ready Iowa Task Force, as well as the Illinois East-West Corridor Education to Business committee implementing connections between businesses and students. She co-founded the Danada Sculpture Garden Association and has served in various community leadership roles throughout her career. She has served as the President of her PEO Chapter. She has three grown children and resides in Ames.

Lisa Remy, Ed.D., earned her bachelor’s in education, master’s in Spanish teaching, superintendent’s certification, and doctorate in educational administration from the University of Northern Iowa.

Lisa began her career in education as a Spanish teacher in Hudson and later served as high school principal. She moved to the West Des Moines Community Schools in 2000, serving as associate principal at Valley High School, principal of Indian Hills Junior High, associate superintendent of Human Resources and superintendent of West Des Moines Community Schools. As of July 2022, Lisa began serving as the executive director of School Administrators of Iowa.

Steven is currently the Service Manager at Willis Automotive for the brands of Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo. He has been the automotive service manager over 20 years. He has been in the auto business 30 years.

Casey Welch is the Co-founder and CEO of Tallo, a digital platform that connects nearly 2 million students and professionals to opportunities offered by colleges, companies, and organizations. Since its inception, Tallo has pioneered early talent engagement, facilitating career discovery and guidance for a diverse talent pool. Under Casey’s leadership, Tallo serves as a virtual ecosystem leveling the playing field for all students and job seekers, regardless of traditional geographic and economic barriers. Casey is a leading expert on Generation Z in higher education and the workforce, and his insights have been featured in Forbes, FastCompany, IndustryWeek and SHRM. 

Rachelle Keck, Ph.D., JD is Grand View University’ 14th and first female president. Dr. Keck graduated from Wartburg College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, after which she earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Iowa College of Law. Dr. Keck is proud to be a first-generation college student, going on to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education from Drake University.

Dr. Keck began her career as a prosecutor before establishing her own law firm. In 2014, Dr. Keck pivoted to a career in higher education, leading to philanthropy roles at the University of Iowa Foundation as their Director of Planned Giving, and then to Indian Hills Community College as their Executive Director for Philanthropy and Alumni Relations. Prior to coming to Grand View, Dr. Keck served as president of Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa, having initially served as their Chief of Staff and University Counsel.

Lynn Marie Burks, Ph.D. currently serves as the Executive Director for the Jacobson Institute, responsible for executing a revised mission focusing on the future world of work and learning. An expert in L&D, Burks experience includes serving as the National Dean of Faculty for DeVry Education Group where she fo9unded the Center for Teaching Excellence, a catalyst in the digitization of modern classrooms and learning. Burks lead multiple system wide transformation efforts including a large LMS migration, AI/predictive analytics integration, and hyperflex modality adoption. Burks spent 25 years in the classroom, founded the experiential learning and global programs, and is the recipient of multiple awards recognizing her leadership and teaching excellence, including Professor of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation and Board leadership by IASB & NSBA. Prior to moving to higher education, Dr. Burks served as a senior analyst for NORC at the University of Chicago.

Actionable, relevant, practical, and inspirational are the words that commonly appear in audience feedback. Kathy is a notable speaker featured at top industry conferences, association events, and intimate venues. She has been a guest on various podcasts and authored articles for local and national publications

like the Daily Herald and Forbes. She shares her expertise in Employee Experience, Growth Planning, Brand Building, and Compensation. In 2018 Kathy founded the People+People™ Conference and the Business as “Unusual Webinar Series to help business leaders access resources that helped her grow Red Caffeine.

Dr. Timothy Shimp, Ed.D, is currently in his 10th year as Superintendent in Yorkville CUSD 115 (7000 students/1000 employees), and serves on the Boards for Indian Valley Vocational Center, Fox Valley YMCA, Yorkville Chamber of Commerce, and the Advisory Board for the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC). Prior to his Superintendent position, Dr. Shimp has been in the roles of High School Principal and Associate Superintendent for Teaching & Learning in CUSD 115, spent years as a Special Education teacher, guidance counselor, Dean of Students and Assistant High School Principal in Leyden District 212 and the award winning Hinsdale Township District 86.

Mike is the Founder and CEO at SkillNet and a thought leader on skill measurement, resolving skill gaps, and upskilling programs. Earlier in his career, Mike used spreadsheets to manage his teams at Oracle and Ernst and Young to develop people. Mike founded SkillNet to offer a cloud service unserved by HR or LMS systems. With SkillNet, managers can retire their spreadsheets and leverage tech to develop staff. SkillNet provides personalized upskilling, manages goals and credentials. Prior to SkillNet, Mike founded and venture funded Compliance 11 which was sold to Charles Schwab. Before that, he held management positions at Oracle, Ernst and Young, and several other high growth software firms. Mike graduated from Indiana University with BS in Marketing and Mechanical Engineering from Purdue.